The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages

Mangrove habitats are under severe land use pressure throughout the world and Australia is no exception. Here we describe the heterogeneity of mangrove habitat and its relationship with mangrove bird diversity. We examined the role of mangrove habitat complexity in determining the richness of avian...

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Main Authors: Mohd-Azlan, J., Noske, R.A, Lawes, M.J
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Molecular Diversity Preservation International 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/1/The%20Role%20of%20Habitat%20Heterogeneity%20in%20Structuring%20Mangrove%20Bird%20Assemblages%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 habitats are under severe land use pressure throughout the world and Australia is no exception. Here we describe the heterogeneity of mangrove habitat and its relationship with mangrove bird diversity. We examined the role of mangrove habitat complexity in determining the richness of avian mangrove dependent species (MDS) and interior species, overall bird species richness and density. High species richness (overall and MDS) and density in the mangroves was associated with plant species richness, the density of the understory and food resource distribution. Furthermore, habitat heterogeneity rather than patch area per se was a more important predictor of species richness in the mangroves. These findings stress the importance of habitat diversity and quality to the diversity and density of birds in mangroves. Thus, habitat heterogeneity within mangroves is a crucial patch characteristic, independent of mangrove patch size, for maintaining diverse avian species assemblages.
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spelling unimas-98652017-02-03T02:03:01Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/ The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages Mohd-Azlan, J. Noske, R.A Lawes, M.J QL Zoology Mangrove habitats are under severe land use pressure throughout the world and Australia is no exception. Here we describe the heterogeneity of mangrove habitat and its relationship with mangrove bird diversity. We examined the role of mangrove habitat complexity in determining the richness of avian mangrove dependent species (MDS) and interior species, overall bird species richness and density. High species richness (overall and MDS) and density in the mangroves was associated with plant species richness, the density of the understory and food resource distribution. Furthermore, habitat heterogeneity rather than patch area per se was a more important predictor of species richness in the mangroves. These findings stress the importance of habitat diversity and quality to the diversity and density of birds in mangroves. Thus, habitat heterogeneity within mangroves is a crucial patch characteristic, independent of mangrove patch size, for maintaining diverse avian species assemblages. Molecular Diversity Preservation International 2015 Article NonPeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/1/The%20Role%20of%20Habitat%20Heterogeneity%20in%20Structuring%20Mangrove%20Bird%20Assemblages%20%28abstract%29.pdf Mohd-Azlan, J. and Noske, R.A and Lawes, M.J (2015) The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages. Diversity, 7 (2). pp. 118-136. ISSN 1424-2818 http://www.researchgate.net/publication/276083088_The_Role_of_Habitat_Heterogeneity_in_Structuring_Mangrove_Bird_Assemblages DOI: 10.3390/d7020118
spellingShingle QL Zoology
Mohd-Azlan, J.
Noske, R.A
Lawes, M.J
The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages
title The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages
title_full The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages
title_fullStr The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages
title_short The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages
title_sort role of habitat heterogeneity in structuring mangrove bird assemblages
topic QL Zoology
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9865/1/The%20Role%20of%20Habitat%20Heterogeneity%20in%20Structuring%20Mangrove%20Bird%20Assemblages%20%28abstract%29.pdf