CONTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USES TO BIRD CONSERVATION: A CASE STUDY OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICE PROVISIONING A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy with a Major in Natural Resources in the College of Graduate Studies University of Idaho by María Alejandra Martínez Salinas Major Professors: Kerri Vierling, Ph.D.; Fabrice DeClerck, Ph.D. Committee Members: Jacques Avelino, Ph.D.; Lee Vierling, Ph.D. Department Administrator: Lisette Waits, PhD November 2016 ii AUTHORIZATION TO SUBMIT DISSERTATION This disse1iation of Maria Alejandra Maiiinez Salinas. submitted for the Degree of Doctorate ofI'hilosophy with a Major in Natural Resources and titled "Contribution of agricultural land ·uses to bird conservation: a case study of ecosystem service provisioning," has been reviewed in final form. Permission. as indicated by the signatures and dates below, is now g!'anted to submit final copies to the College of Graduate Studies for approval. Major Professors: Date: -d-aJ?viC<- De (l,.,,_c-L ~ Date: 1? /, /'dQtl,, Fabrice DeClerck. Ph.D. 8 1 Committee Members: to..c9;iV-€S Avefz;..,.,._,:, Date: \ :i_ f, /::2o \o Jacques Avelino, Ph.D. Date: Department Date: I ;;JI / Administrator ~Mt2~ I /VJ Lisette Waits, Ph.D. iii Abstract Understanding the contribution of agricultural land uses to biodiversity conservation is of utmost importance. With 38% of earth’s ice free land surface covered by crops and pastures, studying and understanding the potential conservation value of these lands is critical for the future of conservation strategies, particularly in biodiversity conservation hotspots such as Central America. My research focused on understanding the contribution of different agricultural land uses and a forest fragment to bird conservation in a Costa Rican landscape. The study region is located at the heart of the Volcanica Central Talamanca Biological Corridor (VCTBC), a national conservation strategy aiming at reconnecting the Volcanica Central and the Talamanca Mountain Ranges. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are based on seven years of bird capture data produced by long-term mist-netting stations operating in eight different land uses, seven agricultural and a forest fragment. Chapter 1 comprises lessons learned during seven years of mist-netting efforts in eight land uses following a management intensity gradient. Chapter 2 focuses on bird community stability, stability understood as no changes from year to year in mean species richness and abundance of either the total population, or of resident and migratory species over a seven year period. Chapter 3 is based on an experimental study focusing on the effect of bird species in the suppression of the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei), one of the most detrimental coffee pests worldwide. Results from our research highlights the importance of including agricultural land uses in biodiversity conservation planning. Agroforestry systems particularly showed potential for bird conservation in agricultural landscapes while fostering stable bird communities that are closer in composition to our reference forest fragment. Additionally, our results also showed that our landscape is capable of supporting bird species providing important pest control services. Finally, despite the value of agricultural land uses our results also highlight that our forest fragment fosters unique bird communities when compared to agricultural lands. Conservation planning at the landscape level should considered the uniqueness of these habitats and integrate efforts to conserve forests and managed agricultural lands for biodiversity conservation, particularly in these human-dominated landscapes. iii iv Acknowledgements I thank my major advisors Kerri Vierling and Fabrice DeClerck for every meeting, every informal conversation, every word of advice and for all the time you have spent guiding me in the right direction. Thanks above all for your patience and understanding. I thank my committee members Lee Vierling and Jacques Avelino for all their help and all the useful comments always at the right moments. I thank all of you mostly for sharing your ideas and knowledge in the most uninterested way, I’ve been truly honor to have worked and learned from you all. Thanks for all your guidance, but most importantly thanks for your friendship. I thank the University of Idaho and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for funds that allow me to enroll in the Joint Doctoral Program between the University