Urban Bird Diversity as an Indicator of Human Social Diversity and Economic Inequality in Vancouver , British Columbia (original) (raw)
Related papers
Environmental and socio‐economic factors related to urban bird communities
2012
Urban fauna communities may be strongly influenced by environmental and socio-economic factors, but the relative importance of these factors is poorly known. Most research on urban fauna has been conducted in large cities and it is unclear if the patterns found in these locations coincide with those from smaller human settlements. We examined the relative importance of environmental and socio-economic factors in explaining variation in urban bird communities across 72 neighbourhoods in 18 regional towns in south-eastern Australia. Native bird species richness varied from 6 to 32 across neighbourhoods and was higher in neighbourhoods with more nectar-rich plants. Variation in bird species diversity across neighbourhoods was also strongly positively related to the density of nectar-rich plants, but was higher also in neighbourhoods with higher socio-economic status (reflecting higher levels of disposal income, education and home ownership). The density of native birds across neighbourhoods per season varied from 1 to 15 birds per hectare and was lower in neighbourhoods with a greater cover of impervious surfaces. The density of exotic birds (introduced to Australia) per season also varied across neighbourhoods (0-13 birds per hectare) and was lower in neighbourhoods with more nectar-rich plants and higher in neighbourhoods with greater impervious surface cover. Our results demonstrated that the vegetation characteristics of household gardens, along streetscapes and in urban parklands had a strong influence on the richness and diversity of urban bird communities.The density of native and exotic birds varied primarily in response to changes in the built environment (measured through impervious surface cover). Socio-economic factors had relatively little direct influence on urban birds, but neighbourhood socio-economics may influence bird communities indirectly through the positive relationship between socio-economic status and vegetation cover recorded in our study area.
As our world becomes increasingly urbanized, cities are often where we come into contact with the natural world— not just in parks and urban nature preserves, but in more familiar places like residential yards. We conducted bird surveys and social surveys in Chicago-area residential landscapes near forest preserves (primarily in middle- and highincome areas) to examine residents’ perceptions of the birds that co-inhabit their neighborhoods and the relationship of those perceptions with characteristics of the bird community. We found that residents value many aspects of neighborhood birds, especially those related to aesthetics and birds’ place in the ecosystem. Our results indicate that while birds were generally well liked and annoyances were minor, several common and visible urban species, such as the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), and Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), may attract attention for their negative qualities, such as their sounds and effects on personal property. The results also indicate that residents’ valuations of ecosystem services are linked to their perceptions of bird species richness rather than the actual species richness, and people may perceive only a subset of the birds in their neighborhoods. Although birds provide many important ecosystem services, perhaps one of their most importa
Urban Birds related to habitat, population density, and socioeconomics in Cambridge
2019
Analyses of breeding birds at 31 locations in Cambridge MA revealed significant associations between the numbers of resident and migrant species and individuals and tree canopy cover, impervious surface cover, the ratio of canopy to impervious surface, and human population density. No significant correlations occurred between income or poverty and bird diversity, likely due to the compact, densified nature of Cambridge. Five wooded areas in the western part of the city had the majority of bird species. Most sites were dominated by a few common species, especially House Sparrows (Passer domesticus, >50% individuals). Mature residential areas and forested urban areas are of great importance to urban bird diversity, and continuous monitoring is necessary to mitigate the negative impacts of lot and block scale urban development on birds. Despite high bird diversity in key areas and well-distributed recreational open space in Cambridge, the potential daily exposure of the bulk of Camb...
Conservation Ecology, 2003
For birds in urban environments, the configuration of local habitat within the landscape may be as critical as the composition of the local habitat itself. We examined the relative importance of environmental attributes (e.g., tree cover, composition, and number of tree species) measured at different spatial scales in relation to urban bird species richness and abundance. We expected that some bird species and nesting guilds would have a closer association with landscape-level features (within 1000 m), such as proximity to large forested areas, than with local-scale habitat measures (within 50 m). To investigate this, avian community data were collected at 285 point-count stations in 1997 and 1998 along four roadside transects located in Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Transects (5-25 km in length) bisected three large parks (>324 ha) and proceeded along residential streets in urban and suburban areas. In total, 48 bird species were observed, including 25 common species. Species richness declined in relation to a gradient of increasing urbanization, as measured by local-and landscape-level habitat features. We further examined the significance and importance of local-vs. landscapelevel habitat attributes using logistic regression and found that both scales explained the presence/absence distributions of residential birds. Local-scale habitat features such as large coniferous trees, berry-producing shrubs, and freshwater streams were of particular importance in estimating the likelihood of finding bird species. Landscape measures, particularly forest cover (within 500 m) and park area (measured at different scales as a function of distance from point-count stations) significantly improved likelihood estimations based solely on local-scale habitat features. Our results suggest that both local-and landscape-scale resources were important in determining the distribution of birds in urban areas. Parks, reserves, and the surrounding residential areas should be integrated into urban planning and development designs to maintain resident avifauna and overall species diversity in urban environments.
