scholarly journals Exotic parrots breeding in urban tree cavities: nesting requirements, geographic distribution, and potential impacts on cavity nesting birds in southeast Florida

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Diamond ◽  
Michael S. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Inspection System ◽  
Dade County ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Tree Cavities ◽  
Cavity Nesting

Abstract Background Exotic parrots have established breeding populations in southeast Florida, including several species that nest in tree cavities. We aimed to determine the species identity, nest site requirements, relative nest abundance, geographic distribution, and interactions of parrots with native cavity-nesting bird species. Methods We searched Miami-Dade County, Florida, and nearby areas for natural cavities and holes excavated by woodpeckers, recording attributes of potential nest trees. We inspected all cavities with an elevated video inspection system to determine occupancy by parrots or other birds. We mapped nearly 4000 citizen science observations of parrots in our study area corresponding to our study period, and used these to construct range maps, comparing them to our nesting observations. Results Not all parrots reported or observed in our study area were actively breeding. Some parrots were observed at tree cavities, which previous studies have suggested is evidence of reproduction, but our inspections with an elevated video inspection system suggest they never initiated nesting attempts. Several parrot species did successfully nest in tree cavities, Red-masked Parakeets (Psittacara erythrogenys) and Orange-winged Parrots (Amazona amazonica) being the most common (n = 7 and 6 nests, respectively). These two parrots had similar nesting requirements, but Orange-winged Parrots use nests with larger entrance holes, which they often enlarge. Geographic analysis of nests combined with citizen science data indicate that parrots are limited to developed areas. The most common parrots were less abundant cavity nesters than the native birds which persist in Miami’s urban areas, and far less abundant than the invasive European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Conclusions Exotic parrots breeding elsewhere in the world have harmed native cavity-nesting birds through interference competition, but competitive interference in southeast Florida is minimized by the urban affinities of parrots in this region. The relative abundance and geographic distribution suggest that these parrots are unlikely to invade adjacent wilderness areas.

scholarly journals Use of Citizen Science Data for Characterizing Patterns and Drivers of Avian Altitudinal Migration

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Yu Tsai ◽  
Chie-Jen Ko ◽  
Ya-Jung Lu ◽  
Chia Hsieh ◽  
Mao-Ning Tuanmu
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Migration Behavior ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Altitudinal Migration

Altitudinal migration, the seasonal and repeateing movement of animal individuals between breeding and non-breeding areas at different elevations, is a common and important but understudied behavior in birds. Difficulty in characterizing avian altitudinal migration has prevented a comprehensive understanding of both patterns and drivers of this behavior. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated altitudinal migration patterns and underlying mechanisms for a major proportion (~70%) of an entire resident bird community on a subtropical island with an almost 4000-m elevational gradient. We quantified migration tendency of individual bird species based on the seasonal shift in the elevational distribution of their occurrence records in the eBird database. We then built phylogeny-controlled regression models to examine the associations between the birds’ migration tendencies and their functional traits to test major hypotheses on the mechanisms of altitudinal migration. The results showed a common but variable altitudinal migration behavior among the 118 species examined, with 40 and 11 species conducting post-breeding downhill and uphill migration, respectively. The species that have a narrower thermal tolerance range, can tolerate lower temperatures, have a smaller body size, have a more diverse or invertebrate-rich diet, or use an open nest had a higher downhill migration tendency. In contrast, no traits examined showed consistent associations with the uphill migration tendency. This suggests that post-breeding downhill and uphill migrations are driven by different processes and current hypotheses can only explain the former, but not the latter. This relatively comprehensive study demonstrated the power of citizen science data to provide new insights into an old research question from a novel perspective. Using the same approach, we are investigating the behavior in mountain regions around the world. With the global analysis, we will be able to understand the general patterns and mechanisms of avian altitudinal migration and also investigate their variation among mountain regions in different climate zones. In the face of rapid environmental changes in mountain ecosystems, the approach used in this study may also provide essential information for the conservation of mountainous biodiversity.

scholarly journals Chicago’s Urban Cemeteries as Habitat for Cavity-Nesting Birds

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis D. Smith ◽  
Emily Minor
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Individual Bird ◽  
Tree Cavities ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Landscape Level

