Gustavo A. Londoño

ICESI University | ICESI · Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas

Basal metabolic rates (BMRs) increase with temperature and body mass. Environmental temperatures rapidly change in tropical mountains due to elevation (macro scale) and vegetation structure (micro scale). Thus, tropical mountains are good settings for testing the effects of temperature on BMRs. We measured the BMRs at four temperature ranges on six...

Nest predation rates critically influence avian biodiversity and evolution. In the north temperate zone, increased nest failure along edges of forest fragments is hypothesized to play a major role in the disappearance of bird species from disturbed landscapes. However, we lack comprehensive syntheses from tropical latitudes, where biodiversity is h...

En Cali y en el campus de la Universidad Icesi conviven cientos de especies de aves. En este libro ilustrado por estudiantes de la Universidad Icesi, se incluyeron 74 de estas especies. Algunas de ellas aprovechan los recursos urbanos como los edificios y postes para anidar, o los comederos para aves de los jardines y terrazas; incluso las lámparas...

En Cali y en el campus de la Universidad Icesi conviven cientos de especies de aves. En este libro ilustrado por estudiantes de la Universidad Icesi, se incluyeron 74 de estas especies. Algunas de ellas aprovechan los recursos urbanos como los edificios y postes para anidar, o los comederos para aves de los jardines y terrazas; incluso las lámparas...

En Cali y en el campus de la Universidad Icesi conviven cientos de especies de aves. En este libro ilustrado por estudiantes de la Universidad Icesi, se incluyeron 74 de estas especies. Algunas de ellas aprovechan los recursos urbanos como los edificios y postes para anidar, o los comederos para aves de los jardines y terrazas; incluso las lámparas...

The fragmentation of tropical forests remains a major driver of avian biodiversity loss, particularly for insectivores, yet the mechanisms underlying area sensitivity remain poorly understood. Studies in lowland systems suggest that loss of food resources, changes to light microenvironments, increased nest predation, and dispersal limitation are po...

Although individuals of some species appear able to distinguish among individuals of a second species, an alternative explanation is that individuals of the first species may simply be distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar individuals of the second species. In that case, they would not be learning unique characteristics of any given hetero...

Although individuals of some species appear able to distinguish among individuals of a second species, an alternative explanation is that individuals of the first species may simply be distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar individuals of the second species. In that case, they would not be learning unique characteristics of any given hetero...

Presentacion tipo Poster en el VI Congreso Colombiano de Zoología - Montería, Colombia

Daily torpor allows endotherms to save energy during energetically stressful (e.g. cold) conditions. Although studies on avian torpor have mostly been conducted under laboratory conditions, information on the usage of torpor in the wild is limited to few, predominantly temperate-zone species. We studied torpor under seminatural conditions from 249...

Tropical montane communities host the world's highest beta diversity of birds, a phenomenon usually attributed to community turnover caused by changes in biotic and abiotic factors along elevation gradients. Yet, empirical data on most biotic factors are lacking. Nest predation is thought to be especially important because it appears to be common a...

The chestnut-crowned gnateater (Conopophaga castaneiceps) inhabits the Andean mountains, from Colombia to Peru, between 500 and 2000 m. Our study provides new information on the nesting biology of C. castaneiceps; specifically, we describe hitherto unknown aspects such as eggs, nestling development, incubation and feeding behaviours. Three nests we...

Daily torpor allows endotherms to save energy during energetically stressful (e.g., cold) conditions. Although studies on avian torpor have mostly been conducted under laboratory conditions, information on the usage of torpor in the wild is limited to few, predominantly temperate-zone species. We studied torpor under seminatural conditions from 249...

We studied the habitat, breeding, social behavior, and vocalizations of the Colombian endemic Cauca Guan (Penelope perspicax) in the Otún Quimbaya Sanctuary for Flora and Fauna in Risaralda Department on the west slope of the Central Andes. This guan inhabited natural forests as well as forest plantations, where it fed mostly on fruits and foliage...

Many tropical species have restricted elevational distributions, which are potentially bounded by constraints imposed by physical conditions on physiological processes. Although some studies have examined variation in the physiology of adult birds with respect to elevation, little attention has been paid to the structure and function of eggshells,...

