Habitat use and the effects of disturbance on wintering birds using riparian habitats in Sonora, Mexico
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Abstract:
Riparian systems are important for breeding bird communities in southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and are highly used as migratory corridors; however, their importance for wintering birds has not been assessed systematically. In order to assess the value of riparian areas for birds wintering in Sonora, data from 1,816 standard point counts were collected from 87 locations during January and February 2004-2006. A total of 253 species were detected across 14 vegetation types, including nine categories of riparian vegetation. The mean number of species and individuals detected per count was significantly higher in riparian vegetation than in non-riparian vegetation for migratory species, but not for residents. Riparian bird communities are different from those in non-riparian habitats, and contribute 22% of the regional avifauna’s species. The “Balanced Breeding Limitation Hypothesis” is discussed as a possible explanation of the relatively high abundance of migrant species wintering in riparian environments. Anthropogenic disturbance has imposed significant changes in riparian habitats, and is known to have negative effects on biological communities. To assess the effects of human induced disturbance on wintering bird communities, I recorded community composition, relative abundance of species, and three indicators of bird condition in relatively undisturbed and highly disturbed sites at three river systems in Sonora. My results indicate that there is, in general, little effect of disturbance on the composition of wintering communities, with less than 20% of the most common species having significant differences in their abundances between relatively undisturbed and highly disturbed sites. Condition indicators were similar in the two disturbance levels, but the mean heterophil/lymphocyte ratio in the blood of sampled birds showed increased levels of physiological stress in disturbed sites. A more experimental approach is needed to determine the specific cause of the stress expression in leucocytes. Modification of natural flooding regimes has resulted in the decrease and loss of riparian native corridors, the invasion of exotic plants, and changes in associated animal communities, as has been the case in the Colorado River Delta. In the final chapter, I present a summary of the changes experienced by riparian systems and some of the measures implemented for riparian restoration in the southwestern United States, and then I compare the scenario with that in central Sonora, where some of the same stressors exist on riparian systems, but where traditional management practices have also mitigated some of the negative consequences of flow control along mid-sized river systems. To place my own bird survey data in a broader context, I appended a compilation of more than 48,500 records from between 1849 and 2006 on the birds of Sonora from published accounts, museum specimens, and my own field work. They include a total of 533 species, nine of which were added from the compilation and my own field work. I also discuss the status of other species for the State’s inventory.Keywords:
Riparian forest
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Flyway
Breeding pair
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Abstract Coastal wetlands in East China are essential stopover places for birds along the East Asian-Australian Flyway. However, numerous wind turbines have been built in or near these wetlands in recent years, which might disturb the bird community in the area. Therefore, investigating the bird community and its responses to wind farms in coastal wetlands of East China is of great significance for bird conservation. In the spring and autumn of 2019 and 2020, we investigated the bird community in the Rudong coastal wetland in East China using point counts. We determined 4 geographical factors at each census point, i.e., distance to the wind farm boundary (DW), distance to the suburbs, distance to the sea, and vegetation area, and analysed the relationship between bird number and DW through partial correlation analysis. A total of 11 orders and 103 species of birds, including 4 endangered species, were observed during our survey. Charadriiformes was the dominant taxon in the wetland, and Calidris alpina was the most common species in both spring and autumn. Passeriformes exhibited high species richness but low numbers. The results of partial correlation analysis indicated that birds’ responses to the wind farm varied depending on their dominance and category: dominant and subdominant birds tended to avoid the wind farm, whereas rare birds tended to approach them; aquatic birds were alert to the wind farm, whereas terrestrial birds better adapted to them. We concluded that the dominant aquatic birds, including the endangered species Calidris tenuirostris , were most negatively impacted by the wind farm; the occasional birds and rare aquatic birds might be disturbed by wind farm but not significantly so; and the rare terrestrial birds were least disturbed by or even benefited from the wind farm.
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Calidris
Charadriiformes
Dominance (genetics)
Animal ecology
Phragmites
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The Chicago River’s north branch intersects multiple urban land uses, including residential, industrial, commercial, and recreational. The north branch also supports a diversity of birds exploiting a variety of resources and structures along the river as habitat. From three breeding seasons of point count surveys, I assess the breeding bird communities in four different sections, representing four different restoration or management styles. These four river sections are also very different with regards to the surrounding neighborhood demographics. These data serve as both a baseline for future studies to evaluate restoration projects along the Chicago River, and as a snapshot to compare bird diversity and community composition between these river sections given current conditions. Unsurprisingly, the section of the river with the most extensive and longest established restoration effort had the highest species richness (number of species) of native birds. In terms of aquatic and riparian birds, however, that section was comparable to river sections with much less management in measures of both species richness and species composition. I discuss ways that river restoration efforts can be sensitive to demographic context, to avoid contributing to eco-gentrification and displacement.
