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New avian records along the elevational gradient of Mt. Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea

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The north slopes of Mt. Wilhelm, the highest peak in Papua New Guinea, support a complete elevational gradient of relatively undisturbed rainforest, from 200 m to the tree line at 3,700 m. Based on field work in 2010 and 2012 over the Mt. Wilhelm elevational gradient, we report novel distribution data for 43 species, including geographic and elevational range extensions, demographic data, and new records of species poorly known in New Guinea.
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Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
New avian records along the elevational gradient of
Mt. Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea
by Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane
Received 30 August 2013
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   
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cf



       




Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club





Methods
              
  
              


         
          

  


 
          
  




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

  
               


Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 

                

            
               
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
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        
  
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

    




Site name   
   
   
Memeku   
   
Sinopass   
   
   
   





Survey number  
Start of survey    
    
   
 three days  three days
   
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
Results
    
           
            
             


SALVADORI’S TEAL Salvadorina waigiuensis



GREAT-BILLED HERON Ardea sumatrana
            

            
c

FOREST BITTERN Zonerodius heliosylus
et al
     c.        

      
          
c.
BLACK-WINGED KITE Elanus caeruleus

             
et al
BLACK-MANTLED GOSHAWK Accipiter melanochlamys

at cc°°
MEYER’S GOSHAWK Accipiter meyerianus






FORBES’S FOREST RAIL Rallicula forbesi
     

Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club


BARE-EYED RAIL Gymnocrex plumbeiventris
et al


NEW GUINEA WOODCOCK Scolopax saturata
et al
    
et al
cc

METALLIC PIGEON Columba vitiensis

n



c

SLENDER-BILLED CUCKOO-DOVE Macropygia amboinensis BAR-TAILED
CUCKOO-DOVE M. nigrirostris
M. amboinensis
et al 
           
M. nigrirostris
et al
THICK-BILLED GROUND PIGEON Trugon terrestris
  et al
c.

PHEASANT PIGEON Otidiphaps nobilis
   
 
et al
et al
CORONETED FRUIT DOVE Ptilinopus coronulatus quadrigeminus
et al
ORNATE FRUIT DOVE Ptilinopus ornatus
et al
     c
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
  

PESQUET’S PARROT Psirichas fulgidus
   et al.
et al.


PAPUAN KING PARROT Alisterus chloropterus





DUSKY LORY Pseudeos fuscata

et al
PYGMY LORIKEET Charmosyna wilhelminae
et al

nn
RED-FRONTED LORIKEET Charmosyna rubronotata


             

        
C. placentis
C. placentisLorius lory
observed C. placentis
C. rubronotata 

CHESTNUT-BREASTED CUCKOO Cacomantis castaneiventris FAN-TAILED
CUCKOO C. abelliformis
C. castaneiventrisC. abelliformis

C. castaneiventrisC. abelliformisC. castaneiventris

C. abelliformis         
C. castaneiventris is c
faster) than that of C. abelliformisC. castaneiventris  
seei-to-saai   C. variolosus
C. abelliformispee-wee

Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
BARKING OWL Ninox connivens
      c      


MARBLED FROGMOUTH Podargus ocellatus
      
   
  

PACIFIC SWIFT Apus pacicus
            
et al

et al


MOUNTAIN KINGFISHER Syma megarhyncha YELLOW-BILLED
KINGFISHER S. torotoro
S. torotoro 
 S. megarhyncha    et al  
          
S. torotoroS. megarhyncha
 c 
Syma

RAINBOW BEE-EATER Merops ornatus



Mphilippinus
M. philippinus at our study sites near

       
M. ornatus
         

PAPUAN TREECREEPER Cormobates placens

  C. p. steini          
C. p. meridionalis in south-
             

    C. placens in this part

Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
              
   
c
Sericornis nouhuysi     Rhipidura albolimbata 

MOUNTAIN HONEYEATER Meliphaga orientalis
       c      Meliphaga
    et al   
n
LONG-BEARDED MELIDECTES Melidectes princeps

et al
 
  et al        

c

YELLOWISH-STREAKED HONEYEATER Ptiloprora meekiana
         
et al
c

overlooked chip or ship
BICOLOURED MOUSE-WARBLER Crateroscelis nigrorufa
           
et al


et al
BUFF-FACED SCRUBWREN Sericornis perspicillatusPAPUAN SCRUBWREN
S. papuensis

