Different responses of avian feeding guilds to spatial and environmental factors across an elevation gradient in the central Himalaya

Ding, Zhifeng1; Liang, Jianchao1; Hu, Yiming1,2; Zhou, Zhixin1; Sun, Hongbin3; Liu, Lina3; Liu, Haijun3; Hu, Huijian1; Si, Xingfeng4

2019-04

10.1002/ece3.5040

Ecology and Evolution   影响因子和分区

2045-7758

Although elevational patterns of species richness have been well documented, how the drivers of richness gradients vary across ecological guilds has rarely been reported. Here, we examined the effects of spatial factors (area and mid-domain effect; MDE) and environmental factors, including metrics of climate, productivity, and plant species richness on the richness of breeding birds across different ecological guilds defined by diet and foraging strategy. We surveyed 12 elevation bands at intervals of 300 m between 1,800 and 5,400 m a.s.l using line-transect methods throughout the wet season in the central Himalaya, China. Multiple regression models and hierarchical partitioning were used to assess the relative importance of spatial and environmental factors on overall bird richness and guild richness (i.e., the richness of species within each guild). Our results showed that richness for all birds and most guilds displayed hump-shaped elevational trends, which peaked at an elevation of 3,300-3,600 m, although richness of ground-feeding birds peaked at a higher elevation band (4,200-4,500 m). The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)-an index of primary productivity-and habitat heterogeneity were important factors in explaining overall bird richness as well as that of insectivores and omnivores, with geometric constraints (i.e., the MDE) of secondary importance. Granivore richness was not related to primary production but rather to open habitats (granivores were negatively influenced by habitat heterogeneity), where seeds might be abundant. Our findings provide direct evidence that the richness-environment relationship is often guild-specific. Taken together, our study highlights the importance of considering how the effects of environmental and spatial factors on patterns of species richness may differ across ecological guilds, potentially leading to a deeper understanding of elevational diversity gradients and their implications for biodiversity conservation.

bird guild elevational gradient environmental factors Himalaya hump-shaped pattern spatial factors

SCI

英语

其他

GDAS Special Project of Science and Technology Development[2017GDASCX-0107] ; GDAS Special Project of Science and Technology Development[2018GDASCX-0107]

Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Evolutionary Biology

Ecology ; Evolutionary Biology

WOS:000465089500036

WILEY

Web of Science

1.Guangdong Inst Appl Biol Resources, Guangdong Key Lab Anim Conservat & Resource Utili, Guangdong Publ Lab Wild Anim Conservat & Utilizat, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Peoples R China
2.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
3.Shenzhen Nat Reserve Management Ctr, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Peoples R China
4.East China Normal Univ, Sch Ecol & Environm Sci, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosyst Natl Observat &, Shanghai, Peoples R China

Ding, Zhifeng,Liang, Jianchao,Hu, Yiming,et al. Different responses of avian feeding guilds to spatial and environmental factors across an elevation gradient in the central Himalaya[J]. Ecology and Evolution,2019,9(7):4116-4128.

Ding, Zhifeng.,Liang, Jianchao.,Hu, Yiming.,Zhou, Zhixin.,Sun, Hongbin.,...&Si, Xingfeng.(2019).Different responses of avian feeding guilds to spatial and environmental factors across an elevation gradient in the central Himalaya.Ecology and Evolution,9(7),4116-4128.

Ding, Zhifeng,et al."Different responses of avian feeding guilds to spatial and environmental factors across an elevation gradient in the central Himalaya".Ecology and Evolution 9.7(2019):4116-4128.