Here are some very brief summaries of research that had to do with coffee growing that were presented at North American Ornithological Conference. I also put together a page with full abstracts, and author contacts.
- Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) foraging behavior in the western Andes of Colombia. This species (which I’ve written about before) was common in shade coffee plantations, and only fed in the shade canopy.
- Population ecology of Cerulean Warblers on breeding and wintering grounds. This study concluded that shade coffee farms in the Venezuelan Andes were critical wintering habitat for this species, with density in the farms higher than in the surrounding forest.
- Coffee certification as an economic incentive for bird conservation. Discusses the shade coffee farms of central Veracruz, Mexico, many shaded by cloud forest tree species.
- Certification and birds: the importance of shade coffee plantations for species diversity in the Cuetzalan region, Puebla, Mexico. 182 species were recorded in this area, and while not as rich as primary forest, shade coffee still maintains a high diversity of birds.
- Traditional coffee plantations: suitable habitat in the anthropogenic matrix for Neotropical resident and migratory birds. A study that complements the previous Puebla study, quantifying the different types of birds found in shade coffee.
- Neotropical insectivorous birds as pest control of the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) on Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee farms. More on Matt Johnson’s work in Jamaica.
- Birds, shade grown coffee, and community outreach in Ecuador. Self explanatory.
- Sensitive bird species in shade coffee plantations. In southern Mexico, shade coffee with high levels of structural diversity (many layers of shade trees) may be good for conservation purposes; however, shade coffee may only be important for forest species which are sensitive to deforestation and disturbance when close to intact forest.
