scholarly journals Breeding bird communities in an area of the Northern Apennines (Piedmont, NW Italy)

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Franco Carpegna ◽  
Giovanni Soldato ◽  
Roberto Toffoli
Keyword(s):  
Regional Scale ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Erithacus Rubecula ◽  
Sylvia Atricapilla ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Fringilla Coelebs ◽  
Turdus Merula ◽  
Nw Italy ◽  
Agricultural Areas

During the Spring of 2011, we studied the bird community in an area of Val Borbera, in the province of Alessandria (NW Italy). In the study area, situated at an altitude between 655 and 1700 m a.s.l., we conducted 110 points count ten minutes each in four microhabitats (agricultural areas, shrubs, forests, and prairies). In total, we surveyed 72 species, of which 51 were passerine and 21 non passerine. The most abundant species were Sylvia atricapilla, Phylloscopus collybita, Apus apus, and Turdus merula. In the agricultural areas, we detected a total of 50 species (Sylvia atricapilla, Parus major, Turdus merula were the most abundant). In the shrubs, we detected 30 species (Sylvia atricapilla, Parus major, Fringilla coelebs, Phylloscopus collybita, Turdus merula, Erithacus rubecula were the most abundant). In the forest areas, we found 45 species (Sylvia atricapilla, Parus major, Fringilla coelebs, Phylloscopus collybita, Turdus merula, Erithacus rubecula were the most abundant), and in the prairies, we detected 48 species (Alauda arvensis, Anthus campestris, Sylvia atricapilla, Turdus merula, Anthus trivialis, Sylvia communis were the most abundant). Compared to the other macro habitats, the agricultural areas have a significantly high abundance and richness in species, which highlights the importance of the agricultural mosaics in the Piedmont and mountain areas. The data which has been collected so far confirms the important role of this area, given the presence of some species which are rare at a regional scale.

Prevalence and habitat preference of quill mites (Acari, Syringophilidae) parasitizing forest passerine birds in Poland

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej Skoracki ◽  
Jerzy Michalik ◽  
Bozżena Sikora
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preference ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Sturnus Vulgaris ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Erithacus Rubecula ◽  
Sylvia Atricapilla ◽  
Quill Mites ◽  
Fringilla Coelebs ◽  
Wielkopolski National Park

AbstractWe surveyed the prevalence of quill mites in wild passerines captured in Wielkopolski National Park, Poland. A total of 438 birds of 12 species were mist-netted during three consecutive spring seasons from 2006–2008. Eight bird species were infested with syringophilid mites: Erithacus rubecula (L.) (index of prevalence, IP = 16.2%), Turdrus merula L. (IP = 22.4%), T. philomelos Brehm (IP = 10.5%), Fringilla coelebs L. (IP = 36.2%), Coccothraustes coccothraustes (L.) (IP = 7.4%), Sturnus vulgaris L. (IP = 53.6%), Sylvia atricapilla (L.) (IP = 6.1%) and Troglodytes troglodytes (L.) (IP = 7.1%). In four cases, multiple infestation was observed, where one bird species was parasitized by 2–3 species of quill mites occupying separate niches in the plumage of the host.

scholarly journals Agriculture and Supporting Ecosystem Services: A Trade-off Analysis Using Open Data in Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Dias Turetta ◽  
Bruno Pedrosa ◽  
Luca Eufemia ◽  
Michelle Bonatti ◽  
Stefan Sieber
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Production Region ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Agricultural Areas

Open data are important for adding legitimacy and transparency to public sciences. These data have also a potential to be used as a first approach for scientific investigation, such as spatial evaluation of ecosystem services. This paper presents a methodological approach to evaluate the trade-offs between agriculture and supporting ecosystem services based on spatial analysis and open data. The study area is an important agricultural production region in Bahia State, Brazil. The framework was able to establish the spatial interactions between agriculture and ecosystem service provision, while the regional scale was useful in supporting guidelines regarding sustainable land use for agricultural areas.

scholarly journals Scale dependence of biotic homogenisation by urbanisation: a comparison of urban bird communities between central Argentina and northern Finland

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas M. Leveau ◽  
Jukka Jokimäki ◽  
Marja-Liisa Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki
Keyword(s):  
Species Turnover ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Urban Habitats ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Biotic Homogenisation ◽  
Community Dissimilarity ◽  
The Town