S. papuensisn
S. perspicillatus
cnS. perspicillatus 
        S. papuensis appeared at

broadly at c
et al


Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
STOUT-BILLED CUCKOOSHRIKE Coracina caeruleogrisea

et al



YELLOW-BREASTED SATINBIRD Loboparadisea sericea
       

harsh ssshLophorina superba
    

GOLDEN CUCKOOSHRIKE Campochaera sloetii

C. s. sloetii
C. s. aviceps
 

      
C. s. aviceps
              

BLACK SICKLEBILL Epimachus fastuosusBROWN SICKLEBILL E. meyeri

 E. fastuosus
E. meyeri
  
E. fastuosus
nn
E. meyerin
nnE.
fastuosus E. meyeri
NORTHERN VARIABLE PITOHUI Pitohui kirhocephalusHOODED PITOHUI
P. dichrous
et al
 et alP. kirhocephalus 
n
P. dichrous  n  


c
Discussion
         
             
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 Cormobates
placens, Campochaera sloetii, Ptiloprora meekiana, Charmosyna rubronotata, Ardea sumatrana,
and possibly Zonerodius heliosylus and Accipiter meyerianusCormobates
placensC. placens one of nine ‘drop-

             C.
placensc  



Casuarius unappendiculatus
Goura victoria
      
            
c     
  
Alisterus chloropterus,
 

           
           
          


       
            
    Ducula rugaster     
 D. chalconata   Syma torotoro    S. megarhyncha
Peltops blainvillii P. montanus




       Crateroscelis murina and
  C. robusta       
 C. murina       
C. robusta 
  C. murina     C. robusta   
 C. nigrorufa           
    Pitohui, Epimachus, Sericornis 
Melanocharis, Rhipidura and Coracina cf


      Ptiloprora       
Ptiloprora guisei is resident at c   et al
             
 P. perstriata      P. perstriata is absent, P. guisei
cP. guisei
nP. perstriatan
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
            
       
  P. guisei    
P. perstriata 
             
            
  



    et al        
             
  

           

et al
     
et al        
et al


  




 



Acknowledgements




     
            
      


in del
Handbook of the birds of the world

Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl
Birds of New Guinea

MelipotesAuk
 Ardea sumatrana    

Psirichas fulgidus

Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club



   Birds of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago: a photographic guide

    in    
Handbook of the birds of the world.

PLoS ONE
Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea
        
Science
               
Emu

inCommunity ecology
Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist
Pitohui and
Mol. Phyl. & Evol
Raptors of the world
   
PLoS One
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in
Handbook of the birds of the world
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
 in 
Handbook of the birds of the world
                 
Stud. Avian. Biol
 in 
Handbook of the birds of the world
   .  in  
Handbook of the birds of the world
List of New Guinea birds: a systematic and faunal list of the birds of New Guinea and adjacent islands.

 The birds of northern Melanesia: speciation, ecology, and biogeography

Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist
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Handbook of the birds of the world
         Birds of New Guinea and tropical Australia   
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Condor

J. Southeast Asian Earth Sci
              
Nature
Handbook of New Guinea birds
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
       
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl
                
           


Austral. Ecol
         in     
Handbook of the birds of the world.
in
Handbook of the birds of the world.
Addresses    



Appendix 1
               
 


English name Scientic name Observed range (m)
 Casuarius bennei 
 Aepypodius arfakianus 
 Talegalla jobiensis 
 Megapodius decollatus 
 Salvadorina waigiuensis 
 Anas superciliosa 
 Zonerodius heliosylus 
 Ardea sumatrana 
 Elanus caeruleus 
 Henicopernis longicauda 
 Accipiter novaehollandiae 
 Accipiter melanochlamys 
 Accipiter meyerianus 
 Milvus migrans 
 Haliastur sphenurus 
 Haliastur indus 
 Hieraaetus weiskei 
 Harpyopsis novaeguineae 
 Rallicula forbesi 
 Gymnocrex plumbeiventris 
 Scolopax saturata 
 Columba vitiensis 
 Macropygia amboinensis 
 Macropygia nigrirostris 
 Reinwardtoena reinwardti 
 Chalcophaps indica 
 Chalcophaps stephani 
 Henicophaps albifrons 
 Trugon terrestris 
 Gallicolumba jobiensis 
 Gallicolumba beccarii 
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 Otidiphaps nobilis 
 Ptilinopus magnicus 
 Ptilinopus perlatus 
 Ptilinopus ornatus 
 Ptilinopus superbus 
 Ptilinopus coronulatus 
 Ptilinopus pulchellus 
 Ptilinopus rivoli 
 Ptilinopus iozonus 
 Ducula rugaster 
 Ducula chalconota 
 Ducula pinon 
 Ducula zoeae 
 Gymnophaps albertisii 
 Probosciger aterrimus 
 Cacatua galerita 
 Psirichas fulgidus 
 Loriculus aurantiifrons 
 Micropsia pusio 
 Micropsia bruijnii 
 Pseudeos fuscata 
 Trichoglossus haematodus 
 Psieuteles goldiei 
 Lorius lory 
 Charmosyna wilhelminae 
 Charmosyna rubronotata 
 Charmosyna placentis 
 Charmosyna papou 
 Oreopsiacus arfaki 
 Neopsiacus musschenbroekii 
 Neopsiacus pullicauda 
 Psiacella brehmii 
 Psiacella picta 
 Georoyus georoyi 
 Georoyus simplex 
 Eclectus roratus 
 Alisterus chloropterus 
 Cyclopsia gulielmitertii 
 Cyclopsia diophthalma 
 Psiaculirostris edwardsii 
 Centropus phasianinus 
 Microdynamis parva 
 Eudynamys scolopaceus 
 Scythrops novaehollandiae 
 Chrysococcyx minutillus 
 Chrysococcyx rucollis 
 Cacomantis castaneiventris 
 Cacomantis abelliformis 
 Cacomantis variolosus 
 Cacomantis leucolophus 
 Ninox rufa 
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 Ninox connivens 
 Ninox theomacha 
 Podargus ocellatus 
 Caprimulgus macrurus 
 Euaegotheles insignis 
 Aegotheles albertisi 
 Collocalia esculenta 
 Aerodramus hirundinaceus 
 Apus pacicus 
Oriental Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis 
 Melidora macrorrhina 
 Tanysiptera galatea 
 Clytoceyx rex 
 Dacelo gaudichaud 
 Todiramphus macleayii 
 Syma torotoro 
 Syma megarhyncha 
 Ceyx azureus 
 Ceyx pusillus 
 Ceyx lepidus 
 Merops ornatus 
 Rhyticeros plicatus 
 Pia sordida 
 Erythropia erythrogaster 
 Ailuroedus buccoides 
 Ailuroedus melanotis 
 Amblyornis macgregoriae 
 Chlamydera lauterbachi 
 Cormobates placens 
 Malurus alboscapulatus 
 Clytomyias insignis 
 Myzomela rosenbergii 
 Ptiloprora guisei 
 Ptiloprora perstriata 
 Ptiloprora meekiana 
 Pycnopygius ixoides 
 Xanthotis aviventer 
 Philemon meyeri 
 Philemon buceroides 
 Melilestes megarhynchus 
 Melipotes fumigatus 
Olive Straightbill Timeliopsis fulvigula 
 Glycichaera fallax 
 Caligavis subfrenata 
 Caligavis obscura 
 Melidectes fuscus 
 Melidectes princeps 
 Melidectes rufocrissalis 
 Melidectes belfordi 
 Meliphaga montana 
 Meliphaga orientalis 
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 Meliphaga analoga 
 Meliphaga aruensis 
 Crateroscelis murina 
 Crateroscelis robusta 
 Crateroscelis nigrorufa 
 Sericornis spilodera 
 Sericornis papuensis 
 Sericornis arfakianus 
 Sericornis nouhuysi 
 Sericornis perspicillatus 
 Gerygone chrysogaster 
 Gerygone cinerea 
 Gerygone chloronota 
 Gerygone palpebrosa 
 Gerygone rucollis 
 Acanthiza murina 
 Pachycare avogriseum 
 Garritornis isidorei 
 Cnemophilus loriae 
Crested Satinbird Cnemophilus macgregorii 
 Loboparadisea sericea 
 Melanocharis nigra 
 Melanocharis longicauda 
 Melanocharis versteri 
 Melanocharis striativentris 
 Oedistoma iliolophus 
 Toxorhamphus novaeguineae 
 Toxorhamphus poliopterus 
 Oreocharis arfaki 
 Paramythia montium 
 Ptilorrhoa leucosticta 
 Ptilorrhoa caerulescens 
 Ptilorrhoa castanonota 
 Machaerirhynchus aviventer 
 Machaerirhynchus nigripectus 
 Peltops blainvillii 
 Peltops montanus 
 Cracticus quoyi 
 Cracticus cassicus 
 Artamus maximus 
 Coracina caeruleogrisea 
 Coracina boyeri 
 Coracina papuensis 
 Coracina longicauda 
 Coracina tenuirostris 
 Coracina incerta 
 Coracina melas 
 Coracina montana 
 Campochaera sloetii 
 Lalage atrovirens 
 Daphoenosia miranda 
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 Rhagologus leucostigma 
 Eulacestoma nigropectus 
 Aleadryas runucha 
 Ornorectes cristatus 
 Melanorectes nigrescens 
 Pachycephala hyperythra 
 Pachycephala modesta 
 Pachycephala simplex 
 Pachycephala soror 
 Pachycephala schlegelii 
 Pseudorectes ferrugineus 
 Colluricincla megarhyncha 
 Pitohui kirhocephalus 
 Pitohui dichrous 
 Oriolus szalayi 
 Chaetorhynchus papuensis 
Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus 
 Rhipidura ruventris 
 Rhipidura threnothorax 
 Rhipidura leucothorax 
 Rhipidura atra 
 Rhipidura albolimbata 
 Rhipidura brachyrhyncha 
 Rhipidura rudorsa 
 Symposiachrus axillaris 
 Symposiachrus guula 
 Symposiachrus manadensis 
 Monarcha rubiensis 
 Monarcha frater 
 Carterornis chrysomela 
 Arses insularis 
 Grallina bruijni 
 Myiagra alecto 
 Corvus tristis 
 Melampia lugubris 
 Ifrita kowaldi 
 Manucodia chalybatus 
 Astrapia stephaniae 
 Lophorina superba 
 Ptiloris magnicus 
 Epimachus fastuosus 
 Epimachus meyeri 
 Diphyllodes magnicus 
 Cicinnurus regius 
 Paradisaea minor 
Ashy Robin Heteromyias albispecularis 
 Poecilodryas hypoleuca 
 Poecilodryas albonotata 
 Peneothello sigillata 
Slaty Robin Peneothello cyanus 
 Peneothello bimaculata 
Katerina Sam & Bonny Koane  Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(2)
© 2014 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2014 British Ornithologists’ Club
