Urban health and ecology: the promise of an avian biomonitoring tool

Pollack, Lea; Ondrasek, Naomi; Calisi, Rebecca M.

doi:10.1093/cz/zox011

Cited by 42 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 97 publications

(129 reference statements)

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“…Considerable extent of taxonomic and functional diversity of birds was observed across the urban-rural gradient with prominent differences in the rural against the urban areas. Such observations tally with the characteristic bird species assemblages in urban areas (Pollack et al 2017, Rodriguez et al 2018, Filloy et al 2019 and the differences in the urban and rural context (Sengupta et al 2014, Kale et al 2018a, 2018b, Pal et al 2019. In the present study, higher diversity and species richness were observed in thesuburban and rural station areas than that of urban areas.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Birds are one of the most suitable species to monitor the short and the long-term environmental changes (Koskimies 1989, Bibby 1999, Khan & Naher 2009. Use of birds as indicators for habitat conditions (Canterbury et al 2000, Browder et al 2002,Vallecilo et al 2016, including forests (Pain et al 2004, Venier & Pearce 2004, Aich & Mukhopadhyay 2008, Chatterjee et al 2014, agro-ecosystems (Dhindsa & Saini 1994, Borad et al 2001, Basavarajappa 2006, Sundar & Kittur 2013, Hossain & Aditya 2016 and aquatic bodies (Kumar et al 2006, Kumar & Gupta 2013, biological diversity (Gregory et al 2003, Fraixedas et al 2020 and urbanization (Pollack et al 2017) are well-recognized, apart from the application of birds as flagship species in conserving diversity (Williams et al 2000) and enhancing tourism (Veríssimo et al 2009). Due to an increasing appreciation of the ecosystem services provided by the birds (Whelan et al 2008(Whelan et al , Şekercioğlu 2012a(Whelan et al , 2012b, the focus for the monitoring, conservation and ecological studies on birds are continued at different biogeographical context (Bradford et al 1998, Browder et al 2002, Lee et al 2004, Sundar & Kittur 2013, Hossain & Aditya 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, an alteration in the bird species assemblages may be observed along the urbanization gradient with varying levels of the habitat conditions and the degree of disturbances (Gering & Blair 1999, Kale et al 2018a, 2018b, Rodrigues et al 2018, Filloy et al 2019, Pal et al 2019. Although the effects of urbanization on the environmental processes are usually complex and poorly understood, the birds can be considered as bio-monitoring tool to retrieve the consequences on human and wildlife biota (Chace & Walsh 2006, Pollack et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bird species assemblages in railway stations: variations along an urban-rural gradient

et al. 2020

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The transportation infrastructures like railway tracks and roads bear negative impacts on natural environment. However, the opposite effects are also true in some instances where the man-made constructions have positive effect on faunal assemblages. This proposition was justified through the assessment of bird species using railway stations as model man-made structures in an urban-rural gradient, in the suburbs of Kolkata, India. During the entire study period along nine different railway stations, a total of 43 bird species belonging to 12 orders and 26 families were observed. Among these, the order Passeriformes was predominant in its species composition having 18 different species from 11 different families. In urban railway stations, a total of 23 bird species under 22 genera and 14 families were observed. In suburban railway stations, a total of 35 bird species under 32 genera and 22 families were documented. The railway stations from rural region showed the maximum number of species and abundance of bird families, where a total of 36 bird species under 32 genera and 23 families were observed. The railway stations from the suburban and rural regions were more similar in species composition. Irrespective of the locations, during the entire study period, the House Crow (Corvus splendens) was the dominant species followed by the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis). About 18 bird species exhibited a decreasing population trend observed through the global population trend analysis. In all the railway stations, the abundance of omnivores were dominant while, the number of granivores were higher in the rural regions and the nectarivores were absent in the urban regions. It was apparent that the railway stations bear a positive effect on the bird species assemblages, which can be sustained through proper environmental management planning inclusive of urban greening.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bird species assemblages in railway stations: variations along an urban-rural gradient

et al. 2020

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“…For example, diet [44][45][46][47][48][49][50], foraging mode and strata [51][52][53], and the location of breeding and resting places [44][45][46]48,54] influence whether a species is able to live in a particular urban area. Another important factor to consider is pollution, including noise and light [55][56][57][58][59][60][61]. Thus, even if a developer is willing to create conditions suitable for a species, the species may be too sensitive against disturbances to survive in the urban area.…”

