There is a dearth of information on the effects of landscape and microhabitat variables on the distribution of anurans in areas of rapid urban development, in both tropical and subtropical regions. Therefore, we studi...There is a dearth of information on the effects of landscape and microhabitat variables on the distribution of anurans in areas of rapid urban development, in both tropical and subtropical regions. Therefore, we studied 24 Wetlands sites from the center of Shanghai city, China extending outward to rural areas. Sampling was performed from May through July 2014. Urbanization was categorized by the proportion of hard ground cover. Transect sampling and ＇calling＇ surveys were used to investigated the richness and density of anurans; microhabitat factors were recorded simultaneously. One-way analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to analyze differences of total density, species richness and density of individual anuran species in the three urbanization levels; redundancy analysis was carried out on the relationship between anuran density and environmental variables. Species richness was lowest in the areas where the proportion of hard ground cover was 〉 80%, and the total density of anurans was highest in the areas where coverage of the hard ground cover was 〈 30%. We recorded five species belonging to four genera and four families and an individual anuran species that had varied representations in urban environments. Beijing gold-striped pond frogs （Pelophylax plancyi） and Zhoushan toads （Bufo gargarizans） appeared to be well adapted to the Shanghai metropolis. Large water environments and aquatic vegetation （floating-leaves and emergent vegetation） were indicators of the presence of Beijing gold-striped pond frogs. The density of black-spotted pond frog （Pelophylax nigromaculatus） was at the lowest density in the areas where hard ground coverage was 〉 80%, and tended to prefer larger bodies of water. Hong Kong rice-paddy frogs （Fejervarya multistriata） and ornamented pygmy frogs （Microhyla achatina） both suffered severely from cropland loss due to urban development. Bare land around breeding grounds was important for Hong Kong rice-paddy frogs, since it usually chooses mud coast caves for hibernation.展开更多
Previous studies have suggested that urbanization presents a major threat to anuran populations. However, very few studies have looked at the relationship between urbanization and anuran body condition. We investigate...Previous studies have suggested that urbanization presents a major threat to anuran populations. However, very few studies have looked at the relationship between urbanization and anuran body condition. We investigated whether the distribution and body condition of the rice-paddy frog（Fejervarya multistriata） and gold-striped pond frog（Pelophylax plancyi） are influenced by increasing urbanization in Shanghai, China. Four study sites with six indicators of the major land-cover types were scored to indicate their position on an urbanization gradient. We found that both the density and body condition of F. multistriata declined significantly along this gradient. Although we observed a significant difference in body condition of P. plancyi among study sites with different degrees of urbanization, we did not find any corresponding significant differences in population density. Our results indicate that both the densities and body condition of these two anuran species show a negative relationship with increasing urbanization, but that the density of P. plancyi was only slightly affected in Shanghai.展开更多
Background: Inland wetlands are crucial for biodiversity conservation, especially in highly-urbanized landscapes. In the European Union, many wetlands are included in the EU ‘Natura 2000’ network, the main tool for ...Background: Inland wetlands are crucial for biodiversity conservation, especially in highly-urbanized landscapes. In the European Union, many wetlands are included in the EU ‘Natura 2000’ network, the main tool for biodiversity conservation over the continent, which requires the development of site-specific management plans. Clear and feasible recommendations are necessary to provide site managers with effective tools for the maintenance of biodiversity in these unstable environments. Birds are excellent umbrella species, therefore a management targeted at increasing habitat suitability for focal bird species would likely benefit broader wetland biological communities. Methods: During spring–summer 2017, we collected presence/absence data for 10 bird species of conservation interest at a site scale for 21 Natura 2000 sites. We also carried out a point count survey to detect presence/absence of four reedbed-dwelling species at 75 points. At the site level, we estimated landscape characteristics from regional GISlayers, whereas fine-scaled habitat composition was recorded on the field within a 100 m-buffer around the 75 points. We analysed the effect of the extent of different habitats on species’ occurrence probability by means of multi-species binomial multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) at both scales. We also run species-specific MARS models to compare their performance with those of multi-species models. Results: At the site scale, the extent of the reedbeds/mires was positively associated with the occurrence of all species of conservation concern. At the point-count scale, reedbed extent positively predicted species’ occurrence, but only in presence of patches of clear shallow water. Species-specific MARS models showed qualitatively similar results for some species, but generally were outperformed by multi-species ones. Conclusions: Multi-species MARS models confirmed to be an efficient tool in disclosing species-habitat relationships even for set of species including scarce taxa and when only short-term monitoring data are available. In terms of conservation measures, our findings stress the importance of Phragmites australis reedbed as a key habitat for avian biodiversity, but only when it is flooded and interspersed with scattered patches of open water. The preservation of wide (>100/150 ha) and flooded reedbeds structured in spots of no less than 2 ha emerges as the main conservation measure for the long-term conservation of the threatened avifauna of inland pre-Alpine wetlands.展开更多
