Effects of Land-Use Modifications in the Potential Distribution of Endemic Bird Species Associated With Tropical Dry Forest in Guerrero, Southern Mexico

Land-use changes are one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. It would be expected that species with restricted habitats and distribution should experience the main negative effects of the modification of natural environments. To exemplify the potential effect of land transformation on restricted species, we focused on the potential habitat loss of six endemic and quasi-endemic species to Mexico (Ortalis poliocephala, Melanerpes chrysogenys, Trogon citreolus, Pheugopedius felix, Uropsila leucogastra, and Arremonops rufivirgatus) whose distributions include the state of Guerrero, in southern Mexico. Species distribution models were generated for each species, and potential habitat loss was evaluated using three temporal vegetation and land-use maps (1997, 2003, and 2013). These analyses were then repeated only for tropical dry forest, one of the most dominant ecosystem in the state of Guerrero and with the most severe transformation rates. The potential habitat of all species decreased considerably, particularly for the last periods; the habitats for M. chrysogenys and T. citreolus were reduced by 78% in 2013. The potential habitats of U. leucogastra and P. felix decreased to a lesser extent during the three periods. The reduction tendencies were higher for dry forest than for the remaining habitats, which were ranged from 88% to 93% for U. leucogastra and M. chrysogenys, respectively. These results suggest major negative potential effects of land transformation on the endemic species’ habitat.