 Tregellasia leucops 
 Pachycephalopsis poliosoma 
 Monachella muelleriana 
 Microeca papuana 
 Microeca griseoceps 
 Microeca avovirescens 
 Eugerygone rubra 
 Amalocichla incerta 
 Hirundo tahitica 
 Phylloscopus maforensis 
 Zosterops minor 
 Zosterops novaeguineae 
 Aplonis metallica 
Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides 
 Mino dumontii 
 Turdus poliocephalus 
 Saxicola caprata 
 Dicaeum geelvinkianum 
 Leptocoma sericea 
 Cinnyris jugularis 
Streak-headed Mannikin Lonchura tristissima 
 Erythrura trichroa 
 Lonchura spectabilis 
 Anthus guuralis 
 Oreostruthus fuliginosus 
... Karimui) and 152 m (Kar Kar Island) for upper limits and 95 m (Mt. Karimui) and 123 m (Kar Kar Island) for lower limits [7 ]. ...
... Continuous undisturbed forests along altitudinal gradients will allow birds to respond to climate change by varying their altitudinal distribution. This process of change in distribution is already partly under way, with birds climbing to higher elevations compared with results from the classic studies by Jared Diamond 50 years ago [7]. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study investigates the species diversity, distribution, and community composition of birds in different forest types in Papua New Guinea in response to environmental factors. The study further focused on individual feeding guilds. The analyzed data originate from 13 sites across the country. Each site was surveyed by standardized point count methods (seven point count 50-m radius points, 15 min per point). In total, we recorded 6,835 bird individuals belonging to 231 bird species. Specifically, this article addresses the results of surveys of bird communities of Forest Inventory from 13 sites that include the Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, Morobe, and Madang provinces. We analyze these data in respect to various forest types that include disturbed and undisturbed selections. Across the complete study, the number of species rose rapidly for the first 40 point counts and then decelerated but continued to increase for the entire sampling, which means that not whole regional diversity of birds was surveyed. Yet, the species accumulation curves within each study site demonstrate a slow but steady increase in species diversity, with observed numbers close to those predicted by Chao 1. Species diversity was not consistent with elevation. Insectivores dominated bird communities, followed by frugivorous, nectarivores, and especially carnivores more rarely observed. Individual species have shown preferences in their distribution for specific elevations, but less so for a particular disturbance intensity.
... Similar to several recent studies in East Africa (van der Hoek et al. 2020), Southeast Asia (Peh 2007), and Papua New Guinea (Sam and Koane 2014), our study provides documentation of some species at previously unrecorded elevations (Supplemental Material Table S5). We detected 6 species at elevations higher than reported in the literature for Ethiopia (Ash and Atkins 2009, Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire 2015, Rannestad 2016; Supplemental Material Table S5). ...
... These new elevational records could be an indication of birds expanding their ranges upslope in response to climate change (Neate-Clegg et al. 2020). However, like Peh (2007), Sam and Koane (2014), and van der Hoek et al. ...
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Tropical mountains are global hotspots for birdlife. However, there is a dearth of baseline avifaunal data along eleva-tional gradients, particularly in Africa, limiting our ability to observe and assess changes over time in tropical montane avian communities. In this study, we undertook a multi-year assessment of understory birds along a 1,750 m elevational gradient (1,430-3,186 m) in an Afrotropical moist evergreen montane forest within Ethiopia's Bale Mountains. Analyzing 6 years of systematic bird-banding data from 5 sites, we describe the patterns of species richness, abundance, community composition, and demographic rates over space and time. We found bimodal patterns in observed and estimated species richness across the elevational gradient (peaking at 1,430 and 2,388 m), although no sites reached asymptotic species richness throughout the study. Species turnover was high across the gradient, though forested sites at mid-elevations resembled each other in species composition. We found significant variation across sites in bird abundance in some of the dietary and habitat guilds. However, we did not find any significant trends in species richness or guild abundances over time. For the majority of analyzed species, capture rates did not change over time and there were no changes in species' mean elevations. Population growth rates, recruitment rates, and apparent survival rates averaged 1.02, 0.52, and 0.51 respectively, and there were no elevational patterns in demographic rates. This study establishes a multi-year baseline for Afrotropical birds along an elevational gradient in an under-studied international biodiversity hotspot. These data will be critical in assessing the long-term responses of tropical montane birdlife to climate change and habitat degradation.
... Where it forms at approximately 3700-4000 m.a.s.l. (Corlett, 1984;Sam et al., 2014;Hope, 2014). There is limited recent research available focusing on the treelines of Mt Wilhelm. ...
Article
