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Long-term changes in populations of rainforest birds in the Australia Wet Tropics bioregion: a climate-driven biodiversity emergency

View ORCID ProfileStephen E. Williams, Alejandro de la Fuente
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.23.453540
Stephen E. Williams
1Centre for Tropical Environmental Science & Sustainability, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
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  • For correspondence: Stephen.williams@jcu.edu.au
Alejandro de la Fuente
1Centre for Tropical Environmental Science & Sustainability, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
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Abstract

Many authors have suggested that the vulnerability of montane biodiversity to climate change worldwide is significantly higher than in most other ecosystems. Despite the extensive variety of studies predicting severe impacts of climate change globally, few studies have empirically validated the predicted changes in distribution and population density. Here, we used 17 years of bird monitoring across latitudinal/elevational gradients in the rainforest of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area to assess changes in local abundance and distribution. We used relative abundance in 1977 surveys across 114 sites ranging from 0-1500m above sea level and utilised a trend analysis approach (TRIM) to investigate elevational shifts in abundance of 42 species between 2000 – 2016. The local abundance of most mid and high elevation species has declined at the lower edges of their distribution by >40% while lowland species increased by up to 190% into higher elevation areas. Upland-specialised species and regional endemics have undergone dramatic population declines of almost 50%. The “Outstanding Universal Value” of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, one of the most irreplaceable biodiversity hotspots on Earth, is rapidly degrading. These observed impacts are likely to be similar in many tropical montane ecosystems globally.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted July 23, 2021.
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Long-term changes in populations of rainforest birds in the Australia Wet Tropics bioregion: a climate-driven biodiversity emergency
Stephen E. Williams, Alejandro de la Fuente
bioRxiv 2021.07.23.453540; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.23.453540
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Long-term changes in populations of rainforest birds in the Australia Wet Tropics bioregion: a climate-driven biodiversity emergency
Stephen E. Williams, Alejandro de la Fuente
bioRxiv 2021.07.23.453540; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.23.453540

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