Richness and abundance of birds in riparian forest belts of varied breadths at the Sesesmiles river microwatershed, Copan, Honduras

Richness and abundance of birds in riparian forest belts of varied breadths at the Sesesmiles river microwatershed, Copan, Honduras. Riparian forests protect many species of plants and animals. We studied bird communities in riparian forest belts of the Sesesmiles river microwatershed, Copan, Honduras (140 degrees 43' 12" - 140 degrees 58' 35" N, 88 degrees 53' 23" - 89 degrees 14' 17" W). The main goal was to explore the effects of belt breadth on the richness and abundance of avian species visiting these forests. We selected 20 belts, and randomly established 30 observation points to monitor bird presence in the dry (March-April 2005) and rainy (June-July 2005) season (N= 60 observations). A total of 1,294 birds belonging to 145 species were recorded. Bird diversity was significantly correlated to the breadth of the riparian belts, with a greater number of species and individuals in belts 50 m wide or wider. Insectivorous and nectarivorous birds were the most abundant guilds. All bird species identified depend to some degree on riparian forests and are affected by belt breadth. Riparian belts over 50 m should be kept or established in order to conserve bird populations within agricultural and fragmented landscapes in similar tropical areas.