Characteristics Of Bird Communities Research Articles

The Relationship between Landscape Construction and Bird Diversity: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Urbanization development is the main cause of drastic habitat changes and biodiversity loss, and urban green space construction is one of the effective ways to mitigate biodiversity decay. The proper construction of urban green space landscapes can maintain or increase the resources provided by urban biodiversity, especially bird diversity. This paper is based on 4112 papers published in this research area between 2002 and 2022, and CiteSpace was used to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the research area in terms of the number of articles published, the country or region of publication, core authors, and academic development. The paper systematically reviews the hotspots, history, and frontiers of research on landscape architecture and bird diversity. At the same time, the relationship between landscape construction and bird diversity is discussed in the context of landscape features, vegetation characteristics, and human behavioral activities. The results revealed: (1) research on the association between landscape camping and bird diversity received high priority from 2002 to 2022. Moreover, this research area has become a mature discipline. (2) Throughout the research history, there are four research hotspots (fundamental research on bird communities, influencing factors related to changes in bird community characteristics, research on bird activity rhythms, and ecological and ornamental values of birds), four development stages (2002-2004, 2005-2009, 2010-2015, and 2016-2022), and several research frontiers. (3) Our aim was to reasonably consider the activity characteristics of birds in future landscape construction, and to thoroughly study the landscape construction strategies and management principles for the harmonious coexistence of humans and birds.

Relationship between Vegetation Habitats and Bird Communities in Urban Mountain Parks.

Simple SummaryThe complexity of urban green space vegetation is an extremely vital influential factor and predictor of biodiversity, and vegetation habitat factors have been shown to explain more variation in bird diversity than other environmental factors. In this study, we explored the characteristics and differences in bird diversity among vegetation habitats in five typical urban mountain parks in coastal areas of southeast China. Our study showed that: (1) Sparse forest supports more bird species and higher bird diversity. (2) Tree diversity significantly affects bird diversity in urban mountain parks. (3) The average subbranch height of trees has a significant effect on the evenness of birds. (4) The number of tourists and predators has little impact on bird diversity. This study could provide suggestions for the rational allocation of vegetation in urban mountain parks in southeast coastal areas to improve local ecological service functions as habitats for urban wildlife, especially wild birds.The coastal areas of southeast China have typical high-density urbanization characteristics, and urban mountain parks are important green spaces in these urban green space systems. Our study was conducted in five typical urban mountain parks in Fuzhou, China. The bird survey was carried out in 25 transects of different vegetation habitats for 10 months, and the vegetation survey was conducted in 25 habitats to investigate the characteristics of bird communities in different vegetation habitats and the causes of their differences. The results showed: (1) From 1 October 2021 to 15 July 2022, we recorded a total of 90 bird species in 8 orders, 37 families, and 64 genera, with 1879 individuals in five vegetation habitats in the urban mountain parks. (2) Abundance and diversity of trees are vegetation variables affecting bird diversity (bird species richness, abundance, and Shannon diversity) in urban mountain parks, and the average branch height under trees has a significant effect on bird evenness. (3) We found more bird species and higher bird diversity in both sparse and dense forest habitats, but fewer bird species in waterfront, shrub, and grassland habitats; (4) Average tree height (AVE_HEIt) was only present in the best model of bird abundance and evenness. However, none of the best models found a significant effect of the number of tourists and predators on bird diversity. Our results could provide a theoretical basis and guidance for the future improvement of ecological service functions of bird habitats in urban mountain parks in subtropical coastal areas.

Identification of Bird Community Characteristics by Habitat Environment of Jeongmaek Using Self-organizing Map<sup>1a</sup>

Identification of Bird Community Characteristics by Habitat Environment of Jeongmaek Using Self-organizing Map<sup>1a</sup>

Long-term monitoring reveals an avian species credit in secondary forest patches of Costa Rica.