AbstractRecent studies showed contrasting results about the homogenising force of urbanisation on bird community composition at large and regional scales. We studied whether urbanisation promotes the homogenisation of wintering bird communities and if this varies when comparing towns located within a specific region and towns located in two different biomes of two countries. We used both similarity indices based on the presence/absence data and the abundance data in comparing communities. Processes governing bird community dissimilarity between urbanisation levels were examined with the partitioning of Sörensen index in species turnover and nestedness. We made bird surveys in town centres and suburban habitats of three cities located in the Pampean region of Argentina and in the boreal region of Finland using a single-visit study plot method. Rarefacted species richness did not differ amongst the town centres between the countries, but it was higher in the suburban areas of Argentina than in Finland. At the country-level comparison, we found a higher similarity amongst the town centres than amongst the suburban areas; whereas at the regional comparison, similarity between town centres was comparable to the similarity between suburban areas. The use of an abundance-based index produced a higher similarity between town centre communities of both countries than when using a presence-based index. The dissimilarity between habitats in Argentina was related to nestedness and to species turnover in Finland. Our results indicate that urban-based biotic homogenisation of bird communities is dependent on the scale used, being more evident when comparing cities of different biomes where the same and abundant bird species, such as sparrows and doves, dominate. At the regional scale, quite a high beta-diversity can still be found within urban habitats. Processes of community dissimilarity between urban habitats may differ according to the regional pool of species, being more related to nestedness toward the tropics.

scholarly journals Formation of nesting bird communities in parks on the gradient of anthropic load in Kiev metropolis

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (23) ◽  
pp. 41-59
Author(s):  
T. V. Shupova ◽  
◽  
S. N. Koniakin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Sturnus Vulgaris ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Ficedula Albicollis ◽  
Erithacus Rubecula ◽  
Passer Montanus ◽  
Nesting Density

In settlements, safe places for birds nesting and feeding need to be created. The purpose of the work is to assess the state and identify vectors of the formation of nesting bird communities in parks under the pressure of anthropic load in the metropolis. In parks of Kyiv 62 species of birds nest. Such faunogenetic complexes like European nemoral (25.0–53.3%), Desert-mountain (12.0–27.8%) and Forest-steppe (6.9–25.0%) prevail. The number of community species in each of parks is 49–12, the average nesting density is 0.08±0.02–0.9±0.19 pairs / ha, and the dispersion is 0.12–1.62. With the combination of anthropic load on biotopes of more than 140 points with a small area of parks (2.0–16.5 ha), the species composition of communities decreases, and the average nesting density and density dispersion increase. Dominated by density: Parus major, Columba livia, Sturnus vulgaris, Turdus merula, Passer domesticus, Passer montanus, Fringilla coelebs, Columba palumbus, Apus apus, Ficedula albicollis, Erithacus rubecula, Turdus pilaris. All birds in communities are obligate synanthropes (12.9%; n=62) or hemisinanthropes. Obligate synanthropes are distributed in communities of 0-7 species. According to the gradient of increasing anthropic load on parks, logarithmic trends show a slight increase in the percentage share of obligate synanthropes in the species composition and in the number of breeding pairs. 47–70% nest on trees, 0–14.3% in shrubs, 0–13.0% on ground and in buildings. In parks, birds (16–38% of the species composition), in addition to using species-specific stations, nest in the cavities of buildings. Such species like Motacilla alba L., Sturnus vulgaris, Ficedula albicollis, Muscicapa striata Pallas, Erithacus rubecula, Parus major, Passer domesticus, Passer montanus nest in this way. Due to this nesting strategy, the need of the birds in hollows and the dependence on the woodpeckers in the community decreases. High parameters of the Shannon index (1.51–3.14) and Pielou index (0.61–0.95) were revealed, with low data of the Berger-Parker index (0.15–0.61). With an anthropic load of more than 160 points, there is a sharp decrease in species diversity, evenness of species, and increased dominance pressure. Cluster analysis showed the division of bird communities into similarity groups according to the area of the parks, the proximity of parks to the outskirts of the city and large forest tracts of the area and specifics of the anthropic load.

scholarly journals High BrdU Sensitivity of Passeriformes Chromosomes: Conservation of BrdU-Sensitive Fragile Sites on Their Z Chromosomes during Evolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 157 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Gerbault-Seureau ◽  
Jérôme Fuchs ◽  
Bernard Dutrillaux
Keyword(s):  
Culture Medium ◽  
Chromosome Structure ◽  
Fragile Site ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Structural Rearrangement ◽  
Fragile Sites ◽  
Brdu Incorporation ◽  
Z Chromosome ◽  
Erithacus Rubecula

Amongst 15 bird species, representative of 7 orders, recurrent breakages evocating the presence of fragile sites were detected in the chromosomes of the 5 species belonging to Passeriformes. These breaks appeared when 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was added to the cell culture medium at a dose inefficient for inducing chromosome structure alterations in other birds and mammals. They involved, similarly in male and female, 3 loci on the Z chromosome of 3 Turdus species (Turdidae). Labeling by BrdU antibody confirmed the correlation between BrdU incorporation into DNA and breakage, especially around and in the sites of breakage. Thus, 3 BrdU-sensitive fragile sites were present in the Z chromosomes of these birds. Three fragile sites were also detected at different locations in the Z chromosomes of the European robin (Erithacus rubecula, Muscicapidae), suggesting that a structural rearrangement occurred during the evolution of Turdidae and Muscicapidae. Chromosome banding confirmed this interpretation. Finally, in the more distantly related species Parus major (Paridae), the almost acrocentric Z chromosome displayed a single BrdU-sensitive fragile site in its short arm, and the W appeared to be pulverized by BrdU incorporation. Although it cannot be excluded that the BrdU-sensitive fragile sites may be involved in rearrangements, their conservation in many species, and possibly all Passeriformes, provides evidence that they do not constitute a pejorative character during evolution.

