A new survey recorded 125 birds in Papua New Guinea’s Waria Valley, of which an astounding 43 percent were endemic to the island. The survey, published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science, was the first of its kind for the rainforest-studded valley and found that bird populations were most diverse and abundant in primary forests.
The bird surveys were carried out in four different habitats including primary forest, primary forest edges, secondary forest edges, and agricultural landscape. According to the paper birds fared best in primary forest.
“Species richness and diversity were found to be greater in primary forest and primary edge habitats than in agricultural habitats, which supports findings from another lowland forest site in Madang” Papua New Guinea, the authors write. Interestingly the researchers however found little difference between bird communities in primary forests versus primary edge forests. Twenty-eight species recorded in the survey were only found in primary forest habitats, with frugivores (fruit-eating) largely dependent on forest cover for survival.
“Overall, our study has highlighted the importance of forested habitats to the avifauna, in that 49 of the total 125 species (39.2 percent) were recorded only in forested habitats (secondary, primary edge and primary), compared to just 11 species (8.8 percent) seen solely in agricultural habitats. It is highly likely that more species exist in the Waria Valley, particularly within the primary forest, as many species expected to be found in lowland rainforest in this part of New Guinea were not recorded,” the authors write.
They warn that population growth is leading to agricultural expansion leading to rising pressure on birds as well as other species. Industries, such as logging and mining, have not entered the valley as they have in other places in Papua New Guinea. The authors recommend more biodiversity surveys, education and awareness-building, and the creation of land-use management plans to conserve high biodiversity areas.
Clockwise from top left: Wompoo Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus magnificus), Spot-winged Monarch (Monarcha guttula), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) eating coconut, Graceful Honeyeater (Meliphaga gracilis cinerifrons), Variable Dwarf Kingfisher (Ceyx lepidus). Photos by J. Dawson.
CITATION: Dawson, J., Turner, C., Pileng, O., Farmer, A., McGary, C., Walsh, C., Tamblyn, A. and Yosi, C. 2011. Bird communities of the lower Waria Valley, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea: a comparison between habitat types. Tropical Conservation Science Vol. 4(3):317-348.
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