Degraded and secondary forests comprise approximately 50% of remaining tropical forest. Bird community characteristics and population trends in secondary forests are infrequently studied, but secondary forest may serve as a “safety net” for tropical biodiversity. Less understood is the occurrence of time-delayed, community-level dynamics such as an extinction debt of specialist species or a species credit resulting from the recolonization of forest patches by extirpated species. We sought to elucidate patterns and magnitudes of temporal change in avian communities in secondary forest patches in Southern Costa Rica biannually over a 10 year period during the late breeding season and mid-winter. We classified birds caught in mist nets or recorded in point counts by residency status, and further grouped them based on preferred habitat, sensitivity to disturbance, conservation priority, foraging guild, and foraging strata. Using hierarchical, mixed-effects models we tested for trends among species that share traits. We found that permanent-resident species increased over time relative to migrants. In both seasons, primary forest species generally increased while species typical of secondary forest, scrub, or edge declined. Species relatively sensitive to habitat disturbance increased significantly over time, whereas birds less sensitive to disturbance decreased. Similarly, generalists with higher habitat breadth scores declined. Because, we found very few changes in vegetation characteristics in secondary forest patches, shifts in the avian community toward primary forest species represent a species credit and are likely related to vegetation changes in the broader landscape. We suggest that natural regeneration and maturation of secondary forests should be recognized as a positive conservation development of potential benefit even to species typical of primary forest.

Do acoustic indices reflect the characteristics of bird communities in the savannas of Central Brazil?

Habitat loss and fragmentation represent two of the most significant threats to biodiversity. In some regions, like the Brazilian Cerrado, the deforestation rate can reach nearly 1 million hectares per year. Ecoacoustics and acoustic indices can be used to promote rapid assessments in threatened regions. We evaluated how two particular indices (the acoustic diversity index − ADI − and normalized difference soundscape index − NDSI) reflect bird species richness and composition in a protected area near Brasilia city. We hypothesised that ADI should reflect the characteristics of birds in the cerrado and in the gallery forest, i.e., with higher values in gallery forest than in the cerrado. Based on habitat structure, we also hypothesised that NDSI should be lower in less complex habitat, and lower in areas close to urbanized areas. We assessed 30 locations by installing automatic recorders to generate 15min wave files (48kHz, 16 bits, stereo). Manual inspection of the files revealed the presence of 107 bird species (74 in gallery forest and 47 in cerrado). Our results showed that ADI was significantly associated with species richness, being higher in gallery forest than in the cerrado. We found that NDSI values were lower in areas close to highways, an important source of impact for bird diversity. We argue that acoustic indices are a valid approach for rapid biodiversity assessment, however basic knowledge on species occurrences is essential to interpret the values provided by these indices.

Inventory of birds in the coastal restinga of a Private Natural Heritage Reserve in northeastern Brazil

The knowledge of the characteristics of bird communities found in each habitat type and the ecological requirements of each species helps to define the environmental conditions of an area. In the present study, we provide an inventory of the bird community of the Caju Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN Caju), in Itaporanga d’Ajuda, Sergipe, Brazil. We conducted a rapid assessment of the bird community between October 21st and 31st, 2014, using MacKinnon’s lists and mist-netting. We identified 89 bird species representing 36 families, of which the most diverse were Thraupidae (S=11), Tyrannidae (S=11), Columbidae (S=5), Falconidae (S=4) and Psittacidae (S=4). Five of the species recorded are endemic to Brazil and one (Herpsilochmus pectoralis) is considered vulnerable to extinction, according to IUCN criteria. We recorded bird species that are predominantly insectivorous (40.45%), omnivorous (25.84%), and carnivorous (11.24%). Other guilds (frugivorous, granivorous, detritivorous, piscivorous, and nectarivorous) represented together less than 25% of the records. The bird richness recorded at the RPPN Caju confirms the potential importance of the area as a conservation unit.Keywords: protected area, avian fauna, Sergipe.

Bird community characteristics as indicators of sustainable management in olive grove ecosystems of Central Greece

The role of breeding birds as indicators of sustainable management in olive groves was investigated. The data revealed significantly higher alpha diversity in organic and abandoned olive groves and maquis than in conventional ones. The highest beta diversity was found between the following pairs: organic olive groves–maquis, and abandoned olive groves–maquis. Breeding bird diversity, Heteroptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera and Coleoptera densities positively influenced bird species richness in organic olive groves and maquis, and additionally, manure application positively influenced bird species richness in organic ones. Bird species richness was negatively influenced by pesticide and inorganic fertilizer application in conventional ones. Moreover, isopod density was unimportant in explaining breeding bird richness in organic olive groves. Finally, our study suggests a difference in bird communities of various olive groves as a result of different management and practices, and concludes that birds might serve as indicators of overall olive grove health. Furthermore, these findings could be used as a tool for prediction of breeding bird species richness probability in different olive grove management systems and maquis. Finally, the results of the present study may contribute to highlighting some aspects of the effect of different farming practices on the dynamics of Mediterranean bird communities.

Long-term changes in bird community in the unmanaged post-fire eastern Québec boreal forest

Little information is available on long-term changes in bird communities following fire in the unmanaged forest. We have evaluated and compared bird species communities along two long-term chronosequences after fire (0 to >200 years post-fire) in the eastern Quebec boreal forest, which is known for its long fire-return intervals. By characterizing forest habitat in stands of different ages (time since fire), we were able to model species richness and bird community characteristics in three habitat types: mature forests, forest-edge, and open-forests. Although bird species richness did not vary greatly, our results show changes in species composition following successional stages and highlight the need to protect the forest at all stages, especially old-growth, which provides a heterogeneous environment suitable for several species. Keeping a mosaic composed of all-age, fire-disturbed forests should facilitate the conservation of bird diversity in the eastern boreal forest.

Identifying the spatial mixture distribution of bird diversity across urban and suburban areas in the metropolis: A case study in Taipei Basin of Taiwan

This study utilized a finite mixture distribution model (FMDM) to identify the distribution of bird diversity in urban and suburban areas of the Taipei basin. The spatial patterns of Shannon's diversity index were estimated using Sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS) with bird investigation data. To validate the results of FMDM, bird groups were classified by two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) based on bird presence-absence records. The probabilities exceeding FMDM's cut-off values for suburban bird communities were obtained from SGS realizations. The results showed that bird diversity in the Taipei basin could be comprised of two-component mixture distributions for urban and suburban bird communities, respectively. The FMDM bird diversity classifications fit the TWINSPAN groups of urban and suburban species. The spatial maps of bird diversity in the study area provide evidence that a metropolis can cause changes in the spatial characteristics of bird communities at the landscape level. Furthermore, the bird diversity and land use maps could be useful for future conservation and urban planning in Taipei Basin, particularly urban green spaces and wetlands. The maps could also be utilized in network planning of green belts or corridors for ecological conservation.

Effects of wildfire on endemic breeding birds in a Pinus canariensis forest of Tenerife, Canary Islands

Fire is a key ecological force in pine forests worldwide, and faunal responses to this disturbance have been a major topic of ecology, yet little is known for oceanic island environments. Using line transects we surveyed the bird community of a natural Pinus canariensis forest burned in the summer of 2007 on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Our goal was to identify important environmental variables and the thresholds that influenced the pattern of bird abundance at the community, foraging guild, and species-specific level. Models were constructed by means of regression trees and cross validation applying the 1-SE rule. Mixed results were observed and only 2 species were clearly affected by fire severity. Overall, total bird abundance, total species richness, and total bird diversity were positively influenced by low, very low, and moderate canopy fire severity, respectively, and the presence of either Erica or Myrica shrubs. Consequently, high canopy fire severity had an overall negative effect on bird community characteristics. Abundance of Myrica shrubs affected positively general ground foragers such as common blackbird (Turdus merula cabrerae) and Canary Islands chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis), a canopy forager. The number of thin trees was important for canopy foragers such as goldcrest (Regulus regulus teneriffae) and African blue tit (Cyanistes teneriffae teneriffae), but also for a bark forager, the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major canariensis). European robin (Erithacus rubecula superbus) and the ubiquitous endemic blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea teydea) were influenced by low and moderate canopy fire severity, respectively. We recommend that land managers incorporate these results into future post-fire management plans. Priority post-fire actions should be directed toward the protection and conservation of the endemic blue chaffinch, a species of conservation concern on the nearby island of Gran Canaria.