Studies investigating treelines in the Southern Hemisphere are underrepresented in the global literature, with a strong bias towards Northern Hemisphere treelines. Treelines in the Southern Hemisphere are often very different in terms of species composition, climate, and factors limiting their growth and elevational establishment. Treelines in the Southern Hemisphere are diverse, ranging from humid equatorial mountains, to sub-tropical wet and dry environments, and temperate forests with strong maritime influences. Modern climate change has seen the majority of the treelines in the Northern Hemisphere migrating to higher elevations and latitudes, yet such a response is largely lacking amongst Southern Hemisphere treelines. Despite an overall weak response to modern climate change, treelines across the Southern Hemisphere responded to past climate change through changes in distribution and character. Today, these forests are often limited by anthropogenic and climatic factors that prevent further elevational advancement. In the tropics, human disturbances such as burning, grazing and wood cutting prevent most uppermost forest edges from tracking an upslope shift of the treeline isotherm. Amongst the temperate treelines in New Zealand and South America, treelines are largely limited by poor seed dispersal, mycorrhizal associations and frost events that often prevent the survival of seedlings. In Australia, treelines on the mainland are mainly controlled by fires, which have become more frequent and severe in the past decades, while Tasmanian treelines have seen little modification in growing conditions from climate change. We infer that part of the reason for the reduced vagility of Southern Hemisphere treelines is the relatively poor adaptation of formerly rainforest taxa to treeline positions, especially in Australasia and South America. Climate change will likely create more favourable growing conditions at many treelines, and with time, most forests that are not exposed to frequent human or natural disturbances should be able to track their climatic treeline.
... Where it forms at approximately 3700-4000 m.a.s.l. (Corlett, 1984, Sam et al., 2014. ...
Thesis
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The position of climatically limited treelines is primarily determined by the duration and minimum temperature of the growing season. An increase in temperature brought on by anthropogenic climate change should see treelines migrate to higher elevations and latitudes. This change may have significant impacts the ecology of alpine areas and affect global carbon storage. This thesis has examined the recent history of treeline migration using remote sensing and meta-data approaches to characterise and interpret the causes of treeline migration and to investigate the likely impacts. First, the methods used to monitor treeline change were examined. This work concluded that dendrochronology provides the most accurate estimates of treeline migration. Vegetation transects are also identified as a useful approach to track treeline movements and assess seedling establishment and mortality over time. However, both methods are labour-intensive, time-consuming, and require field access. Hence, remotely sensed data are more suitable for efficiently tracking treeline changes over large areas. These approaches are particularly suitable where site-access is difficult, and where high-resolution imagery is available for several decades. This thesis summarises the current state of the global treeline migration across all continents, where a combination of these methods has been used to track forest expansion over time. Latitudinal and altitudinal treeline migration was assessed at a global scale through metadata analysis. A database was created covering over 477 study sites derived from 142 published articles. Across these study sites, an increase in the uppermost elevational or latitudinal position was detected at 66% of treelines. Not all treelines have responded to climate change by range expansion. This lack of response could be due to either non-climatic barriers or due to the slow rate at which some forests may be able to track changes in their habitat. Importantly, climate change has not caused a uniform increase in temperatures, and some regions have seen more rapid expansion of habitat than others. Latitudinal treelines are already migrating at particularly high rates, with the average horizontal expansion of latitudinal treelines being 47 meters per year. Such a rapid migration can have potentially devastating impacts on the carbon storage potential of the tundra regions, as the establishment of vascular plants can reduce water tables and increase the metabolization of soil carbon. The correlation between climate change and treeline movements was assessed using logistic regression modelling. The model revealed that the rate of temperature change during the autumn, particularly in October, was a significant predictor of treeline movement in the Northern Hemisphere. More specifically, increased minimum temperatures corresponded with treeline migration. However at warmer maximum summer temperatures, treelines were more likely to remain stationary, most likely due to drought effects in shallow alpine soils. While statistically significant correlations were identified at global scales, there were also substantial regional correlations of treeline movement regarding warmer temperatures. For example, Scandinavian treeline migration patterns could not be correlated to climate change, while latitudinal treelines in North America responded strongly to warmer minimum temperatures during spring, summer, and autumn. Hence, while globally significant correlations exist these may not always be applicable at the regional or local scale. While there were insufficient data on treeline migrations from the southern hemisphere, southern hemisphere treelines have shown less vagility than their northern hemisphere counterparts. An overall limitation of treeline migration of temperate treelines in