Although not explicitly managed for conservation, urban cemeteries may provide a reserve of dead and dying trees for cavity-nesting birds. However, the ability of urban cemeteries to support these birds on current landscapes is largely unknown. We surveyed cavity-nesting birds and their habitat in 18 cemeteries in Chicago, Illinois (USA). At each location, we examined vegetation, availability of gravestones and monuments for perches, and landscape-level environmental conditions. We tested the importance of these variables for presence of individual bird species, and for overall richness of native cavity-nesting birds. We also assessed the availability and characteristics of tree cavities and their distribution among different tree species. We found that most cemeteries contained at least one dead or dying tree. Across all sampled areas, we detected 207 naturally-occurring and 77 excavated tree cavities. Tree species generally supported cavities in proportion to their abundance. We observed 12 native and two non-native cavity-nesting bird species in the cemeteries. Cavity-nesting bird species richness was best explained by landscape-level variables such as canopy cover and distance to water, but local-level variables (e.g., number of graves in a 50 m radius) influenced habitat selection for some species. Based on our results, we make suggestions for how both existing cemeteries and new “green” cemeteries can support biodiversity conservation.

Using citizen science data to define and track restoration targets in urban areas

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey T. Callaghan ◽  
Richard E. Major ◽  
Mitchell B. Lyons ◽  
John M. Martin ◽  
John H. Wilshire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Restoration Targets

scholarly journals Citizen Science Data to Measure Human Use of Green Areas and Forests in European Cities

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 779
Author(s):  
Vito Emanuele Cambria ◽  
Thomas Campagnaro ◽  
Giovanni Trentanovi ◽  
Riccardo Testolin ◽  
Fabio Attorre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Explanatory Models ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure

Understanding and explaining the use of green spaces and forests is challenging for sustainable urban planning. In recent years there has been increasing demand for novel approaches to investigate urban green infrastructure by capitalizing on large databases from existing citizen science tools. In this study, we analyzed iNaturalist data to perform an assessment of the intentional use of these urban spaces for their value and to understand the main drivers. We retrieved the total number of observations obtained across a set of 672 European cities and focused on reporting from mapped green areas and forests. We used two separate multivariate explanatory models to investigate which factors explained variations in the number of observations for green areas and forests. We found a relatively heterogeneous use of these two urban green spaces. Gross domestic product was important in explaining the number of visits. Availability and accessibility also had positive relationships with the use of green areas and forests in cities, respectively. This study paves the way for better integration of citizen science data in assessing cultural services provided by urban green infrastructure and therefore in supporting the evaluation of spatial planning policies for the sustainable development of urban areas.

Estimating conservation metrics from atlas data: the case of southern African endemic birds

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAN T. K. LEE ◽  
RES ALTWEGG ◽  
PHOEBE BARNARD
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Change ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Atlas Data ◽  
Endemic Birds ◽  
Change Metrics ◽  
Threatened Status

SummaryThe robust assessment of conservation status increasingly requires population metrics for species that may be little-researched, with no prospect of immediate improvement, but for which citizen science atlas data may exist. We explore the potential for bird atlas data to generate population metrics of use in red data assessment, using the endemic and near-endemic birds of southern Africa. This region, defined here as South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, is home to a large number of endemic bird species and an active atlas project. The Southern African Bird Atlas Projects (SABAP) 1 and 2 are large-scale citizen science data sets, consisting of hundreds of thousands of bird checklists and > 10 million bird occurrence records on a grid across the subcontinent. These data contain detailed information on species’ distributions and population change. For conservationists, metrics that guide decisions on the conservation status of a species for red listing can be obtained from SABAP, including range size, range change, population change, and range connectivity (fragmentation). We present a range of conservation metrics for these bird species, focusing on population change metrics together with an associated statistical confidence metric. Population change metrics correlate with change metrics calculated from dynamic occupancy modelling for a set of 191 common species. We identify four species with neither international nor local threatened status, yet for which bird atlas data suggest alarming declines, and two species with threatened status for which our metrics suggest could be reconsidered. A standardised approach to deciding the conservation status of a species is useful so that charismatic or flagship species do not receive disproportionate attention, although ultimately conservation status of any species must always be a consultative process.

scholarly journals Evaluating the potential of urban areas for bat conservation with citizen science data

