Bird population in birch forests of the Southern Urals affected by industrial pollution: Report 2. Relationship with habitat variables

Belskii, Eugen; Belskaya, Elena

doi:10.1134/s1995425513030037

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…Because the spatial distribution of pollution is often correlated with changes in physical habitats (Eeva et al 2012, Belskii andBelskaya 2013b), causal links inferred by studies involving only chemical variables may be misleading. Although a few studies have simultaneously considered the effects of pollution and terrestrial habitat alterations (Eeva et al 2012, Belskii andBelskaya 2013b), these studies did not assess relative contributions of these co-occurring stressors to the measured ecological responses. Nonetheless, some mismatches between measured responses and pollution levels found in those studies suggest that pollution may not be the primary cause of changes in the distribution and abundance of some organisms in smelting-altered environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Sasaki

Lesbarrères

Watson

et al. 2015

Ecological Applications

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Emissions from smelting not only contaminate water and soil with metals, but also induce extensive forest dieback and changes in resource availability and microclimate. The relative effects of such co-occurring stressors are often unknown, but this information is imperative in developing targeted restoration strategies. We assessed the role and relative effects of structural alterations of terrestrial habitat and metal pollution caused by century-long smelting operations on amphibian and reptile communities by collecting environmental and time- and area-standardized multivariate abundance data along three spatially replicated impact gradients. Overall, species richness, diversity, and abundance declined progressively with increasing levels of metals (As, Cu, and Ni) and soil temperature (T(s)) and decreasing canopy cover, amount of coarse woody debris (CWD), and relative humidity (RH). The composite habitat variable (which included canopy cover, CWD, T(s), and RH) was more strongly associated with most response metrics than the composite metal variable (As, Cu, and Ni), and canopy cover alone explained 19-74% of the variance. Moreover, species that use terrestrial habitat for specific behaviors (e.g., hibernation, dispersal), especially forest-dependent species, were more severely affected than largely aquatic species. These results suggest that structural alterations of terrestrial habitat and concomitant changes in the resource availability and microclimate have stronger effects than metal pollution per se. Furthermore, much of the variation in response metrics was explained by the joint action of several environmental variables, implying synergistic effects (e.g., exacerbation of metal toxicity by elevated temperatures in sites with reduced canopy cover). We thus argue that the restoration of terrestrial habitat conditions is a key to successful recovery of herpetofauna communities in smelting-altered landscapes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Sasaki

Lesbarrères

Watson

et al. 2015

Ecological Applications

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Bird diversity and dissimilarity show contrasting patterns along heavy metal pollution gradients in the Urals, Russia

Belskii

Mikryukov

2018

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The effects of industrial pollution on bird diversity have been widely studied using traditional diversity measures, which assume all species to be equivalent. We compared species richness and Shannon index with distance-based measures of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity (the abundance-weighted mean nearest taxon distances), which describe within-community dissimilarity at terminal branches. Analysis of dissimilarity can shed light on the processes underlying community assembly, i.e., environmental filtering decreases dissimilarity whereas competitive exclusion increases it. In the 2-year study near Karabash and Revda copper smelters in Russia, point counts of nesting birds and habitat descriptions were taken at 10 sites (40 plots) along each pollution gradient. The abundance and diversity of birds showed good repeatability in both regions. The total density of birds, number of species per plot, and Shannon diversity decreased at high toxic load in both regions. The taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic nearest taxon distances showed the same pattern within regions. Species dissimilarity within communities increased with pollution in Karabash (due to loss of functionally similar species), but did not change in Revda (due to mass replacement of forest species by species of open habitats). Pollution-induced changes in bird communities near Karabash were greater due to the stronger deterioration of the forest ecosystems and less favorable natural conditions (more arid climate, lower diversity and vitality of the tree stand and understorey) compared to Revda. This study emphasizes the need for a multi-level approach to the analysis of bird communities using traditional indices of diversity, functional, taxonomic, or phylogenetic distances between species and environmental variables.

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Distance from industrial complex, urban area cover, and habitat structure combine to predict richness of breeding birds in southeastern Tunisian oases

Hamza

Kahli

Almalki

et al. 2022

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Bird population in birch forests of the Southern Urals affected by industrial pollution: Report 2. Relationship with habitat variables

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Bird diversity and dissimilarity show contrasting patterns along heavy metal pollution gradients in the Urals, Russia

Distance from industrial complex, urban area cover, and habitat structure combine to predict richness of breeding birds in southeastern Tunisian oases

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