Dissertation Research: Spatio-Temporal Variation in Habitat Use and Foraging Behavior of Migrant Neotropical Warblers During Nonbreeding Seasons

鸟类生态学家的一个主要目标是量化和 解释物种共存和群落的模式 结构 直到最近，这一领域的重点一直放在 在繁殖季节对温带地区的鸟类造成的影响。 然而，由于物种可能受到最严格的限制， 在非繁殖季节（冬季和 在20世纪80年代，生态学家强调了全年的 鸟类群落结构与觅食研究的探讨 生态 除了这些理论上的考虑， 热带原生植被的不幸破坏 需要立即采取行动评估生境改变的影响 对越冬候鸟和留鸟的影响 本研究 调查了新热带鸟类中一些尚未解决的问题 越冬地和迁徙地的生态。 具体地说， 影响：（1）植被结构，（2）食物资源，（3） 异性和同种的存在，和（4）季节上的 迁徙林莺的觅食生态学和栖息地利用 将对伯利兹、中美洲和田纳西州进行评估。 同时定量上述变量将提供 深入了解它们对个人、人口和 社区层面。 这些结果的整合可以阐明 对人口的全年生态限制 在温带地区繁殖的新热带候鸟。

A major goal of avian ecologists has been to quantify and explain patterns of species co-occurrence and community structure. Until recently, most emphasis in this area was placed on birds at temperate latitudes during the breeding season. However, because species may be subjected to the most stringent selective pressures during the nonbreeding seasons (winter and migration), ecologists in the 1980s have emphasized a year-round approach to the study of bird community structure and foraging ecology. In addition to those theoretical considerations, the unfortunate destruction of native tropical vegetation creates a need for immediate action to assess effects of habitat alteration on overwintering migrant and resident bird species. This study investigates a number of unresolved problems in neotropical bird ecology on wintering grounds and in migration. Specifically, effects of: (1) vegetation structure, (2) food resources, (3) presence of hetero- and conspecifics, and (4) season on the foraging ecology of and habitat use by migrant wood-warblers in Belize, Central America, and Tennessee will be assessed. Simultaneous quantification of the above variables will provide insight into their effects at the individual, population, and community levels. Integration of these results can elucidate the year-round ecological constraints imposed on populations of migrant neotropical birds that breed in temperate areas.