Fragmentation effects caused by a power line right-of-way on a mid-elevation forest bird community in central Colombia

In this first Neotropical study of its kind, we evaluated the effect of the segmentation caused by a right-of-way corridor on the avian community of a central Colombian forest. There were no differences in species richness or composition between the two forest fragments created by the opening of the ROW Forest interior bird species were almost absent from the corridor and less abundant close to it, open-area species were common in the corridor and up to 20 m inside the forest although there was a significant difference between the portion of the ROW with second growth and the portion that is kept clean of vegetation. The movement of forest-restricted birds across the ROW was noted in the second-growth portion, which served as a bridge and prevented the ROW from isolating populations on either side It is concluded that the ROW reduces original habitat and creates a double edge that affects the distribution of forest as well as open-area bird species. On the other hand, vegetation regrowth in the ROW is extremely important in mitigating the fragmentation effect, reducing the entrance of open-area species and permitting the movement of forest species between remnant forest patches. These findings will help to provide guidelines for the management of the extensive ROW areas in the Neotropics.