scholarly journals Habitat complexity explains species-specific occupancy but not species richness in a Western Australian woodland

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrad A. Cousin ◽  
Ryan D. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Litter Cover ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Species Specific

Habitat complexity is an important factor governing species richness and habitat selection in birds. The present study examined this relationship in a large wandoo woodland in Western Australia. Habitat complexity (comprising canopy, shrub, ground vegetation, log and leaf litter cover) and bird species richness was recorded in 48 sites, each ~3 ha in size. We found no significant correlation of habitat complexity with species richness. We propose that the absence of such a relationship results from the resource-poor environment of the woodlands of south-western Australia. The relative scarcity of food resources results in a species richness threshold beyond which there are insufficient niches and resources to support additional species with increasing habitat complexity. Only two species exhibited significant associations with habitat complexity, with the western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) occupying sites with higher habitat complexity, and the restless flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) occupying sites with lower habitat complexity. Although some species may respond specifically to habitat complexity, management of avian biodiversity within Australian woodlands should take into account the potentially greater role that productivity and resource availability play in influencing species richness, rather than habitat complexity per se. Furthermore, the individual components comprising habitat complexity may be of equal importance in assessing relationship of species richness to overall habitat complexity.

scholarly journals Do bird species richness and community structure vary with mistletoe flowering and fruiting in Western Australia?

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn R. Napier ◽  
Suzanne H. Mather ◽  
Todd J. McWhorter ◽  
Patricia A. Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Species Richness

The effect of recent chaining on birds in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham R. Fulton ◽  
Jonathan D. Majer
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Woodland Birds ◽  
Near Threatened

The decline of woodland birds that follows from habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss of connectivity is well reported in the literature. However, reports of immediate responses by birds to these events are scant. This study, in the eastern whealtbelt of Western Australia, detected that when half of a 10 ha remnant of Allocasuarina shrubland was chained (vegetation knocked over and largely killed), birds responded quickly; increaser species apparently benefited and decliner species became restricted to the remaining unchained remnant of shrubland. There was some correspondence between the trends in variety and/or abundance of arthropods with those of bird species richness. Two Near-threatened species, the White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus supercilious and the Crested Bellbird Oreoica gutturalis, were only detected in the non-chained part of the remnant. These findings clearly highlight the immediate ecological consequences of clearing of native vegetation, and highlight the importance of conserving even the smallest remaining fragments.

scholarly journals Composition, diversity and foraging guilds of avifauna in agricultural landscapes In Panipat, Haryana, India

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 15140-15153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parmesh Kumar ◽  
Sharmila Sahu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Foraging Guilds ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Structure And Functions ◽  
Near Threatened

Avian communities are very good indicators of integrity and stability of ecosystem structure and functions. Assessment of bird assemblages in different landscapes is therefore emphasized from an environmental monitoring viewpoint.  Bird surveys were carried out from April 2015 to March 2016 to document the avian species assemblage of agricultural landscapes in Panipat, Haryana, India.  Point-transect in amalgam with opportunistic encounter methods were used to collect data.  A total of 101 bird species under 44 families and 15 orders were recorded from the study area.  The bird species richness was highest for the order Passeriformes (48), followed by Pelecaniformes (15), Charadriiformes (6), and the remaining 12 orders.  Ardeidae was the most diverse bird family in the study area.  Among the recorded avifauna, 77 species were residents, 18 species were winter migrants and six species were summer migrants.  Species richness was recorded to be highest in the month of January compared to the remaining months.  Species richness, abundance, diversity and evenness differed significantly (P < 0.05) between seasons as well as among the agricultural landscapes.  Most bird species were insectivorous (36) followed by carnivorous (26), omnivorous (24), granivorous (9), frugivorous (5) and nectarivorous (1).  Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala, Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, and Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria are four Near Threatened species found in this region.  Interestingly, five species having globally declining population trends are still common in the study area.  The observed richness of avian species in the study area calls for further studies on habitat preference, seasonal changes, nest ecology, and breeding biology to understand species specific roles of birds in agro-ecosystems.  

Functional evenness of bird communities varies along the elevational gradient in Europe: Conservation implications

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Morelli ◽  
Yanina
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Large Spatial Scale ◽  
Functional Evenness

ContextThe negative association between elevation and species richness is a well-recognized pattern in macro-ecology. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate changes in functional evenness of breeding bird communities along an elevation gradient in Europe. MethodsUsing the bird data from the EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds we estimated an index of functional evenness which can be assumed as a measure of the potential resilience of communities.ResultsOur findings confirm the existence of a negative association between elevation and bird species richness in all European eco regions. However, we also explored a novel aspect of this relationship, important for conservation: Our findings provide evidence at large spatial scale of a negative association between the functional evenness (potential community resilience) and elevation, independent of the eco region. We also found that the Natura2000 protected areas covers the territory most in need of protection, those characterized by bird communities with low potential resilience, in hilly and mountainous areas.ConclusionsThese results draw attention to European areas occupied by bird communities characterized by a potential lower capacity to respond to strong ecological changes, and, therefore, potentially more exposed to risks for conservation.

scholarly journals Patterns of bird species richness explained by annual variation in remotely sensed Dynamic Habitat Indices

2021 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
pp. 107774
Author(s):  
Martina L. Hobi ◽  
Laura S. Farwell ◽  
Maxim Dubinin ◽  
Dmitrij Kolesov ◽  
Anna M. Pidgeon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Dynamic Habitat

scholarly journals Can clearcuts increase bird species richness in managed forests?

