Bird sensitivity to disturbance as an indicator of forest patch conditions: An issue in environmental assessments

Alexandrino, Eduardo Roberto; Buechley, Evan R.; Piratelli, Augusto João; Ferraz, Kátia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros; Moral, Rafael de Andrade; Şekercioğlu, Çağan H.; Silva, Wesley Rodrigues; Couto, Hilton Thadeu Zarate do

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.006

Cited by 42 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…Small amounts of semi-deciduous seasonal forest (Atlantic Forest biome) and savannah woodland (Cerrado biome) are confined to the native forest remnants found in the agricultural landscape (i.e., approximately 12% of the river basin, see Valente and Vettorazzi 2003). In the last few years, six focal landscapes covering 16 km 2 and representative of the river basin agricultural landscape in terms of land use composition (>70% agricultural matrix -sugarcane or cattle pasture -and >10% native forest) have been the focus of research on land use change, forest restoration, ecology, and ornithology (Cassiano et al 2013;Ferraz et al 2014;Alexandrino et al 2016Alexandrino et al , 2017César et al 2018) (Figure 2b). Many forest patches in the region have increased their area by passive restoration (Ferraz et al 2014;Alexandrino et al 2016).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the last few years, six focal landscapes covering 16 km 2 and representative of the river basin agricultural landscape in terms of land use composition (>70% agricultural matrix -sugarcane or cattle pasture -and >10% native forest) have been the focus of research on land use change, forest restoration, ecology, and ornithology (Cassiano et al 2013;Ferraz et al 2014;Alexandrino et al 2016Alexandrino et al , 2017César et al 2018) (Figure 2b). Many forest patches in the region have increased their area by passive restoration (Ferraz et al 2014;Alexandrino et al 2016). Our citizen science-based project was originally planned to be performed in three riparian forest patches located in private rural properties across three different focal landscapes (Figure 2b).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our citizen science-based project was originally planned to be performed in three riparian forest patches located in private rural properties across three different focal landscapes (Figure 2b). In the past, we conducted bird point counts in these patches (see Ferraz et al 2012;Alexandrino et al 2016Alexandrino et al , 2017, and in 2016 we started bird capture-recapture research using mist nets, as part of our continued research in the area. However, the present project involved non-research personnel visiting the patches, and the landowners of two patches located on small family properties at the north river basin (in Corumbataí and Rio Claro municipalities, see location of patches A and B in Figure 2b) were reluctant to allow access to volunteers, citing security concerns and a fear of disturbance (e.g., there were cases of robbery and illegal hunting in that region).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges in Engaging Birdwatchers in Bird Monitoring in a Forest Patch: Lessons for Future Citizen Science Projects in Agricultural Landscapes

Alexandrino

Navarro

Paulete

et al. 2019

CSTP

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Birdwatchers hold substantial potential as data collectors for research, and in Brazil, the birdwatching community has been growing since the early 2000s. Currently the effects of birds on forest patch restoration in agricultural landscapes is a major focus of avian conservation ecology, but these patches are not frequently visited by birdwatchers in Brazil, hindering the collection of useful bird data. We thus developed a project, Did I see a banded bird!?, which was designed to attract birdwatching volunteers to monitor birds within a forest patch. We explored three motivating factors to attract birdwatchers: (1) we offered an unprecedented opportunity for birdwatchers to record individual birds with colored bands, a challenging activity appealing to birdwatchers' competitive nature; (2) our study area offered a new location with free, easy access and no logistical impediments; and (3) we continuously provided information on the benefits of birdwatching records for science and society to encourage participation. The project was widely announced and we had 302 applicants. However, the barriers faced throughout the project's execution, including limited researcher-volunteer interaction, low security in the patch, and the presence of few species for birdwatchers to see, reduced the motivation and participation of most applicants. Consequently, from a list of 155 highly qualified applicants who lived near the patch and were skilled in forest birding, only 10 visited the patch. Our findings provide important guidelines for researchers planning similar citizen science projects in agricultural landscapes, mainly in countries where citizen science is still not common.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges in Engaging Birdwatchers in Bird Monitoring in a Forest Patch: Lessons for Future Citizen Science Projects in Agricultural Landscapes

