Influence of habitat type and distance from source area on bird taxonomic and functional diversity in a Neotropical megacity

The Neotropical region has been subjected to massive urbanization, which poses high risks for some global biodiversity hotspots and losses of ecosystem functions and services. In this study, we investigate how distance from large patches of native forests (source areas) and vegetation (green)/and infrastructure (gray) characteristics affect bird species richness and functional diversity in São Paulo megacity, southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the effects of source areas and green/gray characteristics on species richness and functional diversity (richness, evenness, and divergence) indices. We detected 231 bird species, and our data confirmed our predictions: (1) bird species richness in urbanized habitats was found to be (~?50–85%) lower than in source habitats; (2) species richness and trait composition significantly decreased as the distance from the source area increased, while functional richness was not affected by this metric; and (3) shrub and herbaceous covers and maximum height of trees were positively correlated with species richness and unique functional traits regarding habitat, diet, foraging and nesting strata and dispersal ability of birds in the forest-urban matrix. The number of buildings was negatively correlated with bird species richness and functional richness. Maximum height of buildings caused dramatic declines in functional evenness. Functional divergence was notably lower in sites with high shrub cover. Our study stresses the complexity of vegetation embedded in large Neotropical urban settlements and the need to maintain large protected areas surrounding megacities to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on birds.

     

Predicting tree species richness in urban forests

There has been an increasing interest in urban forests and the levels of biodiversity they contain. Currently there are no spatially explicit maps of tree species richness in urban areas. This research tests and identifies GIS and remote sensing metrics (climate, area, productivity, three-dimensional structure) hypothesized to be associated with species richness in native forests and identifies methods that can be applied to predict and map tree species richness in cities. We quantified tree species richness, floristic composition, and structure in 28 1-ha plots in the city of Los Angeles. Climate and remote sensing metrics from high-resolution aerial imagery (10 cm), QuickBird (60 cm), Landsat (30 m), MODIS (250 m), and airborne lidar (2 m) were collected for each plot. There were 1208 individual stems and 108 trees identified to species. Species richness ranged from 2 to 31 species per ha and averaged 17 species per ha. Tree canopy cover from QuickBird explained the highest portion of variance (54%) in tree species richness followed by NDVI from Landsat (42%). Tree species richness can be higher in residential urban forests than native forests in the United States. Spatially explicit species richness maps at 1 ha can be created and tested for cities in order to identify both hotspots and coldspots of tree species richness and changes in species richness over time.     

Influence of urbanization on the occurrence and activity of aerial insectivorous bats

Activity and species-specific responses of insectivorous bats in different urban-forest conditions provides a general perspective on the adaptability and vulnerability of bat species towards urbanization intensity. Here we evaluated species richness and activity patterns of aerial insectivorous bats across an urbanized landscape in the highlands of Chiapas, in Mexico. Acoustic monitoring of echolocation calls was conducted for 27 nights over a period of four months. Species richness and relative activity of insectivorous bats were estimated in a landscape with different conditions of urbanization intensity: urban areas, non-urban and forest areas. We identified a total of 14 bat species and three phonotypes. Bat species richness and relative activity was similar (X² = 0.568, gl = 2, p > 0.05), but species composition differed among conditions. We observed a significant higher occurrence of Bauerus dubiaquercus, Eptesicus brasiliensis and Myotis californicus in forest sites. Urban sites presented higher occurrence of Molossus rufus and phonotype Molossidae 2, while non-urban sites presented a higher occurrence of Eptesicus furinalis and phonotype Molossidae 2. We were able to identify bat species according to their relative activity in relation todifferent landscape conditions. Species of the Molossidae family presented the highest activity in urban sites, which was positively affected by the number of streetlights, while species of the Vespertilionidae presented the highest activity in forest sites, which was positively related totree density. While urbanization tends to diminish native biodiversity and alter faunal communities, our results show a similar richness and relative activity of aerial insectivorous bats along the urban ecosystem. The effect of urbanization intensity becomes more apparent in species-specific bat activity; the response of species towards particular habitat conditions depends on local habitat quality and characteristics (i.e., presence of streetlights, vegetation cover and tree density).     

