DAAD BioLuz Biodiversity Monitoring System data

Understanding bird species occurrence patterns in Philippine Protected Areas: Preliminary Findings

Paula Beatrice M. Macandog

Jana Riederer Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS)  Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)  Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS)  Repeated data sampling or monitoring of Protected Areas in the Philippines  Objective of BMS is to identify trends in biodiversity to aid in PA management  PA staff, local communities, local environmental groups and deputized forest guards to conduct monitoring  Designed to generate Quarterly BMS Reports BMS Quarterly Reports BMS database

BMS Quarterly Reports (2000-2014) - Species observation (flora and fauna species) - Presence/absence - Abundance (in selected reports) - most robust information captured is on the sightings of bird species - illegal resource extraction activities within the protected areas - Park Management Issues and Proposed Interventions Objectives of the study

 Identifying patterns and developing biodiversity maps depicting bird species occurrence across the PA areas Protected Areas monitored under BMS

TOTAL 60 Luzon 37 Visayas 11 Mindanao 12 Abundance of bird species and overall trends

 Highest numbers recorded in:

Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park, Visayas (97 species) Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape, Luzon (96 species) Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape, Visayas (84 species)

 Overall trend: Highest numbers of bird species recorded in Visayas, lowest numbers in Mindanao A possible Limitation: Differences in the number of years each PA was sampled Bird Distribution in Context Bird Distribution in Context – Types of Landcover

 Highest number of bird species recorded in Protected Areas in or near areas with annual or perennial crop. Bird Distribution in Context – Types of Landcover

 Sampling bias – birds are more easily visible in open agricultural structures  Protected Areas as refugia  Attractive Agroecosystems: Agricultural products as additional food source Typically: avian pollinators and seed dispersers more abundant in agroecosystems, insectivores less abundant (Tscharntke et al. 2008).  Possible threat due to the increasing intensification and use of pesticides  Caveat: This does not take beta-diversity into account! Forest ecosystems typically have higher beta diversity than agricultural ecosystems. (Tscharntke et al. 2008). Hence the PAs in forest-covered areas should not be disregarded. Bird Distribution in Context – Elevation

 Highest number of bird species recorded in Protected Areas at low elevation Bird Distribution in Context – Elevation

 The decrease in biodiversity along an elevational gradient as a widely recognized pattern (Kattan & Franco 2004, among others) Ample empirical support

 Possible drivers of elevational diversity patterns: (Acharya et al 2011, Stevens 1992)

contemporary climate (temperature, precipitation,… ) biological processes (productivity, habitat heterogeneity, interspecific interactions,...) spatial factors (area effects, an extension of Rapoport’s latitudinal gradient to altitude…) evolutionary and historical processes (isolation, speciation…)

 These explanations are not exclusive, may act synergistically Bird Distribution in Context – Annual Mean Temperature

 Highest number of bird species recorded in Protected Areas in warmer regions

Bird Distribution in Context – Annual Mean Temperature

 The increase in biodiversity along a temperature gradient as a widely recognized pattern  Species-Energy-Relationships

The upper limit of species richness is determined by the available energy (Wright 1983) Species-Energy-Relationship typically increasing monotonously (Evans et al. 2005)

 Some possible mechanisms (Evans et al. 2005):

Niche position: Increased productive energy  Increased abundance of rare resources  Increased abundance of niche position specialists Niche breadth: Increased productive energy  abundance of individual resources  reduced niche overlap  reduced competitive exclusion Consumer pressure: Increased productive energy  more individuals at higher trophic levels  increased consumer pressure  reductions in prey populations  less inter- specific competition  co-existence of prey species Range limitation Increased temperature  within physiological tolerance range of more species

Bird Distribution in Context – Climate Types

 Type 1: Two pronounced seasons (dry and wet season) Type 2: No dry season, but amount of rainfall varies Type 3: Less pronounced seasons Type 4: Rainfall distributed evenly throughout the year

Bird Distribution in Context – Climate Types

 No clear connection between a single climate type and bird diversity  Lower diversity in regions of spatially variable climate  Species-area relationship (Lomolino & Weiser 2001, among others) Biodiversity is correlated positively with area Caveat: this does not take beta diversity into account!  The Mid-Domain Effect (MDE) (Colwell et al. 2004, among others) In the absence of environmental gradients: Diversity peak in the middle of an area, due to an increased overlap of species ranges Support from computer models In small area: MDE weaker, hence less diversity Bird Distribution in Context – Migration

 Highest numbers of migrant bird species recorded in Visayas  Possibly consequence of already discussed variables  Maximal number per PA: Four migratory species Migration contributes, but doesn’t explain the overall trend Bird Distribution in Context – Monthly Precipitation

 No obvious precipitation – dependent trend  Other climatic variables which showed no connection with bird species distribution patterns include for example seasonality

A Closer Look at Various Aspects of Bird Distribution Distribution of Common Birds

 “Common” here refers to birds found in 16 Protected Areas (PAs) or more  In the BMS data base:

Black-naped Oriole Brahminy Kite Coleto Common Emerald Dove Luzon Hornbill Philippine Bulbul Philippine Coucal Philippine Hanging Parrot Philippine Serpent Eagle Red Junglefowl Rufous Hornbill White-eared Brown Dove Yellow-vented Bulbul

Distribution of Common Birds Distribution of Common Birds Distribution of Common Birds Distribution of the Brahminy Kite – a case study

 Diet consists largely of fish and crabs (Sivakumar & Jayabalan, 2004)  Scavenging behaviour (Clancy, 2005)  Hence distribution along coasts and larger inland water bodies  Higher abundance near fisheries, occurrence on waste disposal sites (Tuljapurkar & Bhagwat, 2007; Sarkar 1986).  Distribution not affected by elevation and area size (Khaleghizadeh & Anuar 2014). Birds with Restricted Distribution to one PA

 Largest number of bird species unique to one PA:

Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park

Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape

Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape

 83 bird species out of 317 were sighted in only one PA  These include:

Migratory species Introduced species Endemic species Endangered species

 Protection of these PAs of special importance Birds with Restricted Distribution to one Island Group

 Largest number of species restricted to one island sighted in:

Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park

Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape

 Bird species restricted to one island include:

Migratory Species Introduced Species Endemic Species Critically endangered Species Distribution of Endemic Species

 High number of endemic species  Almost all PAs have endemic species  General pattern of species distribution also reflected in endemic species Distribution of Endangered Species

 All endangered or critically endangered species also endemic  Protection of those PAs of special importance  Classification by IUCN and DENR Conclusions

 Use of GIS mapping to identify trends such as biodiversity patterns

 Use of the gathered information and the identified trends for improved management of Protected Areas Salamat Po!

 To Paula Beatrice M. Macandog, with whom I worked on this project, for giving me so much helpful advise  To Prof. Macandog, for all her support  To Prof. Settele, for the internship at LEGATO  To Sir Juan Carlos Gonzales, for sharing his expertise on birds  To Ozzy Boy Nicopior, for his help with truly countless computer problems  To the Phil-LIDAR 2 UPLB staff, who made my stay in Los Banos such a wonderful time! Sources:

 Sivakumar, S., & Jayabalan, J. A. (2004). Observations on the breeding biology of Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus in cauvery delta region. Zoo’s Print Journal, 19, 1472-1474.

 Clancy, G. P. (2005). Feeding behaviour of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on the north coast of New South Wales. Corella, 29, 91-96.

 Khaleghizadeh, A., & Anuar, S. (2014). Breeding landscape and nest spacing of two coastal raptors (Accipitriformes: White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster and Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus) in Peninsular Malaysia. Italian Journal of Zoology, 81(3), 431-439.

 Tuljapurkar, V. B., & Bhagwat, V. (2007). Avifauna of a waste disposal site. Indian Birds, 3, 87-90.

 Tscharntke, T., Sekercioglu, C. H., Dietsch, T. V., Sodhi, N. S., Hoehn, P., & Tylianakis, J. M. (2008). Landscape constraints on functional diversity of birds and insects in tropical agroecosystems. Ecology, 89(4), 944-951.

 Kattan, G. H., & Franco, P. (2004). Bird diversity along elevational gradients in the Andes of Colombia: area and mass effects. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 13(5), 451-458.

Sources

 Stevens, G. C. (1992). The elevational gradient in altitudinal range: an extension of Rapoport's latitudinal rule to altitude. American naturalist, 893-911.

 Acharya, B. K., Sanders, N. J., Vijayan, L., & Chettri, B. (2011). Elevational gradients in bird diversity in the Eastern Himalaya: an evaluation of distribution

 Sarkar, S. U. (1986). Population dynamics of raptors in the Sundarban forests of Bangladesh. Birds of Prey Bulletin, 3, 157-162.

 Wright, D. H. (1983). Species-energy theory: an extension of species-area theory. Oikos, 496- 506.

 Evans, K. L., Warren, P. H., & Gaston, K. J. (2005). Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms.Biological Reviews, 80(01), 1-25.

 Lomolino, M. V., & Weiser, M. D. (2001). Towards a more general species-area relationship: diversity on all islands, great and small. Journal of Biogeography, 28(4), 431-445.

 Colwell, R., Rahbek, C., Gotelli, N., & Associate Editor: Ted J. Case. (2004). The Mid‐Domain Effect and Species Richness Patterns:What Have We Learned So Far? The American Naturalist, 163(3), E1-E23.