中科院版纳植物园揭示鸟类集群及其关键种保护在鸟类物种保存

越来越多的人类活动日益影响着森林生态景观，进而影响其生态系统。深入理解人类活动对生物及其物种间关系产生的影响能够使人们更加有效地进行物种保护。多物种共存的鸟类集群能够通过降低被捕食压力和提高取食效率，形成一个庞大的互利群体，从而增加集群内部物种存活的几率。

中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园动植物关系组的研究人员为深入了解鸟类集群对人类干扰的响应，分别对斯里兰卡及印度西高止山脉不同干扰程度生境中的鸟类集群进行研究，结果发现：1)偏好集群生活的鸟类更易受到人类活动的影响;2)鸟类集群对人类干扰的响应受其主导鸟类物种的影响;3)那些既能够生活在森林内部又能够生活在外部的鸟类由于其具有更强的适应力，在鸟类集群中较为多见。因此，保护鸟类集群及其关键种在保护人为干扰农林生态系统的鸟类中起重要作用。

研究结果以Does mixed-species flocking influence how birds respond to a gradient of land-use intensity? 为题在线发表在Proceedings of the Royal Society B: BioLogical sciences 期刊上。

原文链接：

Does mixed-species flocking influence how birds respond to a grADIent of land-use intensity?

原文摘要：

Conservation biology is increasingly concerned with preserving interactions among species such as mutualisms in landscapes facing anthropogenic change. We investigated how one kind of mutualism, mixed-species bird flocks, influences the way in which birds respond to different habitat types of varying land-use intensity. We use data from a well-replicated, large-scale study in Sri Lanka and the western Ghats of India, in which flocks were observed inside forest reserves, in ‘buffer zones’ of degraded forest or timber plantations, and in areas of intensive agriculture. We find flocks affected the responses of birds in three ways: (i) species with high propensity to flock were more sensitive to land use; (ii) different flock types, dominated by different flock leaders, varied in their sensitivity to land use and because following species have distinct preferences for leaders, this can have a cascading effect on followers’ habitat selection; and (iii) those forest-interior species that remain outside of forests were found more inside flocks than would be expected by chance, as they may use flocks more in suboptimal habitat. We conclude that designing policies to protect flocks and their leading species may be an effective way to conserve multiple bird species in mixed forest and agricultural landscapes.

作者：Mammides C