Abstract
Few studies to date have focused on cacao farms as a conservation strategy in the Caribbean. My first objective was to evaluate functional diversity of wintering and breeding avian assemblages in Dominican cacao landscapes from 2013-2014 as an indicator of biodiversity. The second objective was to assess farmer practices and attitudes to support bird-friendly initiatives. Ecological data was obtained through avian point counts and vegetation surveys in forests and farms, social-ecological data was drawn from 108 farmer interviews. Bayesian models indicated that forests had more omnivorous birds in the summer and commercial farms supported more matorral birds year-round. These patterns were associated with elevation, cover and shade tree diversity. Interviews showed that farmers favored shade specialization, having negative attitudes towards some bird-attracting trees such as Guarea guidonia. Despite of this, farmer's positive attitudes towards insectivorous birds provide a window of opportunity for the implementation of "bird-friendly" certifications in this region.