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TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF FARMLAND AVIAN DIVERSITY: EVALUATING BIRD ASSEMBLAGES IN CROP FIELDS BEFORE AND AFTER HARVEST IN CENTRAL NIGERIA
  • Carlos Amissah,
  • Soladoye Iwajomo,
  • JUSTUS DEIKUMAH
Carlos Amissah
University of Cape Coast

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Soladoye Iwajomo
University of Lagos
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JUSTUS DEIKUMAH
University of Cape Coast
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Abstract

Though agriculture has been linked to the decline in bird populations due to the associated changes in vegetation structure and composition, its potential to sustain birds has been explored over time. A sustainable agricultural landscape should be one that has the capacity to support bird species all year. To this end, we investigated the factors influencing pre- and post-harvest farm conditions on bird abundance, richness, and feeding guilds in three different crop fields in Jos-East and North, central Nigeria. We used line transects to survey birds and vegetation variables from 30 fields each of legumes, maize, and mixed (maize and soya bean) during the pre- and post-harvest periods in central Nigeria. We first compared the variation in bird species richness, abundance, and feeding guild abundance across the three field types over the two periods. We then modeled the effects of field conditions and vegetation parameters on feeding guild abundance, species abundance, and species richness as response variables. Our results revealed significant variations in bird species richness, abundance, and feeding guild abundance across field types. The omnivorous guild was significantly higher pre-harvest than post-harvest whereas insectivorous and granivorous were significantly higher in-field than at the edge. Bird species richness, abundance, and feeding guild abundance were significantly higher pre-harvest than post-harvest and in-field than at the edge. In addition, in-field tree density had a significant positive influence on bird abundance and species richness as well as feeding guild abundance. This study shows that pre- and post-harvest conditions of crop fields can moderate the number and richness of birds on farmlands while the retention of trees on farmlands contributes to higher bird assemblages.
Submitted to Wildlife Biology
25 Jan 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
01 Feb 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Major
15 Mar 20241st Revision Received
18 Mar 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
19 Mar 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
28 Mar 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Major
17 May 20242nd Revision Received
18 May 2024Submission Checks Completed
18 May 2024Assigned to Editor
15 Jun 20243rd Revision Received
17 Jun 2024Submission Checks Completed
17 Jun 2024Assigned to Editor
17 Jun 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
18 Jun 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
21 Jun 20244th Revision Received
24 Jun 2024Submission Checks Completed
24 Jun 2024Assigned to Editor
24 Jun 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
25 Jun 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
05 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
08 Jul 2024Editorial Decision: Accept