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"Introduced birds."
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Supplementary feeding restructures urban bird communities
Food availability is a primary driver of avian population regulation. However, few studies have considered the effects of what is essentially a massive supplementary feeding experiment: the practice of wild bird feeding. Bird feeding has been posited as an important factor influencing the structure of bird communities, especially in urban areas, although experimental evidence to support this is almost entirely lacking. We carried out an 18-mo experimental feeding study at 23 residential properties to investigate the effects of bird feeding on local urban avian assemblages. Our feeding regime was based on predominant urban feeding practices in our region. We used monthly bird surveys to compare avian community composition, species richness, and the densities of local species at feeding and nonfeeding properties. Avian community structure diverged at feeding properties and five of the commonest garden bird species were affected by the experimental feeding regime. Introduced birds particularly benefitted, with dramatic increases observed in the abundances of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis) in particular. We also found evidence of a negative effect on the abundance of a native insectivore, the grey warbler (Gerygone igata). Almost all of the observed changes did not persist once feeding had ceased. Our study directly demonstrates that the human pastime of bird feeding substantially contributes to the structure of avian community in urban areas, potentially altering the balance between native and introduced species.
Journal Article
Mechanistic models project bird invasions with accuracy
Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity and inflict massive economic costs. Effective management of bio-invasions depends on reliable predictions of areas at risk of invasion, as they allow early invader detection and rapid responses. Yet, considerable uncertainty remains as to how to predict best potential invasive distribution ranges. Using a set of mainly (sub)tropical birds introduced to Europe, we show that the true extent of the geographical area at risk of invasion can accurately be determined by using ecophysiological mechanistic models that quantify species’ fundamental thermal niches. Potential invasive ranges are primarily constrained by functional traits related to body allometry and body temperature, metabolic rates, and feather insulation. Given their capacity to identify tolerable climates outside of contemporary realized species niches, mechanistic predictions are well suited for informing effective policy and management aimed at preventing the escalating impacts of invasive species.
Forecasts of risks of invasion by non-native species are challenging to obtain. Here, the authors show that mechanistic models based on functional traits related to species’ capacity to generate and retain body heat identify areas at risk of invasion by non-native birds in Europe.
Journal Article
Belonging on an island : birds, extinction, and evolution in Hawai°i
This natural history takes readers on a thousand-year journey as it explores the Hawaiian Islands' beautiful birds and a variety of topics including extinction, survival, conservationists and their work, and, most significantly, the concept of belonging. Author Daniel Lewis, an award-winning historian and globe-traveling amateur birder, builds this lively text around the stories of four species - the stumbling moa-nalo, the Kaua'i 'o'هo, the palila, and the Japanese white-eye. Lewis offers innovative ways to think about what it means to be native and proposes new definitions that apply to people as well as to birds. Being native, he argues, is a relative state influenced by factors including the passage of time, charisma, scarcity, utility to others, short-term evolutionary processes, and changing relationships with other organisms. This book also describes how bird conservation started in Hawai`i and the naturalists and environmentalists who did extraordinary work.-- Source other than Library of Congress.
Book
Historical Bird Atlas and Contemporary Citizen Science Data Reveal Long‐Term Changes in Geographic Range of Kenyan Birds
Aim Historical bird atlases provide comprehensive datasets for investigating long‐term changes in species' distribution. In the context of accelerating biodiversity loss, these datasets can lend critical insights into the state of bird distributions across broad spatio‐temporal scales and provide much‐needed information for impactful conservation. In Africa, the potential of atlas data to understand changes in avian populations remains largely untapped. Location This study mapped changes in national distribution patterns of 1088 bird species found in Kenya. Methods Tapping into one of the earliest atlas databases, this study compared Kenyan bird atlas data collected between 1970 and 1984 with recent citizen science data sourced from the Kenya Bird Map project and eBird to determine changes in ranges across 50 years. We produced maps displaying, for every 27 × 27 km square of the country, whether a species appeared, was present throughout both periods, or disappeared. We account for the change in data collection effort between the two periods by quantifying the confidence of the change for each square. Results The maps produced for each species are publicly accessible through an interactive website: https://kenyabirdtrends.co.ke/. We found that related species tended to experience similar changes in their distribution ranges. The ranges of Palearctic migrants and scavengers declined drastically, while introduced birds experienced a significant range increase over the past 50 years. Main Conclusions This study demonstrates the potential of integrating recent citizen science data with historical atlas data to draw out the changes in range for all species at national level. The range contraction of Palearctic migrants and scavengers echoed corresponding drops in abundance at local, regional and global scales. These findings lend additional weight to the need for an increased conservation focus on migratory and scavenging birds in Kenya.
