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The African Bird Atlas Project (ABAP) and the Coordinated Waterbird Counts (CWAC) are the main citizen science bird monitoring programmes in southern Africa. ABAP data are collected by volunteers that compile bird lists over a grid of geographic areas known as pentads, resulting in millions of records that are key to studying bird distribution. In contrast, CWAC collects data on waterbird abundance at a selection of wetlands twice a year, offering important data on waterbird population dynamics. ABAP and CWAC data are extensively used in research. They also provide the evidence base for conservation decisions, site management and national reporting obligations against international agreements. The respective project websites provide distribution maps, summary statistics and basic data download features. However, a more advanced use of these data for modelling and their incorporation into analytical workflows requires flexible and direct access to the databases. The Africa Bird Data R packages presented here provide an important functionality to download and process data directly into the analytical software R. Apart from accessing the databases, there are functions that help with the analysis of these data by incorporating model covariates or formatting data for R packages that are popular for the analysis of this kind of data. Our objective is to make African bird data more accessible and easier to work with in order to unlock their full potential for research, and to inform management and conservation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the mechanisms behind biodiversity dynamics is central to assessing and forecasting anthropogenic impacts on ecological communities. However, the manner in which external environmental drivers act in concert with intrinsic ecological processes to influence local temporal turnover is currently largely unexplored. Here, we determine how human impacts affect multiple metrics of bird community turnover to establish the ecological mechanisms behind compositional change. We used US Breeding Bird Survey data to calculate transect‐level rates of three measures of temporal species turnover: (1) "short‐term" (initial rate of decline of Sørensen similarity), (2) "long‐term" (asymptotic Sørensen similarity), and (3) "throughput" (overall species accumulation rate from species–time relationship exponents) over 2692 transects across 27 regional habitat types. We then hierarchically fit linear models to estimate the effect of anthropogenic impact on these turnover metrics, using the Human Modification Index proxy, while accounting for observed species richness, the size of the species pool, and annual environmental variability. We found broadly consistent impacts of increased anthropogenic pressures across diverse habitat types. The Human Modification Index was associated with greater turnover at long timescales, but marginally slower short‐term turnover. The species "throughput" (accumulation rate) was not notably influenced. Examining anthropogenic impacts on different aspects of species turnover in combination allows greater ecological insight. Observed human impacts on short‐term turnover were the opposite of existing expectations and suggest humans are disrupting the background turnover of these systems, rather than simply driving rapid directed turnover. The increased long‐term turnover without concurrent increases in species accumulation implies human impacts lead to shifts in species occurrence frequency rather than simply greater arrival of "new" species. These results highlight the role of intrinsic dynamics and caution against simple interpretations of increased species turnover as reflections of environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many sampling and analytical methods can estimate the abundance, distributions, and diversity of birds and other wildlife. However, challenges with sample size and analytical capacity can make these methods difficult to implement for resource‐limited monitoring programs. To apprise efficient and attainable sampling designs for landbird monitoring programs with limited observational data, we used breeding season bird point survey data collected in 2016 at four forest restoration sites in Indiana, USA. We evaluated three subsets of observed species richness, total possibly breeding landbirds, Partners in Flight Regional Conservation Concern (PIF RCC) landbirds, and interior forest specialists (IFSs). Simulated surveys based on field data were used to conduct Bayesian Michaelis–Menten curve analyses estimating observed species as a function of sampling effort. On comparing simulated survey sets with multiple habitat types versus those with one habitat, we found that those with multiple habitat types had estimated 39%–83% greater observed PIF RCC species richness and required 41%–55% fewer visits per point to observe an equivalent proportion of PIF RCC species. Even with multiple habitats in a survey set, the number of visits per point required to detect 50% of observable species was 30% higher for PIF RCC species than for total breeding landbird species. Low detection rates of IFS species at two field sites made precise estimation of required effort to observe these species difficult. However, qualitatively, we found that only sites containing mature forest fragments had detections of several bird species designated as high‐confidence IFS species. Our results suggest that deriving specialized species diversity metrics from point survey data can add value when interpreting those data. Additionally, designing studies to collect these metrics may require explicitly planning to visit multiple habitat types at a monitoring site and increasing the number of visits per survey point. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1954–1968. © 2024 The Author(s). Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA. Key Points: Four forest restoration sites in Indiana supported a variety of potentially breeding migratory bird species, including interior forest specialists and regional conservation concern species.At forest restoration sites in Indiana with various habitat types, it was necessary to visit both open and woody plant‐dominated habitats to efficiently detect bird species of regional conservation concern.When analyzing bird point survey data, deriving specialized species diversity metrics, such as richness of habitat specialist species or conservation concern species, can add value when interpreting those data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas the latitudinal diversity gradient has been shown for a diverse set of taxa, a related macroecological pattern, the latitudinal specialization gradient (LSG), remains controversial. A classical expectation is that species should present more specialized interactions towards the equator, however, recent studies have provided conflicting evidence for this hypothesis. Here, we tested the LSG in a set of bird–malarial parasite networks across South America. Our analyses comprise 9763 individual birds surveyed in 52 communities, within eight biomes and spanning a gradient of 4700 km. We measured network‐level specialization through indices that account for increasingly comprehensive information. Binary specialization considers the occurrence/absence of interactions between each host–parasite pair; quantitative specialization is also affected by the frequency of interactions between each host–parasite pair; and phylogenetic specialization takes into account the phylogeny and abundances of host species. We found that, while binary specialization increases towards the equator, quantitative specialization decreases. Thus, despite each parasite lineage infecting a more restricted set from the available host species in low latitudes, infections were more evenly distributed among host species, than in higher latitudes. Additionally, using a structural equation model, we show that both direct and indirect effects contribute to this unexpected relationship. Direct effects are weak, and network‐specialization was mostly explained by host species and parasite lineage richness, evidencing that changes in network specialization along latitude are in a large part explained by the latitudinal diversity gradient for birds and malarial‐parasites. In the light of the accumulated evidence over the past years, reinforced by our findings, we suggest that the classical latitudinal specialization hypothesis should be reevaluated, making room for a theoretical framework able to encompass the conflicting results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsustainable wildlife consumption and illegal wildlife trade (IWT) threaten biodiversity worldwide. Although publicly accessible data sets are increasingly used to generate insights into IWT, little is known about their potential bias. We compared three typical and temporally corresponding data sets (4204 court verdicts, 926 seizure news reports, and 219 bird market surveys) on traded birds native to China and evaluated their possible species biases. Specifically, we evaluated bias and completeness of sampling for species richness, phylogeny, conservation status, spatial distribution, and life‐history characteristics among the three data sets when determining patterns of illegal trade. Court verdicts contained the largest species richness. In bird market surveys and seizure news reports, phylogenetic clustering was greater than that in court verdicts, where songbird species (i.e., Passeriformes) were detected in higher proportions in market surveys. The seizure news data set contained the highest proportion of species of high conservation priority but the lowest species coverage. Across the country, all data sets consistently reported relatively high species richness in south and southwest regions, but markets revealed a northern geographic bias. The species composition in court verdicts and markets also exhibited distinct geographical patterns. There was significant ecological trait bias when we modeled whether a bird species is traded in the market. Our regression model suggested that species with small body masses, large geographical ranges, and a preference for anthropogenic habitats and those that are not nationally protected were more likely to be traded illegally. The species biases we found emphasize the need to know the constraints of each