Canopy bird assemblages are less influenced by habitat age and isolation than understory bird assemblages in Neotropical secondary forest

Secondary forest habitats are increasingly recognized for their potential to conserve biodiversity in the tropics. However, the development of faunal assemblages in secondary forest systems varies according to habitat quality and species‐specific traits. In this study, we predicted that the recovery of bird assemblages is dependent on secondary forest age and level of isolation, the forest stratum examined, and the species’ traits of feeding guild and body mass. This study was undertaken in secondary forests in central Panama; spanning a chronosequence of 60‐, 90‐, and 120‐year‐old forests, and in neighboring old‐growth forest. To give equal attention to all forest strata, we employed a novel method that paired simultaneous surveys in canopy and understory. This survey method provides a more nuanced picture than ground‐based studies, which are biased toward understory assemblages. Bird reassembly varied according to both habitat age and isolation, although it was challenging to separate these effects, as the older sites were also more isolated than the younger sites. In combination, habitat age and isolation impacted understory birds more than canopy‐dwelling birds. Proportions of dietary guilds did not vary with habitat age, but were significantly different between strata. Body mass distributions were similar across forest ages for small‐bodied birds, but older forest supported more large‐bodied birds, probably due to control of poaching at these sites. Canopy assemblages were characterized by higher species richness, and greater variation in both dietary breadth and body mass, relative to understory assemblages. The results highlight that secondary forests may offer critical refugia for many bird species, particularly specialist canopy‐dwellers. However, understory bird species may be less able to adapt to novel and isolated habitats and should be the focus of conservation efforts encouraging bird colonization of secondary forests.