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
M. Żmihorski
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Managed Forest ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Forest Interior ◽  
Transect Counts ◽  
The Difference

Clearcuts are one of the results of forest management. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of clearcuts on bird communities in a managed forest in Western Poland. I applied the method of point transect counts. 20 points were located near clearcuts (less than 100 m from the nearest clearcut) and 25 points in the forest interior. In total, 36 bird species were recorded. On average, I found 9.20 bird species at points located near clearcuts and 6.72 species at points situated in the forest interior, and the difference was significant. The cumulative number of bird species for a given number of sampling points in the vicinity of clearcuts was higher than in the forest interior. The obtained results indicate that in managed, even-aged forests the generation of clearcuts can lead to an increase in local bird species richness.

Bird species richness and abundance in riparian vegetation invaded by exotic Reynoutria spp.

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Hajzlerová ◽  
Jiří Reif
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
River Bank ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Acrocephalus Palustris

AbstractImpacts of invasive alien plant species are threatening biodiversity worldwide and thus it is important to assess their effects on particular groups of organisms. However, such impacts were studied mostly in case of plant or invertebrate communities and our understanding the response of vertebrate species to plant invasions remains incomplete. To improve our knowledge in this respect, we studied bird communities in riparian vegetation along the rivers with different levels of Reynoutria spp. invasion in the Czech Republic. These findings will be interesting for basic ecology enhancing our knowledge of consequences of plant invasions, as well as for conservation practice. We surveyed understory bird species in 26 vegetation blocks along parts of three rivers running from the Beskydy Mountains in spring 2011. We used principal component analysis to assess vegetation structure of particular blocks and the first axis ordinated the blocks according to the degree of invasion by Reynoutria spp. Using generalized linear mixed-effects models we found that counts of Motacilla cinerea, Cinclus cinclus and Sylvia borin, as well as the total bird species richness, significantly decreased with increasing degree of Reynoutria spp. invasion, while Acrocephalus palustris showed the opposite pattern. These results suggest that Reynoutria spp. impacts negatively on the species strictly bond with river banks and habitats specialists, whereas habitat generalist species like Sylvia atricapilla were not affected. Preference of Acrocephalus palustris for Reynoutria spp. corroborates affinity of this species to large invasive herbs observed also in other studies. Our study showed that Reynoutria spp. invasion can reduce species richness of understory birds in riparian communities. Although the distribution of this plant species is still quite limited in central Europe, our results suggest that its more widespread occurrence could potentially threat some river bank bird species. Therefore, we urge for development of management actions that will act counter the Reynoutria spp. invasion.

scholarly journals Modelling avian biodiversity using raw, unclassified satellite imagery

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1643) ◽  
pp. 20130197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique St-Louis ◽  
Anna M. Pidgeon ◽  
Tobias Kuemmerle ◽  
Ruth Sonnenschein ◽  
Volker C. Radeloff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Image Texture ◽  
Spectral Mixture Analysis ◽  
Mixture Analysis ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Habitat Composition ◽  
Avian Biodiversity ◽  
Spectral Mixture

Applications of remote sensing for biodiversity conservation typically rely on image classifications that do not capture variability within coarse land cover classes. Here, we compare two measures derived from unclassified remotely sensed data, a measure of habitat heterogeneity and a measure of habitat composition, for explaining bird species richness and the spatial distribution of 10 species in a semi-arid landscape of New Mexico. We surveyed bird abundance from 1996 to 1998 at 42 plots located in the McGregor Range of Fort Bliss Army Reserve. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index values of two May 1997 Landsat scenes were the basis for among-pixel habitat heterogeneity (image texture), and we used the raw imagery to decompose each pixel into different habitat components (spectral mixture analysis). We used model averaging to relate measures of avian biodiversity to measures of image texture and spectral mixture analysis fractions. Measures of habitat heterogeneity, particularly angular second moment and standard deviation, provide higher explanatory power for bird species richness and the abundance of most species than measures of habitat composition. Using image texture, alone or in combination with other classified imagery-based approaches, for monitoring statuses and trends in biological diversity can greatly improve conservation efforts and habitat management.

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