the southern hemisphere may be due to the comparatively poor adaptation of formerly rainforest taxa to cold climates. This could explain why southern hemisphere treelines have responded more slowly to warming climates and why they form at a warmer threshold than northern hemisphere treelines. Remote sensed data, specifically repeat photography was utilised to track treelines in the Arthur’s Pass area, central South Island, New Zealand from 1960 until today. New Zealand was a region where no treeline changes had been detected. Small scale changes were located from sites investigated in this study, indicating a localised spread of trees above the treeline. This investigation showcases the importance of large-scale monitoring to capture changes of treeline elevation, as treelines may show very different responses to warming across short spatial scales. The results presented in this thesis indicate that provided the right climatic circumstances, climate-limited treelines are capable of tracking their suitable habitat across all spatial domains. The understanding of treeline formation and the driving forces behind alpine and arctic forest expansion has increased drastically over the past decades. While the increase in forest cover can lead to reduced alpine habitats, the capacity of vegetation to track their suitable habitat is critical under rapidly increasing temperatures. Alpine and arctic trees, which are some of the most slowly growing forms of vegetation, are so far showing a remarkable resilience and adaptive capacity despite these regions being the most strongly impacted by climate change.
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The El Niño 2015 event, most extreme since 1997, led to severe droughts in tropical wet Papua New Guinea (PNG), reducing May to October dry season rainfall by 75% in the lowlands and 25% in the highlands. Such droughts are likely to have significant effects on terrestrial ecosystems, but they have been poorly explored in Papua New Guinea. Here, we report changes in bird community composition prior to, during, and after the 2015 El Niño event along the elevational gradient ranging from 200 m to 2700 m a.s.l. at the Mt. Wilhelm rainforest in PNG. The abundance of birds in the lowlands dropped by 60% but increased by 40% at elevations above 1700 m during El Niño year. In the following year, the individual bird species reached mean population sizes similar to pre‐El Niño years but did not fully recover. Species richness roughly followed the pattern of observed abundance and quickly and fully re‐established after the event to the pre‐ El Niño values. Thus, at least some terrestrial birds seem to react quickly to the extreme droughts in lowlands and shift to less affected mountain habitats. We recorded upper elevational range limits to shifts by more than 500 m a.s.l. in 22 bird species (out of 237 recorded in total) during El Niño year, in contrast to their typical ranges. Our study suggests that a strong El Niño event can have strong but reversible effects on bird communities as long as they have an opportunity to move to more favorable sites through undisturbed habitats.
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Aim The effects of insectivorous predators on herbivorous prey should have a cascading effect releasing herbivory pressure and favouring plant's biomass. However, it remains unclear whether different types of predators regulate herbivores to the same degree across seasons, and how their interactions affect lower trophic levels across elevations where predator communities differ significantly. Therefore, we investigated the impact of excluding flying vertebrate predators and ants (individually and in combination) on arthropods and herbivory across tropical seasons along a rainforest gradient spanning 3500 m a.s.l. Location Papua New Guinea. Taxon Multi‐taxon. Methods We excluded predators from 560 saplings in two 6‐month‐long predator exclusion experiments, controlling for seasonality. Saplings were spread across eight sites, evenly spaced at 500 m elevational increments from 200 to 3700 m a.s.l. We measured change in the abundance of arthropods and herbivory damage and analysed them by linear and generalized linear mixed models. Results Exclusion of flying vertebrate predators, but not ants, led to a significant increase in both arthropod density and herbivory damage. The density of arthropods increased significantly by 37% when flying vertebrates were excluded and by 33% when both flying vertebrates and ants were excluded. Both season and elevation significantly influenced this effect. Leaf damage increased significantly by 50% in exclosures of flying vertebrates alone and by 36% in combined exclosures of flying vertebrates and ants. In contrast, the exclusion of ants alone had no significant effect on arthropod density or leaf damage, which increased by 12% and 9%, respectively, although the effect decreased with increasing elevation. Main conclusions The overall effect of flying vertebrate predators on arthropod density and leaf damage remains consistently strong along the whole elevational gradient. In contrast, ant‐driven trophic cascades were detected only in lowland. Disappearance of insectivorous flying vertebrates could lead to substantial negative consequences for plants.