Background: Although the species-urban green area relationship (SARu) has been analyzed worldwide, the global consistency of its parameters, such as the fit and the slope of models, remains unexplored. Moreover,the SA...Background: Although the species-urban green area relationship (SARu) has been analyzed worldwide, the global consistency of its parameters, such as the fit and the slope of models, remains unexplored. Moreover,the SARu can be explained by 20 different models. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate which models provide a better explanation of SARus and, focusing on the power model,to evaluate the global heterogeneity in its fit and slope. Methods: We tested the performance of multiple statistical models in accounting for the way in which species richness increases with area, and examined whether variability in model form was associated with various methodological and environmental factors. Focusing on the power model, we analyzed the global heterogeneity in the fit and slope of the models through a meta-analysis. Results: Among 20 analyzed models, the linear model provided the best fit to the most datasets, was the top ranked model according to our efficiency criterion, and was the top overall ranked model.The Kobayashi and power models were the second and third overall ranked models, respectively.The number of green areas and the minimum number of species within a green area were the only significant variables explaining the variation in model form and performance, accounting for less than 10% of the variation. Based on the power model,there was a consistent overall fit (r2=0.50) and positive slope of 0.20 for the species richness increase with area worldwide.Conclusions:The good fit of the linear model to our SARu datasets contrasts with the non-linear SAR frequently found in true and non-urban habitat island systems;however, this finding may be a result of the small sample size of many SARu datasets. The overall power model slope of 0.20 suggests low levels of isolation among urban green patches, or alternatively that habitat specialist and area sensitive species have already been extirpated from urban green areas.展开更多
Background: Eurasian Sparrowhawks(Accipiter nisus) increasingly represent successful city-dwellers. Thereby, a rich food supply indicated by high numbers of small birds is believed to be the key driver for this bird-e...Background: Eurasian Sparrowhawks(Accipiter nisus) increasingly represent successful city-dwellers. Thereby, a rich food supply indicated by high numbers of small birds is believed to be the key driver for this bird-eating raptor species to settle in urban environments. However, as small passerine birds show particularly strong antipredator responses, sparrowhawks may not simply focus on patches of highest prey densities, but rather respond strategically to prey behavior, raising the importance of other parameters in determining the occurrence within urban landscapes.Methods: To deepen our knowledge on habitat requirements of urban sparrowhawks, bird surveys were carried out during winter between December 2005 and January 2017 in 36 city parks in Vienna, Austria. Besides food supply also park size, canopy heterogeneity and the connectivity with other green spaces were considered.Results: Occurrence of sparrowhawks was positively affected by increasing park size, prey density and the interaction between both. Bird feeder density and park connectivity with other green spaces were of minor importance in explaining the presence of this species. Canopy heterogeneity didn't affect city park occupancy by Eurasian Sparrowhawks.Conclusions: Our results suggest that large city parks, particularly when characterized by high prey densities, substantially contribute to protect and preserve ecologically important bird species such as raptors within the urban environment—a landscape already struggling with biodiversity losses and functional homogenization.展开更多
传粉昆虫是生物多样性重要组成部分,昆虫传粉生境建设能有效减缓植物授粉危机,有利于城市生物多样性保护和促进自然教育。文章通过检索文献库CNKI和Web of Science近20年相关文献,采用文献计量法、内容分析法,对昆虫传粉生境营建相关的...传粉昆虫是生物多样性重要组成部分,昆虫传粉生境建设能有效减缓植物授粉危机,有利于城市生物多样性保护和促进自然教育。文章通过检索文献库CNKI和Web of Science近20年相关文献,采用文献计量法、内容分析法,对昆虫传粉生境营建相关的规划与设计、建设与管理研究成果进行梳理。结果表明:规划方面,注重该类绿地与区域生态网络和城市专项规划融合;设计方面,强调植物选用遵循“双高”“本土”“多样化”原则,并采用“高密群植”“防风向阳”方式配置;建设方面,提倡保留多种地表,增加与雨水花园、绿色屋顶等生态景观布置和栖息设施举措;管理方面,建议纳入4种特色日常管理措施,并提出管理部门的政策支持能助力实现昆虫多样性目标。文章最后提出传粉生境营建研究还存在意义彰显不足、实践应用待加强,以及我国发展缓慢等相关思考,旨在对我国城市昆虫传粉生境营建与城市生物多样性保护提供研究参考。展开更多
基金supported by research funding and permits from Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau (Grant No.F131508)
