Trends in Richness and Occupancy of Ugandan Birds and Relation to Local Tree Cover

Changes in vegetation cover are occurring across sub-Saharan Africa and can have substantial effects on ecological communities, but limited data make understanding status and trends difficult for many taxa. This paper explores bird survey data from time to detection surveys across Uganda, 1985 to 2011. Species richness increased at 75% of sites through the study period, and generalist bird species were most likely to be increasing in occupancy. Forest specialist bird species, and to a lesser extent generalists, responded positively to tree cover.