data set so that they can optimally inform strategies to combat IWT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radar is a powerful technology for surveys of avian movements. Validating the accuracy of radar detection is essential when establishing quantitative criteria for tracking bird trajectories and counting bird flocks. This study clarifies the positional and biological factors influencing the probability of detection (POD) and echo size on X-band marine radar. The bird trajectory for validation was obtained by ornithodolite at the same time as the radar scan. Distance was found to have a negative effect on POD and echo size, while elevation angle positively affected POD. Body mass and flock size positively affected POD and echo size. In predicting detection performance, the survey distance required to achieve 50% POD was 750 m or less for Grey-faced Buzzard, the lightest target species, but up to 1800 m for a pair of Bewick's Swan. Our study provides survey and analysis procedures that allow for efficient validation using ornithodolites. Then, we identify the range settings that should be considered for target species and contribute to establishing criteria for quantitative radar bird surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics using GIS and remote sensing techniques measure extent and spatial structure, which are critical for monitoring biomes. A digital LULC detection technique with multi‐temporal satellite imagery analysis was employed at four timepoints from 1987 to 2017 and performed using supervised classifications method in ERDAS imagine 2015. For image classification, the five major LULC types included forests, built‐up land, agricultural land, water bodies and grasslands. LULC of grasslands, forests and water bodies reduced, while LULC of agricultural and built‐up lands increased. Avifaunal surveys were conducted at 11 sites across the LULC classes to compare species richness and abundance. The decrement of forests and water bodies would result in habitat loss, affecting endemic and threatened avifauna, as forests showed highest avifaunal species diversity (H′ = 3.80). Despite the decrement, grasslands demonstrated higher avifaunal species richness (107) and abundance (2767). Species richness decreased significantly from grasslands to water bodies and agricultural land (p < 0.05), and from forests to agricultural and built‐up land (p < 0.05), and water bodies (p < 0.01). Avifaunal abundance decreased significantly from grasslands to all other LULC classes. Regular LULC change assessment is integral to avifaunal habitat and biodiversity conservation efforts, particularly at Lake Tana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alert and flight initiation distances are important elements of bird behavioral responses and indicators of their adaptation to external disturbances; therefore, they provide an important basis for bird conservation. With continual rapid advancements in drone technology, the use of drones in bird field surveys is becoming increasingly important. However, the disturbance impact of drones on birds remains controversial and needs further assessment. This study measured the distances at which coots (Fulica atra) tolerated drones in the Baiyangdian wetland, Northern China, over 42 days from August to November 2023 and at the end of July 2024. The results show the maximum alert distance (AD) and maximum flight initiation distance (FID) of the coot to be 44 m and 35 m, respectively. The coots showed no signs of disturbance when the drones flew at an altitude of 50 m. The AD of the coot showed a significant relationship with whether it saw the drones in advance, environmental conditions, and the drone's behavior before it approached, whereas the FID was only significantly affected by whether the coot saw the drones in advance. The sight of drones in advance considerably increased the AD and FID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) is a raptor of conservation concern in much of its range. Population trend estimates from Breeding Bird Surveys and migration counts for this species are often contradictory and of low credibility. Therefore, we used Christmas Bird Count data to assess population trends for Ferruginous Hawks that winter in California, USA. Evidence suggests that the birds breeding in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon may represent a metapopulation that winters almost exclusively in California. Data for the 25-yr period from Count Year 98 (winter 1997–1998) to Count Year 122 (winter 2021–2022) from 22 California Christmas Bird Count circles in the core winter range of Ferruginous Hawks showed a significant positive trend. This positive trend contrasts with the continent-wide negative trends observed for most grassland/open country bird species and is surprising given ongoing declines of this species' preferred winter habitat in California during this same period. We discuss potential explanations that may account for these differences, including the possibility that the California-wintering Ferruginous Hawks include a large proportion of birds breeding outside of southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the human footprint expands to meet societal energy needs, as do the impacts to wildlife. Raptors in particular are highly susceptible to anthropogenic caused mortality. Industry sectors are encouraged to offset these causes of mortality. Several options to mitigate these losses have been proposed, including raptor rehabilitation. However, its role as a conservation tool is untested. Currently no peer‐reviewed demographic analyses exist using post‐release data from rehabilitated raptors to evaluate its effectiveness at continental scales. Our objectives were to estimate annual survival of rehabilitated and wild raptors, and then use those estimates in demographic models to assess potential effects at individual and population levels. We hypothesized that rehabilitated raptors would survive similarly to their wild counterparts after an acclimation period, and that longer‐lived species (K‐selected) would benefit most from these releases. We used US Geological Survey Bird Banding Lab band‐recovery data (1974–2018) from 20 raptor species for modeling survival of rehabilitated individuals (n = 125 740) in comparison to wild birds (n = 1 913 352). Results from 17 species with adequate recovery data indicated that five species rehabilitated ≠ wild survival, two species had uncertain estimates, and 10 species rehabilitated ≈ wild survival by years two and three post‐release. We acquired admission (n = 69 707) and release (n = 25 740) data from 24 rehabilitation centers across the US (2012–2021). We integrated survival, fecundity and numbers of releases into demographic models. These models quantified the extent to which rehabilitated raptors may contribute to broader conservation efforts, especially in the context of individual take. All but two species, had measurable numbers of individuals added to the population regardless of the number of releases. The general pattern was for K‐selected species to yield larger benefits from rehabilitated supplementation to the population. These results provide evidence that rehabilitation may serve as mitigation tool to offset incidental take. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Island biogeography theory has been extended to include various species interactions, but has yet to consider intraguild mutualisms. We compare species‐area relationships for mixed‐species flocks to those for the entire bird community and determine how 'nuclear' species, those important to flock formation or cohesion, which often have functional traits such as intraspecific gregariousness, influence flock species richness. We hypothesized that mixed flocks would only form on large islands where nuclear species are present. On the subset of larger islands, we expected flock species richness to rise with island area, reflecting a larger pool of species. Location: Thirty‐one islands of varying area in the reservoir system of Thousand Island Lake, China. Taxon: The resident forest bird community and its subcomponent of flock participants. Similar to elsewhere in southern China, the primary nuclear species was Huet's Fulvetta (Alcippe hueti), which averaged 20 individuals per flock, and led the flocks when present. Methods: Birds were surveyed in the winter of 2017 and the autumn of 2021. Results: The probability for a flock to be present, and the species richness of birds per transect, increased with island area, but the species richness of flocks did not. Flocks with Huet's Fulvetta were only found on islands larger than 30 ha. Flocks on smaller islands formed around secondary nuclear species typical of northern Chinese flocks. Main Conclusion: Gregariousness as a functional trait may make nuclear species more susceptible to disappearing in small fragments, leading to flock collapse. The extreme gregariousness of fulvettas may also act to increase competition in the flocks they lead and limit the flocks' species richness. We encourage further comparisons of the species‐area curves of mixed‐species flocks and whole bird communities to better understand the influence of flocks on community assembly and species diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation has reduced the abundance and diversity of many taxonomic groups, and the effects may be more pronounced on islands, which have a smaller regional species pool to compensate. Green spaces within urban environments may help to safeguard wildlife assemblages, and the associated habitat heterogeneity can even increase species diversity. Here, total abundance and species diversity of butterflies, birds, and vegetation at nine rural and nine urban locations were quantified on Lipsi Island, Greece. Sites were assessed using Pollard walks for butterflies, point‐count surveys for birds, and quadrats for vegetation. There was no significant difference in the abundance or species diversity of butterflies or vegetation among rural and urban locations, which could pertain to the low building density within urbanised areas and the minimal extent of urbanisation on the island. However, urban areas hosted a significantly greater abundance, richness, and diversity of birds compared to rural sites. The community composition of butterflies, birds, and vegetation also differed significantly between urban