This dataset includes bird community, habitat structure, and vegetation data from the following publication:

Raman, T.R.S. 2006. Effects of Habitat Structure and Adjacent Habitats on Birds in Tropical Rainforest Fragments and Shaded Plantations in the Western Ghats, India. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 1577–1607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-2352-5

Abstract: As large nature reserves occupy only a fraction of the earth’s land surface, conservation biologists are critically examining the role of private lands, habitat fragments, and plantations for conservation. This study in a biodiversity hotspot and endemic bird area, the Western Ghats mountains of India, examined the effects of habitat structure, floristics, and adjacent habitats on bird communities in shade-coffee and cardamom plantations and tropical rainforest fragments. Habitat and birds were sampled in 13 sites: six fragments (three relatively isolated and three with canopy connectivity with adjoining shade-coffee plantations and forests), six plantations differing in canopy tree species composition (five coffee and one cardamom), and one undisturbed primary rainforest control site in the Anamalai hills. Around 3300 detections of 6000 individual birds belonging to 106 species were obtained. The coffee plantations were poorer than rainforest in rainforest bird species, particularly endemic species, but the rustic cardamom plantation with diverse, native rainforest shade trees, had bird species richness and abundance comparable to primary rainforest. Plantations and fragments that adjoined habitats providing greater tree canopy connectivity supported more rainforest and fewer open-forest bird species and individuals than sites that lacked such connectivity. These effects were mediated by strong positive effects of vegetation structure, particularly woody plant variables, cane, and bamboo, on bird community structure. Bird community composition was however positively correlated only to floristic (tree species) composition of sites. The maintenance or restoration of habitat structure and (shade) tree species composition in shade-coffee and cardamom plantations and rainforest fragments can aid in rainforest bird conservation in the regional landscape.

The data were collected as described in Raman (2006), Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 1577–1607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-2352-5. This includes data from 381, five-minute bird point count surveys from 13 sites (see file: Sites.csv). It also includes corresponding habitat structure and floristic data from point-centred quarter (PCQ) plots, 5 m radius plots, and point surveys as described in the publication. Note that tree density and basal area were obtained from replicate PCQ plots in 12 sites (see file: PCQ_data.csv), but were obtained from 5 m radius circular plots in 1 site (Site I, SIVCO, Siva Coffee; see file: SivaCoffeePlots.csv), where it was not possible to use the PCQ method.

Note the bird point count data has also been uploaded as 5-min stationary count checklists to the eBird India portal (http://ebird.org/india) with the following Submission Comment that will appear in the Checklist comments of each corresponding list:

Bird point count data from: Raman, T. R. S. 2006. Effects of habitat structure and adjacent habitats on birds in tropical rainforest fragments and shaded plantations in the Western Ghats, India. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 1577–1607. DOI: 10.1007/s10531-005-2352-5

The compilation and archiving of this data was carried out as part of the project "Long-term bird community dynamics in a fragmented tropical rainforest landscape in the Western Ghats, India" supported by the Science and Engineering Board, India (Project: EMR/2016/007968).

Files in the dataset corresponding to the Raman (2006) paper.

1) 01_ReadMe.txt: Refer this file for details of each column of data in the following files that are included in the dataset.

2) 02_Sites.csv: Details of 13 surveyed sites

3) 03_BirdSpecies.csv: Details of bird species recorded during the survey, including codes, categories, and updated taxonomy

4) 04_PointCountData.csv: Contains the data from the 381, 5-min point count surveys

5) 05_Detections.csv: Species by site summary of number of detections recorded

6) 06_Abundance.csv: Species by site summary of number of individual birds recorded

7) 07_Appendix.csv: Appendix as in Raman (2006) publication

8) 08_PCQ_data.csv: Data from Point-Centred Quarter (PCQ) plots in the various sites

9) 09_Habitat_structure.csv: Habitat structure data from the various sites

10) 10_SivaCoffeePlots.csv: Data from 5 m radius vegetation plots in Siva Coffee (Site I)

11) 11_SivaCoffeeTrees.csv: Floristic data from an 80-tree sample in Siva Coffee (Site I)