Tropical mountains display limited variation in monthly temperatures, but high spatial climatic variability. It is assumed this stability promotes ecological and physiological adaptations to local temperatures, which may preclude dispersal up or downslope. Determining how environmental, taxonomic and morphological factors affect thermal limits is f...

A complete nesting information is available for 7.8% of the Manakin species; however, most of this information is fragmented and available mainly for lowland species. Hence, nesting information for highland species is scattered. Our study presents nesting information on a cloud forest Manakin species, the Golden-winged Manakin (Masius chrysopterus)...

Endotherms at high altitude face the combined challenges of cold and hypoxia. Cold increases thermoregulatory costs, and hypoxia may limit both thermogenesis and aerobic exercise capacity. Consequently, in comparisons between closely related highland and lowland taxa, we might expect to observe consistent differences in basal metabolism (BMR), maxi...

Batesian mimicry (BM), where a nontoxic species resembles a toxic species with aposematic coloring, has been recently described for a Neotropical species of the suboscine passerine (Laniocera hypopyrra). Understanding the order and series in which these characteristics evolved is unknown and requires character information from closely related taxa....

The avian genus Chrysothlypis has 2 species distributed in Central and South America. We report the first description of the nest and breeding behavior of the Scarlet-and-white Tanager (Chrysothlypis salmoni) from the Colombian Choc. A single nest was found and monitored in March 2018 during a field season in the Anchicay Valley, Valle del Cauca, C...

Forests have been widely recognized as key habitats for odonate (dragonflies and damselflies) biodiversity, but the importance of forests for holding odonate biodiversity remains understudied in tropical mountains, one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Here we describe the odonate assemblage composition along the elevation gradient in t...

en The study of avian nesting biology in North America and Europe has a long history, resulting in an expansive and information-rich literature. In contrast, the tropics have been relatively neglected and, in most ways, we are still at the frontier of exploration. Data about basic nest descriptions and natural history information are still lacking...

We present a description of the nest, eggs and limited incubation behavior for the Brown-winged Schiffornis (Schiffornis turdina), a member of the taxonomically challenging Schiffornis taxon, currently included in the family Tityridae. The nest was an open cup, located in a natural crevice between tree roots, and made up largely of dead leaves and...

Isleria is a recently described genus in the Neotropical family of antbirds (Thamnophilidae), comprising two species that inhabit the Amazon basin from Colombia to Brazil. Little is known about the breeding aspects of this genus. We present a detailed description of the nest, eggs, nestlings, and parental behaviour of the Plain-throated Antwren (Is...

Isleria is a recently described genus in the Neotropical family of antbirds (Thamnophilidae), comprising two species that inhabit the Amazon basin from Colombia to Brazil. Little is known about the breeding aspects of this genus. We present a detailed description of the nest, eggs, nestlings, and parental behaviour of the Plain-throated Antwren (Is...

El mirlo acuático (Cinclus leucocephalus) es una de las dos especies de la familia Cinclidae en Suramérica. Presentamos una descripción detallada de la biología de anidación y nido de C. leucocephalus. Encontramos tres nidos activos con forma de domo compuestos por musgo y bambú, localizados en paredes rocosas que bordeaban el agua de los ríos de m...

Estudiamos varios aspectos de la anidación del Tororoi Bigotudo, Grallaria alleni, una especie amenazada en Colombia debido a la destrucción de los bosques subandinos. El nido es una taza similar a las reportadas para otros miembros del género; la nidada es de dos huevos azul-verdosos; presentamos los primeros datos sobre el peso de los huevos. Med...

Presentamos información nueva sobre la historia natural de Chlorospingus ophthalmicus con base en datos obtenidos durante estudios de campo realizados a lo largo de varios años en Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina y Venezuela. Los datos de un total de 32 nidos indican que la especie es plástica en su selección de sitios de nidificación, pues en la misma...

Biodiversity monitoring through bioacoustics is gaining momentum as a way to promote conservation in highly biodiverse countries. However, in these regions, bioacoustic analysis is a complex task due to the diversity of overlapping sound sources coming to the recording microphones at the same time. Moreover, commonly, this highly subjective classif...