Ornithological Applications
The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) was a U.S. government-sponsored program initiated in the 1930s to evaluate mortgage lending risk. The program resulted in hand-drawn “security risk” maps intended to grade sections of cities where investment should be focused (greenlined areas) or limited (redlined zones). The security maps have since been widely criticized as being inherently racist and have been associated with high levels of segregation and lower levels of green amenities in cities across the country. Our goal was to explore the potential legacy effects of the HOLC grading practice on birds, their habitat, and the people who may experience them throughout a metropolis where the security risk maps were widely applied, Greater Los Angeles, California (L.A.). We used ground-collected, remotely sensed, and census data and descriptive and predictive modeling approaches to address our goal. Patterns of bird habitat and avian communities strongly aligned with the luxury-effect ph...
Summary Urban areas provide important resources for wildlife, but little is known about how the characteristics of urban households influence habitat quality, or how changes to urban residential areas will affect species occurrence. We aim to assess a number of factors that may contribute to the quality of urban habitats for the house sparrow, an urban specialist. This species currently has a very patchy distribution in many UK urban areas, and this has been linked to the incidence of socioeconomic deprivation in the human population.
Birds from the burgh: bird diversity and its relation with urban traits in a small town
Journal of Urban Ecology
The global tendency towards urbanisation results in habitat transformation, and even replacement, for many species. However, properly managed, urbanised areas can contribute in promoting biodiversity conservation. Urban planning and management for biodiverse cities can use information on the ecological relationships that occur within its limits to meet their goals. Most studies on the topic have been carried out in large cities, but we know much less about the ecology of smaller cities and towns. In this study, we assessed bird species diversity and density within St Andrews, a small town in Scotland's Southeast coast, and explored relationships between urban and geographical traits, and bird diversity. We recorded 29 bird species, 5 of which (i.e. Common Wood-pigeon, Columba palumbus; House Sparrow, Passer domesticus; European Robin, Erithacus rubecula; European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus and Blackbird, Turdus merula) composed more than half of the total bird records. Elevation, number of passing pedestrians and distance to the nearest coastal border were the variables that best explained variation in bird species richness. According to our estimate, there were over 11 000 bird individuals within the town in the surveyed space and time, i.e. 26.2 birds per hectare or 0.7 per person. This information could be useful for future environmental policies design to make urbanised environments more hospitable for the biota, so we can promote biodiverse environments. It can also help connect people with nature and facilitate positive human-avian interactions.
Bird community responses along urban–rural gradients: Does the size of the urbanized area matter?
Landscape and Urban Planning, 2009
Human settlements have a strong influence on bird communities. To explore the size effect of the urbanized area in avian community structure, we examined changes in species richness, composition and abundance along urban-rural gradients of different extensions. We measured land-cover variables and surveyed birds along nine urban-rural gradients in the Pampean region of Argentina. In towns over 7000 inh, increasing constructed area was negatively related to species richness. In towns over 13 000 inh, the abundance of native species decreased towards the urban core whereas total abundance increased, decreased or remained constant depending on town characteristics. In villages (<2000 inh), small (2000-14000 inh) and large towns (>60000 inh), there was a constant representation of the rural community composition along gradients. In towns of intermediate sizes (>14 000-60 000 inh), species composition was more similar to that from the rural zone as this zone was approached. Similarity between both urban-core and peripheral points and the rural zone decreased with increasing gradient extension. It appears to be a size threshold for community sensitivity to urbanization below which the impact on community attributes is insignificant; increasing urbanization above the threshold level had pronounced effects on bird assemblages. Research approaches separating responses of native and exotic species to urbanization enhance our understanding to favor native birds and quality of urban bird communities. The size of the urbanized area is a key factor in policies designed to improve ecosystem health and human interactions with nature.