Variations in richness and abundance of forest ovenbirds (Aves: Furnariidae) were studied along an altitudinal/latitudinal gradient of the Tibagi river basin (TRB), southern Brazil. Mixed Temperate Rain Forest (1060 m a.s.l.) is the dominant forest in the southern TRB while Seasonal Semideciduous Forest (298 m a.s.l.) occurs in the northern. The total number of species obtained in the TRB was 14. Richness and Abundance of Furnariidae were greater in the southern (12 species, IPA = 2.01) than in the northern (five species, IPA = 0.45) TRB. Similarities were also greatest in the southern and in the middle TRB. The community structure of Furnariidae also presented a positive correlation between the southern and the middle TRB (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient; r s = 0.96, r s = 0.89, r s = 1.00). Evolutionary relationships of some representatives of Furnariidae with southern South America and with the Andes may explain the greater presence of this family in the southern TRB. Another aspect that also may help to elucidate the results presented by Furnariidae are the resemblances between the Mixed Temperate Rain Forest of the southern TRB and others temperate forests from South America.
Altitude; latitude; mixed temperate rain forest; seasonal semideciduous forest
