Abstract

VILLATE-SUAREZ, Carlos Andrés  and  CORTES-PEREZ, Francisco. Bird perches as restoration strategy in the micro-basin of La Vega River, Tunja, Boyacá. Rev. acad. colomb. cienc. exact. fis. nat. [online]. 2018, vol.42, n.164, pp.202-211. ISSN 0370-3908.  https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.625.

Perches for birds are structures that may influence seed dispersal and boost the succession. The riparian areas of La Vega micro-basin are characterized by the presence of exotic species, pastures with livestock purposes, and loss of native vegetation. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the bird perches on the riverbank as a restoration strategy, as well as their influence on seed dispersal and seedling recruitment. To do so, we designed an experiment with three treatments, T0: without perches, T1: with artificial perches, and T2: with natural perches. We placed a trap under each perch to retain dispersed seeds and we captured birds to retrieve the seeds from their feces and determine the main dispersing bird species and the main dispersed vegetal species. The de U Mann-Whitney test showed that the treatment with the artificial perches favored the dispersion of ornitocorous plants seeds. However, seedling recruitment in the plots under the perches was not significant. The main dispersing species were Turdus fuscater and Pheucticus aureoventris and the most dispersed seeds those of Acacia melanoxylon, Muehlenbeckia tamnifolia, and Morella pubescens. In conclusion, artificial perches increased seed dispersal, but the recruitment under them was limited despite implementing soil scarification to eliminate the competition with early succession species.

Keywords : Birds; Ecology restoration; Seed dispersal; Seedling recruitment; Seed rain.

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