Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert

We assessed experimentally if the main granivorous bird species that feed on the ground in the central Monte desert are able to detect and consume seeds buried in the soil or trapped within litter. Understanding seed vulnerability to birds allows 1) a better understanding of how seed abundance trans...

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Autores principales: Cueto, V.R., Milesi, F.A., Marone, L.
Formato: JOUR
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09088857_v44_n4_p339_Cueto
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spelling todo:paper_09088857_v44_n4_p339_Cueto2023-10-03T15:44:36Z Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert Cueto, V.R. Milesi, F.A. Marone, L. avifauna desert food availability food consumption granivory habitat type microhabitat seasonal variation seed bank seed burial songbird vulnerability Argentina Mendoza Monte Desert Aves Cinnamomum verum Diuca Fringillidae Larrea Passeridae Poospiza ornata Prosopis Saltatricula multicolor We assessed experimentally if the main granivorous bird species that feed on the ground in the central Monte desert are able to detect and consume seeds buried in the soil or trapped within litter. Understanding seed vulnerability to birds allows 1) a better understanding of how seed abundance translates into seed availability, a necessary step to assess seed limitation scenarios, and 2) whether birds alter the distribution of soil seeds through their consumption. Rufous-collared sparrows found and consumed high proportions of buried seeds, though less seeds were eaten at increasing depths. In contrast, many-colored chaco-finches, common diuca-finches and cinnamon warbling-finches did not find buried seeds. All bird species fed on every substrate offered but, as a whole, birds reduced by 50% their seed consumption in Prosopis litter, and by 30% in Larrea litter, compared to consumption in bare soil. This effect was less notable for rufous-collared sparrows, whose 'double scratch' foraging method would contribute to its great diet breath and abundance in the Monte desert. As birds do not reach a fraction of seeds buried and trapped by litter, seeds readily available for them may be scarcer than previously estimated through soil seed bank studies. Furthermore, since the four bird species detect and consume seeds from littered microhabitats, seed consumption by them surely affects the seasonal dynamics of the soil seed bank in all microhabitat types of the Monte desert. © 2013 The Author. Journal of Avian Biology © 2013 Nordic Society Oikos. Fil:Cueto, V.R. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Milesi, F.A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09088857_v44_n4_p339_Cueto
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic avifauna
desert
food availability
food consumption
granivory
habitat type
microhabitat
seasonal variation
seed bank
seed burial
songbird
vulnerability
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
Aves
Cinnamomum verum
Diuca
Fringillidae
Larrea
Passeridae
Poospiza ornata
Prosopis
Saltatricula multicolor
spellingShingle avifauna
desert
food availability
food consumption
granivory
habitat type
microhabitat
seasonal variation
seed bank
seed burial
songbird
vulnerability
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
Aves
Cinnamomum verum
Diuca
Fringillidae
Larrea
Passeridae
Poospiza ornata
Prosopis
Saltatricula multicolor
Cueto, V.R.
Milesi, F.A.
Marone, L.
Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert
topic_facet avifauna
desert
food availability
food consumption
granivory
habitat type
microhabitat
seasonal variation
seed bank
seed burial
songbird
vulnerability
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
Aves
Cinnamomum verum
Diuca
Fringillidae
Larrea
Passeridae
Poospiza ornata
Prosopis
Saltatricula multicolor
description We assessed experimentally if the main granivorous bird species that feed on the ground in the central Monte desert are able to detect and consume seeds buried in the soil or trapped within litter. Understanding seed vulnerability to birds allows 1) a better understanding of how seed abundance translates into seed availability, a necessary step to assess seed limitation scenarios, and 2) whether birds alter the distribution of soil seeds through their consumption. Rufous-collared sparrows found and consumed high proportions of buried seeds, though less seeds were eaten at increasing depths. In contrast, many-colored chaco-finches, common diuca-finches and cinnamon warbling-finches did not find buried seeds. All bird species fed on every substrate offered but, as a whole, birds reduced by 50% their seed consumption in Prosopis litter, and by 30% in Larrea litter, compared to consumption in bare soil. This effect was less notable for rufous-collared sparrows, whose 'double scratch' foraging method would contribute to its great diet breath and abundance in the Monte desert. As birds do not reach a fraction of seeds buried and trapped by litter, seeds readily available for them may be scarcer than previously estimated through soil seed bank studies. Furthermore, since the four bird species detect and consume seeds from littered microhabitats, seed consumption by them surely affects the seasonal dynamics of the soil seed bank in all microhabitat types of the Monte desert. © 2013 The Author. Journal of Avian Biology © 2013 Nordic Society Oikos.
format JOUR
author Cueto, V.R.
Milesi, F.A.
Marone, L.
author_facet Cueto, V.R.
Milesi, F.A.
Marone, L.
author_sort Cueto, V.R.
title Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert
title_short Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert
title_full Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert
title_fullStr Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert
title_full_unstemmed Litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the Monte desert
title_sort litter and seed burying alter food availability and foraging efficiency of granivorous birds in the monte desert
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09088857_v44_n4_p339_Cueto
work_keys_str_mv AT cuetovr litterandseedburyingalterfoodavailabilityandforagingefficiencyofgranivorousbirdsinthemontedesert
AT milesifa litterandseedburyingalterfoodavailabilityandforagingefficiencyofgranivorousbirdsinthemontedesert
AT maronel litterandseedburyingalterfoodavailabilityandforagingefficiencyofgranivorousbirdsinthemontedesert
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