and rural locations, highlighting the impact of urbanisation on species across a broad range of trophic groups. This study contributes to ecological knowledge on the impacts of urbanisation across multiple trophic levels in island ecosystems, with comparisons across a gradient of island size and urbanisation intensity needed in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial scale at which an environmental variable is summarized can have considerable impacts on ecological inference of species distribution and abundance. While several analytical approaches have emerged to determine biologically relevant spatial scales – the spatial scale that most strongly influences the ecological patterns observed – identifying key ecological drivers of scale of effect is still underway. Additionally, several predicted ecological drivers of scale of effect can vary across space and time, but little research on spatiotemporal patterns has occurred. Here, I assessed spatial and temporal variation in scales of effect across 32 North American bird species using 18 years of empirical data from the North American breeding bird survey. Scale estimation was then coupled with trait‐based analyses and hypotheses testing of underlying processes of spatial and temporal variation in scales of effect. All 32 species tested exhibited varied scales of effect across years (average annual scales of effect ranging from 0.2 to 4.97 km) and Bird Conservation Regions (BCR), with spatial variability being the most pronounced. Trait‐based analyses revealed a contrary relationship between hand‐wing index, body size, and scale of effect, though the strength of this relationship was contingent on migratory status. Temporal variation in scales of effect was best explained by changes in human development over time, indicating that avian space use can be explained by an increasing human footprint. Additionally, relative population size, consistent with theoretical predictions stemming from density‐dependent population dynamics, explained notable variation in spatial and temporal scales of effect. These findings contribute to the growing landscape ecology literature by providing empirical evidence for hypothesized drivers of scales of effect. By delineating species‐specific scales of effect and elucidating their ecological drivers, this study enhances our understanding of spatial and temporal scales in ecological processes, aiding conservation efforts in a rapidly changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Field Ornithology is the property of Resilience Alliance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Higher efficiency in large-scale and long-term biodiversity monitoring can be obtained through the use of Essential Biodiversity Variables, among which species population sizes provide key data for conservation programs. Relevant estimations and assessment of actual population sizes are critical for species conservation, especially in the current context of global biodiversity erosion. However, knowledge on population size varies greatly, depending on species conservation status and ranges. While the most threatened or restricted-range species generally benefit from exhaustive counts and surveys, monitoring common and widespread species population size tends to be neglected or is simply more challenging to achieve. In such a context, citizen science (CS) is a powerful tool for the long-term monitoring of common species through the engagement of various volunteers, permitting data acquisition on the long term and over large spatial scales. Despite this substantially increased sampling effort, detectability issues imply that even common species may remain unnoticed at suitable sites. The use of structured CS schemes, including repeated visits, enables to model the detection process, permitting reliable inferences of population size estimates. Here, we relied on a large French structured CS scheme (EPOC-ODF) comprising 27,156 complete checklists over 3,873 sites collected during the 2021–2023 breeding seasons to estimate the population size of 63 common bird species using hierarchical distance sampling (HDS). These population size estimates were compared to the previous expert-based French breeding bird atlas estimations, which did not account for detectability issues. We found that population size estimates from the former French breeding bird atlas were lower than those estimated using HDS for 65% of species. Such a prevalence of lower estimations is likely due to more conservative estimates inferred from semi-quantitative expert-based assessments used for the previous atlas. We also found that species with long-range songs such as the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) or the Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) had, in contrast, higher estimated population sizes in the previous atlas than in our HDS models. Our study highlights the need to rely on sound statistical methodology to ensure reliable ecological inferences with adequate uncertainty estimation and advocates for a higher reliance on structured CS in support of long-term biodiversity monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The very large demand for songbirds in Indonesia undermines the efforts of the Government of Indonesia to regulate and control harvest and trade. As more species become increasingly rare, new species are sought after and included in the trade to supply demand from hobbyists, traders and songbird competition participants. One such group of species is the butcherbirds. Four species of butcherbirds are native to Indonesia and prior to 2016 these birds were hardly found in trade. Since then, the trade has grown rapidly and during 57 surveys of bird markets in 12 cities on Java, Bali and Lombok, we recorded 235 butcherbirds. We found 43 advertisements online offering butcherbirds for sale. The highest numbers were recorded in the easternmost cities we surveyed (Mataram, 11.5 birds/survey; Denpasar 9.0 birds/survey) and we recorded higher numbers of butcherbirds for sale nearer to their natural distribution range. Compared to other species, butcherbirds command high prices (hooded butcherbird: US$185; black butcherbird: US$122). Despite the authorities attempting to regulate the exploitation of butcherbirds with annual harvest and trade quotas (set at zero for 2022), the trade evidently is challenging to control and may pose a threat to the conservation of these species in the wild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring trends in wildlife communities is integral to making informed land management decisions and applying conservation strategies. Birds inhabit most niches in every environment and because of this they are widely accepted as an indicator species for environmental health. Traditionally, point counts are the common method to survey bird populations, however, passive acoustic monitoring approaches using autonomous recording units have been shown to be cost-effective alternatives to point count surveys. Advancements in automatic acoustic classification technologies, such as BirdNET, can aid in these efforts by quickly processing large volumes of acoustic recordings to identify bird species. While the utility of BirdNET has been demonstrated in several applications, there is little understanding of its effectiveness in surveying declining grassland birds. We conducted a study to evaluate the performance of BirdNET to survey grassland bird communities in Nebraska by comparing this automated approach to point count surveys. We deployed ten autonomous recording units from March through September 2022: five recorders in row-crop fields and five recorders in perennial grassland fields. During this study period, we visited each site three times to conduct point count surveys. We compared focal grassland bird species richness between point count surveys and the autonomous recording units at two different temporal scales and at six different confidence thresholds. Total species richness (focal and non-focal) for both methods was also compared at five different confidence thresholds using species accumulation curves. The results from this study demonstrate the usefulness of BirdNET at estimating long-term grassland bird species richness at default confidence scores, however, obtaining accurate abundance estimates for uncommon bird species may require validation with traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the city of Temuco, Chile, the importance of urban wetlands has been recognized with the legal declaration of two key ecosystems: Humedal Vegas de Chivilcán and Humedales de Antumalén. This paper presents an inventory of birds in these wetlands, following the Darwin Core standard, and compares the results with other selected inventories in Chile. Observations were made using point counts and 21-hour transects. A total of 50 species from 26 families and 15 orders were identified, with a predominance of native species. Fourteen species were found in both wetlands, 20 exclusively in Chivilcán and 15 in Antumalén. Comparison with other studies revealed significant differences in bird composition between urban and peri-urban habitats, illustrating that urban habitats maintain a unique diversity distinct from that of peri-urban areas. The diversity of habitats and the 'least concern' status of most species highlight the importance of these wetlands as refuges for avian biodiversity. The structure of the Darwin Core database facilitates their integration with other biodiversity systems, highlighting the need for continued conservation and study of these urban ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of surveys of breeding birds varies due to multiple factors, with the primary being imperfect detection, which is particularly severe for elusive species. For example, the territory mapping method requires surveying an area multiple times a season to compensate for missing individuals during single surveys. Novel methods require much less effort in the field and include estimation of both detection probability and abundance corrected for individuals that went undetected. The aim of this study was to check if point counts and model-based results provide estimates similar to the ones from the territory mapping method. We studied the abundance of two forest birds—Goldcrest Regulus regulus and Firecrest R. ignicapilla—on three permanent census plots in