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Birds constitute one of the most important seed dispersal agents globally, especially in the tropics. The feeding preferences of frugivorous birds are, therefore, potentially of great ecological importance. A number of laboratory-based and observational studies have attempted to ascertain the preferences of certain bird species for certain fruit traits. However, little attention has been paid to community-wide preferences of frugivorous birds and the impact this may have on fruit traits on a broader scale. Here, we used artificial fruits of different colors and sizes to investigate community-wide fruit trait preferences of birds at three sites along an elevational gradient in Papua New Guinea. We recorded attack rates on artificial fruits as visible impressions made by a bird's beak during a feeding attempt. We also measured the colors and sizes of real fruits at each site, and the gape widths of frugivorous birds, allowing for comparisons between bird feeding preferences and bird and fruit traits. Regardless of elevation, red and purple fruits were universally preferred to green and attacked at similar rates to one another, despite strong elevational patterns in real fruit color. However, elevation had a significant effect on fruit size preferences. A weak, non-significant preference for large fruits was recorded at 700 m, while medium fruits were strongly preferred at 1700 m and small fruits at 2700 m. These patterns mirror those of both real fruit size and frugivorous bird gape width along the gradient, suggesting the potential for selective pressure of birds on fruit size at different elevations.
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Aim The species diversity and endemism of tropical biotas are major contributors to global biodiversity, but the factors underlying the formation of these systems remain poorly understood. Location The world's largest tropical island, New Guinea. Time period Miocene to present. Major taxa studied Passerine birds. Methods We first generated a species‐level phylogeny of all native breeding passerine birds to analyse spatial and elevational patterns of species richness, species age and phylogenetic diversity. Second, we used an existing dataset on bill morphology to analyse spatial and elevational patterns of functional diversity. Results The youngest New Guinean species are principally distributed in the lowlands and outlying mountain ranges, with the lowlands also maintaining the majority of non‐endemic species. In contrast, many species occurring in the central mountain range are phylogenetically distinct, range‐restricted, endemic lineages. Centres of accumulation for the oldest species are in montane forest, with these taxa having evolved unique bill forms in comparison to the remaining New Guinean species. For the morphological generalists, attaining a highland distribution does not necessarily represent the end to dispersal and diversification, because a number of new species have formed in the outlying mountain ranges, following recent colonization from the central range. Main conclusions We conclude that a general model of tropical montane diversification is that lineages commonly colonize the lowlands, shifting their ranges upslope through time to become range‐restricted montane forest endemics, attaining novel functional adaptations to these environments.
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Tropical mountains harbor exceptional concentrations of Earth’s biodiversity. In topographically complex landscapes, montane species typically inhabit multiple mountainous regions, but are absent in intervening lowland environments. Here we report a comparative analysis of genome-wide DNA polymorphism data for population pairs from eighteen Indo-Pacific bird species from the Moluccan islands of Buru and Seram and from across the island of New Guinea. We test how barrier strength and relative elevational distribution predict population differentiation, rates of historical gene flow, and changes in effective population sizes through time. We find population differentiation to be consistently and positively correlated with barrier strength and a species’ altitudinal floor. Additionally, we find that Pleistocene climate oscillations have had a dramatic influence on the demographics of all species but were most pronounced in regions of smaller geographic area. Surprisingly, even the most divergent taxon pairs at the highest elevations experience gene flow across barriers, implying that dispersal between montane regions is important for the formation of montane assemblages.
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We describe a new species of smoky honeyeater from the Foja Mountains, an isolated range in western New Guinea (Papua Province, Indonesia). A common inhabitant of montane forest and forest-edge in this little-known north coastal range, this species possesses a fleshy pendant suborbital wattle, unique in the genus Melipotes, among other characteristics that distinguish it from all congeners. This fleshy wattle provides a morphological link between Melipotes and the monotypic genus Macgregoria, an alpine inhabitant of the Central Ranges of New Guinea, traditionally treated as a bird of paradise (e.g., Frith and Beehler 1998) but now regarded as the sister genus to Melipotes (Cracraft and Feinstein 2000). The presence of an endemic meliphagid species in the Foja Mountains highlights the biogeographic significance and conservation importance of this geographically isolated upland forest tract, which is also home to the endemic Golden-fronted Bowerbird (Amblyornis flavifrons) and Berlepsch's Parotia (Parotia berlepschi), a distinctive, recently rediscovered species of six-wired bird of paradise (B. M. Beehler unpubl. data). Una Especie Nueva de Melipotes (Meliphagidae) del Oeste de Nueva Guinea
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An analysis of the elevational distributions of Southeast Asian birds over a 28-year period provides evidence for a potential upward shift for 94 common resident species. These species might have shifted their lower, upper, or both lower and upper boundaries toward a higher elevation in response to climate warming. These upward shifts occurred regardless of habitat specificity, further implicating climate warming, in addition to habitat loss, as a potentially important factor affecting the already imperiled biotas of Southeast Asia.
