Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia - Universidade Federal do Acre

Birds of the Brazilian state of Acre: diversity, zoogeography, and conservationEdson Guilherme401The vast majority of the 667 species recorded for thestate – 602 (90,2%) – were classified as residents, whereasfive (Bubulcus ibis, Geranoaetus albicaudatus, Caracaraplancus, Vanellus chilensis, and Athene cunicularia) wereconsidered to be invaders, and another five as introducedspecies (Columba livia, Passer domesticus, Sicalis flaveola,Sporophila maximiliani, and Estrilda astrild; Guilherme2000, 2011). The last species has adapted well to theregion (Silva 2004), and all introduced species nowreproduce in the wild independently.A total of 64 migratory species were identified, ofwhich almost half 46.8% (n = 30) are Nearctic migrants,whereas 23.4% (n = 15) are considered to be intratropicalmigrants, and 29.6% (n = 19) austral migrants. Twospecies – Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Guilherme et al. 2005)and Heliomaster furcifer – were considered to be vagrants(Appendix 1).Endemic speciesAcre is located within the Inambari center ofendemism (Haffer 1978; Cracraft 1985; Silva et al.2005b). Of the 57 taxa listed as endemic to this centerby Cracraft (1985) and the 45 listed by Haffer (1978),41 were recorded in Acre (Appendix 1). The speciesOdontophorus stellatus, Phaethornis phillipii, Pteroglossusbeauharnaesii, Simoxenops ucayalae, Hemitriccusflammulatus, and Ramphotrigon fuscicauda are not listedas endemic in Appendix 1 because subsequent studies (seedel Hoyo 1994, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004; Perlo 2009)have extended their known ranges beyond the limits ofthe Inambari center. However, four species were addedto this list, including three more recently described taxa(Nannopsittaca dachilleae, Thamnophilus divisorius andCnipodectes superrufus) and one (Hypocnemis subflava) thathas been raised to full species status. Therefore, currently41 Inambari endemic species are known to occur in Acre(Appendix 1).Endangered speciesNone of the native species recorded in the presentstudy is included in the Brazilian list of bird speciesthreatened with extinction (Machado et al. 2008). Onthe other hand, Sporophila maximiliani, which wasintroduced into the state by bird fanciers, and is nowfound naturally in the wild, is the only species listedas endangered by Machado et al. (2008). However, theIUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)red list includes 10 species resident in Acre in the nearthreatened (NT) category – Harpia harpyja, Morphnusguianensis, Primolius couloni, Nannopsittaca dachilleae,Formicarius rufifrons, Grallaria eludens, Synallaxis cherriei,Simoxenops ucayalae, Conothraupis speculigera, and Cacicuskoepckeae.HabitatsMost (77.8%) of the bird species recorded in Acreare found in the dense or open terra firme rainforest, withpalms and/or bamboo (Appendix 1). With the exceptionof a small proportion of species that are restricted tobamboo forest (Appendix 1), all other forest speciesrecorded in Acre are associated with forests where palmsare present. Approximately 12.9% of the recorded speciesare associated with aquatic environments, such as várzeaswamp forest, riverbank habitats, creeks, reservoirs, lakes,and the sandy beaches formed by meandering riversduring the dry season (Appendix 1).A small, but nevertheless important, proportion ofthe species (2.1%) is strictly associated with the vegetationthat grows on sandy soils, that is, the campinas andcampinaranas (Appendix 1). These habitats are located onlyin the extreme west of the state. Of all bird species associatedwith this type of habitat in Acre, at least nine (Patagioenasspeciosa, Polytmus theresiae, Dendrocolaptes certhiapolyzonus, Formicivora grisea, Schiffornis amazona, Neopipocinamomea, Xenopipo atronitens, Cnemotriccus fuscatusduidae, and Tachyphonus phoenicius) can be consideredto be restricted to these habitats, and at least a furthertwelve (Crypturellus strigulosus, Topaza pyra, Frederickenaunduligera, Heterocercus linteatus, Machaeropterus striolatus,Manacus manacus, Hemitriccus minimus, Hemitriccusgriseipectus, Lophotriccus vitiosus, Poecilotriccus latirostris,Ramphotrigon ruficauda, and Attila citriniventris) arepartially restricted to them (Guilherme 2009, Guilherme& Borges, 2011, Guilherme & Aleixo, unpubl. data).Distribution patternsThe majority (79%) of the 667 species of birds foundin Acre occur in both of its sub-regions (separated by thePurus River), and hence throughout the state (Appendix1). A further 16% were recorded only in the centralwesternsub-region of the state (west of the Purus), and5% only in its eastern portion (east of the Purus). Noneof the species are restricted to the central portion of thestate - the intermediate region between the Juruá andPurus rivers.At least five pairs of purported sister taxa wereidentified with a distribution pattern consistent withclassic allopatry (Table 1). In all these cases, one or otherof each pair of taxa was found in different areas of thestate, e.g., Crypturellus undulatus undulatus/yapura andLepidothrix coronata coronata/exquisita.A total of 15 sets of parapatric purported sistertaxa were identified during this study, encompassing30 taxa, 26 of which are currently treated as subspecies(Table 2). In most cases, one of the parapatric taxa iswidely distributed in Acre, whereas the other has a morerestricted range (Table 2, Figure 5).Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 20(4), 2012