Brazil: Forest fragmentation for birds and importance of stepping stone fragments

A new study, conducted in the Brazilian Amazon, takes a detailed look
at the types of birds that are likely to persist, and even thrive, in
forest fragments. Collecting field data on the behavior of
forest-dependent bird species, Alexander Lees and Carlos Peres of the
University of East Anglia found that species persistence in isolated
fragments was strongly linked to their ability to cross gaps
consisting of non-forest habitat.

The most capable gap-crossers were
medium to large-bodied bird species that feed on seeds, fruit, and
insects. Gap-crossing is strongly influenced by the degree of
isolation, a combination of gap width and the vegetation or “matrix”
surrounding a forest fragment. The less isolated a patch, the more
likely it is to be visited, and perhaps colonized, by bird species.

Armed with this information, Lees and Peres suggest that wide gaps
between fragments can be made more hospitable to bird movement by
maintaining, establishing, or restoring riparian forest buffers,
“stepping-stone” structures like clusters of trees and “living
fences”. Such efforts may also facilitate movement by other forest
creatures, including mammals and insects. “Reducing the number and
width of forest dividing gaps; maintaining and/or creating forest
corridors and increasing matrix permeability through the creation and
maintenance of ‘stepping-stone’ structures will maximize the species
retention in fragmented tropical forest landscapes,” they write.
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0127-forest_fragments.html

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