Under agroecological management coffee and cacao can be designed to mimick the surrounding natural landscape to promote wildlife friendly practices that enhance synergetic interactions between organisms and provide sustainable food products that increase food sovereignty for local communities . In the case of shade-grown coffee this management is reflected in habitat provision for wildlife, increased levels of connectivity between natural ecosystem through the agricultural matrix, with high levels of plant diversity which in turn maintains a variety of birds serving key functions within the ecosystem . Some of these services include: increasing levels of biodiversity and conservation within the agricultural lands , biological control provided by birds and bats within agroecological coffee , and the local benefit for peasant organizations and their empowerment . Diversified tropical agroecosystems support higher bird phylogenic diversity and species richness compared with intensive monocultures, although the persistence of these groups cannot replace the phylogenetic losses of forest birds resulting from the increased land use change and agricultural intensification . In terms of feeding guild composition nearly 50% of birds in tropical agroecosystems are insectivores . However, in terms of birds, biodiversity changes from tropical forest to agroforestry to open agricultural lands impact the bird communities in the tropics . In a review analysis for tropical ecosystems it was reported that the abundance of functional groups changes: frugivorous and terrestrial insectivorous decrease in agroforestry systems, nectarivores, small-to medium insectivores , omnivores,blueberry in pot and sometimes granivores and small frugivores are better adapted to agroforestry systems, and granivores were more adapted to open agricultural landscapes .

These landscape changes create less specialized bird communities, with consequences for the ecosystem services provided by birds, such as increases in pest outbreaks in simplified agricultural systems without insectivore birds . An exclosure experiment in a cacao agroforestry plantation showed that yield was 31% lower in the exclosure trees, highlighting the significant contribution of birds and bats to biological pest control . Studying the relationship between birds and agroecosystem structure and management is an important and growing area of research linking agroecology and conservation biology. Birds not only provide valuable regulatory ecosystem services in agroecosystems but also offer cultural services and their own intrinsic value from a conservation perspective. Current and future uses of land will increase pressure on biodiversity if sustainable agroecosystem management that takes into account conservation and resource stewardship goals is not implemented. Research should be prioritized in understudied areas where land use change is occurring quickly, such as in Latin America, Africa and South Asia. Less research related with birds and agriculture has been reported from these areas, yet the impacts of land use change towards export commodity crops at the expense of more diverse traditionally grown crops in these regions is proceeding at high rates . More research should test, the intermediate landscape complexity hypotheses proposed by Tscharntke et al. , developed in other regions to elaborate local hypotheses that can provide new approaches to agroecosystem bird friendly management. Transfer of knowledge to and collaboration with local farmers could play a key role in achieving conservation goals and changes in agricultural practices to have concrete impact at the local scale .

Multiple stakeholder collaborations at different organizational levels can promote understanding and respect for nature and capitalize on the tight linkages between agroecosystems, society, and native ecosystems. Examples of this include the restoration of the endangered hoopoe in Switzerland agroecosystems , and citizen science naturalist program in California . One of the drivers of agroecological knowledge is the application of a scientific methodology that integrates local knowledge and its application to a local context. From this point of view the application of this knowledge to an agroecosystem it is not necessarily guaranteed to reach a target result. Rather, the capacity to reevaluate the goals and methods to reach the objectives is key in environmental sciences. For example, discussed and exemplified potential causes of failure of biological control in a variety of agroecosystems, illustrating potential challenges of agroecological management that depend on the local context . Hence, conservation strategies should not be a national “one size fits all” because species are limited by different factors in different regions. Strategies should further take into account the contingency and uncertainty associated with landscape management by adapting a variety of management options .Agricultural land use has fundamentally altered both the spatial configuration and function of ecosystems often resulting in a mosaic of residual natural habitat patches surrounded by agricultural development and associated roads and infrastructure . This agricultural matrix influences wildlife communities at local and landscape scales and increasing agricultural intensification tends to deplete biodiversity , though some of the impacts can be mitigated by diversified farming practices . Not all species can persist within agricultural landscapes, due to different levels of specialization . In an effort to minimize impacts to biodiversity, different approaches to agricultural land use have been debated.