the Białowieża Forest (E Poland). We compared abundance estimates resulting from the territory mapping method in its 'standard' (~ 10 visits) and intensive (~ 20 visits) approaches. We also performed point counts at the same plots using distance sampling methodology and hierarchical models in an attempt to get unbiased estimates by correcting for imperfect detection. We found that the standard territory mapping method produces much lower abundances than model-based estimates, which was particularly evident for the more numerous Firecrest. At the same time, results from point counts were more consistent with numbers from the intensive territory mapping. Our findings suggest that applying point counts and distance sampling models meet modern standards by considering various effects in abundance, availability and detection processes along with providing uncertainty of their estimates. We assume that our results might be applicable to other elusive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild vertebrates usually avoid ground disturbed by humans with uncertain effects on their distribution and density. We report on a natural experiment that confirms and extends previous conclusions about how the local distribution of capercaillie is affected by track‐based disturbance. We surveyed the birds' droppings in two periods, before and after a predicted increase in disturbance adjacent to an expanding Scottish village, and model the probability of finding droppings in relation to period plus two disturbance gradients – distance to a much disturbed 'entry zone' with a high density of tracks lying adjacent to the village, plus distance to the nearest track. Throughout the study, no droppings were found within the entry zone and their density was depressed up to 400 m from it. Density of droppings was also depressed within 100–120 m of tracks but, compared to a notional scenario without tracks, was threefold greater on ground 120–250 m from tracks. Although the number of cocks counted at the lek in spring showed a small increase, there was an almost threefold decline in the probability of finding capercaillie droppings on and within about 40 m of tracks. We infer that, after the development, birds were less likely to use or cross tracks in pursuit of their daily living requirements, with unknown consequences for their population dynamics and vital rates. Our results have implications for refuge design. Birds on roughly half of a 50 ha refuge should be undisturbed by direct effects of track‐based activities. However, birds shifting away from tracks may themselves cause local increases in density and associated, indirect disturbance such that a refuge would need to be over 300 ha to keep half of it undisturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Masani barrage act as wintering spot for wide range of migratory as well as residential avian species. Their population estimation is to comprehend group dynamics, niche relationships, habitat preferences, and other behavioral features. An ornithological survey was conducted at Masani barrage, district Rewari, Haryana from April 2022 to March 2023 with the help of scan sampling and point count methodology. A total of 150 bird species belonging to 18 orders and 49 families were recorded, among which 94 species were resident; 47 species were winter migrant and 9 species were summer migrant of the observed feeding guilds, Carnivores were the highly dominated followed by Insectivores (41 species), Omnivores (36 species), Herbivores (9 species) and others. Species such as Ferruginous Pochard, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Asian woollyneck, Painted stork, Black-necked Stork, Rufous-vented Grass-babbler, Black-headed Ibis, Lesser Flamingo, Oriental Darter and Alexandrine parakeet fall under near-threatened (NT) category of IUCN Conservation status. Data collected from avifaunal species at the barrage can be utilized as a baseline for analyzing future perspectives and developing appropriate management plans for protection and long-term use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ibis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) causes substantial economic losses globally. Different aMPV subtypes circulate in various regions, with subtypes A and B prevalent in the Old World and aMPV-C in North America. Recently, aMPV-A and aMPV-B have been detected in the U.S., raising questions about their introduction pathways. This study used phylodynamic and phylogeographic analyses of the G protein sequences to investigate potential importation routes. Findings suggest that aMPV-B in the U.S. likely originated from Eastern Asian strains related to European ones, with wild bird migration through the Beringian crucible being a probable pathway, similarly to avian influenza. aMPV-A appears to have Mexican origins, with strains related to Asian ones, pointing again to wild bird migration rather than trade or illegal importation. Given the limited information on wild birds' role in aMPV spread and the significant impact on the poultry industry, further wild bird surveys are recommended. Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) has been identified as an important cause of respiratory and reproductive disease, leading to significant productive losses worldwide. Different subtypes have been found to circulate in different regions, with aMPV-A and B posing a significant burden especially in the Old World, and aMPV-C in North America, albeit with limited exceptions of marginal economic relevance. Recently, both aMPV-A and aMPV-B have been reported in the U.S.; however, the route of introduction has not been investigated. In the present study, the potential importation pathways have been studied through phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses based on a broad collection of partial attachment (G) protein sequences collected worldwide. aMPV-B circulating in the U.S. seems the descendant of Eastern Asian strains, which, in turn, are related to European ones. A likely introduction pathway mediated by wild bird migration through the Beringian crucible, where the East Asian and Pacific American flight paths intersect, appears likely and was previously reported for avian influenza. aMPV-A, on the other hand, showed a Mexican origin, involving strains related to Asian ones. Given the low likelihood of trade or illegal importation, the role of wild birds appears probable also in this case, since the region is covered by different flight paths directed in a North–South direction through America. Since the information on the role of wild birds in aMPV epidemiology is still scarce and scattered, considering the significant practical implications for the poultry industry demonstrated by recent U.S. outbreaks, further surveys on wild birds are encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Raising awareness of nature conservation is important; therefore, bird identification is a key skill for everyone, especially young students. This study investigated how well Michigan high school students could identify common bird species. Students were asked to identify 21 different birds in an online survey. On average, students identified 35% of the birds correctly. The most commonly recognized birds were the American Robin, Blue Jay, Cardinal and Turkey Vulture. We found no difference in bird knowledge between boys and girls, but older students tended to score lower. Students who were more interested in birds and those who took part in activities such as field trips had better identification skills. Birds that were seen more frequently throughout the year, larger birds and those with a strong presence on the internet were better known. We suggest that similar studies be carried out in other states and encourage educators to use birdwatching trips to enhance learning and awareness about birds. This knowledge can play an important role in engaging the public in efforts to conserve bird species and biodiversity. Bird identification is a necessary skill for citizen science projects, and teaching and learning about species is essential to halt the decline in biodiversity. Here, we investigated bird species knowledge in a case study of Michigan high school students using an online survey. Participants were asked to identify 21 common species, covering a wide range of orders and families. On average, high school students achieved a correct identification score of 35%. The most well-known species were the American Robin, Blue Jay, Cardinal and Turkey Vulture. We found no difference between boys and girls, but identification scores declined with increasing age. Interest was an important predictor of identification knowledge, as were activities (field trips, outings) both in and out of class. Among species traits, high knowledge of a species was positively related to the number of eBird entries (as a proxy for year-round population size), body mass (heavier species were better known) and internet presence. We suggest expanding this study to other states, and we encourage educators and teachers to improve bird knowledge through birding field trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bird feeding by people is one of the most popular human-wildlife interactions globally. Urban ecology studies generally recognize that cities offer a more favourable habitat for many wintering birds compared to natural areas, primarily due to the increased availability of the winter food sources provided by people. However, actual field surveys about the residents' bird feeding activity are rare. Here we surveyed bird feeders during the winter of 2021–2022 at 5-5 locations in two cities in Hungary. We recorded the number and type of bird feeders, the type of food offered, the number of bird species and individuals visiting the feeders. The density of feeders was higher in Veszprém, a middle-sized city (range: 60.1–206.1 bird feeders/km2) compared to Budapest, the capital city of Hungary (23.3–83.0 bird feeders/km2). The most frequent food types were fat balls, seed mix, and sunflower seeds in both cities. We registered a total of 516 individuals of 24 species on the feeders, and found that the type of the feeder, but not the city, significantly affected both the number of individuals and species visiting bird feeders. These results help to get a more complete picture of how the winter food supplies of birds are shaped by urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ranges of many raptor populations are changing, presumably in response to direct and indirect anthropogenic effects on their habitats. Anecdotal evidence suggests shifts in the distributions of Crested Caracaras (Caracara plancus; hereafter caracaras) over time across their range in the United States (USA), yet formal analysis is lacking. Here we used 30 yr of National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count and US Geological Survey Breeding Bird Survey data partitioned into ten consecutive 3-yr time periods to assess range shifts and expansions for caracara populations in Arizona, Texas, and Florida, USA, from 1992 through 2021. Data were insufficient to evaluate the Arizona population. In contrast, observations of caracaras increased over time in Texas where the range centroid moved 72.6 km north-northeast with the population expanding into Louisiana. Observations of caracaras also increased over time in Florida, where the range centroid moved 34.3 km southwest. We suggest five competing nonexclusive hypotheses for these changes: (1) temperature increases due to climate change may have allowed expanded breeding in North America of this primarily South American species, (2) increased abundance and use of anthropogenic nesting substrates may have allowed caracara populations to expand, (3) increased foraging opportunities associated with anthropogenic landscape changes may have released otherwise constrained caracara populations, (4) reduced persecution may have allowed this behaviorally plastic species to coexist in proximity to human populations, and (5) habitat saturation may have forced increased dispersal. Future research is needed to evaluate and compare these hypotheses. Las áreas de distribución de muchas poblaciones de rapaces están cambiando, presumiblemente en respuesta a los efectos antropogénicos directos e indirectos en sus hábitats. La evidencia anecdótica sugiere cambios en las distribuciones de Caracara plancus a lo largo del tiempo en su área de distribución en los Estados Unidos (EEUU), aunque falta un análisis formal. En este estudio utilizamos 30 años de datos del Conteo Nacional de Aves de Navidad de la Sociedad Audubon y del Censo de Aves Reproductoras del Servicio Geológico de EEUU, divididos en diez periodos consecutivos de 3 años, para evaluar cambios y expansiones en el rango poblacional de C. plancus en Arizona, Texas y Florida, EEUU, desde 1992 hasta 2021. Los datos fueron insuficientes para evaluar la población de Arizona. En cambio, las observaciones de C. plancus aumentaron con el tiempo en Texas, donde el centroide del área de distribución se desplazó 72,6 km al norte-noreste y la población se expandió hacia Luisiana. Las observaciones de C. plancus también aumentaron con el tiempo en Florida, donde el centroide del área de distribución se desplazó 34,3 km al suroeste. Sugerimos cinco hipótesis alternativas no excluyentes para estos cambios: (1) los aumentos de temperatura debido al cambio climático podrían haber permitido una expansión reproductiva en América del Norte de esta especie principalmente sudamericana, (2) el aumento en la abundancia y en el uso de sustratos de anidación antropogénicos podría haber permitido la expansión de las poblaciones de C. plancus, (3) las mayores oportunidades de alimentación asociadas con cambios en el paisaje antropogénico podrían haber liberado a las poblaciones de C. plancus que de otra manera estarían limitadas, (4) la reducción de la persecución podría haber permitido que esta especie de comportamiento adaptable coexista en proximidad a las poblaciones humanas, y (5) la saturación del hábitat podría haber forzado una mayor dispersión. Se necesitan investigaciones futuras para evaluar y comparar estas hipótesis. [Traducción del equipo editorial] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation holds significant merit due to its execution within a region characterized by depauperate avifaunal assemblages in the Western Desert of Egypt. Notably, the study highlights the presence of wild bird populations within petroleum industry worker camps situated in the Marsa Matrouh Governorate. The results show that the bird community recorded in the study area was rich in bird species and numerous (8425 individuals), these birds belonged to 16 species, grouped in 16 families and 6 orders. The dominant bird species were western yellow wagtail, house sparrow, rock pigeon, hooded crow, red-backed shrike and Eurasian collared dove. The highest number of bird species was recorded during autumn and then winter season according to the existence of migratory bird species, while the lowest was recorded during spring due to the return of migratory species and bird dispersal for nesting. The bird's members for the order Passeriformes were the most existence than other different orders according to its global distribution, followed by the order Columbiformes in the second rank, then Pterocliformes, Ciconiiformes, Bucerotiformes and finally Falconiformes. Autumn season led the other seasons with its highest value for bird richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index, followed by winter for species richness and spring for Shannon-Wiener diversity index. Spring recorded the lowest value of species richness and summer recorded the lowest value for both Shannon-Wiener diversity index & species evenness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Species respond dynamically to climate change and exhibit time lags. Consequently, species may not occupy their full climatic niche during range shifting. Here, we assessed climate niche tracking during recent range shifts of European and United States (US) birds. Using data from two European bird atlases and from the North American Breeding Bird Survey between the 1980s and 2010s, we analysed range overlap and climate niche overlap based on kernel density estimation. Phylogenetic multiple regression was used to assess the effect of species morphological, ecological and biogeographic traits on range and niche metrics. European birds shifted their ranges north and north-eastwards, US birds westwards. Range unfilling was lower than expected by null models, and niche expansion was more common than niche unfilling. Also, climate niche tracking was generally lower in US birds and poorly explained by species traits. Overall, our results suggest that dispersal limitations were minor in range shifting birds in Europe and the USA while delayed extinctions from unfavourable areas seem more important. Regional differences could be related to differences in land use history and monitoring schemes. Comparative analyses of range and niche shifts provide a useful screening approach for identifying the importance of transient dynamics and time-lagged responses to climate change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation decisions for bird diversity in the Afrotropics are often based on ecological studies utilizing diurnal bird species likely owing to difficulties associated with sampling nocturnal birds. It is therefore important to compare the sampling effectiveness of some of the available techniques that can be used in nocturnal bird surveys to guide future long‐term survey efforts. Thus, we compared the sampling effectiveness of point count, acoustic recorder and camera trap for estimating nocturnal bird species richness and also across habitat types. We surveyed 20 points that were spaced at least 500 m apart in November and December 2021 in the Amurum Forest Reserve and its surroundings in Jos‐Nigeria. At each point, we used two camera traps, one at the ground and the other at 2.0 m. We also used one acoustic recorder as well as a 15‐min point count during each survey at each point. We encountered 11 nocturnal bird species, primarily nightjars but also owls. While we did not encounter any species with the camera traps, all 11 species were recorded using the acoustic recorder. All species except for Ketupa lacteaus were recorded in point count. Eight species were recorded in the gallery, seven in rocky and nine in savannah. Species richness and estimation using the acoustic recorder and point count were similar across habitat types. We conclude that either point count or acoustic recorders are useful for nocturnal bird surveys in Afrotropical environments. However, the choice of methods should be based on the research questions as some questions may be better answered by a specific method or even a combination of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the Arctic becomes increasingly accessible to the resource extraction industry, an understanding of the impacts of infrastructure and anthropogenic disturbance on tundra-nesting avian populations is critical. We conducted breeding bird surveys using point counts and Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) rapid surveys at the Hope Bay Project, an underground gold mine in Nunavut, Canada, from 2007 to 2015. We examined the relationship between abundance of total birds, songbirds, and shorebirds with distance from infrastructure, anthropogenic disturbance (i.e., activity at the mine site), and environmental covariates. Contrary to our predictions, anthropogenic disturbance showed no significant effect on bird abundance for either survey type or bird grouping. However, total bird abundance was associated with distance from infrastructure for both survey methods. A relationship with distance to infrastructure, with variability in influence, was also present for songbird point count data and shorebird PRISM data, but was not significant for songbirds recorded during PRISM surveys. Habitat type played a vital role in determining avian abundance, with PRISM surveys showing that wet lowland ecotypes supported higher bird numbers, whereas point count data revealed a more nuanced habitat association, likely reflecting the specific habitat preferences of different songbirds. Our study highlights the need for strategic planning of industrial development, incorporating comprehensive monitoring and ensuring the protection of preferred Arctic-breeding bird habitats. By aligning development projects with environmental objectives, we can ensure the coexistence of industrial interests and the future of avian populations in the Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear infrastructure networks, including railways, are undergoing rapid development