International Journal of Molecular Zoology 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 97-110 http://animalscipublisher.com/index.php/ijmz 102 assess the impact of forest fragments on bird communities. The results indicated that forest fragments significantly affected bird diversity and habitat patterns, with lower bird diversity and abundance typically observed at the fragment edges compared to the fragment interiors and continuous forests (Figure 2). These findings underscore the importance of preserving continuous forests and reducing forest fragmentation to maintain biodiversity. Figure 2 Map of the study site and the ranches with forest fragments (Adopted from Luther et al., 2020) Image caption: The map indicates the locations of the mistnet lines, blue are interior fragment nets and red are fragment edge nets, within the fragments. The white regions indicate continuous forest, green represents the forest that was cleared and gray represents the fragments of forest that remained after the forest was cleared (Adopted from Luther et al., 2020) Moreover, the effects of fragmentation on genetic diversity can vary significantly among species. A comparative study on eight tropical bird species revealed that habitat specialists are more adversely affected by fragmentation than generalists, indicating that ecological traits play a crucial role in determining a species' genetic response to habitat fragmentation (Khimoun et al., 2016). This finding underscores the importance of considering species-specific traits in conservation strategies to maintain genetic diversity and population viability in fragmented landscapes. 5.2 Dispersal and colonization abilities Dispersal and colonization abilities are critical for the survival of bird populations in fragmented habitats. Fragmentation can create barriers to movement, reducing the ability of birds to disperse and colonize new areas. For example, a study on a Neotropical rainforest bird (Pyriglena leucoptera) found that individuals from fragmented landscapes exhibited higher resistance to boundary-crossing and increased dispersal success compared to those from continuous forests, suggesting that birds can adapt their dispersal behavior to fragmented environments (Cornelius et al., 2017). However, not all species exhibit such adaptive behaviors. Research on tropical forest birds in Panama showed extreme variation in flight capabilities among species, with some unable to traverse even short distances between fragments, highlighting the importance of maintaining connectivity to support dispersal and colonization (Moore et al., 2008).
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