Bird communities in two types of anthropogenic successional vegetation in central Amazonia

Abstract

When primary forest in central Amazonia is cut and abandoned, the plant succession is dominated by Cecropia spp., whereas when it is cut and burned for pastures, the regrowth vegetation is dominated by Vismia spp. The bird communities of these two regrowth forest types were sampled at six sites (9-13 years old) using mist-nets and observations. Bird species richness was similar between the two forest types. Cecropia regrowth, however, was richer for strictly forest bird species than was Vismia regrowth. Mixed-flock species and ant-following birds were significantly more abundant in the Cecropia second growth, whereas nonforest insectivores and omnivores were more common in Vismia regrowth. The type of regrowth was found to influence bird species composition in the study sites. These results suggest that the type of human disturbance has an important role in determining the bird communities that occupy early successional areas in central Amazonia.