文摘There is a dearth of information on the effects of landscape and microhabitat variables on the distribution of anurans in areas of rapid urban development, in both tropical and subtropical regions. Therefore, we studied 24 Wetlands sites from the center of Shanghai city, China extending outward to rural areas. Sampling was performed from May through July 2014. Urbanization was categorized by the proportion of hard ground cover. Transect sampling and ＇calling＇ surveys were used to investigated the richness and density of anurans; microhabitat factors were recorded simultaneously. One-way analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to analyze differences of total density, species richness and density of individual anuran species in the three urbanization levels; redundancy analysis was carried out on the relationship between anuran density and environmental variables. Species richness was lowest in the areas where the proportion of hard ground cover was 〉 80%, and the total density of anurans was highest in the areas where coverage of the hard ground cover was 〈 30%. We recorded five species belonging to four genera and four families and an individual anuran species that had varied representations in urban environments. Beijing gold-striped pond frogs （Pelophylax plancyi） and Zhoushan toads （Bufo gargarizans） appeared to be well adapted to the Shanghai metropolis. Large water environments and aquatic vegetation （floating-leaves and emergent vegetation） were indicators of the presence of Beijing gold-striped pond frogs. The density of black-spotted pond frog （Pelophylax nigromaculatus） was at the lowest density in the areas where hard ground coverage was 〉 80%, and tended to prefer larger bodies of water. Hong Kong rice-paddy frogs （Fejervarya multistriata） and ornamented pygmy frogs （Microhyla achatina） both suffered severely from cropland loss due to urban development. Bare land around breeding grounds was important for Hong Kong rice-paddy frogs, since it usually chooses mud coast caves for hibernation.
基金supported financially by the Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau Project (Grant No. F131508)
文摘Previous studies have suggested that urbanization presents a major threat to anuran populations. However, very few studies have looked at the relationship between urbanization and anuran body condition. We investigated whether the distribution and body condition of the rice-paddy frog（Fejervarya multistriata） and gold-striped pond frog（Pelophylax plancyi） are influenced by increasing urbanization in Shanghai, China. Four study sites with six indicators of the major land-cover types were scored to indicate their position on an urbanization gradient. We found that both the density and body condition of F. multistriata declined significantly along this gradient. Although we observed a significant difference in body condition of P. plancyi among study sites with different degrees of urbanization, we did not find any corresponding significant differences in population density. Our results indicate that both the densities and body condition of these two anuran species show a negative relationship with increasing urbanization, but that the density of P. plancyi was only slightly affected in Shanghai.
基金in the framework of the Actions A.11 and D.3—LIFE14 IPE IT 018 GESTIRE 2020—Nature Integrated Management to 2020MM is currently a post-doc at the University of Milan,funded by LIFE FALKON LIFE17 NAT/IT/000586
文摘Background: Inland wetlands are crucial for biodiversity conservation, especially in highly-urbanized landscapes. In the European Union, many wetlands are included in the EU ‘Natura 2000’ network, the main tool for biodiversity conservation over the continent, which requires the development of site-specific management plans. Clear and feasible recommendations are necessary to provide site managers with effective tools for the maintenance of biodiversity in these unstable environments. Birds are excellent umbrella species, therefore a management targeted at increasing habitat suitability for focal bird species would likely benefit broader wetland biological communities. Methods: During spring–summer 2017, we collected presence/absence data for 10 bird species of conservation interest at a site scale for 21 Natura 2000 sites. We also carried out a point count survey to detect presence/absence of four reedbed-dwelling species at 75 points. At the site level, we estimated landscape characteristics from regional GISlayers, whereas fine-scaled habitat composition was recorded on the field within a 100 m-buffer around the 75 points. We analysed the effect of the extent of different habitats on species’ occurrence probability by means of multi-species binomial multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) at both scales. We also run species-specific MARS models to compare their performance with those of multi-species models. Results: At the site scale, the extent of the reedbeds/mires was positively associated with the occurrence of all species of conservation concern. At the point-count scale, reedbed extent positively predicted species’ occurrence, but only in presence of patches of clear shallow water. Species-specific MARS models showed qualitatively similar results for some species, but generally were outperformed by multi-species ones. Conclusions: Multi-species MARS models confirmed to be an efficient tool in disclosing species-habitat relationships even for set of species including scarce taxa and when only short-term monitoring data are available. In terms of conservation measures, our findings stress the importance of Phragmites australis reedbed as a key habitat for avian biodiversity, but only when it is flooded and interspersed with scattered patches of open water. The preservation of wide (>100/150 ha) and flooded reedbeds structured in spots of no less than 2 ha emerges as the main conservation measure for the long-term conservation of the threatened avifauna of inland pre-Alpine wetlands.