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We report the ornithological results of field trips in 2005 and 2007 to the Foja Mountains of Indonesian New Guinea. Our subsequent analysis of the avifauna of this little-studied and isolated mountain group in the context of the biogeography of New Guinea's north coastal ranges produced the following results: (1) a new subspecies of the mouse-warbler Crateroscelis robusta from the Foja Mountains; (2) evidence that C. robusta exhibits sufficient geographic variation to warrant subdivision into two or more allospecies; (3) a distinctive new subspecies of the Goldenface Pachycare flavogriseum from the northern ranges of Papua New Guinea; (4) conclusive evidence that the 'lost' bird of paradise, Parotia berlepschi, inhabits the Foja Mountains; and (5) several additional taxonomic and distributional records for the Foja Mountains.
Book
Speciation is the process by which co-existing daughter species evolve from one ancestral species - e.g., humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas arising from a common ancestor around 5,000,000 years ago. However, many questions about speciation remain controversial. The Birds of Northern Melanesia provides by far the most comprehensive study yet available of a rich fauna, composed of the 195 breeding land and fresh-water bird species of the Bismarck and Solomon Archipelagoes east of New Guinea. This avifauna offers decisive advantages for understanding speciation, and includes famous examples of geographic variation discussed in textbooks of evolutionary biology. The book results from 30 years of collaboration between the evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr and the ecologist Jared Diamond. It shows how Northern Melanesian bird distributions provide snapshots of all stages in speciation, from the earliest (widely distributed species without geographic variation) to the last (closely related, reproductively isolated species occurring sympatrically and segregating ecologically). The presentation emphasizes the wide diversity of speciation outcomes, steering a middle course between one-model-fits-all simplification and ungeneralizable species accounts. Questions illuminated include why some species are much more prone to speciate than others, why some water barriers are much more effective at promoting speciation than others, and whether hypothesized taxon cycles, faunal dominance, and legacies of Pleistocene land bridges are real. These years of study have resulted in a huge database, complete with distributions of all 195 species on 76 islands, together with their taxonomy, colonization routes, ecological attributes, abundance, and overwater dispersal. Color plates depict 88 species and allospecies, many of which have never been seen before. For students of speciation, Northern Melanesian birds now constitute a model system against which other biotas can be compared. For population biologists interested in other problems besides speciation, this rich database can now be mined for insights.
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The Fakfak Mountains on the Onin Peninsula (West Papua) represent one of the ornithologically poorest-known ranges in the world. In the early 1980s, Jared Diamond was the first modern ornithologist to explore the range, followed by David Gibbs in the early 1990s, resulting in the discovery of up to ten still-undescribed bird taxa. I visited the Fakfaks in 2008 and 2009. Details are presented here of two additions to the montane avifauna of the Fakfaks (Varied Sitella Daphoenositta chrysoptera and Yellow-gaped Meliphaga Meliphaga flavirictus) and at least seven lowland species new for the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas (Black-billed Brush Turkey Talegalla fiiscirostris, Coroneted Fruit Dove Ptilinopus c. coronulatus, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii, Papuan Spinetailed Swift Mearnsia novaeguineae, Tawny Straightbill Timeliopsis griseigula, Silvereared Honeyeater Lichmera alboauricularis and Scrub White-eared Meliphaga Meliphaga albonotata). The new lowland records indicate that the ranges of many Papuan lowland birds extend much further west in the southern watershed than was known. I also provide elevational range extensions or the first precise elevational data for several montane birds in the Fakfaks. The vocalisations of the undescribed Fakfak taxon of Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus are documented for the first time. Future collecting in the Fakfaks will be instrumental in understanding the total avian diversity of this range.
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Based on field work conducted between 2009 and 2012 in the YUS Conservation Area on the Huon Peninsula, we present novel distributional information for 47 avian species. This includes range extensions, elevational records, demographic data and new records of species poorly known in New Guinea. Meyer's Goshawk Accipiter meyeriamis, Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx ruficollis, Papuan Scrubwren Sericornis papuensis, Alpine Robin Petroica bivittata, Greater Ground Robin Amalocichla sclateriana, Yellow-breasted Bowerbird Chlamydera lauterbachi and a possible Rufous Monarch Monarcha rubiensis are recorded for the first time from the Huon Peninsula. The northern scarp of the mountains of the Huon Peninsula is shown to be a contact zone for several lowland species-pairs.