The diversity of resident passerine bird in the East Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau is closely related to plant species richness, vertical altitude difference and habitat area

Abstract

East Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau is rich in biodiversity in China. Complex geographical and climatic conditions and rich bird resources made this area an ideal system for studying the spatial distribution mechanism and influencing factors of birds, which were still unknown. Bird community data from 37 sites in this region were collected, including 505 bird species and 164 species of resident passerine bird, were extracted for analysis. The taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic diversity, functional diversity (FD), and community structure index were calculated. Ordinary least square (OLS), spatial autoregressive models (SAR), and structural equation model (SEM) were used to explore the relationship between bird diversity index and environmental factors which were used to describe the habitat conditions of birds. Results indicated that species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), and FD have similar distribution patterns and are mainly affected by vascular plant species richness, habitat area, and vertical altitude difference. The phylogenetic and functional structure of bird community changed in both longitude and latitude direction, and the phylogenetic structure of community was dispersed in the west and clustered in the east, significantly related to habitat area, and vertical altitude difference, the functional structure was dispersed in all sites, significantly related to average annual precipitation. The community in the west and south of the East Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau is mainly driven by interspecific competitive, while the process in the east and north is mainly driven by environmental filtration. Distribution pattern of bird diversity was caused by the comprehensive action of various habitat factors which were mainly related to food availability and habitat heterogeneity. For maintaining the living space of birds, the protection of urban parks, wetland parks, campuses, and other urban green spaces is as important as national and provincial nature reserves. Revealing the construction mechanism and main influencing factors of bird communities in different areas is conducive to targeted protection work.

Keywords: East Yunnan‐Kweichow Plateau; altitude; area; bird; functional structure; phylogenetic structure; plant species richness.