BNPP Functional connectivity for birds that depend on forest patches in a fragmented landscape, Matiguas Nicaragua

The increasing transformation of forested surfaces in response to the need for areas that could be used in productive activities requires that conservation efforts depend not only on the management and conservation of the already protected areas but also on the encouragement of conservation strategies that come from the very productive systems. Matiguás faces many problems related to the loss and fragmentation of their habitats due to cattle farming activities. Different studies emphasizing biodiversity have been conducted but there is still little knowledge about the condition or behaviour of the forest-dependent species that still remain in this highly fragmented landscape. In an effort to generate knowledge of this type three different forest-dependent species (Chiroxiphia linearis, Thryothorus rufalbus y Thamnophilus doliatus) where selected to evaluate body condition and movements along the landscape. Four different forest patches and a control were selected where birds were captured and information about fat storage, muscle condition, and weight was taken. Linear transects were located in three different habitat types surrounding the forest patches to evaluate their usage. Furthermore the T. rufalbus species was chosen to conduct a telemetry experiment to gather information about movement and usage of the habitat in ten different forest patches, five connected and other five isolated. Home ranges of the individuals were constructed using the ArcView GIS 3.3 program and the Animal Movement extension; the data used for this purpose was also utilized to validate a structural connectivity proposal. Body condition resulted significant (P = 0,0189) for the variable muscle in the C. linearis. Home ranges were constructed for ten different individuals; a lmost all of the birds used only forest patches during their daily movements, avoiding any other type of habitat. Minimum friction values used to generate the structural connectivity proposal match up with the habitats where the individuals moved during our telemetry experiment. Forest patches remaining in this landscape are critical for the T. rufalbus. There were very few observations of the focal species outside forest patches. The preservation and increment of the amount and size of forest patches and the connections between them is imperative in order to conserve some of the forest-dependent species that still prevailed in this landscape