Structural effects of reedbed grazing and its cessation on reed-nesting songbird densities

Reedbeds are crucial breeding habitats for vulnerable songbird species.Irrespective of their protection status,these habitats may be threatened by organic matter accumulation,progressively leading to structural homoge-nization and habitat succession towards woodland.Managers prevent excessive litter build-up with various in-terventions opening-up the reedbeds,such as grazing,which may be detrimental or suitable for some reed bird species.We assessed the effects of extensive grazing by horses and its cessation in the medium and long terms on reedbed structure,and the consequences on reed-nesting songbird densities in Estagnol Nature Reserve,a pro-tected wetland near the French Mediterranean coast.We compared reedbed structural features between grazed,newly ungrazed and old-ungrazed plots.During nine years,we censused four songbird species in spring and collected water level data in the same survey plots.Grazing reduced reedbed extent,rejuvenated the vegetation with more short green stems on a thinner litter,and produced higher structural heterogeneity and discontinuity compared to long-lasting non grazing.Newly ungrazed plot showed intermediate effects.All surveyed songbird total densities were similar among plots while species numbers and densities differed.Grazed reedbed was more attractive to Moustached Warblers(Acrocephalus melanopogon)and Great Reed Warblers(Acrocephalus arundi-naceus),likely due to the large edges and the high vegetation structural heterogeneity.However,Moustached Warblers were more negatively affected by higher water level in grazed reedbed,presumably because flooding prevents litter foraging.The newly ungrazed reedbed was not preferred by any species.All warbler species were found under low density in the old-ungrazed reedbed,where Reed Buntings(Emberiza schoeniclus)were exclu-sively found.Food availability related to thick litter layer may explain this predilection.Common Reed Warblers(Acrocephalus scirpaceus)were found everywhere in similar densities.We conclude that reedbed management by extensive horse grazing and also its long-term cessation may benefit several songbird species.Within a context of wetland degradation and disappearance,both management strategies are useful to establish and maintain suitable habitats for reed-nesting songbird communities.

Multidimensional diversity of bird communities across spatial variation of land cover in Zoige on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Background:Spatial variation of land cover can result in the changes of community similarities and biotic homog-enization,whereby the increasing similarity would reduce the adaptive capacity of biotic assemblages to further disturbance,and degenerate ecosystem services they offer.However,it remains scarce to integrate multidimensional diversity for unveiling how variations in land cover may influence the patterns and processes of biotic homogeniza-tion in the Anthropocene.In this study,we examined how spatial variation of land cover could alter taxonomic,phy-logenetic and functional homogenization of bird communities simultaneously in a compound ecosystem of Zoige Marsh on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.Acting as the largest alpine marsh and peatland in the world,Zoige Marsh has undergone great changes in the land cover pattern due to climate change and anthropogenic activities.Methods:We conducted transect surveys for bird communities over six years(2014‒2019)during breeding sea-sons in four main land cover types(meadow,woodland,village and marsh),representing the spatial variation of land covers in the study area.We compared multidimensional diversity(taxonomic,phylogenetic and functional diver-sity)among land covers to assess the effects of spatial variation in land cover type on bird communities,particularly whether this variation has homogenized biotic communities.Results:Bird communities during breeding seasons were different and complementary in the four land covers.Taxonomic,phylogenetic and functional similarities were significantly lower in meadow than in the other three types,i.e.woodland,village and marsh.However,when we controlled for the effects of taxonomic similarities,the pattern of phylogenetic similarities almost reversed,with the highest standardized effect size(SES)phylogenetic similarity in meadow;and we found no significant difference in SES functional similarity among land covers.Conclusions:Our results suggest that spatial variation of land cover can play a crucial role in regulating multiple dimensions of bird diversity in Zoige Marsh.The findings indicate that taxonomic,phylogenetic and functional homogenization of bird communities may differently response to the variation of land covers.It thus highlights not only the relative roles of different land covers in maintaining biodiversity and community structures of birds,but also the urgency of retarding ecosystem degradations on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

The value of community science data to analyze long-term avian trends in understudied regions:The state of birds in Türkiye

Recent studies have revealed concerning declines in bird populations in Europe and other parts of the world.In understudied but biodiverse regions,especially those that are located along key migratory flyways,there is an unmet need to evaluate the status of resident and migratory birdlife for avian conservation ecology.This is especially urgent at a time when recent regional studies have highlighted the scale of the decline of the European and Palearctic avifauna.Rapidly growing community science datasets may help bridge the gaps in our understanding of long-term regional avifaunal trends.In this study,we used eBird data submitted by observers in Türkiye to undertake the first long-term assessment of the state of the country’s birds from 2001 to 2022.We evaluated population trends based on presence-absence data of species to determine if any birds have significantly increased or decreased in the country so far this century.We provide a list of trends for 418 bird species that had large enough sample sizes of eBird observations from Türkiye,and highlight which species have significantly declined or increased.We found that 63 species have significantly declined in detection while 120 have significantly increased during the study period.Our findings provide a baseline for the future monitoring of Türkiye’s birds and help contextualize population changes of birds in Türkiye against those occurring at the continental(Palearctic)scale.Additionally,we include movement classifications for all of the bird species in this study.We also provide a framework to effectively use eBird data to assess long-term avifaunal changes at the country-level in other understudied regions.Finally,we highlight ways in which eBirders in Türkiye and elsewhere can strengthen the quality and value of community ornithology data for population assessments and avian conservation ecology.

