bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/765487; this version posted September 12, 2019. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. 1 Is the distribution of the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus 2 flavigula) associated with oaks and granaries? A local study in an urban 3 area in northern South America 4 5 Hana Londoño Oikawa1* and Paulo C. Pulgarín-R1,2,3 6 7 1 Facultad de Ciencias y Biotecnología, Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia 8 2 Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva de Vertebrados (EVOLVERT), Departamento de 9 Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia 10 3Amazona Tropical Birding - www.atbirding.com 11 *Corresponding author:
[email protected] 12 13 ABSTRACT 14 Abiotic and biotic factors are known to be key in limiting the geographical distribution of 15 species. However, our understanding on the influence of habitat heterogeneity on 16 ecological interactions and behavior in tropical animals is limited. We studied groups of 17 Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus flavigula) in urban and rural areas in 18 northern South America to understand how habitat and resource requirements (food 19 storage structures) influences patterns of distribution across the Aburrá Valley, in the 20 northern area of the Central Andes of Colombia. Using focal observations of 10 different 21 groups over nearly a two-year period, we estimated territory size, habitat use, and 22 described the use and presence of granaries.