PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #43: Avian Ecology.
Thursday, August 9, 2001. Presentation from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM. Exhibition Hall

A comparative bird diversity study at Ancon de Iturre-Quisiro Dry Forest, Estado Zulia, Venezuela .

WEIR, ENRIQUE¹, GIL DE WEIR, KARINE¹, CASLER, CLARK¹, ¹

ABSTRACT- Abstract: A study of bird species composition and abundance was done, from January 1999 to December 2000 in Ancon de Iturre-Quisiro tropical dry forest (Zulia State, Venezuela). This habitat borders the Los Olivitos faunal refuge and fish reserve, a protected mangrove area. For many years this area has been changing due to anthropogenic activities, related to agriculture and aquaculture practices. At present, the landscape is basically integrated by: a homogeneous dry forest and patches of grassland, shrub and cactus areas. The patches are a result of these agriculture and aquaculture practices. Point and Transect methods were used to estimate bird species composition and abundance in these habitats. Four transects (Two of 1 km, and two of 12 km) were studied. A range abundance diagram for bird species shows a Log-Normal Distribution of the birds population abundances only in the tropical dry forest habitats. A cluster analysis shows that wind velocity and rain were two of the main factors that generated changes in the species diversity in the patches areas. A high species diversity integrated by birds that use only the tropical dry forest, only the patches areas, and both habitats was shown. The tropical dry forest bird species has been observed in other zones of Venezuela at differents altitudes, but the bird species related with the grassland areas has also been observed in the coastal of Los Olivitos mangrove forest.

KEY WORDS: Avian Ecology, Tropical dry forest, Ancon de Iturre-Quisiro, Birds Diversity