Seasonal dynamics of bird communities in urban forests of a Mediterranean city (Montpellier,Southern France)

We evaluated the richness, composition and abundance of bird communities in three urban forests of Mediterranean France during winter and spring. The urban forests differed in size, composition, structure, age of vegetation, and location relative to the city centre. Estimated species richness across all three urban forest parks was 45 species. Twenty six (26) species were recorded in both winter and spring, whereas ten species were recorded only in spring, and six were recorded only in winter. Distribution, turnover, and type of bird foraging guild were related to characteristics of each urban forest and season. During spring migration, more species were recorded in sampling units (250?×?250 m) within the largest and most natural urban forest located in the outskirts of Montpellier, whereas during winter, more species were recorded in the most urbanized park (i.e., a botanical garden dominated by exotic vegetation), which was located in the city centre. Insectivorous birds were more abundant in winter, whereas seedeaters associated with wooded habitats were recorded more frequently in spring. Our results suggested that different kinds of urban forests are important modulators of urban bird communities and they are necessary to maintain the diversity of migratory and resident birds as well as increasing the environmental quality of urban areas.     

Comparison of decapod communities across an urban-forest land use gradient in Puerto Rican streams

Urbanization influences a range of factors related to stream health, including the hydrologic regime, water quality, and riparian conditions that lead to negative effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, impacts on freshwater decapods from urbanization of tropical streams have not been reported. We hypothesized that changes in decapod communities in watersheds with different levels of urbanization are related to changes in physical stream habitats caused by different land uses and their effects on water discharge. The impacts of land use on the physico-chemical characteristics of streams and freshwater decapod communities were evaluated in three watersheds characterized by low, moderate and high-intensities of urbanization in Puerto Rico. For the low and moderately developed urban watersheds, decapod species richness ranged from 10 to 11 species; the highly urbanized watershed only had 4 species. Macrobrachium faustinum and Xiphocaris elongata were the most ubiquitously species and were found in all watersheds. Multivariable analysis of physical characteristics and densities of the decapod families resulted in one axis that explained 80 % of the total variation among the watersheds and was correlated with stream discharge. The effect of discharge is likely a result of frequent high flows that sustain habitats with high concentrations of dissolved oxygen and low concentrations of pollutants. An increase in physico-chemical parameters were observed from the LUW to the HUW. These results indicate that the decapod communities were most likely influenced by land use and environmental conditions that affected erosional aspects related to water discharge and water quality in the highly impacted watersheds.     

Lentic and lotic odonate communities and the factors that influence them in urban versus rural landscapes

Habitat alteration via urbanization has very different effects on even closely related taxa. Most research investigating the ecological effects of urbanization has focused on birds or mammals, resulting in a relatively poor understanding of how the species richness and community composition of invertebrates may change. We quantified differences in species richness of adult odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) at lentic and lotic sites in urban and rural landscapes, and we examined environmental factors that might drive the differences in community composition that we observed. For lotic sites, species richness did not differ between urban versus rural sites for either dragonflies or damselflies. For lentic sites, urban and rural sites contained similar dragonfly species richness, but damselfly species richness was significantly lower at urban sites than at rural sites. Differences in lentic odonate community composition were associated with the amount of urban development within 150 m of each site, mean algal coverage, and distance to the urban center. At lotic sites, water temperature and distance to the urban center were correlated with differences in odonate community composition. The differing responses to urbanization observed in this study were probably a consequence of differences between lentic versus lotic ecosystems and between dragonflies versus damselflies in dispersal capability and habitat specificity. Given that different environmental factors affected these taxa differently in lentic and lotic sites, maintaining the highest level of odonate diversity possible across a landscape will require the use of different management practices for each ecosystem type.     

Bird community responses to different urban conditions in La Paz,Bolivia

Urbanization alters ecosystems worldwide, but little is known about its effects in the Neotropical region. In the present research we examined the relative influence of different levels of urbanization and of some urban development measures on bird species richness, abundance and composition. We surveyed 104 observation stations at which we collected data on the relative abundance of bird species, and also data on seven environmental variables as measures of urban development and human activity. We registered 57 native bird species. Bird species richness and bird abundance increased with lower urbanization levels. Both variables were positively related to vegetation cover and native vegetation, and negatively to built-up cover, abundance of Rock Pigeon (Columa livia), pedestrian rate and car rate. A canonical correspondence analysis produced a significant model that explained 37% of the total variation in species data. This analysis segregated bird species along two important gradients: urbanization and elevation. The most urbanized areas were dominated by a few synanthropic species tolerant to human disturbance, such as Rufous-Collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis), Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) or Chiguanco Thrush (Turdus chiguanco). Areas with lower urbanization levels had more species typically associated with native vegetation, such as Plain-Mantled Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura aegitaloides) or D’Orbigny’s Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca oenanthoides), among others. Elevation had a significant influence in structuring bird communities, with some species restricted to higher elevations and some to lower elevations. Although changes in elevation had an important influence, urbanization had a stronger effect on structuring bird communities. This study provides valuable information and an important baseline for future studies.     

