Community structure of raptors in the páramo landscape of the Ecuadorian Andes

• Main Authors: Barros, Santiago, Porras, Paul, Landázuri, Boris, Siddons, David C., Latta, Steven C., Astudillo, Pedro X.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Costa Rica 2023
• Subjects: 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; Alta; peregrine falcon
• Online Access: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/51382; https://doi.org/10.15517/rev.biol.trop.v71i1.51382

Introduction: Habitat alterations result in biodiversity loss, particularly in regions with high levels of diversity and endemism. Raptors are an essential part of the functionality and stability of ecosystems and indicators of habitat quality. In the paramo grassland ecosystems in the high Andes of Northern South America, raptors contain a high concentration of threatened species. Objective: To describe the raptor community structure and determine the species associations. Methods: We made monthly raptor counts in eight transects from October 2021 to September 2022 and used a principal component analysis to determine species associations. Results: We identified 149 individuals (seven species, three families) in two communities: abundant (Carunculated Caracara, Variable Hawk, Andean Condor and Turkey Vulture; PCI = 47 %), and scarce (Cinereous Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Aplomado Falco; PCII = 27 %). Conclusion: We provide a valid description and understanding of raptor community structure, identifying 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. Introducción: Las alteraciones del hábitat provocan la pérdida de biodiversidad, especialmente en regiones con altos niveles de diversidad y endemismo como los ecosistemas de páramo en los Andes del norte de Sudamérica. Las aves rapaces son una parte esencial de la funcionalidad y estabilidad de los ecosistemas y se consideran indicadores de la calidad del hábitat. En el páramo, las rapaces contienen una alta concentración de especies amenazadas; y, el desarrollo de métodos de campo y análisis de datos para evaluar su estructura y asociaciones de especies es crucial para desarrollar planes de conservación. Objetivo: Explorar la estructura de la comunidad de rapaces en los ecosistemas de páramo ...