Uma análise da estrutura física de habitat para a comunidade de aves de sub-bosque da reserva biológica Guaribas, Nordeste do Brasil.

Abstract

This present study aims to evaluate the influence of vegetation structure in the understory bird community of Reserva Biológica Guaribas, Paraíba state, Brazil. We sampled 124 points at the reserve, distributed among Cerrado (savanna formations) and forest formations. All birds were collected using mist nets. We also measured microhabitat variables from each sample point. Two species were considered forest specialists, one was considered a Cerrado specialist while two others were generalists. The other 53 species were considered too rare to classify. The isolated canonical correlation analyses were not significant considering each formation alone. Thus, when Cerrado and forest data were pooled the result was significant, suggesting that the distribution and composition of the bird community were affected by the vegetacional complexity of the landscape, being separated into two groups: savanna and forest. We suggest that the major factors influencing the distribution and abundance of understory bird species from Reserva Biológica Guaribas are linked to specific natural history traits. Although we could still observe a remarkable effect not by the microhabitat characteristics, but from the landscape vegetation heterogeneity as a whole.