Mapping bird assemblages in a Mediterranean urban park: Evidence for a shift in dominance towards medium-large body sized species after 26 years
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26496/bjz.2016.43Keywords:
mapping method, long time span, Jynx torquilla, Psittacula krameri, Sturnus vulgaris, Passer italiaeAbstract
We assessed the structure of the breeding bird assemblage in a Mediterranean urban park in 2012, and compared it with data gathered in the same area in 1986. Since 1986, Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) territories have disappeared from the study area, while breeding pairs of Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) and the introduced Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) have colonized the park. We observed a significant decrease in density of the Italian Sparrow (Passer italiae) and a significant increase in Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). At the assemblage level, overall bird densities decreased but total bird biomass increased due to the increase in density of (often cavity-nesting) medium to large body sized species (such as woodpeckers, Rose-ringed Parakeet and Starling). A presumed increase in mature tree availability and in predation by synanthropic species (e.g. crows) may explain the high density and biomass of primary and secondary cavity nesters characterized by medium-to-large body sizes. The decline of Sparrows and Wryneck may reflect the decreasing trend at the continental scale.References
Angelstam P & Mikusiński G (1994). Woodpeckers assemblages in natural and managed boreal and hemiboreal forests – a review. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 31:157–172.
Battisti C (1986). Censimento degli uccelli nidificanti in un parco urbano (Villa Doria Pamphili, Roma). Avocetta, 10:37–40.
Battisti C, Dodaro G & Franco D (2014). The data reliability in ecological research: a proposal for a quick self-assessment tool. Natural History Sciences, 1:75–79.
Beissinger SR & Osborne DR (1982). Effects of urbanization on avian community organization. Condor, 84:75–83.
Benassi G, Battisti C & Luiselli L (2009). Applying Abundance/Biomass comparisons in breeding bird assemblages of a set of remnant wetlands in Central Italy. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, 10:13–18.
Bibby CJ, Burgess ND, Hill DA & Mustoe SH (2000). Bird census techniques. II Ed. Academic Press, Londra, UK.
Brichetti P, Rubolini D, Galeotti P & Fasola M (2008). Recent declines in urban Italian Sparrow Passer (domesticus) italiae populations in Northern Italy. Ibis, 150:177–181.
Campedelli T, Buvoli L, Bonazzi P, Calabrese L, Calvi G, Celada C, Cutini S, De Carli E, Fornasari L, Fulco E, La Gioia G, Londi G, Rossi P, Silva L & Tellini Florenzano G (2012). Andamenti di popolazione delle specie comuni nidificanti in Italia: 2010–2011. Avocetta, 36:121–143.
Carbone F & Frassineti M (2001). I parchi naturali di Roma. Ente Roma Natura, Roma.
Cecere JC, Sorace A & De Santis E (2005). Distribuzione dello Storno Sturnus vulgaris nella città di Roma. Alula, 12: 85–86.
Celesti Grapow L (1995). Atlante della flora di Roma: La distribuzione delle piante spontanee come indicatore ambientale. Comune di Roma, Argos edizioni, Roma.
Chace JF & Walsh JJ (2006). Urban effects on native avifauna: a review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 74: 46–69.
Clergeau P, Croci S, Jokimäki J, Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki M-L & Dinetti M (2006). Avifauna homogenisation by urbanisation: analysis at different European latitude. Biological Conservation, 127: 336–344.
Cramp S & Perrins CM (1993). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. VII. Oxford Univ Press, Oxford.
Cramp S (ed) (1988). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. V. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cramp S & Simmons KEL (Eds) (1977). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. I. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cramp S & Simmons KEL (eds) (1980). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. II. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cramp S & Simmons KEL (eds) (1983). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. III. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Croci S, Butet A & Clergeau P (2008) Does urbanization filter birds on the basis of their biological traits? The Condor 110: 223–240.
Czaijka C, Braun MP & Wink M (2011). Resource use by non-native Ring-Necked Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and native Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in Central Europe. The Open Ornithological Journal, 4: 17–22.
De Graaf RM, Geis AD & Healy PA (1991). Bird population and habitat surveys in urban areas. Landscape and Urban Planning, 21: 181–188.