Section: Local Species Potential: Site Limitations and Dispersal Barrmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Framework for Choosing Target Species for Wildlife-Inclusive Urban Design

et al. 2019

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Recent research has highlighted the significance of cities for biodiversity, making them important places for conservation in their own right. Current conservation approaches in cities are mostly defensive. Thus, they focus on remnant pockets of natural areas or try to protect particular species that occur in the built environment. These approaches are vulnerable to further urban development and do not create habitats. An alternative strategy is to make wildlife an integral part of urban development and thereby create a new habitat in the built-up area. Here we address the challenge of choosing target species for such wildlife-inclusive urban design. The starting point of our conceptual framework is the regional species pool, which can be obtained from geo-referenced species data. The existing habitat types on and around the development site and dispersal barriers limit the species numbers to the local species potential. In the next step, the site’s potential for each species is analyzed—how can it be upgraded to host species given the planned development and the life-cycle of the species? For the final choice of target species, traits related to the human–animal interaction are considered. We suggest that stakeholders will be involved in the final species selection. Our approach differs from existing practice, such as expert choice of priority species, by (1) representing an open process where many species are potential targets of conservation, (2) the involvement of stakeholders in a participatory way. Our approach can also be used at larger spatial scales such as quarters or entire cities.

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“…Birds have the potential also to serve as powerful biomonitors and can be used to survey for factors that may pose both public and wildlife health concerns (Pollack et al, 2017).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ljungan/Sebokele-like picornavirus in birds of prey, common kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ) and red-footed falcon ( F. vespertinus )

Pankovics

Boros

Mátics

et al. 2017

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

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(www.picornaviridae.com, Adams et al., 2017). Human parechoviruses are important pathogens in humans especially in infants and young children and are associated with a wide spectrum and severity of diseases (Harvala et al., 2010). Ljungan and Sebokele viruses are thought to be rodent-borne viruses. Ljungan virus was first isolated from bank voles in Sweden (Niklasson & Le Duc, 1984) and it has been suggested to be the zoonotic etiological agent of myocarditis, type-1 diabetes mellitus and possibly other human diseases (Niklasson et al., 1998; Niklasson et al., 2007). Sebokele virus was originally isolated in 1972 fromAfrican wood mice (Digoutte and Germain, 1985; Joffret et al., 2013). Recently, Ljungan virus was also detected in wild birds, in gull species in Japan (Mitake et al., 2016).In general, picornaviruses are small, non-enveloped viruses with single-stranded, positive-sense, 7.2-10.1 kb-long polyadenylated genomic RNA. Picornaviral genomes have a common organization pattern: viral polyprotein coding single open reading frame (ORF) (except for the genus Dicipivirus which has two ORFs separated by an untranslated region) is flanked by the highly structured 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) (Knowles et al., 2012).The picornavirus genomes consist of essential secondary RNA structures functioning as a cisacting RNA sequences e.g. internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) (Martínez-Salas et al., 2015) and cis-acting replication element (cre) (Tolf et al., 2009). Generally, the viral polyprotein (VP) processed to form three or four capsid monomer proteins (VP0-VP3-VP1 or VP4-VP2-VP3-VP1), and at least seven non-structural proteins: 2A-2B-2C-3A-3B-3C-3D; however, differences occur in picornaviruses of different genera. The numbers of the cleaved individual ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTA C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T Birds are well known reservoirs of numerous viral pathogens such as avian influenza virus, West Nile virus and Japanese encephalitis virus in humans (Reed et al., 2003).However, compared to the ten thousands of known bird species, rather few picornaviruses have been described from avian sources, often from faecal samples, and most of these have been identified in the last decade from domestic birds (Boros et al., 2013; Boros et al., 2014b). Birds have the potential also to serve as powerful biomonitors and can be used to survey for factors that may pose both public and wildlife health concerns (Pollack et al., 2017).In this study, a novel member of the genus Parechovirus was detected and characterized from faecal samples of birds of prey, a picornavirus related to Ljungan and Sebokele viruses. Materials and MethodsIn June 2014, faecal samples were collected from wild birds of prey, from 11 common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and 7 red-footed falcons (F. vespertinus) from Gara (46°03 '28.77"N 19°02'38.50"E) and Kardoskút (46°50'43.30"N 20°64'32.92"E) (Phan et al., 2013). Viral-particle protected nucleic acids were extracted using QIAamp spin-column technique (Qiagen) and subjected to a viral metage...

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Urban health and ecology: the promise of an avian biomonitoring tool

Cited by 42 publications

References 97 publications

Bird species assemblages in railway stations: variations along an urban-rural gradient

Bird species assemblages in railway stations: variations along an urban-rural gradient

A Conceptual Framework for Choosing Target Species for Wildlife-Inclusive Urban Design

Ljungan/Sebokele-like picornavirus in birds of prey, common kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ) and red-footed falcon ( F. vespertinus )

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