of Idaho and CATIE. The University of Idaho provided funds through a two-year Foster Fellowship from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences in the College of Natural Resources. The US Fish and Wildlife Service provided funds through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Program (NMBCA; grant F11AP01025). Additional funding for DNA analysis and field work was provided by the CGIAR research program on Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE) and the Perennial Crop Platform (PCP). The Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) from the University of Idaho also provided me with travelling funds. I thank dozens of volunteers from different countries and ages who in the course of our nine years of Bird Monitoring have help me collect data. Thanks to all of you wherever you are. I thank Landon Jones and his “Toucan Warriors” for all their help during the coffee berry borer experiment and during mist-netting events. Thanks mostly to Amilkar Moncada Rodríguez who has been my ally for the last five years, thanks for sharing those early mornings and for your love of the natural world. Thanks also for stepping up and taking a more active role as field station manager during the last three years. Thanks to Fabrice DeClerck and Rachelle DeClerck for inviting me to join this long-term adventure. Thanks for pancakes and waffles in the field, coffee at 5.00 a.m., everything bagels with cream cheese and jelly, but above all thanks for letting me feel I was also part of your family. You guys are awesome! I thank Alejandro Molina, manager of the CATIE farm and farm workers for their friendly demeanor and willingness to help us when in need. I thank Carlos Cordero from iv v CATIE’s Botanical Garden and CATIE authorities whom over the years have allowed us to use the CATIE campus premises to run our mist-netting stations. The Bird Monitoring Program have received funding from several different sources, to all of them our eternal gratitude. We thank CATIE, the Tropics Foundation, Optics for the Tropics, the Wallace Genetic Foundation, Idea Wild, LightHawk, the Perennial Crop Platform (PCP), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service through their Wildlife Without Borders Program (Agreements 98210-8G709, 96200-0-G068 and Project F14AP00745). I thank all administrative personnel both at CATIE and at the University of Idaho. Particularly Aranjid Valverde, Jeannette Solano, Kenneth Royo, Francisco Jiménez, Mario Piedra, Cheri Cole, Tammi Johnson, Lynne Kittner, Katherine Clancy, and Jory Shelton. I am also in debt with University of Idaho faculty and JDP committee members Jo Ellen Force, Lisette Waits, Sanford Eigenbrode and Nilsa Bosque-Pérez. In the CATIE GAMMA Program I thank Johana Gamboa and Braulio Cerdas for all their help. I thank all my colleagues, classmates and friends during my time in Moscow. Thanks to all the “cave dwellers” for all the office talk/madness and all the fun times together. Particularly thanks to Carissa, Paul, Emily, Kerry, Joe, Matt, Charis and my stat pals Gifford, John and Stefanie. Thanks to all the IGERT gang, I have great memories of you all. Particularly to the San Juan la Selva (Kate, Andre, Ricardo, Irene), Hojancha (Simón, Sara, Óscar, Mo) and Turrialba (Kristen, Levi, Taylor, Reneé) Team’s. Thanks to the “Fantastic Vierling 4” for all the fun times and for your friendship. Thanks to Alex and Natalia for their friendship, for the great conversations and all the fun we had together. Thanks to all my friends in Nicaragua, in Costa Rica, and in many other places around the world. Thanks to Nancy, Ricardo, Kate, Dave, Kristen, Jehan, Óscar, Simón, Lizbeth, Andre, Aline, Zayra, Amilkar, Claudia, Marilyn, Allan, Rebecca, Emily, Carlos, and Christian “el mae”. Special thanks to my dearest friends Zayra, Aline, Kelly, Natalia, and Adina… “Chicas Súper-poderosas”, to my pofi Sergio and Carlitos. I’m thankful for being surrounded by truly smart, fun, amazing human beings! v vi Dedication Con amor y admiración para Róger Mamá, Papá, Elisa y Rommel Renata y Lucas… para que nunca menosprecien “la importancia de la guerra de las flores y los corderos” y para que cuando sean adultos una parte de ellos sea residente permanente del asteroide B612 vii Table of Contents Authorization to Submit .......................................................................................................... ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iv Dedication ................................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................x