Influence and value of different water regimes on avian species richness in arid inland Australia

Schneider, Nicole; Griesser, Michael

doi:10.1007/s10531-008-9501-6

Cited by 21 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Other authors (e.g. Gibson and Cole 1988) have described avian faunas on a land unit basis, as part of general biological survey work, while Landsberg et al (1997) and Schneider and Griesser (2009) have described variation in avian communities in the vicinity of water points in various parts of the arid zone and Leavesley (2008) investigated the impact of fi re on bird communities in mulga. Cody (1994) explored regional variation in bird communities in mulga, Recher and Davis (1997) described the foraging behaviour of birds in a mulga community in central Australia, while Paltridge and Southgate (2001) and Burbidge and Fuller (2007) documented variations in assemblages due to rainfall.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Birds in a vast arid upland: avian biogeographical patterns in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

Burbidge¹,

Johnstone²,

Pearson³

2010

Rec West Aust Mus Sup

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-We surveyed for the presence/absence of bird species at 297 sites, each of 16 ha, chosen to represent the geographical extent and diversity of terrestrial environments across the Pilbara biogeographic region, Western Australia. We recorded 132 species with an average of 19.1 species per site with a range from 3 to 49. Sampling was carried out over a six-day period in each of two seasons, with visits of 0.5 to 1.0 hour to each site. The diurnal time of sampling at a site was varied in an effort to maximise the detection of species present. Environments sampled included stony hills, slopes and plains, massive rocks and scree slopes, clay plains, saline muds, deep sands and riverine sites. Vegetation on most sites consisted of hummock grasslands of spinifex (Triodia spp.), usually with widely scattered shrubs or eucalypt trees, while sites on alluvial plains typically supported bunch grasses, saline fl ats had samphires, run-on areas in the southern Pilbara often supported stands of mulga, and riparian sites had vegetation varying from shrubs to gallery woodlands. Bird species richness was highest in riparian sites and lowest on samphire fl ats. Patterns in species composition were correlated with vegetation and substrate variables, including soil depth, ruggedness of the topography, soil chemistry and the presence of trees or shrubs. Variation partitioning of results from a PCNM analysis, however, indicated that only 7% of the observed variation in species composition could be attributed solely to the 25 environmental variables we measured, suggesting that much of the Pilbara is relatively uniform from the perspective of terrestrial birds. These results suggest that the existing conservation reserve system is likely to adequately conserve most of the variation in terrestrial bird communities in the Pilbara. However, riparian vegetation, with its distinctive bird assemblages, requires special conservation attention. These areas are of limited extent in the Pilbara and are subject to pressures such as degradation by domestic and feral stock grazing, weed invasion and disturbance by mining infrastructure and groundwater extraction.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Birds in a vast arid upland: avian biogeographical patterns in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

Burbidge¹,

Johnstone²,

Pearson³

2010

Rec West Aust Mus Sup

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“…In the Florida Everglades, Curnutt et al (2000) assessed potential responses of alternative water management plans on two bird species and the wading bird guild. In Australia, Schneider and Griesser (2009) assessed avian richness among water bodies with different hydrological regimes. On the upper San Pedro floodplain, Steinitz et al (2003) assessed the potential for expansion of habitat for breeding southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus), given a range of water use options.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projecting avian response to linked changes in groundwater and riparian floodplain vegetation along a dryland river: a scenario analysis

Brand

Stromberg

Goodrich³

et al. 2011

Ecohydrology

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Groundwater is a key driver of riparian condition on dryland rivers but is in high demand for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses. Approaches are needed to guide decisions that balance human water needs while conserving riparian ecosystems. We developed a space-for-time substitution model that links groundwater change scenarios implemented within a Decision Support System (DSS) with proportions of floodplain vegetation types and abundances of breeding and migratory birds along the upper San Pedro River, AZ, USA. We investigated nine scenarios ranging from groundwater depletion to recharge. In groundwater decline scenarios, relative proportions of tall-canopied obligate phreatophytes (Populus/Salix, cottonwood/willow) on the floodplain progressively decline, and shrubbier species less dependent on permanent water sources (e.g. Tamarix spp., saltcedar) increase. These scenarios result in broad shifts in the composition of the breeding bird community, with canopynesting and water-obligate birds declining but midstory nesting birds increasing in abundance as groundwater declines. For the most extreme draw-down scenario where all reaches undergo groundwater declines, models project that only 10% of the upper San Pedro floodplain would be comprised of cottonwood/willow (73% saltcedar and 18% mesquite), and abundances of canopy-nesting, water-obligate, and spring migrant birds would decline 48%, 72%, and 40%, respectively. Groundwater recharge scenarios were associated with increases in canopy-nesting birds particularly given the extreme recharge scenario (all reaches regain shallow water tables and perennial streamflow). Model outputs serve to assess the sensitivity of biotic groups to potential changes in groundwater and thus to rank scenarios based on their expected ecological impacts.

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“…Pastoral activity can, through disturbance, lead to enhanced β S -diversity. 45 Conversely, some studies have specifically tested the impacts of grazing on β-diversity in arid regions (including Australia) and have found no or little effect. 10,46 Although pastoral activity did occur on some properties in the southern parts of the AWNRM region, cattle Shown are the percentage contributions made by α-and β-diversity toward γ-diversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall and temperature variation does not explain arid species diversity in outback Australia

Traill¹,

Wanger²,

Little³

et al. 2013

RRBS

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Steps toward conserving biodiversity should start at understanding the components across spatial scales and a determination of the drivers of these. Here we determine additive species diversity for arid South Australia, based on over 50 years of survey data. Elevation and soil data were sourced through the Australian Government, and climate data from the WorldClim database. Alternative hypotheses relating the effect of climatic and environmental parameters to diversity were tested using generalized linear models and ranked according to information-theoretic statistics. Total species richness for the region was 1824, similar to all arid regions. α-diversity values were low, relative to the contributions made by β-diversity toward total γ-diversity, similar to additive diversity indices for nonarid biomes. There was a lack of statistical support for our hypothesis that regional spatial variation in arid region diversity can be explained by climate topography. Arid South Australian species diversity appears to be largely driven by environmental parameters at the localized scale -beyond the resolution of available survey data. Heterogeneity in habitat, provided by mountainous regions, likely contributes toward the high β-diversity values. Our research is the first application of the additive (not multiplicative) approach toward understanding diversity within arid Australia.

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Influence and value of different water regimes on avian species richness in arid inland Australia

Cited by 21 publications

References 42 publications

Birds in a vast arid upland: avian biogeographical patterns in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

Birds in a vast arid upland: avian biogeographical patterns in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

Projecting avian response to linked changes in groundwater and riparian floodplain vegetation along a dryland river: a scenario analysis

Rainfall and temperature variation does not explain arid species diversity in outback Australia

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