Are Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee Plantations Bird-Friendly?
This study evaluates several key questions that will contribute to the debate about ecosystem services in a biological corridor, and sustainable management practices in coffee farming. I evaluated ecosystem services provided by coffee plantations, such as habitat for avian biodiversity, and contribution to the conservation of genetic diversity through the facilitation of movement corridors. I examined the relative survivorship rates for forest birds within large patches of natural forest, small forest fragments, certified (Rainforest Alliance) coffee plantations, technified coffee plantations, and open farmland. Also, I asked if migratory bird species, visiting for the winter, have higher survivorship and/or site fidelity in any of these habitats. And I asked if dispersing forest birds selected certain habitats more than others within the corridor for movement across it. Since I used mist net capture data to consider these questions, first I evaluated the detectability (capture probability) of the study species, so that data from the different habitat treatments could be compared and contrasted.