Journal Article
Sparrow
In Sparrow, award-winning science and natural history writer Kim Todd explores the bird\"s complex history, biology, and literary tradition. Todd describes the difference between Old World sparrows, like the house sparrow, which can nest in a garage or in an airport, and New World sparrows, which often stake their claim to remote islands or meadows in the high Sierra. In addition, she looks at the nineteenth-century Sparrow War in the United States--a battle over the sparrow\"s introduction--which set the stage for decades of discussions of invasive species. She examines the ways in which sparrows have taught us about evolution and the shocking recent decline of house sparrows in cities globally--this disappearance of a bird that seemed hardwired for success remains an ornithological mystery.
Book
Simulated bacterial infection induces different changes in DNA methylation between introduced and native house sparrows Passer domesticus
DNA methylation, which can change within‐individuals over time and regulate gene expression, is important to many aspects of avian biology. It is particularly important in avian responses to various stressors associated with introductions, such as infection and environmental changes. However, it remains unclear whether native and introduced bird populations differ in their epigenetic responses to stressors, and how DNA methylation may contribute to the success of non‐native populations because of the limited availability of epigenetic studies. To address this knowledge gap, we used epiRADseq to investigate changes in DNA methylation within‐individual house sparrows Passer domesticus prior to and eight hours after a simulated bacterial infection. We compare wild‐caught house sparrows from introduced populations with those from native populations, assessing the number of genomic locations that exhibit changes in methylation, the magnitude of those changes, and the variance among individuals. Our results show that individuals from introduced populations experience more widespread changes in DNA methylation, with greater magnitude and higher variance, compared to their counterparts from native populations. These findings suggest that DNA methylation plays a significant role in an individual's response to infection. They also indicate that individuals from introduced populations may exhibit distinct epigenetic responses compared to their native counterparts, consistent with the concept of epigenetic buffering.
Journal Article
The role of native and introduced birds in transmission of avian malaria in Hawaii
The introduction of nonnative species and reductions in native biodiversity have resulted in substantial changes in vector and host communities globally, but the consequences for pathogen transmission are poorly understood. In lowland Hawaii, bird communities are composed of primarily introduced species, with scattered populations of abundant native species. We examined the influence of avian host community composition, specifically the role of native and introduced species, as well as host diversity, on the prevalence of avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) in the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus). We also explored the reciprocal effect of malaria transmission on native host populations and demography. Avian malaria infection prevalence in mosquitoes increased with the density and relative abundance of native birds, as well as host community competence, but was uncorrelated with host diversity. Avian malaria transmission was estimated to reduce population growth rates of Hawai‘i ʻamakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens) by 7–14%, but mortality from malaria could not explain gaps in this species’ distribution at our sites. Our results suggest that, in Hawaii, native host species increase pathogen transmission to mosquitoes, but introduced species can also support malaria transmission alone. The increase in pathogen transmission with native bird abundance leads to additional disease mortality in native birds, further increasing disease impacts in an ecological feedback cycle. In addition, vector abundance was higher at sites without native birds and this overwhelmed the effects of host community composition on transmission such that infected mosquito abundance was highest at sites without native birds. Higher disease risk at these sites due to higher vector abundance could inhibit recolonization and recovery of native species to these areas. More broadly, this work shows how differences in host competence for a pathogen among native and introduced taxa can influence transmission and highlights the need to examine this question in other systems to determine the generality of this result.
Journal Article
Designing biodiversity-friendly landscapes: the effects of landscape heterogeneity across scales on bird species richness in Taiwan
Context
Promoting heterogeneous landscapes could help to reduce the negative impacts of habitat conversion on biota, especially for countries with limited lands. However, the benefits of landscape heterogeneity can vary among spatial scales and taxa.
Objectives
To design biodiversity-friendly landscapes, we use nationwide bird survey data and land use maps to examine the effects of compositional heterogeneity, configurational heterogeneity, and habitat amount at different scales on the species richness of different bird groups.
Methods
We examined the effects of configurational heterogeneity (measured using edge density), compositional heterogeneity (Shannon’s diversity index of habitat types), and habitat amount (proportion of forest and farmland cover) at both transect (local) and landscape (0.5, 1, and 2 km) scales on the species richness of all breeding birds, forest birds, farmland birds, and introduced birds.
Results
Total species richness had a hump-shaped relationship with local forest cover, and with farmland cover at landscape scale. Richness of both forest birds and richness of farmland birds increased with Shannon’s diversity index of habitat types at both local and landscape scales, but only increased with the amount of their preferred habitat at the local scale. Richness of introduced birds was greater in landscapes with higher edge density, suggesting those species are associated with human-dominated landscapes.
Conclusions
High compositional heterogeneity with low configurational heterogeneity at the landscape scale may help maintain native bird richness while minimising the spread of introduced species in Taiwan. These results can help guide land use planning to achieving biodiversity goals in a country with intensive land use competition.
Journal Article