Tsunami impact on the population development of a critically endangered hummingbird species of a Pacific island

Autor: Ingo J. Hahn, Julia Baumeister, Gerardo E. Soto, Pablo M. Vergara, Uwe Römer
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Population Ecology. 57:143-149
ISSN: 1438-390X
1438-3896
DOI: 10.1007/s10144-014-0457-y
Popis: It is a long-standing question how tsunamis can influence wild populations of animals and plants. Here, we assessed short-term changes in the population of the criti- cally endangered Juan Fernandez Firecrown (Sephanoides fernandensis) by using abundance data recorded 1 year before and 1 year after the 2010 Chilean tsunami. We tested that the abundance of Firecrowns declined in the areas where the tsunami caused the massive loss of Cab- bage Trees, an important seasonal nectar source for Fi- recrowns. The abundance of Juan Fernandez Firecrowns decreased after the tsunami, but also was affected by the habitat type, altitude, and the abundance of Cabbage Trees. Firecrowns tended to be more abundant in settlement areas than in native forest whereas the reduction in Firecrown abundance after the tsunami was more intense in settlement areas than in native forest. As expected, this habitat effect was dependent on the massive loss of Cabbage Trees in settlement areas following the tsunami. In spite of the short-term nature of our data, our results are conclusive in showing that the loss of an important food source causes short-term changes in the distribution and abundance of Firecrowns, which, in turn, could contribute to population decline.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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