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dc.contributor.authorCousin, Jarrad
dc.contributor.authorD. Phillips, Ryan
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-03T15:34:00Z
dc.date.available2017-05-03T15:34:00Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.date.modified2011-11-16T06:40:23Z
dc.identifier.issn0004959X
dc.identifier.doi10.1071/ZO07065
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/23544
dc.description.abstractHabitat complexity is an important factor governing species richness and habitat selection in birds. The present study examined this relationship in a large wandoo woodland in Western Australia. Habitat complexity (comprising canopy, shrub, ground vegetation, log and leaf litter cover) and bird species richness was recorded in 48 sites, each ~3 ha in size. We found no significant correlation of habitat complexity with species richness. We propose that the absence of such a relationship results from the resource-poor environment of the woodlands of south-western Australia. The relative scarcity of food resources results in a species richness threshold beyond which there are insufficient niches and resources to support additional species with increasing habitat complexity. Only two species exhibited significant associations with habitat complexity, with the western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) occupying sites with higher habitat complexity, and the restless flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) occupying sites with lower habitat complexity. Although some species may respond specifically to habitat complexity, management of avian biodiversity within Australian woodlands should take into account the potentially greater role that productivity and resource availability play in influencing species richness, rather than habitat complexity per se. Furthermore, the individual components comprising habitat complexity may be of equal importance in assessing relationship of species richness to overall habitat complexity.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.format.extent126721 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherCSIRO Publishing
dc.publisher.placeCollingwood, Vic.
dc.relation.ispartofstudentpublicationN
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom95
dc.relation.ispartofpageto102
dc.relation.ispartofissue2
dc.relation.ispartofjournalAustralian Journal of Zoology
dc.relation.ispartofvolume56
dc.rights.retentionY
dc.subject.fieldofresearchConservation and Biodiversity
dc.subject.fieldofresearchCommunity Ecology (excl. Invasive Species Ecology)
dc.subject.fieldofresearchTerrestrial Ecology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental Sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological Sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchAgricultural and Veterinary Sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode050202
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode060202
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode060208
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode05
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode06
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode07
dc.titleHabitat complexity explains species-specific occupancy but not species richness in a Western Australian woodland
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.facultyGriffith Sciences, Griffith School of Environment
gro.rights.copyright© 2008 CSIRO. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
gro.date.issued2008
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorCousin, Jarrad


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