in order to connect distant urban areas. Particularly, High-Speed Railways are increasingly seen as a viable alternative to domestic flights in many countries. However, this development of linear infrastructures is known to affect the surrounding faunal communities due to the changes in the landscape and operation of said linear infrastructures. Both positive and negative effects of linear infrastructures on adjacent faunal communities have been reported. In this study, we determined the influence of the High-Speed Railway infrastructure on the bird community that surrounds it. Birds were surveyed by using both linear transect and direct counting methods, both in the area directly adjacent to the railway infrastructure and 500m away from it in a period of two years of surveys. A total of 16114 individuals belonging to 71 species were recorded. The presence of the High-Speed Railway caused species-specific changes in the bird communities that surround it, causing the attraction of some species and the rejection of others. Furthermore, we show that the presence of the infrastructure altered the natural species turnover as the landscape changes by attracting the same bird species regardless of changes in the landscape, and filtering out others. We propose that further work in mitigation and development plans should focus on species-specific measures to assess the risk bird communities are exposed to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the vertebrate remains found in a Holocene deposit inside the Taiti Cave, Socotra Island (Yemen). The fossils were found in a sand dune occupying almost entirely the main cavity of the Cave, with some bones collected on the surface and the majority of them found under its surface, in particular below a tiny level of hardened sand, the latter probably related to a guano deposit. They were mostly isolated bones, but under the guano layer, some of them were aggregated and recognizable as belonging to owl pellets. The analysis of the vertebrate remains reveals a great prey diversity and, together with the location of the pellet accumulation and the almost perfect preservation of the remains, indicates that the deposit derived from a pellet accumulation made by Tyto alba. This hypothesis is corroborated by a Tyto alba beak fragment found in the Hoq cave, in a deposit of uncertain stratigraphic context. The data presented herein represent the first documented evidence of the presence of Tyto alba on Socotra Island and indicate the probable existence of a now extinct population of Tyto alba on the island during the Holocene, already extinct at the time of the first ornithological surveys during the XIX Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pi leated Woodpeckers (Din, ocopus pileatus). Summer Tanagers (Piranga rubra). and Northern Parulas (Setophaga americalia) are considered interior-forest specialists not typically breeding in fragmented areas such as urban/suburban sites. In this study. our objectives were to determine 1) whether these species were consistently present in Gainesville. FL residential areas throughout the breeding season and 2) which vegetative features had the most explanatory power over the occurrence of these species. We conducted line-transect bird surveys and assessed habitat characteristics at 5-. 100-. 200: and 500-in scales. The three species occurred throughout the season and u·ere most often detected in the 5 m areas with dense understory vegetation. At the 100- and 200-m scales. Pileated Woodpecker and Summer Tanager occurrences decreased with increasing distance to small woodlots. Northern Parulas' abundance is directly correlated with the prevalence of oaks along transects. Despite previous studies finding these species as interior-forest specialists. we found that these three species utilized habitat during the breeding season in the Gainesville neighborhoods and could benefit from the retention of urban woodlots. trees. and understory vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proportion variables, also known as compositional data, are very common in ecology. Unfortunately, few scientists are aware of how compositional data, when used as covariates, can adversely impact statistical analysis. We describe here how proportion covariates result in multicollinearity and parameter identifiability problems. Using simulated data on bird species richness as a function of land use, we show how these problems manifest when fitting a wide range of models in R, both in a frequentist and Bayesian framework. In particular, we show that similar models can often generate substantially different parameter estimates, leading to very different conclusions. Dropping a covariate or the intercept from the model can solve the multicollinearity and parameter identifiability problems. Unfortunately, these solutions do not fix the inherent challenges associated with interpreting parameter estimates. To this end, we propose focusing the interpretation on the difference of slope parameters to avoid the inherent unidentifiability of individual parameters. We also propose conditional plots with two x‐axes and marginal plots as visualization techniques that can help users better interpret their modeling results. We illustrate these problems and proposed solutions using empirical data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The practical and straightforward approaches suggested in this article will help the fitting of linear models and interpretation of its results when some of the covariates are proportions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic transect surveys of marine birds in eastern Queen Charlotte Strait and the western part of Johnstone Strait, British Columbia, Canada, were made between mid-August and mid-October 2020-2022. All birds within 100-m transect strips were counted and numbers corrected for detectability. Extrapolating within five regions of differing ecological characteristics and seabird densities, our results indicate that the study area supported 1% or more of the North American populations of Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba, Marbled Murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus, California Gull Larus californicus, Glaucous-winged Gull L. glaucescens, Iceland Gull L. glaucoides, and Short-billed Gull L. brachyrhynchos. Our estimation of gull species in our study area would have been even higher if gulls in flight had been included in our survey. Furthermore, maximum estimates of Common Murre Uria aalge exceed the total population breeding in British Columbia. Only Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, and Glaucous-winged Gull breed in Queen Charlotte Strait, and only Marbled Murrelet is considered to be "at risk." However, based on current criteria, it seems that the area would be a prime candidate for nomination as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Key Biodiversity Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Snapshot' surveys conducted over 1 year or less are widely used to describe avian community composition. Maron et al. (Austral Ecology, 2005, 30, 383) questioned the utility of snapshot surveys and the conclusions drawn from them following repeat bird surveys at 26 sites in western Victoria, 7 years after initial surveys. They concluded, 'the distribution of most species did not differ significantly from that expected if species had redistributed at random among sites'. Only five of 54 species recorded in both years had distributions that changed significantly less than expected among sites between the survey periods. We question whether this is the exception rather than the rule for Australian landbird communities in wooded habitats for three reasons: (1) passerine species dominate these communities and tend to remain faithful to a site once a breeding territory has been established; (2) most landbird species are sedentary or migratory, not nomadic; and (3) most Australian passerines are long‐lived, so surveys conducted within decadal timeframes may sample the same individuals. We examined the constancy of bird community composition by conducting repeat surveys at 29 sites in two vegetation types in the Namoi Valley, northern New South Wales, 7 years after the first survey. Bird assemblage composition in our study exhibited high levels of turnover between surveys, but 21 of 62 species present in both survey periods were significantly more likely to be found at the same sites in the second period as the first, and the tendency of most species was of site fidelity. Mantel tests demonstrated that assemblage composition at the same sites was more similar than expected by chance. Moderate levels of site fidelity among species and significant levels of assemblage composition constancy among sites should be the expectation when monitoring Australian landbird communities in wooded habitats over extended timeframes, except in the cases of major landscape transformation and extreme climatic disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast conversion of natural habitats into cities is a worldwide environmental change, negatively affecting ecosystem processes and functioning. Understanding how changes in taxonomic richness and composition are associated with the reduction in functional traits and evolutionary history in different levels of urbanization is important to minimize the impacts of urban landscapes on ecological communities. We investigated the effect of anthropogenic predictors on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of bird communities along the urbanization gradient of a South American city. We surveyed birds and collected data on patch size, isolation, and noise from 43 patches classified as natural (n = 13), suburban (n = 22), and urban (n = 8). We analyzed how anthropogenic factors affect patch diversity (richness) and composition (similarity among patches) in terms of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversities. We found that suburban patches had higher functional richness and that these patches had species and phylogenetic history that are typically present either in urban or natural areas. Further, we found that noise reduced taxonomic and phylogenetic richness, contributing to changes in species composition and diversity loss in highly urbanized patches. Although some species can be highly sensitive to human impacts, suburbs have less intense