Environmental factors influencing bird species diversity in Kenya

Sustainable resource management requires understanding the factors that inc rease or decrease species richness. Regional species richness patterns may be predicted by analysing patterns of variation in the environment. A numbe r of studies have shown that bird species richness at a regional scale is i nfluenced by climatic variables. We examined environmental correlates of bi rd species richness at a quarter degree square scale (55 x 55 km). Mean ann ual potential evapotranspiration accounts for 46% of the observed variation in species richness, while mean annual temperature and range annual potent ial evapotranspiration are significantly correlated with species richness a nd together account for a further 5% of the observed variation. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that environmentally available energy l imits regional species richness.