Species richness,phylogenetic and functional structure of bird communities in Chinese university campuses are associated with divergent variables

University campus is an important component of urban landscapes for biodiversity conservation. However, to our knowledge no study has quantitatively assessed the diversity and structure of bird communities in Chinese university campuses, especially from phylogenetic and functional perspectives. Here, for the first time we linked species richness, phylogenetic structure and body mass structure of campus bird communities with contemporary climate, glacial-interglacial climate change, altitudinal range, population density around campus, area and age of campus to test their associations. We found 393 bird species in 38 university campuses (29% of all Chinese bird species, two species are endangered, four species are vulnerable, and 33 species are near threatened). The variables significantly correlated with campus bird species richness, phylogenetic structure and body mass structure were altitudinal range and mean annual precipitation, glacial-interglacial anomaly in temperature, and altitudinal range, respectively. In particular, there were more species in steeper and wetter campuses, more young species clustered in campuses with stable glacial-interglacial climate, and more species with smaller body size in steeper campuses. Our study highlights the importance of considering both phylogenetic and functional information for biodiversity conservation in urban ecosystems.     

Urbanization is not associated with increased abundance or decreased richness of terrestrial animals - dissecting the literature through meta-analysis

The widely accepted consensus is that urbanization increases abundance but reduces species richness of animals. This assumption is the premise for empirical tests and theoretical explanations. We studied the association of urbanization with abundance and species richness of different animal taxa in 20 and 26 published articles reporting abundances and richness, respectively via meta-analysis. Because some articles had multiple estimates, we analyzed 40 and 58 estimates of abundance and richness, respectively. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the overall abundance of terrestrial animals was not higher in urban areas, but instead actually lower, while we failed to confirm the conventional thinking of lower species richness with urbanization. These findings cannot, however, be generalized across all cities and animal species, as conflicting differences were reported among geographical regions, animal taxa. Our results question the conventional wisdom that urbanization generally increases abundances while reducing species richness, and highlights the variability of urbanization effects on diversity among taxa and geographic regions.     

Species change in an urban setting—ground and rove beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae and Staphylinidae) in Berlin

The influence of environmental parameters on epigeic beetle communities of forest fragments in an urbanization gradient was studied in Berlin. Eight deciduous forests along a rural to urban gradient were sampled with pitfall traps. Species richness did not decline across the rural to urban gradient. As expected, impervious surface cover as an indicator of urbanization correlated not only with habitat fragmentation and heat island effect but also with altered soil properties. The proportion of forest specialist staphylinid species decreased with increasing urbanization. The differences between staphylinid communities of neighboring forest fragments were enhanced in the most urban parts, probably due to increased habitat fragmentation. Furthermore, the loss of flightless species with increasing habitat isolation emphasized the influence of habitat fragmentation. The carabid communities revealed the urbanization effects not as clearly as the staphylinid communities, but both taxa revealed that direct anthropogenic habitat alteration, indicated by removal of decaying wood, favors open-habitat specialists. The extent of the urbanization influence seems to vary seasonally. Environmental parameters associated with urbanization explain the ordination of species communities in the winter better than in the summer. Heat island effect is suggested as an explanation for this difference.     

Woody plant communities along urban,suburban, and rural streams in Louisville,Kentucky, USA

Anthropogenic changes in land use and cover (LULC) in stream catchments can alter the composition of riparian plant communities, which can affect ecosystem functions of riparian areas and streams from local to landscape scales. We conducted a study to determine if woody plant species composition and abundance along headwater streams were correlated with categorical and continuous LULC and environmental variables along an urban-to-rural gradient. These variables were calculated at different spatial scales (subcatchment level and within 0.5 and 1 km radii of plots) and used % impervious surface cover (ISC) and finer scale LULC classification levels to determine their ability to explain species composition, diversity, abundance, non-native provenance and wetland indicator status of four plant strata—canopy tree, tree sapling, tree seedling and shrub. At all scales, we found distinct riparian woody communities within land-use categories, with significant differences among shrub species. Fine-scale land-cover variables correlated with species composition of shrub, tree sapling and tree seedling strata, but not the canopy tree stratum. Celtis occidentalis and Acer negundo were ubiquitous but dominated riparian areas surrounded by development, while Asimina triloba was associated with forested rural riparian banks. Non-native shrubs, Lonicera maackii and Euonymus alatus, were indicative of areas surrounded by development, while the native shrub, Lindera benzoin, was associated with deciduous forest. Negative factor-ceiling relationships between canopy tree, sapling and tree seedling densities and % ISC were found, with abrupt declines above approximately 30 % ISC. Facultative wetland shrubs were not found above 30 % ISC. Streambank height, which was strongly negatively correlated with depth to the water table and positively correlated with cumulative catchment area, was negatively correlated with facultative wetland tree and shrub species. In addition, riparian tree sapling and seedling densities declined as the abundance of Lonicera maackii increased.     

