Management Effects on Hummingbird Abundance and Ecosystem Services in a Coffee Landscape

agroecology;conservation;ecosystem services;hummingbirds;School for Environment and Sustainability

Barney, SarahCortez-Ortiz, Liliana ;

University of Michigan

关键词: agroecology;    conservation;    ecosystem services;    hummingbirds;    School for Environment and Sustainability;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/149010/Barney-Thesis_15JAN2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Birds provide critical ecosystem services to farmers including pollination andbiological control. Yet, birds are sensitive to the habitat degradation thatoften results from agricultural intensification. Given this, we aim tounderstand the ecological role of hummingbirds on coffee farms and howthey are affected by coffee management practices. Hummingbird abundancewas measured across a gradient of coffee production intensity in Chiapas,Mexico and we investigated how their density was affected by a range ofmanagement practices, including shade cover, agrochemical use, flowerabundance and vegetation complexity. We also observed hummingbirdforaging behavior to gauge their role in pollination and pest control.Hummingbirds were significantly more abundant on shade coffee sitescompared to sun coffee sites, though sun coffee production did not present asignificant barrier to hummingbird movement across the landscape. Floralavailability, and specifically the abundance of a single species in theBignonia genus, was the best predictor of hummingbird abundance. Availableflowers were often lianas or epiphytes found growing on upper canopy treesscattered throughout the coffee farms. The resident hummingbird communitywas dominated by a single generalist species, the blue-tailed hummingbird(Amazilia cyanura), with low densities of three other species. Blue-tailedhummingbirds were observed foraging for insects within the coffee layer, aswell as visiting the flowers of native, ornamental and crop species. Given thehigh overall density of hummingbirds in the landscape, it is possible thathummingbirds play a significant role in both pollination and pest control. Topromote hummingbirds and their associated ecosystem services, we suggestcoffee farmers retain some upper canopy trees in their coffee plots and allowthem to accumulate flowering lianas and epiphytes. This low-cost, low-effortmanagement recommendation could enhance coffee yield in low-intensitysystems with benefits to hummingbird conservation, and forest birdconservation in general.