anthropogenic activities (e.g. traffic) maintaining higher functional diversity and likely ecosystem functioning than urban areas. Our results suggest that cities can protect biodiversity if we reduce urban noise and maintain green areas, as commonly observed in the suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inventory survey of the bird fauna of a small (462 ha) riverine woodland remnant on the Wakool River in the Riverina bioregion in southern inland New South Wales in 2021-2023 recorded 123 species (31 waterbirds and 92 woodland birds) including residents, flood visitors, spring/summer latitudinal migrants and autumn/winter altitudinal migrants. The conservation values of this remnant include habitat value for 22 NSW declining woodland bird species, one waterbird species of conservation concern in NSW, and an additional 9 species (3 woodland birds and 6 waterbirds) of conservation concern in nearby Victoria, as well as landscape connectivity value as part of a major riverine wildlife corridor. Several declining woodland bird species exhibited apparent local preferences for particular vegetation communities, including Gilbert's Whistler Pachycephala inornata (River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis Forest and Mixed Box-Gum Woodland) and Hooded Robin Melanodryas cucullata (Black Box Eucalyptus largiflorens Woodland). This study highlights the complementary value of small remnants for biodiversity conservation in extensively cleared landscapes and the connectivity role of riverine corridors in these landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activities have reshaped biodiversity on islands worldwide. However, it remains unclear how island attributes and land-use change interactively shape multiple facets of island biodiversity through community assembly processes. To answer this, we conducted bird surveys in various land-use types (mainly forest and farmland) using transects on 34 oceanic land-bridge islands in the largest archipelago of China. We found that bird species richness increased with island area and decreased with isolation, regardless of the intensity of land-use change. However, forest-dominated habitats exhibited lower richness than farmland-dominated habitats. Island bird assemblages generally comprised species that share more similar traits or evolutionary histories (i.e. functional and/or phylogenetic clustering) than expected if assemblages were randomly assembled. Contrary to our expectations, we observed that bird assemblages in forest-dominated habitats were more clustered on large and close islands, whereas assemblages in farmland-dominated habitats were more clustered on small islands. These contrasting results indicate that land-use change interacts with island biogeography to alter the community assembly of birds on inhabited islands. Our findings emphasize the importance of incorporating human-modified habitats when examining the community assembly of island biota, and further suggest that agricultural landscapes on large islands may play essential roles in protecting countryside island biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the risk factors of avian influenza (AI) occurrence helps us to monitor and control the disease. Since late 2020, the number of avian influenza outbreaks in domestic and wild birds has increased in most European countries, including Denmark. This study was conducted to identify potential risk factors for wild birds and poultry during the epidemic in 2020/2021 in Denmark. Using Danish AI surveillance data of actively surveyed poultry and passively surveyed wild birds from June 2020 to May 2021, we calculated geographical attributes for bird locations and assessed the potential risk factors of AI detections using logistic regression analyses. 4% of actively surveyed poultry and 39% of passively surveyed wild birds were detected with AI circulating or ongoing at the time. Of these, 10 and 99% tested positive for the H5/H7 AI subtypes, respectively. Our analyses did not find any statistically significant risk factors for actively surveyed poultry within the dataset. For passively surveyed wild birds, bird species belonging to the Anseriformes order had a higher risk of being AI virus positive than five other taxonomic bird orders, and Galliformes were of higher risk than two other taxonomic bird orders. Besides, every 1 km increase in the distance to wetlands was associated with a 5.18% decrease in the risk of being AI positive (OR (odds ratio) 0.95, 95% CI 0.91, 0.99), when all other variables were kept constant. Overall, bird orders and distance to wetlands were associated with the occurrence of AI. The findings may provide targets for surveillance strategies using limited resources and assist in risk-based surveillance during epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private gardens are recognised as potentially important refugia for butterflies. Yet little is known about how gardens might be contributing to butterfly conservation, as their restricted accessibility has meant that garden habitats are not well‐represented in traditional monitoring schemes.Garden BirdWatch (GBW) is the UK's largest structured bird survey, comprising over 25 years of weekly bird counts from more than 14,000 gardens, predominantly occupying suburban and rural locations. Since 2007, a subset of GBW participants have additionally recorded the weekly abundances of butterflies. Using data for 14 seasons (2007–2020) from 7971 gardens with consistent butterfly monitoring, we present the first garden‐specific, national trends for 22 widespread butterfly species (37% of all UK butterflies).Half of the species investigated increased significantly in abundance in gardens between 2007 and 2020. Conversely, only one species, Wall (Lasiommata megera), showed a marginal reduction, though this change was not statistically significant.A strong, positive association between these new, habitat‐focused trends and those for UK butterflies more broadly, previously reported by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS), indicates that patterns of abundance in gardens are largely a reflection of the changes that are occurring nationally. However, butterflies do appear to be faring better in gardens compared to the wider landscape. Averaging trends across non‐migratory species revealed that GBW recorded significantly greater increases over time than UKBMS.Effective monitoring of butterflies in gardens can produce reliable and informative population trends, and it provides important evidence of the significant role gardens play in sustaining butterfly populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Island tameness results largely from a lack of natural predators. Because some insular rattlesnake populations lack functional rattles, presumably the consequence of relaxed selection from reduced predation, we hypothesized that the Santa Catalina Island, California, USA, population of the southern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus helleri, which possesses a functional rattle), would exhibit a decrement in defensive behavior relative to their mainland counterparts. Contrary to our prediction, rattlesnakes from the island not only lacked tameness compared to mainland snakes, but instead exhibited measurably greater levels of defensiveness. Island snakes attempted to bite 4.7 times more frequently as we endeavored to secure them by hand, and required 2.1-fold more time to be pinned and captured. When induced to bite a beaker after being grasped, the island snakes also delivered 2.1-fold greater quantities of venom when controlling for body size. The additional venom resulted from 2.1-fold larger pulses of venom ejected from the fangs. We found no effects of duration in captivity (2–36 months), which suggests an absence of long-term habituation of antipredator behaviors. Breeding bird surveys and Christmas bird counts indicated reduced population densities of avian predators on Catalina compared to the mainland. However, historical estimates confirmed that populations of foxes and introduced mammalian predators (cats and pigs) and antagonists (herbivorous ungulates) substantially exceeded those on the mainland in recent centuries, and therefore best explain the paradoxically exaggerated defensive behaviors exhibited by Catalina's rattlesnakes. These findings augment our understanding of anthropogenic effects on the behaviors of island animals and underscore how these effects can negatively affect human safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species distribution models are vital to management decisions that require understanding habitat use patterns, particularly for species of conservation concern. However, the production of distribution maps for individual species is often hampered by data scarcity, and existing species maps are rarely spatially validated due to limited occurrence data. Furthermore, communitylevel maps based on stacked species distribution models lack important community assemblage information (e.g., competitive exclusion) relevant to conservation. Thus, multispecies, guild, or community models are often used in conservation practice instead. To address these limitations, we aimed to generate fine-scale, spatially continuous, nationwide maps for species represented in the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) between 1992 and 2019. We developed ensemble models for each species at three spatial resolutions--0.5, 2.5, and 5 km--across the conterminous United States. We also compared species richness patterns from stacked single-species models with those of 19 functional guilds developed using the same data to assess the similarity between predictions. We successfully modeled 192 bird species at 5-km resolution, 160 species at 2.5-km resolution, and 80 species at 0.5-km resolution. However, the species we could model represent only 28%-56% of species found in the conterminous US BBSs across resolutions owing to data limitations. We found that stacked maps and guild maps generally had high correlations across resolutions (median = 84%), but spatial agreement varied regionally by resolution and was most pronounced between the East and West at the 5-km resolution. The spatial differences between our stacked maps and guild maps illustrate the importance of spatial validation in conservation planning. Overall, our species maps are useful for