La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Avifauna associated with ephemeral ponds on the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee
Auteurs :	Brett R. Scheffers, Auteur ; J. Berton C. Harris, Auteur ; David G. Haskell, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Journal of Field Ornithology (77(2) SPR 2006)
Article en page(s) :	178-183
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	Although ephemeral ponds act as small hotspots of plant, invertebrate, and salamander diversity, the importance of such ponds for birds has been little studied. We hypothesized that ephemeral ponds on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee would support a greater abundance, richness, and diversity of birds than the surrounding hardwood forests. In 2004, we recorded all birds seen or heard in 10 min within 50-m radius circles at 25 ephemeral ponds. We repeated the counts at control sites located 150 m from each pond in the surrounding forest. To quantify potential food availability, we captured aerial invertebrates using sweep nets at four points around a subsample of eight ephemeral ponds and at an equal number of control sites. We found significantly greater bird abundance, richness, and species diversity at ephemeral ponds than at control sites, and that pond area was not associated with either bird abundance or richness. Bird community composition at pond and control sites was similar. Aerial invertebrates were significantly more abundant at ephemeral ponds than at adjacent forest sites, providing one possible explanation for greater bird abundance at ephemeral ponds.

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