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Dissertation / Doctoral Thesis DISSERTATION / DOCTORAL THESIS Titel der Dissertation /Title of the Doctoral Thesis „Gallery forests in the lowlands of Costa Rica: ecological traps or suitable breeding sites and dispersal corridors for forest birds?“ verfasst von / submitted by Mag.rer.nat. Isabell Riedl angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doktorin der Naturwissenschaften (Dr.rer.nat.) Wien, 2017 / Vienna 2017 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 091 444 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Dissertationsgebiet lt. Studienblatt / Dr.-Studium der Naturwissenschaften Ökologie field of study as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Konrad Fiedler 2 Table of contents 1. Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 4 2. Curriculum vitae ............................................................................................................. 5 3. Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 7 4. Zusammenfassung ......................................................................................................... 8 5. List of manuscripts with statement of personal contribution ...........................................10 6. General introduction ......................................................................................................12 7. Publications and unpublished manuscripts ....................................................................17 a. Bird assemblages of forested and human-modified countryside habitats in the Pacific lowlands of southern Costa Rica .......................................................................................17 b. The importance of gallery forests for forest birds in the lowland countryside of Costa Rica ..................................................................................................................................41 c. Indistinct effects of season on the composition of bird species assemblages in forest habitats in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica ...................................................................64 d. Understory forest birds facing higher clutch predation risk in linear gallery forest strips compared to old-growth forest areas: a case study using artificial nests ...........................89 e. Population density and habitat preferences of the Black-cheeked Ant-tanager Habia atrimaxillaris .................................................................................................................... 105 f. Observation of Veraguan Mango Anthracothorax veraguensis (Reichenbach, 1855) in the southern Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica ................................................................... 127 8. Synopsis ..................................................................................................................... 134 a. How do bird assemblages change from forested towards human-modified countryside habitats? ......................................................................................................................... 135 b. Can gallery forest strips serve as corridors and stepping stones for tropical forest birds within a landscape matrix consisting of strongly human-dominated habitats? ................. 135 c. Are composition and structure of bird assemblages affected by seasonal climate changes? And does the strength of such effects differ between habitats? ...................... 136 d. Are understory forest birds facing higher clutch predation risk in linear gallery forest strips compared to old-growth forest areas? Are gallery forests a suitable breeding site or ecological trap for forest birds? ....................................................................................... 137 e. Which are the habitat preferences and how dense is the population of the Black- cheeked Ant-Tanager Habia atrimaxillaris in the lowland forest area of the Golfo Dulce region?............................................................................................................................ 137 f. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 137 3 1. Acknowledgements I am grateful to the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía for granting the research permit (Resolución N° 079-2008-SINAC, 080-2009-SINAC, 081-2010-SINAC) to conduct this study, as I am to the staff of the Tropical Research Station, in particular Roy, Luis and Maria Sánchez. Neither do I want to forget the help of Werner Huber and Anton Weissenhofer. The fieldwork was partly supported by a KWA grant of the University of Vienna and various grants from local government of Lower Austria. As well, I am very much obliged to Dr. Christian H. Schulze for his scientific knowledge and assistance while researching and writing, and for not letting me down at the very end. He is a person to rely on. I am especially thankful to my partner Philipp Dürhammer, my family, my friends and my company, who supported me enormously during the stressful time of finishing this work. Without their help, it would not have been possible. I apologise to my little son Ruben who hardly has seen me in the last months. In particular, I want to thank my parents Brigitte Riedl-Milan and Christoph Riedl who raised me as an independent and hard-working woman, enabled me to study and always encouraged me to continue my education. 4 2. Curriculum vitae Mag. rer. nat. Gudrun Isabell Riedl * 24.7.1985, Vienna Citizenship: Austria Education 2017 Doctoral thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Dr. rer. nat. 2011 Degree in Business economics of Berufsförderungsinstitut (BFI) Austria Since 06/2008 Doctoral studies of biology at the University of Vienna, Ecology 27/05/2008 Master's Degree with distinction (Mag. rer. nat.) at University of Vienna, Ecology 2003 Matriculation with distinction at BG/BRG Perchtoldsdorf, Perchtoldsdorf Professional Career 07/2016-07/2017 Maternity leave Since 06/2012 Assistant at Werner Lampert BeratungsGmbH, 1010 Vienna Spring 2011 Research for WWF 06/2008-10/2010 Stay abroad at Costa Rica for Doctoral thesis 06-09/2007 Stay abroad at Costa Rica for Master thesis 07/2006 Laboratory at the department of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna 02/2005-06/2006 Contract for work: Austrian Research Centers/ Biotechnology Seibersdorf Publications Cornils, J. S., Riedl, I., Fricke, J., Katz, M. & Schulze, C. H. (2015). Population density and habitat preferences of the Black-cheeked Ant-tanager Habia atrimaxillaris. Bird Conservation International, 25(3), 306-321. Riedl, I. G., Fricke, J., Katz, M. & Schulze, C. H. (2010). Un caso extremo de ectoparasitismo de moscardón del género Philornis en tangara hormiguera carinegra Habia atrimaxillaris, endémica del Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. Zeledonia, 14(2), 39. 5 Riedl, I. G. & Schulze, C. H. (2010). Observación de manguito de veragua Anthracothorax veraguensis (Reichenbach 1855) en las tierras bajas del Pacífico sur de Costa Rica. Zeledonia (Costa Rica), 14(1), 21-27. Schulze, C. H. & Riedl, I. (2008). Bird assemblages of forested and human- modified countryside habitats in the Pacific lowlands of southern Costa Rica. Natural and cultural history of the Golfo Dulce Region, Costa Rica. Stapfia, 88, 395-408. 6 3. Abstract Recordings of an exceptionally rapid loss of biodiversity over the last few centuries indicate that we are in the middle of the sixth mass extinction. In birds, habitat fragmentation is well- known for its negative effect on diversity. Due to growth of human population, agricultural and settlement areas are especially expanding in tropical zones, which leads to the increasing fragmentation of natural habitats such as lowland rainforests. Human-modified habitats often act as effective barrier for forest species impeding movement between remaining forest fragments. Gallery forests embedded in such landscapes may provide structures used as biological corridors or stepping stones by forest species. However, their importance for facilitating the use of anthropogenically altered landscapes by forest species is only incompletely known. In my study, I examined the composition and structure of bird communities as well as temporal changes and nest predation rates in gallery forests and their surroundings in La Gamba, in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica. La Gamba is situated near the Esquinas Rainforest. The region is extremely species rich and is upvalued by the occurrence of the Black-cheecked Ant-Tanager Habia atrimaxillaris. This range-restricted species only was observed in forest interior and margin. Nevertheless, gallery forests turned out to inhabit a high bird richness comparable to pristine forests. However, richness of forest specialists decreased significantly from forest interior towards gallery forests. Their strip width and connectivity to the closed forest affected forest specialists positively. Most of the feeding guilds were favoured or not affected by the highly fragmented habitat gallery forest and only insectivores declined significantly from forest interior towards gallery forests. Temporal changes in bird species composition between survey periods could hardly be related to seasons (wet vs. dry season). For example frugivores, nectarivores, omnivores and granivores were higher abundant in the wet and dry season 2009, than in the dry
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