single-species conservation and can support fine-scale decision-making across the United States and support community-level conservation when used in tandem with guild maps. However, there remain data scarcity issues for many species of conservation concern when using the BBS for single-species models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revegetation plantings are a key activity in farmland restoration and are commonly assumed to support biotic communities that, with time, replicate those of reference habitats. Restoration outcomes, however, can be highly variable and difficult to predict; hence there is value in quantifying restoration success to improve future efforts. We test the expectation that, over time, revegetation will restore bird communities to match those in reference habitats; and assess whether specific planting attributes enhance restoration success. We surveyed birds in 255 sites in south-east Australia, arranged along a restoration gradient encompassing three habitat types: unrestored farmland (paddocks), revegetation plantings (comprising a chronosequence up to 52 years old) and reference habitats (remnant native vegetation). Surveys were undertaken in 2006/2007 and again in 2019, with data used to compare bird assemblages between habitat types. We also determined whether, in the intervening 12 years, bird communities in revegetation had shifted toward reference habitats on the restoration gradient. Our results showed that each habitat contained a unique bird community and that, over time, assemblages in revegetation diverged away from those in unrestored farmland and converged toward those in reference habitats. Two planting attributes influenced this transition: the bird assemblages of revegetation were more likely to have diverged away from those of unrestored farmland (with scattered mature trees) 12 years later if they were located in areas with more surrounding tree cover, and were mostly ungrazed by livestock (compared with grazed plantings). Our results highlight three key ways in which revegetation contributes to farmland restoration: (1) by supporting richer and more diverse bird assemblages than unrestored farmland, (2) by enhancing beta diversity in rural landscapes through the addition of a unique bird community, and (3) by shifting bird assemblages toward those found in reference habitats over time. However, revegetation plantings did not replicate reference habitats by ~40-50 years in our region, and complete convergence may take centuries. These findings have implications for environmental offset programs and mean that effective conservation in farmland environments depends on the retention and protection of natural and seminatural habitats as a parallel management strategy to complement restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands in arid or semiarid zones are vital for maintaining biodiversity but face growing threats. Flooding regime variability is a key driver of ecological dynamism in these systems, dictating primary productivity on a large spatial scale. The functional composition or diversity of wetland-dependent bird species has been found to be sensitive to fluctuations in hydrological regimes and can thus be indicative of cascading ecosystem responses associated with climate change. In this paper, we investigate whether large-scale changes in inundation and fire--a significant additional biodiversity determinant in (semi-)arid landscapes--are reliable predictors of functional group responses of wetland-dependent birds along a perennial channel of the Okavango Delta, Botswana. We fit generalized additive models (GAMs) to 6 years of bird survey data collected along ~190-km-long annual transects and use remotely sensed landscape-level inundation estimates, as well as spatiotemporal distance to fire, to predict the responsiveness of seven trait-based functional group abundances. During the surveys, a total of 89 different wetland-dependent bird species were recorded, including 76 residents, across all years, with below-surface feeding waders consistently the most abundant functional group. Including estimated spatiotemporal variability in flooding and fire, as well as their interactions, improved model fit for all seven functional groups, explaining between 46.8% and 68.3% of variability in functional group abundances. Covariates representing longer-term variability in inundation generally performed better than shorter-term ones. For example, variability in inundation over the 5 months preceding a survey best predicted the responses of all functional groups, which also all exhibited responsiveness to the interaction between flooding and fire. We were able to interpret the responses of individual functional groups, based on the resource exploitation assumption. Overall, our results suggest that perennial waters in dryland wetlands offer functional refugia to wetland-dependent birds and highlight the indicative power of large-scale traitbased bird monitoring. Our findings demonstrate the potential utility of such a monitoring regime for dryland wetland ecosystems vulnerable to industrial-scale anthropogenic pressure and associated climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of space-for-time substitution assumes that the responses of species or communities to land-use change over space represents how they will respond to that same change over time. Space-for-time substitution is commonly used in both ecology and conservation, but whether the assumption produces reliable insights remains inconclusive. Here, we tested space-for-time substitution using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Global Forest Change (GFC) to compare the effects of landscape-scale forest cover on bird richness and abundance over time and space, for 25 space-time comparisons. Each comparison consisted of a landscape that experienced at least 20% forest loss over 19 years (temporal site) and a set of 15-19 landscapes (spatial sites) that represented the same forest cover gradient over space in 2019 as experienced over time in their corresponding temporal site. Across the 25 comparisons, the observed responses of forest and open-habitat birds to forest cover over time generally aligned with their responses to forest cover over space, but with comparatively higher variability in the magnitude and direction of effect across the 25 temporal slopes than across the 25 spatial slopes. On average, the mean differences between the spatial and temporal slopes across the 25 space-time comparisons frequently overlapped with zero, suggesting that the spatial slopes are generally informative of the temporal slopes. However, we observed high variability around these mean differences, indicating that a single spatial slope is not strongly predictive of its corresponding temporal slope. We suggest that our results may be explained by annual variability in other relevant environmental factors that combine to produce complex effects on population abundances over time that are not easily captured by snapshots in space. While not being a 1:1 proxy, measuring bird responses to changes in habitat amount in space provides an idea on how birds might be expected to eventually equilibrate to similar changes in habitat amount over time. Further, analyses such as this could be potentially used to screen for cases of regional space-time mismatches where population-limiting factors other than habitat could be playing a more important role in the population trends observed there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastal wetlands of northern Chilean Patagonia are relevant sites for the conservation of migratory waterbirds. The aim of this paper is to compare different marine coastal wetlands to identify which factors influence the structure of bird assemblages. Sediment samples were collected, and the birds were surveyed in four wetlands: Chullec, Curaco de Vélez and Quinchao on Quinchao Island, and Putemún on Chiloé Island in 4 seasonal sampling campaigns. The composition of the sediment did not change during the year, with a predominance of sandy sediments except in Putemún where gravel dominates. The size of the sediment particle decreased from the upper (0 to 30 m) to the lower (100 m) intertidal. The abundances of benthic organisms varied between intertidal levels in all wetlands and seasonally in Chullec and Curaco de Vélez, being lower during warm seasons. Thirty-four species of birds were recorded with Anatidae, Laridae and Scolopacidae showing the highest species richness. A principal component analysis clustered the wetlands of Quinchao Island and the variables that account for 35.8% of the variance are sandy sediments, the presence of Scolopacidae, Laridae, Furnariidae and Haematopodidae among birds and Polychaeta, Malacostraca and Enopla in the benthos. In the wetlands of Quinchao Island there was a relationship between the composition of the sediment, distribution, and type of benthic communities with the presence of some bird taxa. The bird assemblages change seasonally and were similar to each other during warm seasons, probably due to the availability of food for migratory birds and sediment characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas (PAs) in Terai-Arc landscape are relatively poorly explored as far as bird communities are concerned. Here we report a checklist and significant records of birds recorded during opportunistic observations and systematic bird surveys in four PAs: Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (2001-2004, 2006, 2008, and 2015); Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (2014-15); Valmiki Tiger Reserve (2014-17), and Udaipur Wildlife Sanctuary (2018). We have compiled a checklist of 424 species that includes 358 species in the Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, 306 species in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, 236 species in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, and 128 species in Udaipur Wildlife Sanctuary. Most species belong to the Insectivore guild (190 species, 44.8%), while the nectivorous guild was the least represented (10 species, 2.35%). A total of 9% of species in the region were either globally threatened (6 Critically Endangered, 5 Endangered, and 8 Vulnerable) or Near Threatened (19 species). Sightings of species of conservation importance have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]