Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia
Mangrove bird communities in north Australia comprise relatively few passerine species compared with other arboreal habitats in the region. Mangroves are dominated by a few tree species and there are potentially few resource axes available for partitioning by terrestrial birds. Competition for lim...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
2014
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/1/Resource%20Partitioning%20by%20Mangrove%20Bird%20Communities%20in%20North%20Australia%20%28abstract%29.pdf |
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| author | Mohd-Azlan, J. Noske, R.A Lawes, M.J |
| author_facet | Mohd-Azlan, J. Noske, R.A Lawes, M.J |
| author_sort | Mohd-Azlan, J. |
| building | UNIMAS Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Mangrove bird communities in north Australia comprise relatively few passerine species compared with other arboreal habitats in the
region. Mangroves are dominated by a few tree species and there are potentially few resource axes available for partitioning by terrestrial
birds. Competition for limited resources is predicted to cause strong niche differentiation and a highly structured, but low diversity, bird
assemblage. Using multivariate and bipartite network analyses based on 1771 foraging observations (33% of 5320 behavioral observations),
we examined resource partitioning by 20 terrestrial bird species in mangroves of north Australia. The mangrove bird community
largely comprised generalist insectivores that partitioned insects by size with moderate-to-high interspecific overlap in diet. Gleaning for
insects was the most common foraging mode. Few species specialized on nectar. Flowers of one or more mangrove species were available
in every month of the year and insect abundance was correlated with flowering peaks. Niche differentiation by birds was determined
by food type and foraging mode more than by broad spatial (mangrove zones) or temporal (seasonal) segregation of the use of
resources. There was little evidence of bird species saturation or species sorting, suggesting loose species packing and a lesser role than
expected for species interactions and interference competition in structuring the bird assemblage in mangroves. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:07:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | unimas-4437 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:07:36Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | unimas-44372015-09-11T08:37:41Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/ Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia Mohd-Azlan, J. Noske, R.A Lawes, M.J QL Zoology SF Animal culture Mangrove bird communities in north Australia comprise relatively few passerine species compared with other arboreal habitats in the region. Mangroves are dominated by a few tree species and there are potentially few resource axes available for partitioning by terrestrial birds. Competition for limited resources is predicted to cause strong niche differentiation and a highly structured, but low diversity, bird assemblage. Using multivariate and bipartite network analyses based on 1771 foraging observations (33% of 5320 behavioral observations), we examined resource partitioning by 20 terrestrial bird species in mangroves of north Australia. The mangrove bird community largely comprised generalist insectivores that partitioned insects by size with moderate-to-high interspecific overlap in diet. Gleaning for insects was the most common foraging mode. Few species specialized on nectar. Flowers of one or more mangrove species were available in every month of the year and insect abundance was correlated with flowering peaks. Niche differentiation by birds was determined by food type and foraging mode more than by broad spatial (mangrove zones) or temporal (seasonal) segregation of the use of resources. There was little evidence of bird species saturation or species sorting, suggesting loose species packing and a lesser role than expected for species interactions and interference competition in structuring the bird assemblage in mangroves. The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation 2014 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/1/Resource%20Partitioning%20by%20Mangrove%20Bird%20Communities%20in%20North%20Australia%20%28abstract%29.pdf Mohd-Azlan, J. and Noske, R.A and Lawes, M.J (2014) Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia. BIOTROPICA, 46 (3). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.12108/pdf |
| spellingShingle | QL Zoology SF Animal culture Mohd-Azlan, J. Noske, R.A Lawes, M.J Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia |
| title | Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia |
| title_full | Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia |
| title_fullStr | Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia |
| title_short | Resource Partitioning by Mangrove Bird Communities in North Australia |
| title_sort | resource partitioning by mangrove bird communities in north australia |
| topic | QL Zoology SF Animal culture |
| url | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/4437/1/Resource%20Partitioning%20by%20Mangrove%20Bird%20Communities%20in%20North%20Australia%20%28abstract%29.pdf |