The formation of “mega-flocks” depends on vegetation structure in montane coniferous forests of Taiwan
Date
2022-02-18
Authors
Liao, Chun-Chieh
Ding, Tzung-Su
Chen, Chao-Chieh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Abstract
A mixed-species bird flock is a social assemblage where two or more bird species are moving together while foraging and might benefit from increased foraging efficiency and antipredator vigilance. A “mega-flock,” which includes flocking species from different vegetation strata, often exhibits high species diversity. Mechanisms for the formation of mega-flocks have not yet been explored. In this study, we evaluated the influence of vegetation structure and bird species diversity in driving the occurrence of mega-flocks. We investigated the composition of mixed-species flocks, local bird communities, and vegetation structure in five vegetation types of two high-elevation sites in central Taiwan. Mega-flocks occurred more frequently in pine woodland than later successional stages of coniferous forests. However, species richness/diversity of local bird communities increased along successional stages. Therefore, vegetation variables exhibit more influence on the occurrence of mega-flocks than local bird communities. Besides foliage height diversity, understory coverage also showed positive effects on flock size of mixed-species flocks. Our results indicated that pine woodlands with more evenly distributed vegetation layers could facilitate the interactions of canopy and understory flocks and increase the formation of mega-flocks and thus the complexity of mixed-species flocks.
Description
Keywords
avian assemblage, coniferous forest, mixed-species bird flock, structural heterogeneity, vegetation succession
Citation
Liao, C.-C., Ding, T.-S., & Chen, C.-C. (2022). The formation of “mega-flocks” depends on vegetation structure in montane coniferous forests of Taiwan. Ecology and Evolution, 12, e8608. https://doi. org/10.1002/ece3.8608
Collections
Source
Ecology and Evolution
Type
Journal article
Book Title
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access
License Rights
Creative Commons Attribution License