Abstract

LOPEZ-MUNOZ, Eliasaf Caheri et al. Avian diversity and trophic guilds in three different conditions of tropical rain forest cover, at southeast of Chiapas, Mexico. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2022, vol.38, e3812434.  Epub Sep 19, 2022. ISSN 2448-8445.  https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2022.3812434.

Recently many forests, tropical rain forest, and other plant associations have suffered a process of environmental degradation, attributed to deforestation andfragmentation, with the aim of expanding the agricultural-livestock frontier. These environmental changes have a measurable impact on the fauna communities present, such as birds. A reliable way of documenting the possible anthropogenic effects on ecosystems, is through the analysis of the avian trophic guilds since changes in the structure of the vegetation impacts the different trophic guilds. The main objective of this study was to analyze the variations in richness, abundance, and composition of the bird communities and trophic guilds in three different vegetation cover conditions (rain forest with regeneration SCR, ecotones ECO, and a village POB), in a region of the Lacandon rain forest region, Chiapas, Mexico. Sampling was carried four months of 2020 where six transects of approximately 2 km in length were walked. A total of 6190 individuals from 201 bird species were recorded. The ECO presented the highest richness of birds with 155 species, followed by the SCR (104 species) and finally, the POB (101 species). However, the POB presented the highest abundance of individuals (2661 individuals) with respect to the other two environmental conditions. The greatest similarity of bird communities occurred between the village and the ecotone (53%). The highest number of trophic guilds was also registered in ECO (15). In general, the insectivores were widely represented, particularly in the SCR. On the contrary, granivores were related to open and semi-open spaces, devoid of arboreal vegetation (POB and ECO). Frugivores had greater number of species in the ECO but were more abundant in the POB. Meanwhile, nectarivores were observed more frequently in the POB. Deforestation and fragmentation reduce the physical space of ecosystems and modify the availability of food for birds. This will be reflected in the presence-absence of the different trophic guilds and in the ecological functions they are able to perform.

Keywords : vegetable associations; avifauna; conservation; food resources; Lacandon rain forest.