Erosion of tropical bird diversity over a century is influenced by abundance, diet and subtle climatic tolerances

Human alteration of landscapes leads to attrition of biodiversity. Recommendations for maximizing retention of species richness typically focus on protection and preservation of large habitat patches. Despite a century of protection from human disturbance, 27% of the 228 bird species initially detected on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, a large hilltop forest fragment isolated by waters of Gatun Lake, are now absent. Lost species were more likely to be initially uncommon and terrestrial insectivores. Analyses of the regional avifauna, exhaustively inventoried and mapped across 24 subregions, identified strong geographical discontinuities in species distributions associated with a steep transisthmian rainfall gradient. Having lost mostly species preferring humid forests, the BCI species assemblage continues to shift from one originally typical of wetter forests toward one now resembling bird communities in drier forests. Even when habitat remnants are large and protected for 100 years, altered habitat characteristics resulting from isolation produce non-random loss of species linked with their commonness, dietary preferences and subtle climatic sensitivities.