Data from: Comparative demographics of a Hawaiian forest bird community

Estimates of demographic parameters such as survival and reproductive
success are critical for guiding management efforts focused on species of
conservation concern. Unfortunately, reliable demographic parameters are
difficult to obtain for any species, but especially for rare or endangered
species. Here we derived estimates of adult survival and recruitment in a
community of Hawaiian forest birds, including eight native species (of
which three are endangered) and two introduced species at Hakalau Forest
National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaiʻi. Integrated population models (IPM) were
used to link mark–recapture data (1994–1999) with long-term population
surveys (1987–2008). To our knowledge, this is the first time that IPM
have been used to characterize demographic parameters of a whole avian
community, and provides important insights into the life history
strategies of the community. The demographic data were used to test two
hypotheses: 1) arthropod specialists, such as the ‘Akiapōlā‘au Hemignathus
munroi, are ‘slower’ species characterized by a greater relative
contribution of adult survival to population growth, i.e. lower fecundity
and increased adult survival; and 2) a species’ susceptibility to
environmental change, as reflected by its conservation status, can be
predicted by its life history traits. We found that all species were
characterized by a similar population growth rate around one,
independently of conservation status, origin (native vs non-native),
feeding guild, or life history strategy (as measured by ‘slowness’), which
suggested that the community had reached an equilibrium. However, such
stable dynamics were achieved differently across feeding guilds, as
demonstrated by a significant increase of adult survival and a significant
decrease of recruitment along a gradient of increased insectivory, in
support of hypothesis 1. Supporting our second hypothesis, we found that
slower species were more vulnerable species at the global scale than
faster ones. The possible causes and conservation implications of these
patterns are discussed.