title: Communally Nesting Migratory Birds Create Ecological Hot-Spots in Tropical Australia.
abstract: Large numbers of metallic starlings (Aplonis metallica) migrate annually from New Guinea to the rainforests of tropical Australia, where they nest communally in single emergent trees (up to 1,000 birds). These aggregations create dense and species-rich faunal "hot-spots", attracting a diverse assemblage of local consumers that utilise this seasonal resource. The starlings nested primarily in poison-dart trees (Antiaris toxicaria) near the rainforest-woodland boundary. Surveys underneath these colonies revealed that bird-derived nutrients massively increased densities of soil invertebrates and mammals (primarily wild pigs) beneath trees, year-round. Flying invertebrates, nocturnal birds, reptiles, and amphibians congregated beneath the trees when starlings were nesting (the wet-season). Diurnal birds (primarily cockatoos and bush turkeys) aggregated beneath the trees during the dry-season to utilise residual nutrients when the starlings were not nesting. The abundance of several taxa was considerably higher (to > 1000-fold) under colony trees than under nearby trees. The system strikingly resembles utilisation of bird nesting colonies by predators in other parts of the world but this spectacular system has never been described, emphasizing the continuing need for detailed natural-history studies in tropical Australia.
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|Resource Evaluation and Development, Bamaga, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniel J D
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Natusch
authors.affiliation: Resource Evaluation and Development, Bamaga, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shine
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000502:physiology; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D065947:Rainforest; D012621:Seasons; D046749:Starlings / Q000502:physiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate