Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 1990 |
Authors: | M. Valvo, L., Massa, B. |
Journal: | Naturalista Siciliano |
Volume: | 14 |
Pagination: | 95-105 |
Keywords: | Aves |
Abstract: | Bird censuses carried out on six habitats of four mediterranean isles (Sicily, Corsica, Crete and Cyprus) and one Canary island (Tenerife), corresponding to different stages of an ecological succession, let us to observe a characteristic trend of species richness, showing its maximum on shrubby habitats. The most similar communities resulted those living on shrubby habitats of Sicily and Crete and on mature habitats of Corsica and Sicily. The kind of distribution of species along the gradient of Tenerife is very similar to that of mediterranean islands and consequently we could consider it as a typical insular model. Species improverishment on mature habitats is generally correlated to sedentary species increase; sedentariness is probably an adaptation to stability in the space and a possible index of low population fluctuation in the time. The sole exception seems the Cyprus gradient, where the percentage of sedentary species in habitats 3-6 is very low respect to other islands. It might depend on environmental factors (e.g. closeness of Cyprus to Irano-Turanian desert areas), which could involve and lower the productivity; this should result in a higher turnover between winter and summer communities. |
[Bird communities in vegetational gradients of Mediterranean and Canary islands North Atlantic Ocean.] (in Italian)
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