Deslocamentos e migrações de aves em um fragmento florestal no semiárido de Pernambuco, Brasil

Abstract

In the Caatinga the birds make relocations during the rainy periods and nearctic and austral migrations. Few studies correlate the rich abundance of birds with rainfall, principally in the Caatinga. Therefore the objectives of this work were to analyze the rich monthly abundance of birds that carry out movements within the region, correlating this data with the monthly rainfall and analyzing the diet of the species. The research was carried out from July 2010 to June 2011 in a forest fragment of the Caatinga in the Municipality of Altinho in the State of Pernambuco. 2,212 individuals were obtained with 43 species. The months with the greatest number of contacts and the richest variation of species were the months with most rain. 23 species carry out relocations, 3 are nearctic migrats and 26 are involved in austral migrations, although eleven are partial austral migrants. Only one species is regional migrant. These results show a positive correlation between the relocations of birds and the austral migration with the volume of rainfall, whereas the nearctic migration showed no correspondence because these species appeared in the months of low rainfall. During the months with most rain the most abundant guilds were the omnivorous, insectivorous and frugivorous, and in the months with less rainfall there was a small representativity of all the trophic guilds. At Porteiras the native vegetation is being lost to farming practices and this is a matter of concern regarding the conservation of the ecosystems which affect migrant birds and those which carry out seasonal relocations. It is therefore necessary to propose legal measures involving authorities so as to preserve the Caatinga in the municipality of Altinho.