Community structure of raptors in the páramo landscape of the Ecuadorian Andes
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| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2023 |
| Descripción: | Introduction: Habitat alterations result in biodiversity loss, particularly in regions with high levels of diversity and endemism such as the páramo grassland ecosystems in the high Andes of northern South America. Raptors are an essential part of the functionality and stability of ecosystems and are considered indicators of habitat quality. In the páramo, raptors contain a high concentration of threatened species and the development of field methods and data analysis of to evaluate its structure and species associations is crucial to develop conservation plans. Objective: To explore the structure of the raptor community in páramo ecosystems through a multivariate analysis to determine the species associations. Furthermore, to establish a valid methodological approach to describe and understand the raptor community structure present in this ecosystem. Methods: The raptor community in the páramo ecosystem was evaluated through annual monitoring in transects. A total of eight transects were established and censused monthly. We used the information on raptor diversity to explore the community structure through principal component analysis in order to determine the species associations that integrate the community. Results: The PCA-derived loadings, as well as scatterplot of PCA-derived scores against species abundances, reflect two distinct raptor communities represented by the two axes of the PCA. The first axis (PCI = 47.4 %) was represented by the most abundant species of the páramo ecosystems (e.g., Carunculated Caracara, Variable Hawk, Andean Condor and Turkey Vulture), while the second axis (PCII = 27 %) was represented by less abundant species (e.g., Cinereous Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Aplomado Falco). Conclusion: Our approach provides a valid description and understanding of raptor community structure. We identify two communities and the dynamics between them. The first is characterized by an increased abundance of generalist and regionally common species, when the abundance of these species decreases, the second community is defined, characterized by an increase in the abundance of specialist and rare species at the local scale. Objective: To explore the structure of the raptor community in páramo ecosystems through a multivariate analysis to determine the species associations that make it up. To establish a valid methodological approach to describe and understand the raptor community structure present in this ecosystem. Methods: The high Andean raptor community in the páramo ecosystem was evaluated through annual monitoring in mountain transects (2 km long). A total of eight transects were established and censused monthly. We used the information on raptor diversity to explore the community structure through principal component analysis (PCA) in order to determine the species associations that integrate the community. Results: The PCA-derived loadings, as well as scatter-plots of PCA-derived scores against species abundances, reflect two distinct raptor communities represented by the two axis of the PCA. The first axis (PCI = 47.4 % of variance) was represented by the most abundant species of the páramo ecosystems (e.g., Phalcoboenus carunculatus, Geranoaetus polyosoma, Vultur gryphus and Cathartes aura), while the second axis (PCII = 27 %) was represented by less abundant species (e.g., Circus cinereus, Falco peregrinus and Falco femoralis). Conclusion: Despite the low detection rates of these high-Andean raptors, our approach provides a valid description and understanding of raptor community structure in high Andean ecosystems. This method could be applied at regional scales. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Institución: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.revistas.ucr.ac.cr:article/11375 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rrbt/article/view/11375 |
| Palabra clave: | Macizo del Cajas biosphere reserve protected areas field methods raptor census community analysis reserva de la biosfera Macizo del Cajas áreas protegidas métodos de campo monitoreo de rapaces análisis de la comunidad |