Endangered lowland oak forest steppe remnants keep unique bird species richness in Central Hungary

The biodiversity of natural or semi-natural native,old oak woodlands have high conservation importance,especially in landscapes of monocultural forest plantations and arable fields.With a wider variety of microhabitats and foraging sources,such old oak forests can provide essential habitat for native forest bird communities.We conducted a study using bird point counts to compare the forest bird communities of old pedunculate oak(Quercus robur)remnants with native and non-native plantations in central Hungary in a landscape of mostly arable fields,settlements,and monocultural plantations.Avian surveys were carried out in old oak forest remnants,middle-aged oak,white poplar(Populus alba),hybrid poplar(Populus×euramericana),black locust(Robinia pseudoacacia),and pine(Pinus spp.)plantations.Fieldwork has been carried out in nine study sites,where all six habitat types were represented(with a few exceptions),to determine total abundance,species richness,Shannon–Wiener diversity,species evenness,dominant and indicator species,and guild abundances.We found that old oak forest remnants were the most diverse habitats among the studied forest types,while hybrid poplar and pine plantations exhibited the lowest avian biodiversity.The avian guilds most sensitive to the loss of old oak forest remnants were ground foragers,bark foragers,cavity-nesters,residents,and Mediterranean migratory birds.Native habitats were more diverse than non-native plantations.Our results suggest that it is important to conserve all remaining high biodiversity old oak stands and to avoid clear-cutting of monocultural plantations in favour of practices such as mixed-species plantations,longer rotation lengths,or retention forestry.

Community participation in the management of wetland nature reserve:a case study of Nanjishan Nature Reserve, Jiangxi, China

In recent years, more and more conflicts have emerged in the management of nature reserves, of which themain problem is that how to carry out the campaign of conservation along with the promotion of development of localeconomics. To resolve the actual problem in Nanjishan National Wetland Nature Reserve and explore the idiographicmethod of the management of the wetland reserve, some studying methods including face-to-face interviews, informaldiscussion with local leaders and officials, group discussion with local fishers, questionnaire, and job of the conversationstation have been carried out. The results show that the education level of the local people is low; only 5% of the localpeople have an opportunity to the junior college; the main income of the local people is fishing, which accounts for 70%more or less; and the income is coming down year by year because of the unreasonable way of fishing. To cope with theproblems, some reformative way of management and the development of the reserve are introduced, such as establishingan NOG that constitutes of local fishermen to achieve the goal of community co-management, developing Bed andBreakfast and so on. Through practice of the management of the participation of the local people, we draw the conclusionthat the local people have a great desire to improve their life level, and to make the co-management of the reserve easy,it is important for the managers to play the role of pilot including engrafting the new ideas, giving some subsidy toencourage the local people to take part in the management. In addition, making local people perceive value of the reserveand the close relation between reserve conservation and the promotion of level of their life. On this basis, they incline totake part in the management of the reserve.

The Genesis and Evolution of the Caspian Sea Lagoons as Avifauna Refuges at the Transboundary Scale

The article summarizes 34 years (1980-2014) of the original observations of the genesis and evolution stages of the Caspian lagoons. A model of the formation and evolution of the coastal lagoons has been worked out. It can be applied to the modelling of the global geoecological scenario along all the world’s coasts characterized by a steady transgression of their marine areas. The lagoons had been formed in a “bottleneck”, a narrow migration corridor, traversed by the largest migration route of trans-Palearctic species in Russia. This route is part of the West Siberian-East African migration range. Year round bird censuses (n = 746) were taken by the author in 1995-2014 along two key routes in the regions of Turalinskaya and Sulakskaya lagoons of Daghestan (the western coast of the Middle Caspian Sea). The meridional orientation of lagoons, location of the migration trajectory and a wide range of habitats in the study area contribute to the preservation of 294 Eurasian bird species. After formation of the lagoons, the breeding avifauna of the Caspian Sea Region of Central Daghestan has added 32 taxa. Among the species recorded at the lagoons, 50 are included in the IUCN Red List, Red Data Books of Russia and Daghestan. The reconstruction analysis of the migration trajectory compiled according to the data of the Russian Bird Ringing Centre allowed us to determine the population distribution geography for the birds regularly migrating along the western coast of the Caspian Sea and refine borders of theWest Siberian-East African migration range. Thus, according to the information received, the current migratory range should be greatly extended to cover the area from the British Isles in the West Palearctic to Lake Baikal in the east, including the extreme west and south of Africa.

Protection and Utilization of Special Biological Resources and Biodiversity in Pu＇er City

In the paper, the animal and plant diversity and its main characteristics in Pu'er City were summarized, and reviewedthe development and utilization of main special biological industry. The policies and research institutions on protection and utilization of biodiversity in Pu'er City were introduced. At the last, we analyzed the deficiencies in the conservation and utilization of biodiversity in Pu'er City and proposed the relevant measures to strengthen protection and utilization of biological diversity in the future.

Correlates of avian extinction timing around the world since 1500 CE

Avian extinctions have been relatively well documented in modern history,and in the past millennia,more bird species are known to have gone extinct than species in any other vertebrate class.We examined the biological correlates of extinction timing among 216 bird species that recently were either observed to go extinct or dis-appeared since 1500 CE,performing a novel analysis for examining the extinction trends of birds by modelling traits against the number of years since present day during which species have been extinct.We analyzed a broad range of traits and characteristics that have previously been associated with extinction and extinction risk in birds and compared the effects of these traits simultaneously against one another.In order to provide a more comprehensive and robust assessment of trait-based drivers of global bird loss in comparison to prior studies,we included extinct species recognized by any of the three major avian taxonomies as well as those birds that lack recent confirmed sightings and are at least functionally extinct.We found that insular,flightless,larger-bodied,ecologically specialized species,as well as those with high aspect ratio wings,were likely to go extinct earlier in time.Besides identifying the key locations and time periods over the past five centuries where birds have gone extinct,and highlighting specific extinction-prone taxonomic groups,we provide a complete and unified dataset of traits used in this study that helps address the lack of extensive public data on modern extinct species.