Contrasting patterns of land use on resident and migratory bird diversity in a tropical landscape

The spatial configuration and management of agricultural and other land-use practices can affect ecological assemblages, but how resident and migratory species respond to land uses is not well known, hindering our understanding of the effects of land use on biodiversity. Here, we compare alpha and beta diversity and ecosystem functioning for resident and migratory birds across three land uses: (1) primary forest, (2) secondary forest, and (3) cattle pasture. Compositionally, resident bird assemblages exhibited gradual shifts across habitats with diversity steadily declining with increasing distance from a protected area and reductions in understory vegetation. In contrast, migratory bird community composition clustered into five distinct groups, shifting 50-60% less than resident assemblages across the same gradients with no declines in richness. We found that migratory bird abundance was greater in secondary forest and cattle pasture, and migratory insectivores compensated for 68% of the abundance losses of resident forest insectivores in secondary forests and cattle pastures. Among the insectivores, increases of migratory birds in secondary forest and cattle pasture compensated for the abundance declines of resident birds that utilize foliage gleaning and sallying foraging methods. Our findings underscore the importance of local landscape evaluation and management around protected areas, highlighting the unique responses of resident and migratory birds to land use and the potential mechanisms sustaining ecosystem functions in modified habitats.