Landscape–Ecological Trends of Spatial Changes in the Bird Communities of Central Siberia

Abstract

Population density, species richness, and total biomass of birds in Central Siberia increase toward the south. The greatest values are noted in terrestrial natural landscapes: for the total abundance of birds, they are in the southern forest type of communities; for species richness, they are in the meadow–field type; and for total biomass, they are in the subarctic plain–tundra type. In industrial–technogenic and southern residential types, the density and biomass of bird communities increase and the species richness decreases in comparison with natural ornithocomplexes. In aquatic habitats, the total abundance of birds and their species richness decrease and biomass increases when compared with terrestrial ones. The representation of types of fauna in bird communities (by number of individuals) is determined by the zones of their landscape preference, which have ecological similarity with the areas of their formation. Since birds actively choose tiers with the most favorable thermal, trophic, and protective conditions, their vertical biotopic distribution to some extent does not correspond to the tier structure of their habitats.