Using the network approach to understand the spatial-use patterns by the Lear's macaw and four species of vulture in Caatinga

• Grant number: 24/06332-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Agreement: Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science
• Principal Investigator: Francisco Voeroes Dénes
• Grantee: Daniela Pinto Coelho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/19389-9 - Applying new bio-logging and analytical tools to study the movement ecology and conservation of birds in the caatinga biome, Brazil, AP.JP

Abstract

Animals have the ability to actively select their home ranges and this choice can be determined by the set of biotic and abiotic interactions in their natural habitats. Habitat characteristics are constantly changing due to current anthropogenic changes, resulting in changes in resource availability and, consequently, in the spatial distribution of populations. Thus, understanding how animals perceive and respond to the structure of the habitat in which they live is one of the basic questions of ecology. Since the response of species to habitat changes can differ according to their degrees of adaptability, it is essential to understand how the impacts of converting the natural environment into anthropogenic areas affect the ecology of the movement of wild animal populations. In this context, the interaction networks approach presents a set of effective tools to describe and test hypotheses in complex ecological systems. In this project, we intend to use spatial networks to analyze habitat use by an endangered parrot, the Lear's macaw, and four species of New World vultures in an area of Caatinga in the north of the state of Bahia. By accessing the spatial network structure of each of the target species, where each network node represents a vegetation patch and the lines represent the movement of individuals between vegetation patches, we will investigate which biotic and abiotic factors are able to shape habitat use by the studied populations. Additionally, we will use data from simulations of key habitat loss to investigate which types of environments have differential importance for the analyzed species. The project already has a considerable volume of data collected, which allows the analysis to be started from the onset. (AU)