COLOMBO — Forest fragmentation is considered one of the main threats to biodiversity. Many believe this primarily affects small creatures like amphibians and small mammals, while mobile creatures such as birds are less impacted due to their ability to fly. However, new research coming out of Sri Lanka shows how forest fragmentation can restrict even the movement of birds, especially forest specialists that inhabit the understory of the forest, leaving serious impacts on the feathered kind. To study this phenomenon, Sri Lankan scientist Salindra Kasun Dayananda of Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School Institute of Environment and Ecology selected two species: the brown-capped babbler and Tickell’s blue flycatcher. The brown-capped babbler (Pellorneum fuscocapillus), an endemic bird that inhabits the understory of forests, is called a forest specialist because it heavily relies on forest habitats for survival. In contrast, the Tickell’s blue flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is considered a forest generalist, capable of thriving in a variety of habitats, including disturbed or fragmented ecosystems. The research team used a technique called “experimental translocations,” in which they caught birds from forest habitats, tagged them with radio transmitters and released them in nearby rubber or tea plantations at a distance of half a kilometer (0.3 miles). As a control, other birds of the same species were released within the forest patch at the same distance to monitor their homing behavior in comparison with the rubber plantations. The team then tracked the birds using radio transmitter signals to monitor their movements. Kasun Dayananda trying to locate…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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