Avian communities’ preferences in recently created agricultural wetlands in irrigated landscapes of semi-arid areas

Numerous wetlands have been created spontaneously in the Ebro river basin as a consequence of new irrigation developments over the last 50 years. Water used for irrigating farmland drains into the lower parts of small valleys to form wetlands that are mostly dominated by common reed (Phragmites australis). Bird communities established in these wetlands are still simple, partly due to the lack of management to enable their ecological functions to improve. A knowledge of which environmental features favor these bird communities is essential in order to improve the design of newly created or restored wetlands associated to future irrigation developments. For this purpose, the habitat and vegetation features of 15 wetlands have been sampled. The structure of bird communities (richness, abundance and diversity) was monitored over 3 years during the breeding season and in winter at foraging and nocturnal roosting. The presence of bushes, height of stems and distance from large wetlands (>1 ha) proved to be the most influential variables on bird community structure and on most abundant species during the breeding season. Wetland area and compactness influenced species richness and the most abundant species during winter foraging and roosting. There was a maximum stem height at which only reed-dwelling birds remained. Uncontrolled winter burning had a severe negative effect upon these recently established populations. The ecological functions of newly created or restored wetlands, including those for run-off treatment in agricultural catchments, could be substantially improved taking into account simple guidelines from these results which relate bird community characteristics to wetland features.

Birds as agents of seed dispersal in a human-dominated landscape in southern Costa Rica

Birds play vital roles as seed dispersers helping to maintain and restore plant communities. With restoration increasingly key to global conservation, it is important to understand the landscape attributes and bird community characteristics that most influence avian seed dispersal in human-altered landscapes. We examined bird community structure and seed-dispersal patterns in agricultural countryside in Costa Rica that is typical of much of the Neotropics. Contrary to expectations, bird abundance, not richness, best predicted the richness of bird-dispersed seeds. Neither forest patch size or proximity, nor total tree cover, influenced seed dispersal. The richness and abundance of dispersed seeds, however, was strongly correlated with “wetness,” a remotely-sensed metric of vegetation, at several scales. These results suggest that in this human-dominated tropical region: (1) bird abundance, not species richness or size, may drive seed dispersal, and (2) remote-sensing combined with field verification can detect landscape elements that are helpful for maintaining the option of bird-mediated reforestation.

A riverscape perspective on habitat associations among riverine bird assemblages in the Lake Champlain Basin, USA

The riverscape perspective recognizes the heterogeneous habitat types within the stream corridor as a single, integrated ecological unit operating across spatial scales. Although there is ample evidence that the riverscape notion is appropriate in understanding the physical phenomena of stream corridors, significantly less attention has focused on its ecological ramifications. To this end, we surveyed riverscape habitat variables and bird community characteristics in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, USA. From the data collected, we used information theoretic methodology (AICc) to model relationships between bird community attributes and key habitat variables across the riverscape. Our models with the greatest support suggest that riverine bird communities respond to a suite of characteristics; representing a variety of riverscape habitats at the in-stream, floodplain, and riparian levels. Channel slope, drainage area, percent conifers, and in-stream habitat condition were among the most influential variables. We found that piscivores are potentially important indicators of riverscape condition, responding to a host of variables across the riverscape. Our results endorse a holistic approach to assessing and managing the mosaic of patches in the riverscape and suggest that a riverscape approach has significant conservation potential.

Integrated Measures of Anthropogenic Stress in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin

Integrated, quantitative expressions of anthropogenic stress over large geographic regions can be valuable tools in environmental research and management. Despite the fundamental appeal of a regional approach, development of regional stress measures remains one of the most important current challenges in environmental science. Using publicly available, pre-existing spatial datasets, we developed a geographic information system database of 86 variables related to five classes of anthropogenic stress in the U.S. Great Lakes basin: agriculture, atmospheric deposition, human population, land cover, and point source pollution. The original variables were quantified by a variety of data types over a broad range of spatial and classification resolutions. We summarized the original data for 762 watershed-based units that comprise the U.S. portion of the basin and then used principal components analysis to develop overall stress measures within each stress category. We developed a cumulative stress index by combining the first principal component from each of the five stress categories. Maps of the stress measures illustrate strong spatial patterns across the basin, with the greatest amount of stress occurring on the western shore of Lake Michigan, southwest Lake Erie, and southeastern Lake Ontario. We found strong relationships between the stress measures and characteristics of bird communities, fish communities, and water chemistry measurements from the coastal region. The stress measures are taken to represent the major threats to coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Great Lakes. Such regional-scale efforts are critical for understanding relationships between human disturbance and ecosystem response, and can be used to guide environmental decision-making at both regional and local scales.