Alexandrino

Navarro

Paulete

et al. 2019

CSTP

Self Cite

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“…These biomarkers represent a cumulative suite of physiological reactions to an animals' environment and have previous links to fitness consequences in birds (Kilgas, 2006; Milenkaya, Catlin, Legge, & Walters, 2015). We focused on birds because they are widespread, ecologically diverse and exhibit a range of responses to human‐induced landscape changes (Alexandrio et al, 2016). We hypothesized that (a) physiological stress responses of birds would depend on both farm‐ and landscape‐level diversity that could affect species' persistence and (b) farm diversification practices would have the greatest impact on stress responses of birds in more simplified landscapes with low proportions of semi‐natural cover.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape context mediates the physiological stress response of birds to farmland diversification

Latimer

Smith

Taylor

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Farmland diversification practices are increasingly adopted to help reverse biodiversity declines in agroecosystems. However, evidence for the effectiveness of this approach often comes from documenting the species attracted to particular farming systems or landscapes, rather than their underlying physiological states that ultimately determine population growth or decline over the longer term. Across 38 organic, mixed‐produce farms spanning the US west coast, we quantified three physiological biomarkers that are widely used to capture variation in short‐ and long‐term stress responses for nine bird species with diverse life‐history traits. While controlling for other potentially confounding variables, we used multilevel models to examine the association between bird physiological conditions, landscape context and local farm management practices, including the integration of livestock, and cropland composition and configuration. Birds generally had lower stress responses on more‐locally diverse farms and in landscapes with higher amounts of semi‐natural cover. However, interactions between farm diversity and landscape context suggested birds were less stressed on more diverse farms in simpler landscapes, but more stressed and in poorer condition on more diverse farms embedded within complex landscapes. We found no differences in stress responses among birds in relation to their degree of human association (synanthropy), which suggests generality in our findings. Synthesis and applications. Birds were often less stressed on more diverse farms. However, these patterns were mediated by landscape context: birds were less stressed on more diverse farms in simplified landscapes, but more stressed on more diverse farms within complex landscapes. This means land managers might not see uniform effects of local diversification schemes across different landscape contexts. Our results underscore the need to consider responses related to physiological health status, in addition to species richness and abundance, to determine the effectiveness of farm management for biodiversity conservation.

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“…Since we can measure land cover and landscape connectivity at any spatial scale, it is necessary to determine the scale at which different variables more accurately reflect biodiversity. As mentioned in [50], variables are measured in different sized area, which may lead to a "scale of effect". To test the "scale of effect", all landscape-scale variables were measured in two spatial areas: the observation area (with a buffer of 100 m) and the surrounding area (with a buffer of 500 m).…”

Section: Environmental Variables and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird Communities in Urban Riparian Areas: Response to the Local- and Landscape-Scale Environmental Variables

Guo

Saito

et al. 2019

Forests

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Understanding how environmental changes driven by urbanization impact the biodiversity in urban riparian areas has great importance for landscape planning and river ecosystem conservation. There have been many studies on the response of bird communities to different environmental variables in urban parks; however, although supporting some of the highest bird diversities, case studies in urban riparian areas remain limited. In existing research, few studies have considered the impact of both local waterfront characteristics and surrounding environmental variables at a larger scale. In this study, we selected birds as the indicator to clarify their response to both local- and landscape-scale environmental variables in riparian areas of Tsing river, Beijing, in terms of (a) vegetation composition, (b) human disturbance, (c) land cover, and (d) landscape connectivity. We hypothesized that birds with different biological characteristics may respond differently to environmental variables. Birds were then further grouped according to the habitat type, residential type, and feeding type. It turned out that the coverage of grass and the disturbance of pedestrians are the most influential variables. Besides, compared with the land cover and landscape connectivity, the total contribution of vegetation characteristics and human disturbance accounts for the main proportion of explained variance. Information pertaining to these environmental variables can provide evidence to support bird conservation efforts in urban areas, and the identified distance threshold provides a basis for future landscape connectivity assessments.

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Bird sensitivity to disturbance as an indicator of forest patch conditions: An issue in environmental assessments

Cited by 42 publications

References 117 publications

Challenges in Engaging Birdwatchers in Bird Monitoring in a Forest Patch: Lessons for Future Citizen Science Projects in Agricultural Landscapes

Challenges in Engaging Birdwatchers in Bird Monitoring in a Forest Patch: Lessons for Future Citizen Science Projects in Agricultural Landscapes

Landscape context mediates the physiological stress response of birds to farmland diversification

Bird Communities in Urban Riparian Areas: Response to the Local- and Landscape-Scale Environmental Variables

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