Composition of the plant community in remnant patches of grassy woodland along an urban–rural gradient in Melbourne,Australia

The composition of the plant community in remnant patches of open grassy woodlands with an overstorey of Eucalyptus camaldulensis was investigated along an urban–rural gradient in Melbourne, Australia. The plant community showed very little difference between patches along the gradient, particularly in terms of the indigenous plant species. Average annual rainfall was the main factor contributing to patterns of indigenous plant species richness, while the level of urbanization in the surrounding landscape had a strong influence on the number of non-indigenous species recorded in the remnant plant community. Patterns of species richness were largely influenced by landscape-scale factors, while the percent cover of indigenous and non-indigenous plant species were more strongly influenced by patch scale factors. The findings of this study suggest that the plant communities investigated during this study appear to be relatively resilient to changes in the landscape associated with urbanization, but the plant community may be affected by predicted changes in average annual rainfall associated with climate change.     

Are plant communities mainly determined by anthropogenic land cover along urban riparian corridors?

Often used as a mitigation tool to landscape fragmentation, urban riparian corridors also suffered from the effects of the urban expansion. This study explored the relationships between plant riparian communities and two major environmental variables (land cover, soil characteristics) and analyzed the floristic change along an urbanization gradient. Fifteen sites were surveyed on both riverbanks of two riparian corridors characterized by contrasting water regimes in Strasbourg, North Eastern France. Data of spontaneous species abundance was collected from 180 quadrats using (i) all plant species, (ii) herbaceous stratum and (iii) ligneous stratum (bush and tree). The diversity and compositional patterns of riparian plant species were analyzed within each corridor according to three levels of urbanization (urban, suburban, peri-urban). Relationships between riparian communities, land cover and soil chemical properties (pH, nitrogen and carbon content, moisture) were established by between-class co-inertia analyses. Land cover emerged as the main factor explaining changes in riparian communities along the rural–urban gradient while soil chemical properties discriminate water stress and fluvial dynamics of the two corridors. Similar compositional patterns were found within the most urbanized sites with the establishment of ubiquitous species. The herbaceous stratum is best linked to the level of urbanization, whereas the tree stratum is primarily correlated with corridor attributes (hydrological regime, soil properties). Although riparian species and communities are mainly determined by land cover, urban riparian corridors maintain native biodiversity up to the urban center.     

Forest leaf litter quantity and seedling occurrence along an urban-rural gradient

Leaf litter, by modifying microenvironmental conditions, can alter plant population distributions and is considered to be a major force in structuring many plant communities. Comparative studies of urban, suburban, and rural forests in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area have identified numerous biotic and abiotic differences among these forests, including several involved in leaf litter decomposition. These differences in decomposition among the forests could result in differences in litter quantity on the forest floor and hence microenvironmental conditions and safe sites for germination of different plant species. We conducted a survey of forest floor leaf litter quantity in forests located along an urban-to-rural land-use gradient originating in urban NYC and extending to rural Connecticut. Mean litter depth, mass, and density increased significantly with increased distance of the forest from NYC.We also surveyed woody seedlings and compared the litter depth in which they naturally occurred to the mean litter depth of the surrounding forest. Seedlings of small-seeded species were much more likely to be located in litter shallower than mean forest litter depth than were seedlings of large-seeded species. Taken together, these results suggest that environmental changes associated with urbanization may have profound effects on long-term patterns of forest regeneration.     

Effects of urbanization on species richness: A review of plants and animals

Many studies have described the effects of urbanization on species richness. These studies indicate that urbanization can increase or decrease species richness, depending on several variables. Some of these variables include: taxonomic group, spatial scale of analysis, and intensity of urbanization. Recent reviews of birds (the most-studied group) indicate that species richness decreases with increasing urbanization in most cases but produces no change or even increases richness in some studies. Here I expand beyond the bird studies by reviewing 105 studies on the effects of urbanization on the species richness of non-avian species: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and plants. For all groups, species richness tends to be reduced in areas with extreme urbanization (i.e., central urban core areas). However, the effects of moderate levels of urbanization (i.e., suburban areas) vary significantly among groups. Most of the plant studies (about 65%) indicate increasing species richness with moderate urbanization whereas only a minority of invertebrate studies (about 30%) and a very small minority of non-avian vertebrate studies (about 12%) show increasing species richness. Possible explanations for these results are discussed, including the importance of nonnative species importation, spatial heterogeneity, intermediate disturbance and scale as major factors influencing species richness.     

