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生和群落结构的模式。直到最近，这一地区的重点还放在温带地区繁殖季节的鸟类身上。然而，由于物种在非繁殖季节（冬季和迁徙）可能受到最严格的选择压力，生态学家在20世纪80年代强调了全年方法来研究鸟类群落结构和觅食生态学。除了这些理论上的考虑之外，热带原生植被不幸遭到破坏，因此需要立即采取行动，评估生境改变对越冬候鸟和留鸟物种的影响。本研究探讨了新热带鸟类在越冬地和迁徙中的一些尚未解决的生态问题。具体而言，将评估：(1)植被结构，(2)食物资源，(3)异种和同种物种的存在，以及(4)季节对伯利兹、中美洲和田纳西州候鸟觅食生态和栖息地利用的影响。同时对上述变量进行量化，将有助于深入了解它们在个人、人口和社区层面的影响。综合这些结果可以阐明在温带地区繁殖的候鸟种群的全年生态约束。

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.