Endotherms at high altitude face the combined challenges of cold and hypoxia. Cold increases thermoregulatory costs, and hypoxia may limit both thermogenesis and aerobic exercise capacity. Consequently, in comparisons between closely related highland and lowland taxa, we might expect to observe consistent differences in basal metabolic rate (BMR),...

Body mass is one of the most important phenotypic attributes in animal ecology and life history. This trait is widely used in the fields of ecology and macroevolution, since it influences physiology, morphological functions, and a myriad of ecological and social interactions. In this data set, our aim was to gather a comprehensive bird and mammal b...

The genus Aglaeactis is restricted to the high Andes, from Colombia to Bolivia. The breeding biology of the Shining Sunbeam (A. cupripennis) is well-known compared with the other three species of this genus, which have relatively small ranges. In this study we present the first description of the nest, eggs, and nestlings of the Peruvian endemic Wh...

Endotherms at high altitude face the combined challenges of cold and hypoxia. Cold increases thermoregulatory costs, and hypoxia may limit both thermogenesis and aerobic exercise capacity. Consequently, in comparisons between closely related highland and lowland taxa, we might expect to observe consistent differences in basal metabolism (BMR), maxi...

The Green-and-Gold Tanager (Tangara schrankii) is widely distributed throughout western Amazonia, between 300 and 1650 m, and is a common member of canopy and midstory mixed-species flocks. Although basic nesting aspects are known for this species, detailed information is lacking. This study provides new insights on nesting behaviour and natural hi...

We present a description of the nest, eggs and limited incubation behavior for the Brown-winged Schiffornis (Schiffornis turdina), a member of the taxonomically challenging Schiffornis taxon, currently included in the family Tityridae. The nest was an open cup, located in a natural crevice between tree roots, and made up largely of dead leaves and...

Tapaculo (Scytalopus) nests are difficult to find because they are well-hidden in cavities, hence, there is limited information available for this genus. We provide additional data for the nest and eggs and the first descriptions of the nestlings, their growth, and parental behavior of the Blackish Tapaculo (Scytalopus latrans) based on one nest fo...

Aim We evaluated the influence of climate on the structure of bird communities along precipitation gradients. We hypothesize that mechanisms responsible for community turnover along precipitation gradients are similar to mechanisms operating along temperature and latitudinal gradients. We tested the hypothesis that environmental conditions affect c...

Elucidating new reproductive traits and evaluating how they vary within and among species in a geographic context, is relevant to understanding the evolutionary processes underlying diversity in life-history strategies. In this study we describe the breeding biology of Catharus dryas in a Peruvian population, and compare life history traits with a...

· The species of the genus Spizella breed in Canada and in the United States, and five of this six species are migrants. One of this migratory species is the Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida) that is rarely observed south of Mexico and Guatemala. We present the first record of the Clay-colored Sparrow in South America. An individual of S. pal...

Life‐history theory postulates that physiological traits, such as energy metabolism, can be understood in terms of allocation trade‐offs between self‐maintenance and reproduction over an organism's life span, and data show that metabolic intensity and survival vary inversely with latitude, with tropical birds exhibiting a “slow” pace of life relati...

Supporting information for our publication in Functional Ecology: Survival is negatively related to basal metabolic rate in tropical Andean birds. Data include: Figures 1) Map of study area 2) Seasonal variation in BMR 3) Phylogeny of species used in the analysis 4) Comparison of survival rates with other studies Tables 1) Net hours 2) Results of...

Phenotypic evolution is often exceptionally rapid on islands, resulting in numerous, ecologically diverse species. Although adaptive radiation proceeds along various phenotypic axes, the island effect of faster evolution has been mostly tested with regards to morphology. Here, we leveraged the physiological diversity and species richness of Anolis...

Las montañas son regiones que promueven cambios grandes en las historias de vida de los organismos. Un ejemplo está en los membrácidos, los cuales tienen una alta variación en sus historias de vida, incluyendo interacciones simbióticas con hormigas, cuidado maternal y diferentes grados de gregarismo. Trabajos previos no han estudiado en detalle la...