The land sharing approach focuses on agricultural matrix management for wildlife conservation, increasing the quality of the agroecological matrix as habitat via crop diversification and organic/agroecological management . By contrast, land sparing focuses on the intensification of agricultural production, through increased use of agrochemicals to increase yield, in order to spare land for nature conservation . Alternative, integrative approaches include both . Consequently, much evidence underscores the relevant role of the agricultural matrix to wildlife conservation outside protected areas . In practice, some species benefit from agricultural landscapes as habitat while others decline or become displaced and restricted to remnant natural areas where their persistence may be uncertain . This can promote biotic homogenization, an effect shown to be positively related to the level of agricultural intensification . Biotic homogenization is typically defined as the replacement of native biotas by non-natives in genetic, taxonomic, and functional forms and is driven by local extinctions and colonization of alien species . However, an extended definition of biotic homogenization includes colonization by more disturbance-tolerant native species that results in increased competition between species . While genetic and taxonomic homogenization are more intuitive to understand,plastic planters wholesale functional homogenization refers to a lack of diversity in species’ traits and ecological roles within the ecosystem . Communities that have experienced biotic homogenization are often less resilient due to their reduced capacity to adapt to change . The prevalence and expansion of vineyards in Mediterranean ecosystems underscores the need for empirical investigation of the influence of vineyards on native communities, which is poorly understood. Worldwide, vineyards have expanded rapidly over the past two decades . This habitat conversion has fundamentally altered both the spatial configuration and function of ecosystems . In California, assessing local impacts on biodiversity is a priority for effectively managing oak woodland ecosystems , and could also provide insights for conservation planning and understanding across vineyards more broadly . In general, research on biodiversity in agroecosystems typically focuses on species, guilds, or diversity indices , while studies examining the interactions between species are scarce. However, biotic interactions can influence ecological and evolutionary patterns in ecosystems , and can be used to predict the abundance of other species . Here I investigated how oak woodland bird communities are shaped by a gradient in the amount of vineyard development. Importantly, I additionally explored the potential interactions among species adapted to agricultural environments and species associated with oak woodlands by examining patterns of co-occurrence while accounting for the influence of several landscape variables on species detection rates. I predicted that some species would be favored as the vineyard proportion of the landscape increased due to their tolerance of anthropogenic environments, that is, by habitat filtering. Secondly, I expected that the patterns of co-occurrence between species would reflect negative interactions between agricultural adapters and oak woodland birds as the presence of agricultural adapters increased. My aim was, firstly, to determine which birds are influenced by the extent of vineyards in the surrounding landscape and secondly, to quantify interactions between agricultural adapters and oak woodland birds while controlling for landscape variables. To test my predictions, I used data collected during the breeding season for two years from 130 bird plot survey stations within oak woodland fragments surrounded by a gradient of vineyards in northern California.

This includes examining the extent to which both plot and landscape scale vegetation variables can explain detection rates of 19 of the most commonly detected species, as well as exploring patterns of co-occurrence among agricultural adapters and oak woodland birds. I used zero-inflated Poisson N-mixture models to identify the association between species and environmental variables. I defined agricultural adapters species based on these ZIP Nmixture model results. Individual models for each species allowed us to identify relevant variables to test our hypothesis of species co-occurrence. Joint species distribution models were used to evaluate species co-occurrence, integrating environmental and other ecological processes in a single model . This approach allowed me to investigate the influence of shrub and vineyard on oak woodland birds. This method permitted exploration of different potential mechanisms of species co-occurrence: a strong environmental correlation and a broad dispersal of residual correlation would suggest a secondary mechanism of species turnover that is complementary to land use change and fragmentation, a strong residual correlation and a weak environmental correlation would suggest that the community is shaped by species interactions. and alternatively, when no significant association is detected, a random community organization is suggested . The study was conducted in eastern Sonoma County and western Napa County, California where bird plot survey stations were established in oak woodland habitat in the internal Coast Ranges. Mixed oak woodland is the dominant cover type and is interspersed with chaparral, grassland, conifers, riparian woodland, and vineyards. Most valley bottoms are highly modified, having largely been converted from a mosaic of oak woodland, oak savannah, seasonal and perennial wetlands, riparian forest, and grassland to vineyards and rural residential development . Remnant natural habitat generally occurs along creeks and in the hillsides and hilltops within the agricultural matrix. The region is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers . Notably, six agriculturally adapted birds had a strong negative interaction with oak woodland birds when environmental variables were accounted for . For example, Lesser Goldfinch, House finch, European Starling, Chipping Sparrow, Western Bluebirds, and American Robin were negatively associated with Orange-crowned Warbler . Other multiple pair of interactions between agricultural adapters negatively interacted with oak woodland birds . American Crows were also negatively related with White-breasted Nuthatch, Cassin’s Vireo, and Nuttall’s Woodpecker . Positive pair association between agricultural adapters and oak woodland birds include Western Bluebird, American Robin and Chipping Sparrow with Cassin’s Vireo among others . Bullock’s Oriole and Western Kingbird did not present strong correlations with other birds . Some oak woodland birds co-occurred more often when vineyards and shrubs were considered. Orange crowned Warbler, Spotted towhee, Bewick’s Wren and Anna’s Hummingbird presented positive association, similarly happens with Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker and White-breasted Nuthatch . Negative interaction between oak woodland birds include Acorn Woodpecker with Orange-crowned Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Bewick’s Wren and Anna’s hummingbird. Nuttall’s Woodpecker also presented negative interactions with Anna’s Hummingbird, Spotted Towhee and Orange-crowned Warbler . House Wren and Bushtit did not presented strong correlations with other birds . In terms of pairwise co-occurrence of all species analyzed, the highest percentage of agricultural adapter pairs positively co-occurred with each other more frequently than expected and shared habitat preference and/or positively interacted, suggesting habitat filtering . In California, the highest percentage of pairs of agricultural adapters and oak woodland birds co-occurred shared habitat preferences and /or positively interact while closely 28% of the pairs occurred less frequently than expected and did not share habitat preference and/or negatively interacted . Oak woodland bird pairs in California 31% occurred less frequently than expected and did not share habitat preference and/or negatively interacted .It is well known that the amount and type of matrix surrounding natural areas can influence community composition within natural areas . Here, too, I document that the extent of the agricultural matrix, in this case vineyard, helps explain high detection rates of agricultural adapters and lower detection rates of oak woodland birds in oak woodlands.