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Vol. 44 No. 4, 2005
Habitat Selection of the Cooperative Breeding Taiwan Yuhina (Yuhina brunneiceps) in a Fragmented Forest Habitat
Pei-Fen Lee1, Sheng-Feng Shen1,2, Tzung-Su Ding3, Chyi-Rong Chiou3, and Hsiao-Wei Yuan3,*
1Institute
of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Department of Life Science,
National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106. E-mail: leepf@ntu.edu.tw
2Present address: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. E-mail: ss456@cornell.edu
3School
of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University,
Taipei, Taiwan 106. E-mail: ding@ntu.edu.tw (TSD), esclove@ntu.edu.tw
(CRC)
Pei-Fen Lee, Sheng-Feng Shen, Tzung-Su Ding, Chyi-Rong Chiou, and Hsiao-Wei Yuan (2005)
We used multilevel analyses (individual habitat selection and
population structure) to study edge effects on the Taiwan Yuhina (Yuhina brunneiceps),
an endemic subtropical species at Meifeng, central Taiwan. The 95%
kernel home range area was used to study habitat preferences, and the
source-sink threshold was calculated to determine whether this yuhina
population is self-sustainable. Within the study site, woods, open
spaces, orchards, buildings, and pond habitats were preferred in that
order. Within the home ranges, orchard habitats were preferred to open
spaces. Larger breeding groups had larger home ranges with more trees
and open spaces. Nest sites were closer to forest edges than random
points were. The density of Taiwan cherry trees was significantly
higher within home ranges than available areas, especially near edges,
suggesting the fruit, s potential value to breeding yuhinas. Although
the yuhinas suffered high rates of nest failure at Meifeng, this
population still seemed to be self-sustaining due to the long breeding
season with multiple broods and a cooperative breeding strategy.
Key words: Edge, Fragmentation, Home range, Source-sink population dynamics.
*Correspondence: Tel: 886-2-23660235. E-mail: hwyuan@ntu.edu.tw
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