Avian traits along Afromontane elevations

• Thesis title in Czech: Vlastnosti ptáků podél nadmořské výšky Afrických hor
• Thesis title in English: Avian traits along Afromontane elevations
• Key words: ptáci, ekologické vlastnosti, Africa, mountains, elevace
• English key words: birds, ecological traits, Africa, mountains, elevations
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2021/2022
• Thesis type: dissertation
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of Ecology (31-162)
• Supervisor: doc. RNDr. David Hořák, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 07.10.2021
• Date of assignment: 08.10.2021
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 08.10.2021
• Advisors: prof. Mgr. Tomáš Albrecht, Ph.D.

Preliminary scope of work

Práce by se měla zabývat variabilitou vlastností ptáků v geografickém prostoru Afrických hor, vztahem ekologického a geografického prostoru. Bude využívat zejména data posbíraná v Kamerunských horách, podél gradientu Kamerunské hory.

Preliminary scope of work in English

Along latitude we are observing biological diversity patterns with majority of species living in tropical regions, which are also a well-known biodiversity hotspots. In Africa, mountain areas are playing crucial role for the biodiversity, because they provide a lot of various environments, which differ along elevation. Our knowledge of African mountain biodiversity and the ecology of species living there is very limited. Recognizing patterns and processes at fine scale along environmental gradients in African mountains can help with understanding geographical ranges and predicting their changes under human pressure and climate change.
Species richness decreases along elevation, but at mid-elevations zones we are observing peaks - at mid-elevations turnovers of tropical assemblages are often reported. It may indicate that lowland and montane bird communities mix within the middle elevation zone. There is no physical barrier between these two areas, but climate change there suddenly, because of tropical mist. With mist vegetation and abiotic parameters differ significantly.
Morphological traits inform us about the adaptations of organisms and the ecological niche it uses. Small changes in environment, for example forest structure, can be a trigger to a change. Birds have the ability to respond to such changes and, over a long period of time, create borders between the parts of communities. Not only morphological traits give us information about ecological niche, organisms are using. Physiological traits can let us distinguish between montane and lowland populations in areas of, for example, cold tolerance, hemoglobin concentration or basal metabolic rate. These parameters can represent ecological niche in aspects of thermal and metabolic adaptations. Eye size in a small spatial scale can differ between a species living in a lower forest layer, than this from an upper one. Availability of light on a small scale varies especially in tropical forests. Bigger eyes have more receptors and this kind of eyes are probably corresponding with living in darker environment – we predict it as a novel feature for describing ecological niche for small spatial scales in tropical forest layers.
The research will focus on variability of bird traits in the area of Afromontane elevations and their relationship between ecological and geographical space. The aim of the project is to establish how bird’s traits (we are going to highlight three types of traits: a) classic traits, which are representing typical biological informations about birds like for example: morphological, reproductive, feeding; b) physiological (for example blood parameters or metabolic rate); c) novel traits (eye size, eye area)), are linked to their geographical distribution in the mountains (elong elevations) and how they inform about ecological space occupation. We are going to use mostly data collected in Mount Cameroon, along a slope of this mountain. Here with use of both bird’s data and spatial data we will try to explain:

(I) how ecological and geographical space can be described and explained in an elevational gradien by physiological and morphological bird’s traits;
(II) how bird’s traits with a combination on feather’s isotopes can help distinguish moulting origin of birds, and what comes with it, spatial differences between studied species and populations along elevation gradient;
(III) how bird’s eye size varies between species and populations, depends on ecological niche, in which individuals live and a physical distribution in forest layers and an elevation along the slope of mountains.