Abstract

HERRERA RODRIGUEZ, Elvis  and  SALGADO ORTIZ, Javier. Avian diversity in irrigated and rain feed agricultural fields in the lower basin of Lake Cuitzeo, Michoacán. Huitzil [online]. 2014, vol.15, n.1, pp.17-30. ISSN 1870-7459.

Natural protected areas represent the main strategy for biodiversity conservation. However, in México only 12.93% of its territory is under legal protection. Given these circumstances, it is necessary to find alternative conservation strategies. Agroecosystems (human managed ecosystems) can be one of such alternative strategies because of their potential to be productive habitats for some wildlife species. Agroecosystems have been found to harbour substantial bird richness; however, there are few studies of birds in Mexican agroecosystems. In this study, we compared avian diversity in two types of agroecosystems of the basin of Lake Cuitzeo, in Michoacán, to evaluate their importance for bird conservation in the region. We sampled birds in areas of irrigated and rain feed agricultural fields from February 2009 to February 2010. We detected 99 species in 143 point counts, 64% of the species reported for the original vegetation in the area. Species richness was similar between irrigated and rain feed fields; however, insectivores were more abundant in irrigated fields, while granivores were more abundant in rain feed fields. Irrigated fields were more diverse than rain feed fields. The similarity between these agroecosystems was 0.62 (Morisita-Horn) and 44 species were shared by both. A good proportion of birds inhabit these agroecosystems, therefore, we consider them to be important for bird conservation in the region.

Keywords : agrobiodiversity; farmland birds.

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