Abstract

CASTANEDA, Elena  and  GONZALES, Paúl. One hundred and two conspicuous birds across an elevation gradient in the western Andes of central Peru. Arnaldoa [online]. 2022, vol.29, n.2, pp.291-318.  Epub Aug 30, 2022. ISSN 1815-8242.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22497/arnaldoa.292.29107.

Birds are the most diverse group of vertebrates, who through flight can move small to long distances, however their distributions can be constrained by environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation which change with altitude in the Andes. The objective of the study was to determine the richness and abundance of birds for vegetation types across an altitude gradient. Bird species and abundance were measured using point counts and by total counting, supplemented by opportunistic records, surveys were conducted in October 2015. We recorded 102 conspicuous bird species of which eight are endemic species reported for Peru. The greatest richness of bird species was between 2,000 and 3,000 m, but there were differences in the distribution pattern of species richness between water-associated habitats against non water-associated habitats. We concluded that bird diversity from the Chillón valley is influenced by altitude and this pattern is representative of the western slope of central Peru.

Keywords : Andean slopes; birdwatching; Canta; Chillón river; endemism; Lima.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English     · English ( pdf )