Species composition of bird assemblages on waste landfills in Kharkov Region

Abstract

The article lists the bird species of solid waste landfills for the period 2019–2022 in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. A total of 73 species in 56 genera, 27 families and 11 orders were registered at the seven largest landfills in the region. We performed faunal and ecological analyses to determine the structure of the landfills’ avifauna by status, relative abundance, distribution by landfill zones, and protection status. We found solid waste landfills to play an important role for birds of various ecological groups, as 53% of species use the territory as a nesting place or permanent habitat. In addition, a significant proportion of registered birds are protected by various regulatory and legal acts of Ukraine and the world, pointing out the importance of landfills for endangered birds. We calculated the Menhinick and Shannon indices to estimate the species richness and abundance, which did not show high species diversity. Therefore, we also calculated the Pielow index to quantify the evenness of the grouping structure. In addition, the Berger-Parker index showed the importance of the dominant species, which negates the uniformity and thus, the stability of the groups. The general characteristics of the formation of the avifauna were revealed by the qualitative and quantitative (Jaccard and Sørenson indices) comparisons of bird habitats in the Kharkiv region and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. As a result, we drew conclusions about the similar factors of the formation and grouping structure of the specific avifauna, as well as the environmental conditions creating the differences.

Promoting urban ecological resilience through the lens of avian biodiversity

“…Yet, landfills can provide food subsidies that support scavenging, carnivorous, and omnivorous birds including species of gulls (Burger and Gochfeld, 1983;Belant et al, 1998;Duhem et al, 2008;Ackerman et al, 2018), raptors (Burger and Gochfeld, 1983;Turrin et al, 2015;Al Fazari and McGrady, 2016), corvids (Marasinghe et al, 2018), and wading birds (Burger and Gochfeld, 1983;Singha et al, 2002;Ciach and Kruszyk, 2010;Dorn et al, 2011). Supplementary food from landfills can compensate for reductions in natural food sources (Duhem et al, 2008;Dorn et al, 2011;Ackerman et al, 2018) and support endangered species (Singha et al, 2002;Dementieieva et al, 2023). Certainly, proximity to landfill can be a major determinant in explaining the composition and stability of urban bird communities (Ciach and Fröhlich, 2017).…”

“…Once active dumping sites are filled and capped, grasses are planted and maintained to prevent growth of woody plants whose roots could damage the capping system. These grassy areas can support populations of declining grassland specialists (Arnold et al, 2021) and rural surrounding areas can support species of conservation concern (Dementieieva et al, 2023). Thus, urban landfills can play a crucial role in preserving avian diversity and resilience despite posing hazards to wildlife through exposure to plastics, toxic compounds, and pathogens (Figure 5; Plaza and Lambertucci, 2017).…”