Short-term effects of hurricanes Maria and Irma on forest birds of Puerto Rico

Abstract

We compared occupancy in local assemblages of birds in forested areas across Puerto Rico during a winter before (2015) and shortly after (2018) the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria. Using dynamic community models analyzed within a Bayesian framework, we found significant changes in detectability, with some species becoming more readily detected after the storms and others becoming more difficult to detect during surveys. Changes in occupancy were equally mixed. Five species–mostly granivores and omnivores, but also Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus), a migratory insectivore–occupied more sites in 2018 than in 2015. Twelve species were less common after the hurricanes, including all of the obligate frugivores. Declines in site-occupancy rates were not only more common than increases, but tended to be of greater magnitude. Our results support the general conclusions that bird species respond largely independently to changes in forest structure caused by hurricanes, but that some dietary guilds, notably frugivores, are more sensitive and more likely to show changes in abundance or occupancy following strong storms.