干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The richness and composition of bird species in the Atacama desert located in the Far North of Chile, was studied between 1996 and 1998. Using lineal transects, the richness of bird species was evaluated in nine locations of the Atacama Desert, grouped into four ecological zones: Coastal Desert, Inland Desert, Marginal Tropical, and Altitude Tropical. Bird species richness totaled 80 species, belonging to 51 genera and 26 families. Total richness corresponded to 52% of historical descriptions of birdlife in the Chilean Far North desert. The ecological zones of the coastal and altitude tropical desert areas each have unique bird fauna elements. Insectivorous birds predominated over other trophic groups (40% of total species). The predominance of different trophic groups appears to depend on the type of feeding habitat used. Our results suggest that the variety of bird species in the Chilean Atacama Desert is determined by habitat heterogeneity and the immigration of species from zones, adjacent to the Atacama Desert.