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Effect of species richness and composition on foraging niches in mixed species bird flocks

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dc.contributor.advisor Shanker, Kartik en_US
dc.contributor.advisor Bangal, Priti en_US
dc.contributor.author CHERIYANDINTAKATH, ZAKHIYA PULUKKOL en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2020-06-18T11:14:18Z
dc.date.available 2020-06-18T11:14:18Z
dc.date.issued 2020-04 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://dr.iiserpune.ac.in:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/4777
dc.description.abstract Facilitative relationships and non-trophic interactions are important contributors to determining the ecological niche of an organism. One such non-trophic interaction occurs in mixed-species bird flocks (flocks, hereafter). Flocks are examples where a niche of an individual bird is potentially modified by the presence of other species while foraging. The niche of an organism has been defined as ‘a multi-dimensional hyper volume’ of many variables. This aspect of the ecology of mixed-species flocks – namely their niches– remains under-studied. I studied mixed-species bird flocks in the semi-evergreen forests of Anshi National Park in the Western Ghats of India to understand the effect of richness and composition of the flock on the foraging niches of individual participants. I sampled a total of 113 flocks during the months January 2020 - March 2020. I used foraging height and behavior as representatives of the foraging niche which are the most relevant in the flock context. Foraging height ranges were correlated with species richness whereas average flocking heights were not. The results suggest that two of the nuclear gregarious species – which are key to flock formation and maintenance - are likely to determine the height of flock. Further, these gregarious species may influence the height of two other important sallying species that often follow the flock nucleus. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of the foraging niche modifications that act on an individual level while influencing interactions at the group level in flocks. en_US
dc.description.sponsorship Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, KS Lab en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.subject MIxed species bird flocks en_US
dc.subject Mixed-species bird flocks en_US
dc.subject Foraging height average en_US
dc.subject Western ghats en_US
dc.subject Foraging height range en_US
dc.subject Richness en_US
dc.subject species richness en_US
dc.subject Composition en_US
dc.subject Foraging height niche en_US
dc.subject Facilitative relationships en_US
dc.subject nuclear species en_US
dc.subject sallyers en_US
dc.subject gregarious species en_US
dc.subject 2020 en_US
dc.title Effect of species richness and composition on foraging niches in mixed species bird flocks en_US
dc.type Thesis en_US
dc.type.degree BS-MS en_US
dc.contributor.department Dept. of Biology en_US
dc.contributor.registration 20151053 en_US


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  • MS THESES [1705]
    Thesis submitted to IISER Pune in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the BS-MS Dual Degree Programme/MSc. Programme/MS-Exit Programme

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