scholarly journals Associations of Forest Type, Parasitism and Body Condition of Two European Passerines, Fringilla coelebs and Sylvia atricapilla

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e81395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruntje Lüdtke ◽  
Isabelle Moser ◽  
Diego Santiago-Alarcon ◽  
Markus Fischer ◽  
Elisabeth KV. Kalko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Sylvia Atricapilla ◽  
Fringilla Coelebs

A review of the interaction between forest birds and eastern spruce budworm

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (NA) ◽  
pp. 191-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.A. Venier ◽  
S.B. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Good Evidence ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Eastern Spruce Budworm

The eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem., (hereafter budworm) is responsible for the largest areas of insect-caused disturbance in North America, and as such, is an important part of spruce–fir forest change and succession. The insectivorous forest bird community shows large and rapid responses to budworm outbreaks. There is good evidence that there are budworm-linked species (bay-breasted, Cape May, and Tennessee warblers) that respond to budworm outbreak much more strongly and consistently than other species, probably through increased productivity of local populations when budworm are abundant. There also appears to be a more widespread positive bird community response to budworm outbreak that involves many more species. The response is evident in local and regional scale studies, but individual species’ responses across studies are not always consistent, probably because of the relatively small number of studies conducted in a wide variety of contexts. Budworm outbreaks provide a short-term increase in food supply for birds, but also result in longer-term habitat change due to budworm-induced defoliation and tree mortality. Birds appear to influence budworm cycles, mostly at endemic population levels, through predation of large larvae and pupae. There are good arguments suggesting that bird predation is not the primary cause of budworm oscillations, but may play a role in determining the mean level of oscillations. Climate change is expected to change the bird–budworm relationship through changes in fire regimes, spruce–fir distributions, bird distributions, and budworm and bird phenology.

scholarly journals A method for establishing bird conservation value at a landscape level

1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Fornasari ◽  
Elisabetta de Carli ◽  
Luciana Bottoni ◽  
Renato Massa
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Community Types ◽  
Community Data ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
Regional Conservation

SummaryTo produce conservation indices from bird community data, with the aim of identifying and comparing areas of regional conservation concern, we selected bird community samples randomly over a large study area, without including habitat features a priori in the sampling procedure. Subsequently, we subjected the samples to a cluster analysis to identify a posteriori bird communities to be indexed together with their associated habitat and distribution/abundance on a regional scale. We identified 15 bird community types and were able to characterize each of them by a community conservation index (CCI) taking into account three different components of rarity: habitat selectivity, geographical distribution, and abundance. A cluster of four communities was associated with lowland farmland and woodland; another cluster of five was found at higher average altitudes and degree of urbanization; a third one of six showed a montane distribution. This third cluster showed much higher CCI values in comparison with the first two suggesting that the index here proposed is very sensitive to a high community selectivity and a restricted distribution/abundance.

scholarly journals Forest loss and fire in the Dominican Republic during the 21st Century

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Ramon Martinez Batlle
Keyword(s):  
Dominican Republic ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Forest Loss ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Shifting Agriculture ◽  
Spatial Autoregressive ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Spatial Autoregressive Models

Forest loss is an environmental issue that threatens valuable ecosystems in the Dominican Republic (the DR). Although shifting agriculture by slash-and-burn methods is thought to be the main driver of forest loss in the DR, empirical evidence of this relationship is still lacking. Since remotely sensed data on fire occurrence is a suitable proxy for estimating the spread of shifting agriculture, here I explore the association between forest loss and fire during the first 18 years of the 21st Century using zonal statistics and spatial autoregressive models on different spatio-temporal layouts. First, I found that both forest loss and fire were spatially autocorrelated and statistically associated with each other at a country scale over the study period. The hotspots were concentrated mainly in Cordillera Central, Sierra de Bahoruco, Los Haitises/Samaná Peninsula, and the northwestern and easternmost regions. Second, from regional scale analysis, I found no statistical association between forest loss and fire in the eastern half of the country, a region that hosts a large international tourism hub. Third, deforestation and fire showed a joint cyclical variation pattern of approximately four years up to 2013, and from 2014 onwards deforestation alone followed a worrying upward trend, while at the same time fire activity declined significantly. Fourth, I found no significant differences between the deforested area of small (<1 ha) and large (>1 ha) clearings of forest. I propose these findings hold potential to inform land management policies that help reduce forest loss, particularly in protected areas, mountain areas, and the vicinity of tourism hubs.

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