The genus Lanio is distributed from southern Mexico to northern Brazil. Until now, nesting information has been limited and scattered among Lanio species. Nests descriptions are available for 3 of the 4 species, and only L. versicolor has nestling descriptions. No information is available on incubation and feeding behavior or incubation and nestlin...

The diversity of permanent ectoparasites is likely underestimated due to the difficulty of collecting samples. Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are permanent ectoparasites of birds and mammals; there are approximately 5,000 species described and many more undescribed, particularly in the Neotropics. We document the louse genera collected from birds sam...

Lice from Colombian and Peruvian birds

This speed talk examines (quickly) the relationships between apparent survival, energy metabolism, and the environment.

Relatively little is known about the longevity of free-living landbirds, especially in the tropics. We used mark-recapture data for birds originally banded in 2005 and 2006, and later recaptured between 2011 and 2016, to estimate minimum longevity for 20 species from southeastern Peru. The oldest recorded longevity was 10 years, 6 months for a Blac...

The genus Turdus has a nearly complete anthology of nesting descriptions for its 70 species. One species yet to have nesting described is Turdus hauxwelli, a Neotropical bird native to South America. In addition to an altitudinal range expansion, here we document 19 active T. hauxwelli nests from 2 elevational regions (400 and 1,350 m) in the Andes...

There is limited information on the breeding biology of members of the speciose genus Hemitriccus (Aves: Tyrannidae), published nest descriptions exist for only six of the 22 species. The Black-throated Tody-Tyrant (Hemitriccus granadensis) is one of these species that lacks information regarding its nesting biology. We provide the first nest, egg,...

.— Information on reproductive biology is limited for many tropical birds, despite the importance of these data in areas such as ecology, taxonomy, and conservation. Hafferia zeledoni belongs to the Thamnophilidae family and was only recently elevated to the species level, and consequently little is known about its ecology and natural history. We f...

The genus Hylophilus sensu lato was recently recognized as polyphyletic and split in to several genera, including the monotypic genus Tunchiornis. We describe in detail the nesting features of T. ochraceiceps that could provide additional evidence to support the split of the genus. Nests were found at two stations in southwestern Per´u, Manu Nation...

Historically, the genus Schiffornis has been placed in different families; currently, it is placed within the Tityridae family. Our study focuses on Schiffornis stenorhyncha, recently split from Schiffornis turdina. S. stenorhyncha inhabits lowland humid forests in some regions of Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela. Based on one nest found at the foot...

The Sooty Antbird (Hafferia fortis) inhabits Andean foothills and lowland humid forest from Colombia to the western Brazilian Amazon. Despite its wide distribution, many natural history aspects are poorly known. The nest, eggs, and nestlings are described, with no additional nesting information available. Our study provides detailed behavioral info...

Information on the nesting of the Ochre‐breasted Tanager (Chlorothraupis stolzmanni) is limited, only brief nest and egg descriptions are available. This study was based on two nests monitored between February and June 2014, in Tatamá National Park, Colombia. Both nests consisted of a bulky and deep cup and were placed on epiphytes that grew on tre...

Brood parasitism is an uncommon and understudied strategy in Amazonian bird communities, within which only 5 species are known to be brood parasites. We present data on the brood-parasitic behavior of the Pavonine Cuckoo (Dromococcyx pavoninus) in 3 host species of small-bodied flycatchers in the Peruvian Amazon that construct hanging globular nest...

The genus Chlorochrysa, with three species: C. phoenicotis, C. calliparaea, and C. nitidissima, is distributed throughout the Andes from Colombia to northern Bolivia inhabiting mossy cloud forests between 900-2400 m. We describe for the first time the reproductive biology of the C. nitidissima and the use of different nesting sites. This study was...

The genus Chlorospingus is distributed from central Mexico to northern Argentina. Despite its wide distribution, natural history information is sparse. We present the first detailed breeding biology information for C. flavigularis, plus descriptions of the nest, eggs, and other natural history information for C. parvirostris and C. flavopectus base...

We provide the first detailed account of incubation and nesting behaviors of Carmiol's Tanagers (Chlorothraupis carmioli) based on 34 nests of the subspecies Chlorothraupis carmioli frenata found between 2008 and 2011 in Manu National Park at 400 and 1100 m above sea level. All nests were shallow cups with three layers. All nests had two white eggs...

