The Relationship Between Bird Communities and Habitat A Study Along a Trekking Corridor in the Sikkim Himalaya

• Published in: Mountain research and development Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 235 - 243
• Main Authors: Chettri, Nakul, Deb, Debes Chandra, Sharma, Eklabya, Jackson, Rodney
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boulder United Nations University and International Mountain Society 01.08.2005; International Mountain Society
• Subjects: altitude; Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Bird communities; Bird migration; Birds; canopy; Conservation biology; Forest canopy; Forest habitats; granivores; habitat; Habitat conservation; Habitat corridors; habitat destruction; Habitat preferences; Habitat utilization; Habitats; Heterogeneity; Hiking; Himalayan region; human disturbance; humans; India; Insectivores; Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve; landscapes; migratory behavior; Mountains; nectar feeding; principal component analysis; Principal Component Analysis (PCA); Principal components analysis; research and development; Sikkim; Species composition; Species diversity; Species richness; Trekking; Vegetation; Wildlife conservation; Sikkim India; India; Himalayan region
• ISSN: 0276-4741; 1994-7151
• DOI: 10.1659/0276-4741(2005)025[0235:TRBBCA]2.0.CO;2

To assess the impact of habitat disturbance on birds in the Yuksom–Dzongri trekking corridor in western Sikkim, India, the relationships between bird community attributes—including migratory groups and feeding guilds—and vegetation variables were examined. Birds were observed in 19 100-m-long transects, 3 times per season per transect, for 2 seasons from 1997 to 1998 and 1998 to 1999, in an area where forests are subject to various degrees of pressure from human disturbances. Closed canopy forests with relatively undisturbed habitat showed significant variation in habitat attributes, suggesting complexity of habitat structure. Bird species richness and diversity were significantly related to moderately disturbed habitats represented by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), where vegetation heterogeneity (vertical stratification and species composition) was greater. Analysis by migratory groups did not show an interpretable relationship with the habitats, except for the seasonal movements of migratory groups when correlated with altitudinal gradient along the corridor. However, feeding guilds showed significant relationships when correlated with different habitat types. Guilds such as insectivores showed a significant positive relationship with relatively undisturbed habitat, whereas nectarivores and granivores were associated with disturbed habitat. Such relationships have the potential to help assess bird communities and their habitat preferences. Long-term monitoring at landscape level is necessary to understand the dynamics of habitat use patterns by bird communities in relation to spatial and temporal changes.