Inventory of birds in different plant formations in the protected area Martín Infierno Cave, south-central Cuba Inventory of birds in different plant formations in the protected area Martín Infierno Cave, south-central Cuba

Martín Infierno Cave is a 430-ha Cuban protected area best known for its cave system, which contains the largest stalagmite in the world. From a speleological standpoint, the area has been well studied; however its above-ground habitats are much less documented, and the fauna not at all. The objective of our work was to compile a list of birds, by habitat, identified throughout this protected area, to lay the groundwork for subsequent avian studies, and ultimately a more informed management and conservation plan for the site. We recorded 72 species, belonging to 17 orders and 32 families. Of these species, 13 are endemic to Cuba and 4 are categorized as Endangered or Vulnerable. The most species of birds (55) were recorded within the evergreen mesophyll forest plant formation. The Order Passeriformes and the Family Parulidae represented the greatest number of species recorded, with 33 and 11, respectively.

. Geographic location of the protected area Martín Infierno Cave in the Guamuhaya Mountains, south-central Cuba. We conducted avian surveys across four vegetation types within the protected area: grassland, gallery forest, evergreen mesophyll forest, and secondary vegetation and crops. The forest shown on the map includes both sampled forest types. Coffee shade and seasonal crops were included in the secondary vegetation and crops category. (Ledesma 2011(Ledesma , Águila, 2012 and in Topes de Collantes (Ayala 1989, Sánchez 2005. Other protected areas in the same region, such as Aguacate-Boca de Carreras, do not yet have faunal inventories. Martín Infierno Cave-a protected area in the Guamuhaya Mountains established in 2019-is known primarily for the Martín Infierno cave, which contains the largest stalagmite in the world. The protected area is managed by the Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, and the few studies undertaken here, which have focused on the floral and vegetal formations, have been biodiversity studies to aid implementation of the management plan (León 2013). The aim of this study was to compile the first list of the birds and their associated habitats to further the conservation of birds in the protected area.

Methods
The protected area Martín Infierno Cave is located at 560 m above sea level on the southern part of Trinidad Heights, Guamuhaya Mountains, Cienfuegos province, Cuba (21°53'43.9"N, 80°08'49.8"W; Fig. 1). The 430-ha protected area is a limestone massif consisting of rocks from the Jurassic Period. The cave is 776 m long and contains 6 chambers (Nuñez 1990). The climate is tropical humid with two seasons: dry and rainy. Vegetation in the protected area is composed of a mosaic of different formations with some endemic species of flora, such as Coccothrinax crinita brevicrinis and Erythrina elenae (León 2013).
We conducted line transect surveys in March, May, September, and November of 2012-2014 within four plant formations in the protected area: secondary vegetation and crops, gallery forest, grasslands, and evergreen mesophyll forest. These categories are based on the classification of Cuban plant formations of Capote and Berazain (1984). For the secondary vegetation and crops category, we included coffee shade plantations and other seasonal crops associated with them. Secondary vegetation and crops are characterized largely by the degradation of natural vegetation; trees and shrubs are dispersed, and vines are abundant. The gallery forest, at the border of the rivers, consisted of trees 15-20 m tall, with vines and epiphytes in the shrubs and trees. Panicum maximum is the predominant species of the grassland, which is heavily influenced by livestock. The semideciduous mesophyll forest consists of trees 25 m tall and a lower stratum dominated by deciduous shrubs.
Our sampling consisted of transects at existing and new census routes in the protected area as well as of observation points inside the cave, as birds are known to use caves for refuge, resting, and nesting (Montes 2019). Transects in secondary vegetation and crops took place along two existing unpaved paths that were each ~3 m wide and 1 km long; transects in the other vegetation types (gallery forest, grasslands, and evergreen mesophyll forest) were new, with each route ~2 m wide and extending 2 km long through the bush. All routes were drawn to avoid obstacles in the field but to stay within the vegetation type. We sampled five days in every month for a total of 60 sampling days throughout the 3-yr study period. Each census was 6 hours and split between morning (0700-1100) and late afternoon (1600-1800), as these are the periods of greatest bird detectability. We worked in teams of two observers in each census for a total of 180 observer-hours in each of the four vegetation types. We used 8×42 binoculars and recorded each species that we saw or heard. We assigned threat criteria to each species using the criteria proposed by Navarro (2021).
Observations inside the cave were made in the 4 chambers that connect to both cave entrances: the north entrance Chamber, Camp Chamber, Dolina del Cafetal Chamber, and Baseball Field Chamber. We were unable to monitor the other 2 chambers. Observations in the cave took place during the morning (0600-0900) and evening , for a total of 240 hours of observation.

Results
We compiled the first list of birds for the Martín Infierno Cave protected area, consisting of 17 orders, 32 families, and 72 species (Appendix 1), representing 18.14% of Cuban bird species (397 species; Navarro 2021). Passeriformes was the most represented order of all recorded birds, with 33 species, 11 of which are in Parulidae. We identified 13 endemic species and 4 threatened species (2 Endangered and 2 Vulnerable). Forty-six species (63.89%) are present in the area year-round, 4 are partial migrants, 15 are transient and winter residents, 3 are transient and summer residents, 2 are transient and partial migrants, 1 is a winter resident, and 1 is a summer resident. We recorded 47 species in the gallery forest, 49 in the secondary vegetation, 15 in the grassland, and 55 in the evergreen mesophyll forest. Evergreen mesophyll forest and gallery forest had the greatest number of unique species (7 species each), followed by secondary vegetation and crops (5 species), and then grassland (1 species). Five of the endemic species were found exclusively in evergreen mesophyll forest (Appendix 1). Four of the species found in secondary vegetation are introduced, including Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris), Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata), and Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Helmeted Guineafowl were also present in the grassland and in or near backyards of the local community. Another introduced species detected, Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis), is considered naturalized in Cuba (Navarro 2021).
We observed six species nesting in the rocky wall of the cave entrance or inside the cave, in the area with natural light or semi-darkness: Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva; 29 nests), Barn Owl (Tyto alba; 2 nests), Bare-legged Owl (Margarobyas lawrencii; 1 nest), Cuban Parakeet (Psittacara euops; 9 nests), Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa; 2 nests), and Cuban Blackbird (Ptiloxena atroviolacea; 2 nests). Of these cave-dwellers, Barn Owl and Bare-legged Owl were nesting in March, while the other species were nesting in May. We also recorded these species in the gallery forest, secondary vegetation, and evergreen mesophyll forest.

Discussion
In Cuba, previous studies have examined the composition of avifauna in different protected areas (Fong et al. 2005a, 2005b, Kirkconnell et al. 2005, Maceira et al. 2005, 2006, Díaz et al. 2006; however, the results of these studies cannot be compared with those obtained in Martín Infierno because their methods and objectives were different. Furthermore, these protected areas differ in key characteristics, such as altitude, area, plant formations, climate, and relief-all of which influence the composition and abundance of their fauna. Compared with other protected areas in the Guamuhaya Mountains, Martín Infierno Cave has fewer species (72) than Topes de Collantes (145; eBird 2020), but more than Yaguanabo Valley (40; Águila 2012). These three areas are geographically close and contain similar plant formations, although Topes de Collantes is much larger. In the recently established Aguacate-Boca de Carreras Protected Area, no studies have examined the birds or other fauna because the conservation focus is the native flora, so studies have been focused on vegetation.
Significantly, the 13 endemic species in Martín Infierno Cave represent almost half of Cuba's 27 endemic species (Garrido and Kirkconnell 2010). Although this is fewer than the 16 reported from Topes de Collantes (eBird 2020), it is more than in the Yaguanabo Valley (8; Águila 2012). Gray-fronted Quail-Dove (Geotrygon caniceps) has not been reported from any of the other nearby protected areas. In fact, this is the first report for this species for Cienfuegos province and the Guamuhaya Mountains. According to eBird records, the closest locality where this species has been observed is Trinidad, approximately 20 km from Martín Infierno (Garrido and Kirkconnell 2010, Navarro 2015, eBird 2020. Of particular interest are our observations of the six species nesting in the rocky wall of the cave. Although most of these have previously been reported nesting in rocky substrate (Silva 1988, Peris and Llanes 1998, Cañizares and Berovides 2008, Montes and García 2010, Montes et al. 2016, these species are more commonly cavity nesters. Scaly-naped Pigeon has never been recorded nesting on rocky substrate. Nesting in the cave could be a strategy to avoid predation (Marín and Stiles 1992, Mínguez and Oro 2003, Mínguez 2006 or an ecological adaptation to the karst environment (Mancina and García 1997). However, it could also be caused by the shortage of nest sites due to the loss of trees. This could especially be the case for Scalynaped Pigeon, as the other five species we found nesting in the rocky wall of the cave use a wider assortment of nesting sites, including human construction as well as tree cavities and caves. Because the vegetation around this area has been significantly degraded, mainly by cattle ranching and forest fires, this site could be an important refuge for birds in the area. Additionally, it is important to note that the four introduced species detect-ed in the secondary vegetation, grassland, and in or near backyards of the local community have an economic purpose as a food source.
There are two major conservation concerns in the study area. One is the illegal trapping of birds, especially Western Spindalis (Spindalis zena), Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra), Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus), and Cuban Grassquit (Phonipara canora), for the caged bird market-all species we recorded in the Martín Infierno Cave protected area. The other is the persecution of raptors, especially Gundlach's Hawk (Accipiter gundlachi) and Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), which are hunted because they harass and depredate farmed birds. Gundlach's Hawk, an endemic evaluated as Critically Endangered (Navarro 2021, IUCN 2014, is the species of greatest concern in the area. This conflict between humans and birds of prey occurs throughout the world (Price andNickum 1995, Fernández-García et al. 2015), and Cuba is no exception.
These problems must be considered by future managers of the protected area and solutions must be used to develop environmental education and management strategies to change people's perception of these birds. Conservation authorities should consider Gundlach's Hawk as a flagship species and establish conservation priorities in the area through education activities with local communities. One strategy could be engaging local communities in celebrating World Migratory Bird Day.
The Guamuhaya Mountains are one of the biodiversity hotspots on the island of Cuba; however, most studies in this area have focused on flora and only few have concentrated on the avifauna. Further studies, building on our preliminary assessment, should help to define conservation priorities and create new management tools, especially in protected areas, to promote conservation of the region's avifauna.

Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the members of the Speleological Society of Cuba and to the people of El Colorado and Caleta Muñoz who participated in the expeditions to Martin Infierno Cave. We want to thank Andy Mitchell, Lourdes Mugica, and Iram González for reviewing this article. Thank you also to Natasha Atkins for her help in developing earlier versions of this manuscript.