Movement of feeder-using songbirds: the influence of urban features

Cox, Daniel T. C.; Inger, Richard; Hancock, Steven; Anderson, Karen; Gaston, Kevin J.

doi:10.1038/srep37669

Cited by 37 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Milton Keynes). This is particularly critical to consider when vertical strata form barriers in space, exerting a disproportionate effect on organismal movements or ecosystem service provision (for example, lines of trees that filter air pollution and provide important barriers for noise reduction)32 or roads that hinder movement of animals through urban spaces3334. Further supporting this is our demonstration of the discrepancies in connectivity patterns between 2D and 3D derived strata layers at short distances (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Ecological connectivity in the three-dimensional urban green volume using waveform airborne lidar

Casalegno

Anderson

Hancock

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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The movements of organisms and the resultant flows of ecosystem services are strongly shaped by landscape connectivity. Studies of urban ecosystems have relied on two-dimensional (2D) measures of greenspace structure to calculate connectivity. It is now possible to explore three-dimensional (3D) connectivity in urban vegetation using waveform lidar technology that measures the full 3D structure of the canopy. Making use of this technology, here we evaluate urban greenspace 3D connectivity, taking into account the full vertical stratification of the vegetation. Using three towns in southern England, UK, all with varying greenspace structures, we describe and compare the structural and functional connectivity using both traditional 2D greenspace models and waveform lidar-generated vegetation strata (namely, grass, shrubs and trees). Measures of connectivity derived from 3D greenspace are lower than those derived from 2D models, as the latter assumes that all vertical vegetation strata are connected, which is rarely true. Fragmented landscapes that have more complex 3D vegetation showed greater functional connectivity and we found highest 2D to 3D functional connectivity biases for short dispersal capacities of organisms (6 m to 16 m). These findings are particularly pertinent in urban systems where the distribution of greenspace is critical for delivery of ecosystem services.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Ecological connectivity in the three-dimensional urban green volume using waveform airborne lidar

Casalegno

Anderson

Hancock

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…The findings from our longer-term study also demonstrate that season has an important influence on a number of visitation parameters both at the individual and species levels. Relatedly, seasonal differences in movement of birds among networks of urban feeders have been found in great tits and blue tits (Cox et al, 2016). We acknowledge, though, that in our study there are limitations to interpreting the results from those PIT-tagged species with small sample sizes.…”

Section: Summary Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 41%

“…We also consider whether supplementary food use is modified by interspecific interactions or seasonality. The demand for supplementary food resources, and the associated competitive interactions at feeders, are likely to vary across seasons (e.g., Ottoni et al, 2009;Cox et al, 2016) due to fluctuations in natural food availability and physiological (thermoregulatory as well as reproductive) demands on birds. We used camera traps at feeding stations to identify species-level patterns of feeder use and examine species associations, and Radio Frequency Identification (hereafter "RFID") technology to explore the feeder-visitation patterns of individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Bird Feeders Dominated by a Few Species and Individuals

et al. 2017

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The practice of garden bird feeding is a global phenomenon, involving millions of people and vast quantities of food annually. Many people engage in the practice of feeding assuming that birds gain some benefit from the food they provide, yet recent studies have revealed the potential for detrimental impacts as well. However, there is still a paucity of information on the impacts of feeding, including the ubiquity of these impacts among and within feeder-visiting species. Consistency in feeder use among birds is likely an important determinant of this. Individual birds and species that make frequent use of feeders are more likely to experience both the benefits and detrimental impacts of supplementary food. We investigated patterns of feeder use by garden birds visiting experimental feeding stations in Auckland, New Zealand, with the specific aim of determining whether use of supplementary food was consistent or variable among individuals and species. We used camera traps as well as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to examine intra-and interspecific feeder visitation patterns and to discern species associations. Eleven bird species were detected using feeding stations, however, two introduced species (house sparrow Passer domesticus and spotted dove Streptopelia chinensis) dominated visitation events. These species were present at feeders most frequently, with the largest conspecific group sizes. Significant associations were detected among a number of species, suggesting interspecific interactions are important in determining feeder use. We also found within-species differences in feeder use for all focal species, with individual variation greatest in house sparrows. Furthermore, season had an important influence on most visitation parameters. The observed individual and species-specific differences in supplementary food resource use imply that the impacts of garden bird feeding are not universal. Crucially, particularly given the avifaunal context in New Zealand, resource dominance by introduced species could have potential negative outcomes for native species conservation in cities.

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“…This is consistent with previous studies in the UK that have documented relationships for some bird species that are considered indicators of urban biodiversity (Tratalos et al., ; indicator T3: DEFRA, ; indicator T1: DEFRA, ). There was a significant variation in abundance and richness of cultural service birds among tiles of urban forms with similar levels of vegetation and building cover, indicating that the flow of cultural services responds to factors other than those measured here, such as the presence of roads (Cox et al., ) and the provision of resources by people (Fuller et al., ; Galbraith, Beggs, Jones, & Stanley, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…This study was a part of a wider project investigating urban ecosystem services (e.g. see Cox & Gaston, ; Cox, Inger, Hancock, Anderson, & Gaston, ; Cox et al., ; Inger, Cox, Per, Norton, & Gaston, ), focused on the urban area of the “Cranfield triangle,” a region in southern England, UK (52°07′N, 0°61′W). This comprises the three adjacent towns of Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedford, which have a combined human population of c .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Covariation in urban birds providing cultural services or disservices and people

Cox

Hudson

Siriwardena

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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The spatial distributions of biodiversity and people vary across landscapes and are critical to the delivery of ecosystem services and disservices. The high densities of people and often of birds in urban areas lead to frequent human–avian interactions, which can be positive or negative for people's well‐being. The identities of the bird species providing these services or disservices tend to be quite different; however, it is unclear how their abundance and richness covary with human population density, and hence with potential recipients of these services and disservices. We surveyed bird populations in 106 tiles (500 × 500 m) across the 174 km2 of an extended urban area in southern England. From the literature, we identified two groups of species: those associated with positive interactions for human well‐being and those that display behaviours that are negative for human well‐being. We estimated the abundance (adjusted for detection probability) and richness of each group and modelled how they covary with human population density. Aggregation of population estimates for the 35 service and nine disservice species observed revealed 593,128 (95% confidence interval: 541,817–657,046) and 225,491 (200,134–235,066) birds respectively. Across the surveyed tiles, there were 1.09 service and 0.42 disservice birds per person. There was a peaking quadratic relationship between service abundance and human population density, but a negative linear relationship between richness and human density. Conversely, there were positive linear relationships for both abundance and richness of disservice species with human density. The ratio of service to disservice birds shifted from 3.5–1 at intermediate human densities to 1–1 in more densely populated areas. Synthesis and applications. Differences in the distributions of service and disservice species, and the extremely low ratios of birds to people particularly in socioeconomically deprived areas, mean that people there have few opportunities for contact with birds, and the contact they do have is equally likely to be negative as positive for human well‐being. We recommend spatial targeting of improvements in green infrastructure, combined with the targeted provisioning of food and nesting places for service species, to promote positive interactions between birds and people.

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Movement of feeder-using songbirds: the influence of urban features

Cited by 37 publications

References 33 publications

Ecological connectivity in the three-dimensional urban green volume using waveform airborne lidar

Ecological connectivity in the three-dimensional urban green volume using waveform airborne lidar

Urban Bird Feeders Dominated by a Few Species and Individuals

Covariation in urban birds providing cultural services or disservices and people

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