The invasive species rules: competitive exclusion in forest avian mixed-species flocks in a fragmented landscape

Author(s)

Maldonado-Coelho, Marcos ^[1] ; Marini, Miguel Angelo ^[2] ; do Amaral, Fabio Raposo ^[1] ; Ribon, Romulo ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ecol & Biol Evolut, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Brasilia, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Zool, BR-70910900 Brasilia, DF - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Vicosa, Dept Biol Anim, Museu Zool Joao Moojen de Oliveira, BR-36570000 Vicosa, MG - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ORNITOLOGIA; v. 25, n. 1, p. 54-59, MAR 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Evidence of checkerboard patterns of species' distribution in avian mixed-species flocks suggest that competition is one of the forces shaping the composition and structure of these associations. However, evidence of competition among flock species comes from studies performed in well-preserved regions and no study has reported the interactions between invasive and native flocking species in human-modified landscapes. Such studies are important because evidence show that avian social systems such as mixed-species flocks suffer several negative impacts of habitat fragmentation. In this study, it is shown that an invasive woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes angustirostris) from open areas of central and western South America is: 1) expanding its range into that of a native Atlantic Forest woodcreeper (L. squamatus); 2) using the same forest fragments in which the native woodcreeper occurs; 3) regularly joining Atlantic Forest mixed-species flocks that contain the native woodcreeper; 4) overlapping in foraging height with the native woodcreeper during flocking; and 5) engaging in aggressive encounters and excluding the native woodcreeper from flocks. We suggest that this aggressive behavior is a consequence of the overlap in foraging height between the invasive and native species in their original habitats and that their contact has so recently been established. This study suggests that competitive interactions mediated by aggressive behaviors of invasive species may have a negative impact on the fitness of native mixed-species flock species in a fragmented landscape. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/50143-7 - Comparative multilocus phylogeography of three species of Poospiza (Aves, Passeriformes): exploring the history of the montane Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Fábio Sarubbi Raposo do Amaral
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50297-0 - Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: a multidisciplinary framework for biodiversity prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot
• Grantee: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/05445-2 - A genetic analysis of the contact zone between Atlantic Forest Fire-eyes (Pyriglena, Thamnophilidae) using cline models
• Grantee: Marcos Maldonado Coelho
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 15/18287-0 - A comparison of evolutionary rates between songs and calls in South-American Fire-eyes (Aves: Pyriglena): a hypotheses test in a phylogenetic framework
• Grantee: Marcos Maldonado Coelho
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/23155-4 - Comparative multilocus phylogeography of three species of Poospiza (Aves, Passeriformes): exploring the history of the montane Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Fábio Sarubbi Raposo do Amaral
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - BIOTA - Young Researchers