2021 ◽  
pp. 118785
Author(s):  
Daniel Lewanzik ◽  
Tanja M. Straka ◽  
Julia Lorenz ◽  
Lara Marggraf ◽  
Silke Voigt-Heucke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Bat Conservation

scholarly journals USING GEO GEO-TAGGED FLICKR IMAGES TO EXPLORE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN LAND COVER CLASSES AND THE LOCATION OF BIRD OBSERVATIONS

2021 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B4-2021 ◽  
pp. 189-194
Author(s):  
M. Lotfian ◽  
J. Ingensand
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Photo Sharing ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Media Data ◽  
Flickr Images

Abstract. Social media data are becoming potential sources of passive VGI (Volunteered Geographic Information) and citizen science, in particular with regard to location-based environmental monitoring. Flickr, as one of the largest photo-sharing platforms, has been used in various environmental analyses from natural disaster prediction to wildlife monitoring. In this article, we have used bird photos from Flickr to illustrate the spatial distribution of bird species in Switzerland, and most importantly to see the correlation between the location of bird species and land cover types. A chi-square test of independence has been applied to illustrate the association between bird species and land cover classes and results illustrated a statistically significant association between the two variables. Furthermore, species distributions in Flickr were compared to eBird data, and the results demonstrated that Flickr can be a possible complementary source to citizen science data.

scholarly journals GIS Mapping and Distribution of Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) in India by Using Citizen Science Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Adesh ◽  
Sinha Ankit ◽  
Kanaujia Amita
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Habitat Modeling ◽  
Gis Mapping ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Pavo Cristatus ◽  
The Status

The Indian peacock or Blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus.), the largest of the pheasants commonly called Mor or Mayur, is a bird species recognized for its beauty. Pavo cristatus (Indian peafowl) has been justifiably declared as the National Bird of India in 1963. In India, it is given the ultimate protection by its inclusion in the Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The main objective is to encourage citizen participation in generating baseline information using sight records and enable long-term monitoring of Indian peafowl in India. The present study deals with the status and distribution of Indian peafowl in India and the data used is taken from the citizen science database of eBird. The complete dataset of Indian peafowl from 2001-2017 was used to prepare the distribution maps in different years as well as to obtain information on the species' location, and the number of a social group in India. Some potential reported sites were verified during 2013–2017 by visiting the distinct locations. From 2001 to 2017 we found 71,632 records from 15,151 contributors across 26 states/union territories of India. Percentage of individuals observed was 38% (in 2017), 27% (in 2016) and 16% (in 2015) whereas 0% was recorded in 2002, 2006 and 2007. The citizen science data obtained thus has the potential for increasing our understanding of current peafowl distribution patterns, and for categorizing important sites for conservation/protections and to perform occupancy and habitat modeling of Indian peafowl species in India.

scholarly journals Capitalizing on opportunistic citizen science data to monitor urban biodiversity: a multi-taxa framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Thomas Callaghan ◽  
Ian Ozeroff ◽  
Colleen Hitchcock ◽  
Mark Chandler
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Urban Biodiversity ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Biological Community ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Broad Scale

Monitoring urban biodiversity is increasingly important, given the increasing anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity in urban areas. While the cost of broad-scale monitoring by professionals may be prohibitive, citizen science (also referred to as community science) will likely play an important role in understanding biodiversity responses to urbanization into the future. Here, we present a framework that relies on broad-scale citizen science data –– collected through iNaturalist –– to quantify (1) species-specific responses to urbanization on a continuous scale, capitalizing on globally-available VIIRS night-time lights data; and (2) community-level measures of the urbanness of a given biological community that can be aggregated to any spatial unit relevant for policy-decisions. We demonstrate the potential utility of this framework in the Boston metropolitan region, using > 1,000 species aggregated across 87 towns throughout the region. Of the most common species, our species-specific urbanness measures highlighted the expected difference between native and non-native species. Further, our biological community-level urbanness measures –– aggregated by towns –– negatively correlated with enhanced vegetation indices within a town and positively correlated with the area of impervious surface within a town. We conclude by demonstrating how towns can be ‘ranked’ promoting a framework where towns can be compared based on whether they over- or under-perform in the urbanness of their community relative to other towns. Ultimately, biodiversity conservation in urban environments will best succeed with robust, repeatable, and interpretable measures of biodiversity responses to urbanization, and involving the broader public in the derivation and tracking of these responses will likely result in increased bioliteracy and conservation awareness.

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