Abstract

SUAREZ-GARCIA, Omar; GONZALEZ-GARCIA, Fernando  and  CELIS-MURILLO, Antonio. Understanding the complementarity of two survey methods in the study of bird communities during the breeding season in a tropical cloud forest. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2017, vol.88, n.4, pp.880-887. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmb.2017.10.029.

Point counts are the most commonly used survey method for the study of birds in the tropics. However, thanks to the development of new sound recording technologies, the bioacoustic method has recently been suggested as an alternative to point counts or to complement them. In this study, we examined the estimates of richness, diversity, community structure and composition, number of species detected at each sampling point and probabilities of species occupancy and detection, obtained using the point count method and the bioacoustic method individually or in a complementary way. This study was carried out in the Cloud Forest Sanctuary of Xalapa, Veracruz, during the breeding season of the birds. A total of 32 species were recorded using point count method, 37 species using the bioacoustic method and 38 species with both methods simultaneously. The sampling efficiency was 94% for point counts, 84% for the bioacoustic method and 95% for the combination of methods. Six species were detected exclusively with the bioacoustic method, while only one species was recorded exclusively with point counts. Although the results do not show a clear superiority of the simultaneous use of both methods, we recommend it because it lets to make additional records and offers the possibility of store bird recordings.

Keywords : Bioacoustic method; Point counts; Sound recordings; Detection probability; Occupancy; Multimethod.

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