We present the first detailed nesting biology information for the highland Andean hummingbird Gould’s Inca (Coeligena torquata omissa) at 2,200–3,000 m in Manu National Park, SE Peru. We found nine mossy cup-shaped nests lined with red fern scales containing nestlings or 1–2 synchronously hatching eggs. We obtained 17 days of internal nest temperat...

The Lanceolated Monklet (Micromonacha lanceolata) is a puffbird (Bucconidae) generally considered rare throughout its range. This species is little-studied and its reproductive behavior is largely unknown. Here, we provide the first detailed account of its nesting biology. All 17 nests consisted of round tunnels in earthen banks terminating in wide...

Along tropical mountains, species often occupy narrow altitude ranges. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors have been proposed as determinants of altitude occupancy. We measured several aspects of thermal physiology of 215 bird species across a 2·6‐km altitude gradient in the Peruvian Andes. We predicted that highland species would show adaptation t...

Black-faced Brush-finches (Atlapetes melanolaemus) are a common species restricted to the Andes of southern Peru and western Bolivia. We provide the first description of the breeding biology of this Neotropical montane passerine, including an analysis of incubation behavior and egg temperatures. We found 47 nests during seven breeding seasons (2007...

Life history theory suggests that species experiencing high extrinsic mortality rates allocate more resources toward reproduction relative to self-maintenance and reach maturity earlier ('fast pace of life') than those having greater life expectancy and reproducing at a lower rate ('slow pace of life'). Among birds, many studies have shown that tro...

Undulated Antshrike (Frederickena unduliger) inhabit dense lowland humid forest understory and, as with other species of antbirds, many aspects of their behavior and ecology are poorly known, especially their breeding biology. We provide the first detailed information about their breeding biology based on three nests monitored in the buffer zone of...

The taxonomic position of Ornate Flycatcher (Myiotriccus ornatus) within the Tyrannidae has long been uncertain. The only nest description available suggested that the nest was an open cup but no formal, detailed description of its nest and eggs has been made. We describe aspects of the breeding biology of Ornate Flycatcher based on four nests foun...

The Myiotheretes bush-tyrants are a small clade of Neotropical flycatchers (family: Tyrannidae) localized to narrow elevational strips in the Andes Mountains. Here, we describe the first reported nest of Rufous-bellied Bush-Tyrants (Myiotheretes fuscorufus). It was a large cup nest lined with Usnea lichen and elevated on a sheltered rock ledge behi...

Abstract Because predation is the main cause of avian nest failure, selection should favor strategies that reduce the probability of nest predation. We describe apparent Batesian mimicry in the morphology and behavior of a Laniocera hypopyrra nestling. On hatching, the nestling had a distinctive bright orange color and modified feathers all over it...

Predation is the most important cause of nest failure in birds, and variation in predation risk has been associated with changes in nesting behaviors such as nest-site selection. Some birds choose favorable breeding sites on oceanic or large lake islands to increase their nesting success, but we do not know whether river islands with smaller WATER...

Life history varies across latitudes, with the ‘pace of life’ being ‘slower’ in tropical regions. Because life history is coupled to energy metabolism via allocation tradeoffs and links between performance capacity and energy use, low metabolic intensity is expected in tropical animals. Low metabolism has been reported for lowland tropical birds, b...

The Black Antbird (Cercomacroides serva) inhabits the east Andean foothills and Amazonian lowlands from Colombia to north Bolivia and western Brazil. It is uncommon throughout its distribution. We provide the first nest and egg description for C. serva with detailed information on bi-parental incubation and nestling feeding behavior. We found four...

Endemic species tend to be habitat specialists with low population densities, but densities may vary among sites and may be temporally dynamic. In addition, species may exhibit plasticity in habitat use, with the result that densities vary in different habitats. The Cauca Guan (Penelope perspicax) is an endangered species endemic to the mid-Cauca V...

Scytalopus, the largest genus of tapaculos (Family: Rhinocryptidae) typically build mossy globular nests within bank or tree cavities. Only 23 of the 40 recognized species' nests have been described, and of these only one has incubation patterns described. We provide the first description of the nest architecture, eggs, incubation behavior, and nes...