Scientists from the UK and Brazil studied the range of physical and behavioural traits – the functional diversity – of birds in parts of the Brazilian Amazon forest affected by fires.
The fires had a major impact on the mix of bird species present, and there were fewer species in some areas, for example where the understorey had been opened up so much that primary-forest species couldn't return.
But the researchers also found the range of traits present among the area's birds had not been affected.
'Our research suggests that functional diversity may be more resilient than you would predict from looking at changes in species composition, which is good news for the recovery of ecosystem functions. Nevertheless, rainforest fires are still bad news indeed for the birds that depend on the dark understorey found in primary forests,' explains Dr Jos Barlow of Lancaster University, a joint author of the study.
Studies of disturbances to biodiversity typically focus on the number or abundance of species affected, but looking at species' traits is important to more fully understand the consequences of ecosystem degradation.
This is because of the different roles plants and animals play in an ecosystem. Losing a species entirely is obviously bad news, but it might not be a complete disaster if there are other organisms performing the same functions. To give a simplistic example, the loss of one insect-eating species won't upset the balance of the ecosystem provided some of the remaining species eat the same insects.
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