11. Avian Communities in Temperate Rainforests
of North and South America
Mary F. Willson, Toni L. De Santo, Carlos Sabag,
and Juan J. Armesto
The climate and topography of the temperate rainforest biomes of North
and South America have many similarities (e.g., Alaback , 1991). However, the biogeographic and phylogenetic relationships of the avian inhabitants of these biomes differ greatly, as does the structure of their
habitats. There is no particular reason to expect great similarities in avian
community structure in the two regions, but.a comparison of communities
can be instructive by setting the stage for more directly functional and
predictive approaches (e.g ., laksic & Feinsinger, 1991; Meserve & laksic,
1991; Willson, 1991). Here we examine first the abundance , diversity,
guild structure, and selected biological attributes of bird communities in
coastal temperate rainforests of Alaska and Chile. We then broaden the
comparison , using previously published information for avian communities
of the south temperate forests of Argentina and Chile and the north
temperate forests in North America, specificallythose in the northwestern
part of that continent and those of the midwestern United States, to
try to make more general statements. Our goals are : 1) to describe differences and similarities in avian communities in these forests, focusing
on diversity, abundance , and selected biological attributes; 2) to assess
the similarity of the bird community of the Chilean rainforest to the
Alaskan coastal rainforest and to Canadian interior forests; and 3)
to begin to examine some sources of the differences in community
structure.
228
of North and South America
Mary F. Willson, Toni L. De Santo, Carlos Sabag,
and Juan J. Armesto
The climate and topography of the temperate rainforest biomes of North
and South America have many similarities (e.g., Alaback , 1991). However, the biogeographic and phylogenetic relationships of the avian inhabitants of these biomes differ greatly, as does the structure of their
habitats. There is no particular reason to expect great similarities in avian
community structure in the two regions, but.a comparison of communities
can be instructive by setting the stage for more directly functional and
predictive approaches (e.g ., laksic & Feinsinger, 1991; Meserve & laksic,
1991; Willson, 1991). Here we examine first the abundance , diversity,
guild structure, and selected biological attributes of bird communities in
coastal temperate rainforests of Alaska and Chile. We then broaden the
comparison , using previously published information for avian communities
of the south temperate forests of Argentina and Chile and the north
temperate forests in North America, specificallythose in the northwestern
part of that continent and those of the midwestern United States, to
try to make more general statements. Our goals are : 1) to describe differences and similarities in avian communities in these forests, focusing
on diversity, abundance , and selected biological attributes; 2) to assess
the similarity of the bird community of the Chilean rainforest to the
Alaskan coastal rainforest and to Canadian interior forests; and 3)
to begin to examine some sources of the differences in community
structure.
228