Dodaro G & Battisti C (2014). Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and starling (Sturnus vulgaris) syntopics in a Mediterranean urban park: evidence for competition in nest-site selection? Belgian Journal of Zoology, 144: 5–14.
Dytham C (2011). Choosing and using statistic. A Biologist’s guide. Wiley-Blackwell, UK.
Fauth JE, Bernardo J, Camara M, Resetarits WJ, Van Buskirk J & McCollin SA (1996). Simplifying the jargon of community ecology: a conceptual approach. American Naturalist, 147: 282–286.
Feare CJ (1984). The starling. Oxford University Press, New York.
Fernández-Juricic E & Jokimäki J (2001). A habitat island approach to conserving birds in urban landscapes: case studies from southern and northern Europe. Biodiversity and Conservation, 10: 2023–2043.
Fernández-Juricic E (2000). Bird community composition patterns in urban parks of Madrid: The role of age, size and isolation. Ecological Research, 15: 373–383.
Fraissinet M & Fulgione D (2008). Comparative analysis of the breeding avifauna of Italian cities. Avocetta, 32: 21–30.
Freeman SN, Robinson RA, Clark JA, Griffin BM & Adams SY (2007). Changing demography and population decline in the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris): a multisite approach to integrated population monitoring. Ibis, 149: 587–596.
Gregory RD, Vorisek P, Van Strien A, Gmelig Meyling AW, Jiguet F, Fornasari L, Reif J, Chylarecki P & Burfield IJ (2007). Population trends of widespread woodland birds in Europe. Ibis, 149 (Suppl. 2): 78–97.
Guthery FS (2007). Deductive and inductive methods of accumulating reliable knowledge in wildlife science. Journal of Wildlife Management, 71: 222–225.
Hermansen JS, Sæther SA, Elgvin TO, Borge T, Hjelle E & Sætre G-P (2011). Hybrid speciation in sparrows I: phenotypic intermediacy, genetic admixture and barriers to gene flow. Molecular Ecology, 20: 3812–3822.
Kelcey JG & Rheinwald G (2005). Birds in European Cities. Ginster Verlag, St. Katharinen, Germany.
Koenig WD (2003). European Starlings and their effect on native cavity-nesting birds. Conservation Biology 17: 1134–1140.
Jokimäki J, Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki M-L, Sorace A, Fernàndez-Juricic E, Rodriguez-Prieto I, Jimenez M D (2005). Evaluation of the “safe nesting zone” hypothesis across an urban gradient: a multi-scale study. Ecography 28: 59–70.
Jokimäki J & Huhta E (2000). Artificial nest predation and abundance of birds along an urban gradient. Condor 102: 838–847.
Jokimäki J (1999). Occurrence of breeding bird species in urban parks: Effects of park structure and broad-scale variables. Urban Ecosystems 3: 21–34.
Jokimäki J & Suhonen J (1993). Effects of urbanization on the breeding bird species richness in Finland: a biogeographical comparison. Ornis Fennica, 70: 71–77.
Magurran A (2004). Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA.
Magurran AE & Phillip SAT (2001). Implications of species loss in freshwater fish assemblages. Ecography, 24: 645–650.
Magurran AE, Baillie SR, Buckland ST, Dick J Mc P, Elston DA, Scott EM, Smith RI, Somerfield PJ & Watt AD (2010). Long-term datasets in biodiversity research and monitoring: assessing change in ecological communities through time. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 25: 574–582.
McCaffrey RE & Mannan RW (2012). How scale influences birds’ responses to habitat features in urban residential areas. Landscape and Urban Planning, 105: 274–280.
McKinney ML (2002). Urbanization, biodiversity, and conservation. BioScience, 52: 883–890.
Mikusinski G, Gromadzki M & Chylarecki P (2001). Woodpeckers as indicators of forest bird diversity. Conservation Biology, 15: 208–217.
Mori E, Di Febbraro M, Foresta M, Melis P, Romanazzi E, Notari A & Boggiano F (2013). Assessment of the current distribution of free-living parrots and parakeets (Aves: Psittaciformes) in Italy: a synthesis of published data and new records. Italian Journal of Zoology, 80: 158–167.