Does urbanization affect the seasonal dynamics of bird communities in urban parks?

The environmental factors affecting the spatial dynamics of bird communities in urban parks are well understood, but much less attention has been paid to the seasonal dynamics of bird communities. Since migrant and resident human commensal birds might have contrasting responses to environmental factors of urban parks, we expected different seasonal dynamics among parks. On the other hand, because bird species can have different habitat relationships throughout the year, we also expected different responses of bird richness to environmental variables between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Bird surveys were conducted in 14 small urban parks (1–4 Ha) of Mar del Plata city (Argentina) for one full annual cycle. Bird richness changed between seasons, but bird abundance remained constant. Bird community composition did not vary between seasons, but urban parks near the urban center, with the highest pedestrian traffic and isolation to other green areas had the least seasonal change of composition. During the breeding season, bird richness was negatively affected by the percentage cover of high buildings surrounding the immediate limits of parks, whereas during the non-breeding season bird richness was not related with any environmental variable. Bird composition variation among parks was affected by the distance to the urban center during both seasons. Results showed that urbanization promotes a seasonal homogenization of bird communities in urban parks, probably by affecting the presence of migrant species and promoting the temporal stability of human commensal species.     

Forest bird communities across a gradient of urban development

This study examined native bird communities in forest patches across a gradient of urbanization. We used field data and multivariate statistical techniques to examine the effects of landscape context, roads, traffic noise, and vegetation characteristics on bird community composition in the North Carolina Piedmont (U.S.A.). Landscape-level variables, particularly those related to urbanization, were most important in structuring forest bird communities. Specifically, we found that road density and amount of urban land cover were the best predictors of species composition. We found that urban and rural bird communities were quite distinct from each other. Rural communities had more long-distance migrants and forest interior species but species richness did not differ between the communities. Our results suggest some specific guidelines to target bird species of interest both inside and outside of urban areas. For example, if increasing numbers of migratory species is of primary concern, then conservation areas should be located outside of urban boundaries or in areas with low road density. However, if maximizing species richness is the focus, location of the conservation area may not be as important if the conservation area is surrounded by at least 50 m of forest habitat in all directions.     

Effects of urban structure on plant species richness in a large European city

Urban areas have developed under anthropogenic impact and hence feature strongly altered environmental conditions that influence today’s plant species distribution. Generally, urban areas are rich in plant species, but on smaller scales richness can vary considerably. Our study aim is to identify areas of high species richness and to assess richness distribution patterns in the city of Hamburg by analyzing a floristic mapping dataset on the scale of 1 km². Differences in plant species richness were analyzed between three urbanization zones. With multiple regression analyses, we tested effects of urban structure, habitat, and environmental conditions on the distribution of species richness measures. Total species richness per 1 km² was 274?±?60 on average and differed only slightly between the urbanization zones. It increased with habitat diversity and decreased with Ellenberg indicator values (EIV) for nutrients (multiple R²?=?0.31). Proportion of non-native species increased with mean annual temperature and decreased with EIVs for moisture (multiple R²?=?0.72), while proportion of endangered species increased with EIVs for moisture and decreased with EIVs for nutrients (multiple R²?=?0.66). Proportion of thermophilic species (multiple R²?=?0.58) could be explained by mean annual temperature. The emerging patterns probably differ from those in other cities due to the central port harboring a particular flora. Besides the expected high proportions of non-native species, high proportions of endangered species were also found in this area. Our results contribute to identifying drivers of biodiversity in cities and can thus be used to develop measures for the conservation of urban biodiversity.     

Patterns of pollinator turnover and increasing diversity associated with urban habitats

The role of urban expansion on bee diversity is poorly understood, but it may play an important role in restructuring pollinator diversity observed in rural regions at the urban perimeter. We studied bee communities in two habitats essential for pollinators (residential gardens and semi-natural areas) at 42 sites situated at the edge of greater Montreal, Canada. Bee species richness, abundance and functional diversity all increased with urbanization in both habitat types, but gardens and semi-natural areas supported distinct bee communities with unique responses to urbanization in terms of species turnover. Compared to semi-natural sites, residential gardens supported bees that foraged from a greater number but a lower proportion of available plant species. Bees did not discriminate between exotic and indigenous plant species in either gardens or semi-natural sites and were attracted to flowers in either habitat irrespective of their origins. Protecting semi-natural ruderal areas and providing residential garden habitats for pollinators are both effective means of promoting regional bee diversity in urbanizing regions.