Bibosoop: A Unique Korean Biotope for Cavity Nesting Birds

In Korea, a bibosoop is a type of village grove fostered to complement a weak part of the village from a Feng-Shui perspective. We examined the characteristics of bird communities in remaining bibosoops in two regions, Gyeonggi-do Province and Jeollanam-do Province. We surveyed patch preferences of birds at two landscapes in Gyeonggi-do Province. One contains a bibosoop with other rural landscape elements, and the other does not have a bibosoop. The two landscapes of Gyeonggi-do Province were similar to each other in the distribution of landscape elements. We observed that species richness was significantly higher at the site with a bibosoop, and that tits, Mandarian ducks, starlings, Eurasian scops owls, and woodpeckers utilized the bibosoop as a nesting site. Birds preferred the landscape with the bibosoop, and the internal movement of birds was significantly higher at the landscape with the bibosoop than at the other. The results suggest that bibosoops serve as a unique biotope that provides nest sites for cavity nesters, especially near nest-insufficient forests, and enhance the internal movements of birds among patches in the landscape.

Characteristics of bird communities between slope and valley in natural deciduous forest, South Korea

Bird communities were surveyed in natural deciduous forest of both slope area and valley area at Mt. Gyebangsan (37°40′ 30″ N, 128°30′1″ E), Gangwon Province, South Korea in winter, spring, summer and autumn from September 2000 to November 2001. The investigating results showed that there existed differences in the bird species composition, richness, bird species diversity, guild structure between slope area and valley aree, and the vertical forest structure, especially coverage of understory, and diameter at breast height (DBH) distribution also had significant difference between the two study areas. The differences in habitat structure between the areas are very likely to have influences on how birds used the available habitat.

Bird Community Responses to Disturbance in a Forestry Concession in lowland Bolivia

Bird community characteristics of three sites with different levels of disturbance were studied using transect surveys during the dry season in a subtropical humid forest in Bolivia. One area had been unintentionally burned 4 years prior and selectively harvested (DIS) 1 year prior to sampling. A second area had been selectively harvested 1 year prior to sampling and had no recent history of fire (HAR). Species richness, as assessed by species–time curves and rarefaction, was higher in both altered areas than in undisturbed forest (INT). In general, frugivores and omnivores were more abundant in both altered areas compared to intact forest. Canopy frugivores, understory omnivores and multiple-strata omnivores were most abundant in HAR. Canopy frugivores, near-ground insectivores, understory and multiple-strata omnivores were least abundant in INT, although INT had the highest abundances of canopy insectivores and near-ground omnivores. Richness and abundance of widespread species with low habitat specificity was higher in both areas that experienced disturbance compared to intact forest. Differences in bird community structure between disturbed and intact forest at this site are attributed primarily to the addition of widespread species with less narrow habitat requirements, and possibly to changes in the distribution of different food types.

Characteristics of bird communities on surface mine lands in Pennsylvania

A variety of species was observed as either visitors, permanent, or summer residents on surface mines with different ecological adaptations. Passerine species were the most prevalent of the 25 families represented. Bird communities as well as individual species were correlated with the structure and species of vegetation on the mines. The composition of the bird communities changed in response to successional vegetation stages from grassland to forest communities.

Vegetation and bird community characteristics in an Australian arid mountain range

Eight habitat types, defined by vegetation associations, were delimited within a central Australian arid mountain range. Floristic and physiognomic vegetation characteristics and four bird community characteristics were measured in each habitat type. The latter were influenced primarily by vegetation physiognomy, particularly life form diversity. This influence was not directly related to the broad diversity of feeding categories within the habitats. Similarity of bird species composition, as indicated by both a discriminant function analysis and a Motyka similarity matrix, was affected primarily by geographic proximity rather than by similarity of plant species composition.