Bamboo Birds Specialization in Southeastern Peru admin By Pepe Rojas (A freeland bird guide who has spend several years in the Tambopata area – [email protected]) Campylorhamph us Trochilirostris Bird diversity reaches is zenith in the western part of the Amazon lowlands of South America; the more than 500 species of bird that have been recorded in the Explorer’s Inn area being an example of this. At Cocha Cashu within Manu National Park in southeastern Peru, Scott Robinson and Ted Parker established an amazing record of324 species of birds recorded in one day and at one site, in less than a 2 mile radius, and entirely on foot or in canoe. One of the reasons for this high diversity is the diversity of habitats found in the region and the high degree of specialization that species have develop to exploit these habitats. Amongst these groups of species that have evolved a specializat ion with specific habitats are the “bamboo specialists” that live entirely in areas dominated by giant bamboo. Bamboo stalks belonging to the genus Guadua are an important component in the landscape of the rainforest in areas in Southwestern Amazon especially in Madre de Dios, located in Southeastern Peru. Madre de Dios is particularly well knows for its incredible biodiversity, being considered a global hotspot by Conservation International. Impenetrable stands of bamboo cover huge areas, often along rivers, but are otherwise patchily distributed creating bamboo dominated forest in some areas. Growing in a very dense, monotypic stands, it gives a unique habitat for birds. Although bamboo is the dominant species, some small understorey shrubs occur and emergent trees may rise out of the bamboo. The bamboo undergoes cyclical die-offs where the bamboo flowers, sets seed and then dies off. During the 1980s, the late Ted Parker, who spent many years studying the avifauna in Tambopata area, discovered the occurrence of certain species of birds restricted to
Transcript
8/3/2019 bamboo birds specialization in southeastern peru
By Pepe Rojas (A freeland bird guide who has spend several years in theTambopata area – [email protected])
Campylorhamphus Trochilirostris
Bird diversity reaches is zenith in the western part of the Amazon lowlands of South America; the more than 500 species of bird that have been recorded in the Explorer’sInn area being an example of this. At Cocha Cashu within Manu National Park insoutheastern Peru, Scott Robinson and Ted Parker established an amazing record of
324 species of birds recorded in one day and at one site, in less than a 2 mile radius,and entirely on foot or in canoe. One of the reasons for this high diversity is thediversity of habitats found in the region and the high degree of specialization thatspecies have develop to exploit these habitats. Amongst these groups of species thathave evolved a specialization with specific habitats are the “bamboo specialists” thatlive entirely in areas dominated by giant bamboo.
Bamboo stalks belonging to the genus Guadua are an important component in thelandscape of the rainforest in areas in Southwestern Amazon especially in Madre de
Dios, located in Southeastern Peru. Madre de Dios is particularly well knows for itsincredible biodiversity, being considered a global hotspot by ConservationInternational. Impenetrable stands of bamboo cover huge areas, often along rivers, but are otherwise patchily distributed creating bamboo dominated forest in someareas. Growing in a very dense, monotypic stands, it gives a unique habitat for birds. Although bamboo is the dominant species, some small understorey shrubs occur andemergent trees may rise out of the bamboo. The bamboo undergoes cyclical die-offs where the bamboo flowers, sets seed and then dies off.
During the 1980s, the late Ted Parker, who spent many years studying the avifaunain Tambopata area, discovered the occurrence of certain species of birds restricted to
8/3/2019 bamboo birds specialization in southeastern peru
bamboo forests in Explorer’s Inn area. Parker considered that these species weregenerally scarce, due to their habitat, but later, with improved knowledge of theircalls, found the species to be more common in other areas of bamboo farther upriver.
Microrhopias Quixensis
In 1992, Parker with a group of researchers known as the RAP (Rapid AssessmentProgram) Team from Conservation International went to this area know as the“Collpa de Guacamayos” (the macaw’s clay lick) to do some surveys. A graduatestudent from Louisiana State University, Andrew Kratter, formed part of the teamand he subsequently stayed on to study the bamboo birds as part of his doctoralresearch. Kratter mapped territories of understory and subcanopy birds to determinethe species associated with bamboo thickets and he defined a bird as “bamboospecialist” by the frequency of occurrence in this habitat and its absence in all theother habitats at the study site.
Kratter found a group of 19 species that met the criteria he used for his research. Sixhe classified as “obligate bamboo users” as they were entirely restricted to bamboothickets, seven were consider “near-obligate bamboo users” because they seems tooccur almost wholly within or near bamboo thickets but they were occasionally
recorded in other habitats, and six were considered “facultative bamboo users” asthey also used habitats other than bamboo regularly. In addition of these 19 birdsthat met his criteria to qualify as “bamboo specialists”, he also registered anadditional 13 species closely associated with bamboo but which were, either too rare,or too infrequently recorded in his study areas to be considered “bamboo specialists”. Amongst these were seven that were frequently found in bamboo but also used treefall gaps and river edges and six that were considered to apparently be bamboospecialists but were too rarely recorded.
Obligate Bamboo Users
• Celeus spectabilis
8/3/2019 bamboo birds specialization in southeastern peru
Within the Amazon, bamboo specialization tends to be a phenomena mainly found inthe south-western region adjacent to the Andean foothills; although some of thespecies involved, particularly the species that are not obligate bamboo users have wider ranges and are found in other habitats elsewhere. Several of the bamboo
specialists have sister taxa in southeastern Brazil, which are also bamboo specialists,suggesting that bamboo specialization evolved when both regions were connected by bamboo.
The bamboo-dominated forest of Madre de Dios also supports several other animalsthat are restricted to the habitat including the Bamboo Rat (hard to see but easily heard at night), a poison-arrow frog and several species of butterfly and dragonfly.Bamboo specialist bird species are most readily found at any of a number of lodgeson the Manu and Tambopata Rivers in Madre de Dios. Birding bamboo can be very rewarding for the visiting birder, but beware the very sharp thorns on the bamboo
that can open flesh; a good trail is a great advantage. Many of the bamboo specialistsare retiring and can be hard to see, knowledge of vocalizations or a local guide arekey to getting to grips with some of these highly sought after specialties.
Hypocnemis cantator
Note: This article is courtesy of the “comision de promocion del