Newson SE, Johnston A, Parrott D & Leech DI (2011). Evaluating the population-level impact of an invasive species, Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri, on native avifauna. Ibis, 153: 509–516.
Orchan Y, Chiron F, Shwartz A, Kark S (2013). The complex interaction network among multiple invasive bird species in a cavity-nesting community. Biological Invasions, 15: 429–445.
Ortega-Álvarez R & MacGregor-Fors I (2009). Living in the big city: Effects of urban land-use on bird community structure, diversity, and composition. Landscape and Urban Planning, 90: 189–195.
Palomino D & Carrascal LM (2006). Urban influence on birds at a regional scale: A case study with the avifauna of northern Madrid province. Landscape and Urban Planning, 77: 276–290.
Pasinelli G (2007). Nest site selection in middle and great spotted woodpeckers Dendrocopos medius and D. major: implication for forest management and conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 16: 1283–1298.
Penczak T & Kruk A (1999). Applicability of the abundance/biomass comparison method for detecting human impact on fish populations in the Pilica River, Poland. Fisheries Research, 39: 229–240.
Prete S, Battisti C, Marini F & Ciucci P (2012). Applying abundance/biomass comparisons on a small mammal assemblage from Barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets (Mount Soratte, central Italy): a cautionary note. Rendiconti Lincei, 23: 349–354.
Pyšek P & Hulme PE (2011). Biological invasions in Europe 50 years after Elton: time to sound the alarm. In: Richardson DM (ed.), Fifty years of invasion ecology: the legacy of Charles Elton. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford: 73–88.
Ramalho CE & Hobbs RJ (2012). Time for a change: dynamic urban ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 27: 179–188.
Regione Lazio (1990). Technical Regional Map, scale 1:10,000. Regione Lazio, Rome, Italy.
Reif J (2013). Long-term trends in bird populations: a review of patterns and potential drivers in North America and Europe. Acta Ornithologica, 48: 1–16.
Ricotta C, Celesti Grapow L, Avena G & Blasi C (2001). Topological analysis of the spatial distribution of plant species richness across the city of Rome (Italy) with the echelon approach. Landscape and Urban Planning, 57: 69–76.
Romesburg HC (1981). Wildlife science: gaining reliable knowledge. Journal of Wildlife Management, 45: 293–313.
Shannon CE & Weaver W (1963). Mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press. Urbana, Illinois.
Seress G & Liker A (2015) Habitat urbanization and its effects on birds. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 61: 373–408.
Sorace A & Gustin M (2008). Homogenisation and local effects on avifaunal composition in Italian towns. Acta Oecologica, 33: 15–26.
SPSS Inc. (2003). SPSS for Windows – Release 13.0 (1 Sep 2004), Leadtools (c), Lead Technologies Inc.
Strubbe D & Matthysen E (2007). Invasive ring-necked parakeets Psittacula krameri in Belgium: habitat selection and impact on native birds. Ecography, 30: 578–588.
Strubbe D & Matthysen E (2009a). Establishment success of invasive ring-necked and monk parakeets in Europe. Journal of Biogeography, 36: 2264–2278.
Strubbe D & Matthysen E (2009b). Experimental evidence for nest-site competition between invasive Ring-necked Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and native Nuthatches (Sitta europaea). Biological Conservation, 142: 1588–1594.
Summer-Smith JD (2003). The decline of the House Sparrow: a review. British Birds, 96: 439–446.
Sutherland WJ (2006.) Ecological Census Techniques. Blackwell, Massachussets.
Turček FJ (1956). Zur Frage der Dominanz in Vogelpopulationen. Waldhygiene 8: 249–257.
Verner J (1984). The guild concept applied to management of bird populations. Environmental Management, 8: 1–14.
Warwick RM (1986). A new method for detecting pollution effects on marine macrobenthic communities. Marine Biology, 92: 557–562.
Zangari L, Ferraguti M, Luiselli L, Battisti C & Bologna MA (2013). Comparing patterns in abundance and diversity of hole-nesting birds in Mediterranean habitats. Revue d’Écologie (Terre Vie), 68: 275–282.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All published papers will be put on-line as high resolution PDF’s. Copyright thus remains with the authors. All manuscripts will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
