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Greener Journal of Biological Sciences Vol. 11(2), pp. 81-92, 2021 ISSN: 2276-7762 Copyright ©2021, the copyright of this article is retained by the author(s)
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Floral Resources of key Afromontane Tree Species Predict Sunbird Distribution and Abundance in Ngel Nyaki Forest, Taraba State-Nigeria.
1*Charles Ayuk Nsor, 2Hazel M. Chapman, 3William Godsoe, 1Amina Haruna Aliyu
1Department of Biological Sciences, Gombe State University, Gombe-Nigeria
aliyuamina50@ gmail. com
2 School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch-New Zealand.
hazel.chapman@ canterbury. ac.nz
3Bio-Protection Centre, Lincoln University, Lincoln New Zealand william.godsoe@ lincoln.ac.nz
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ARTICLE INFO |
ABSTRACT |
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Article No.: 100521099 Type: Research
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Background: Species diversity is a community attribute that is directly related to ecosystem productivity and trophic structure. Bird’s choice of habitat and by extension their distribution depends largely on the availability of critical resources. Abundance and diversity assessment of sunbird species at Ngel Nyaki forest reserve was conducted during and after peak periods of flowering of key bird visited tree species. Methods: Line transects method was used to assess sunbird species abundance and distribution. Mist-nets placed strategically in places of high abundances and diversity of floral resources was used to capture and identify sunbird species that eluded observers during focal observations. Nineteen (19) transects cutting across two distinct habitat classes were used to record the abundance and diversity of sunbird species. Results: A total of 3,035 individuals from 11 species, drawn from 8 genera in the Nectrinidae family were sighted and recorded during 1680 minutes (28 hrs) of focal observation. Sixteen (16) Afro-tropical tree species were sampled for interactions between sunbird species and their floral resources. Ninety nine (99) individuals of 8 sunbird species were captured after about 209hrs 4mins of trapping. Bird traps revealed three species that were not seen during focal observations. Results indicated that the reserve accounts for about 46.2 % of the total species of sunbirds in Nigeria and about 36.4% in the West African sub-region. Conclusion: Although more individuals in total of the various sunbird species were sighted in the Core forest than in the riparian fragments, sunbird species diversity did not differ significantly between the two habitat classes. Floral resources and flowering phenology appear to be major drivers in the distribution and abundance of sunbird species at Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve. |
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Accepted: 08/10/2021 Published: 10/10/2021 |
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*Corresponding Author Charles Nsor E-mail: charlesnsor@ yahoo.co.uk Phone: +2348103303073 |
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Keywords: Sunbird; Spatial distribution; Montane; Abundance; Diversity; Fragment |
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Cite this Article: Nsor, CA; Chapman, HM; Godsoe, W; Aliyu, AH (2021). Floral Resources of key Afromontane Tree Species Predict Sunbird Distribution and Abundance in Ngel Nyaki Forest, Taraba State-Nigeria. Greener Journal of Biological Sciences, 11(2): 81-92.
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