Predicting spatial patterns of bird richness in an urban landscape in Himalayan foothills, India

Bushra, Aimon; Padalia, Hitendra; Khan, Afifullah

doi:10.1007/s11252-020-01044-9

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Our findings offer novel insights into the associations between avian communities, vegetation cover, and air pollution in an urban setting. Previous studies have reported relationships between various measures of vegetation complexity (e.g., NDVI, canopy cover, and LAI) and bird diversity and abundances in urban settings (Bar-Massada et al, 2012;Bushra et al, 2021;Debinski et al, 2006;Lerman, 2011;Sandström et al, 2006;Threlfall et al, 2016). However, our comprehensive spatial assessment found that vegetation metrics are largely associated with bird community measures at relatively fine spatial scales (generally, 50 m) and that the average number of invasive birds observed was only associated with greenness at the 50 m scale.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers of Bird Communities in an Urban Neighborhood Vary by Scale

Darracq,

Bliznick,

Yeager

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Given the accelerated pace of global biodiversity loss and rapid urbanization, it is becoming increasingly urgent to identify ways to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits of urban environments for wild flora and fauna. For instance, it has been estimated that 48% of all bird species are experiencing population declines. One of the main drivers of these declines is habitat loss and degradation associated with urbanization. Increased urbanization necessitates a better understanding of how to conserve birds in urban areas. Although relationships between urbanization and bird communities have been explored extensively, few studies have been conducted in residential neighborhoods, and the influence of urban environmental conditions, particularly air pollution, on bird communities remains unclear. In this study, we examined relationships between bird community metrics and environmental measures related to vegetation and air pollution within a residential neighborhood at multiple spatial scales. We found that bird species richness and the average number of native species were positively related to greenness (as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index; NDVI) within 50 m, and negatively associated with ambient levels of NO2 at 200 m. Similarly, we found the Hill-Shannon diversity index was positively associated with canopy cover, but negatively associated with NO2 at 200 m. The average number of invasive bird species, however, was negatively correlated with canopy cover at 50 m. The average number of native birds was negatively related to ultrafine particle (<100 nm in diameter) concentration. Unlike native bird abundances, invasive bird abundances were not sensitive to NO2 or ultrafine particles. Thus, our research suggests that reductions in air pollution, in combination with greening efforts that increase NDVI and canopy cover via the restoration of vegetation within urban neighborhoods, are likely to increase bird diversity and the abundances of native birds while reducing the abundance of invasive birds.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Bird Communities in an Urban Neighborhood Vary by Scale

Darracq,

Bliznick,

Yeager

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…The point count method was adopted for the bird survey with fixed radius of 20 m in the point count sites (Hutto et al 1986). At each point, the researchers observed birds for 15 minutes (Bushra et al 2020) to study the birds along the river. The study was conducted between October 2021 and February 2022.…”

Section: Bird Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

First record of ashy minivet Pericrocotus divaricatus in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Gosai,

Dhakal

et al. 2023

Nep. J. Zool.

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The status and distribution of birds in Nepal is being updated as the number of bird species and records increase. We present a distributional update of ashy minivet Pericrocotus divaricatus, a rare winter visitor to Nepal. We made an opportunistic sighting of the species on 25 February 2022 during a bird survey along the Hanumante River, Bhaktapur, Nepal. AM had been previously recorded in Nepal at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and at Sauraha, Chitwan District, but not in the Kathmandu Valley. Thus, our record of this species in Bhaktapur (Kathmandu Valley) is a new distributional record of the species in Nepal. Rapid change in land use is posing threats to bird habitats; therefore, we recommend maintaining a continuous green corridor along the Hanumante River.

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