Bird community composition across a land use gradient in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

A study reveals significant differences in bird community composition between the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR) and surrounding agroforestry areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. While cocoa farms exhibited higher species richness, primary forests demonstrated the highest diversity and evenness, with annual cultures showing the most balanced communities. Eighteen bird species were strongly associated with specific habitats. The research, combining mist netting and passive acoustic monitoring across 19 sites, underscores the importance of protected areas like OWR for sustaining avian biodiversity while highlighting the potential benefits of structurally complex agroforestry landscapes for certain forest bird subsets.

Tabe Tiku, R. C., Jones, S. E., Elikwo, M. N., Cyril, K., Ngoy, S., Zaunbrecher, V., & Sehgal, R. N. (2026). Bird community composition across a land use gradient in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ostrich, 97(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2026.2620763