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There is concern about the future status of migratory bird populations dependent on wetland and riparian habitats across North America during migration and breeding seasons. Since 1900, a majority of wetlands across the Great Plains have disappeared or deteriorated due to agricultural development, water diversion, and other land use changes. These wetland ecosystems are also highly vulnerable to predicted changes in temperatures and precipitation across North America. Wetlands in the northern Great Plains provide important resources to many species of breeding wetland-dependent birds, including waterfowl, shorebirds, marsh dwelling birds, and songbirds. For several migrating species that stop only briefly during their long-distance migrations between South American wintering grounds and arctic breeding sites, the presence of critical resources can determine the season’s breeding success or survival rates.
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In this paper, I review major historical conservation events, changes in landscape (cover types) patterns, and agency (state and federal) inventory and monitoring programs to help explain trends in terrestrial vertebrate populations in Pennsylvania. I then give recommendations for the long-term conservation of terrestrial vertebrates within the context of a future changing landscape in the Commonwealth. In Pennsylvania, the amount of forest has remained relatively constant since the 1970s, while the extent of early successional, grassland, and wetland/riparian habitats is declining. These trends, combined with direct human disturbance, degradation of water quality, and loss of critical habitat features have contributed to the endangered or threatened status of 31 vertebrate species in the state. Based on two major databases, the Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Survey and the Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas, bird species occupying early successional, grassland, or wetland/riparian habitats, in particular, have generally shown negative trends in abundance and distribution, respectively. According to the Pennsylvania Gap Analysis Project, highest species richness or “hotspots” of mammals and birds are in areas with expanses of intact forest, as on public lands in the north central part of the state. The future conservation status of terrestrial vertebrates is contingent on several factors, ranging from wise stewardship of public and private lands to an understanding of the impacts of global climate change on vertebrate populations. Among the conservation recommendations are the need to improve connectivity among wildlands, understand the long-term impact of landscape changes on wildlife biodiversity, and develop databases on abundance and distributional trends of terrestrial vertebrate populations.
Critical habitat
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Urban ecosystem
Habitat Fragmentation
Wildlife corridor
Urban ecology
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The present study aimed to investigate the structure, composition and diversity of the over-wintering aquatic bird community of Poyang Lake, including Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve (PNNR), Nanji National Nature Reserve (NNNR) and Duchang Provincial Nature Reserve (DPNR), China. After the preliminary survey, birds surveyed from vantage points at each study site between the years 2016 and 2020 in the winter season. A total of 58 bird species belonging to nine orders and 13 families were observed. The study showed variation in effective species numbers (Species richness, Shannon’s diversity and Simpson’s diversity) among the three study sites and the survey years. Nanji National Nature Reserve had the highest avian diversity, whereas Duchang Provincial Nature Reserve had the lowest. Globally threatened bird species, Siberian Crane (critically endangered), Oriental Stork (endangered), found in our study sites. However, the current management practices of the nature reserve and conservation of this globally threatened bird species are inadequate, especially of Duchang Provincial Nature Reserve. Therefore, for long term conservation of birds in these areas, it needs continuing intentional improvement of the sites and awareness creation to the local community.
Stork
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Understanding the diversity and structure of bird communities is indispensable to delineate the importance of regional or local landscapes for avian conservation. The aim of the present study was to appraise community composition and threat status of avifauna of Bakhira Bird Sanctuary. The various species of birds were identified by using key references. During the study period 84 species of birds were identified. Maximum 15 species of birds were found to be belonging to order Anseriformes followed by minimum 2 species in Bucerotiformes and Gruiformes. We have enlisted 22 species of wetland birds in family Anatidae. However, only 1 species has been recognized in 11 different families. The documentation of the residential status of avifauna showed that 47 resident species (R), 28 migrant species (M) and 9 as resident migrant species (RM). According to the IUCN based categorization, maximum 86.90% species were recorded as least concerned (LC), followed by 1.19% endangered (EN), 4.76% near threatened (NT) and 7.14% vulnerable (VU). Guild based classification uncovered that maximum (44) birds were carnivorous and minimum (1) piscivorous. The result of our study concluded that Bakhira Bird Sanctuary is facing huge anthropogenic threats which include trapping and hunting of birds, habitat destruction by soil erosion, sedimentation and extension of crop fields, water pollution and eutrophication.
Guild
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