基金funded by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
文摘Background: Although the species-urban green area relationship (SARu) has been analyzed worldwide, the global consistency of its parameters, such as the fit and the slope of models, remains unexplored. Moreover,the SARu can be explained by 20 different models. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate which models provide a better explanation of SARus and, focusing on the power model,to evaluate the global heterogeneity in its fit and slope. Methods: We tested the performance of multiple statistical models in accounting for the way in which species richness increases with area, and examined whether variability in model form was associated with various methodological and environmental factors. Focusing on the power model, we analyzed the global heterogeneity in the fit and slope of the models through a meta-analysis. Results: Among 20 analyzed models, the linear model provided the best fit to the most datasets, was the top ranked model according to our efficiency criterion, and was the top overall ranked model.The Kobayashi and power models were the second and third overall ranked models, respectively.The number of green areas and the minimum number of species within a green area were the only significant variables explaining the variation in model form and performance, accounting for less than 10% of the variation. Based on the power model,there was a consistent overall fit (r2=0.50) and positive slope of 0.20 for the species richness increase with area worldwide.Conclusions:The good fit of the linear model to our SARu datasets contrasts with the non-linear SAR frequently found in true and non-urban habitat island systems;however, this finding may be a result of the small sample size of many SARu datasets. The overall power model slope of 0.20 suggests low levels of isolation among urban green patches, or alternatively that habitat specialist and area sensitive species have already been extirpated from urban green areas.
文摘Background: Eurasian Sparrowhawks(Accipiter nisus) increasingly represent successful city-dwellers. Thereby, a rich food supply indicated by high numbers of small birds is believed to be the key driver for this bird-eating raptor species to settle in urban environments. However, as small passerine birds show particularly strong antipredator responses, sparrowhawks may not simply focus on patches of highest prey densities, but rather respond strategically to prey behavior, raising the importance of other parameters in determining the occurrence within urban landscapes.Methods: To deepen our knowledge on habitat requirements of urban sparrowhawks, bird surveys were carried out during winter between December 2005 and January 2017 in 36 city parks in Vienna, Austria. Besides food supply also park size, canopy heterogeneity and the connectivity with other green spaces were considered.Results: Occurrence of sparrowhawks was positively affected by increasing park size, prey density and the interaction between both. Bird feeder density and park connectivity with other green spaces were of minor importance in explaining the presence of this species. Canopy heterogeneity didn't affect city park occupancy by Eurasian Sparrowhawks.Conclusions: Our results suggest that large city parks, particularly when characterized by high prey densities, substantially contribute to protect and preserve ecologically important bird species such as raptors within the urban environment—a landscape already struggling with biodiversity losses and functional homogenization.
文摘传粉昆虫是生物多样性重要组成部分,昆虫传粉生境建设能有效减缓植物授粉危机,有利于城市生物多样性保护和促进自然教育。文章通过检索文献库CNKI和Web of Science近20年相关文献,采用文献计量法、内容分析法,对昆虫传粉生境营建相关的规划与设计、建设与管理研究成果进行梳理。结果表明:规划方面,注重该类绿地与区域生态网络和城市专项规划融合;设计方面,强调植物选用遵循“双高”“本土”“多样化”原则,并采用“高密群植”“防风向阳”方式配置;建设方面,提倡保留多种地表,增加与雨水花园、绿色屋顶等生态景观布置和栖息设施举措;管理方面,建议纳入4种特色日常管理措施,并提出管理部门的政策支持能助力实现昆虫多样性目标。文章最后提出传粉生境营建研究还存在意义彰显不足、实践应用待加强,以及我国发展缓慢等相关思考,旨在对我国城市昆虫传粉生境营建与城市生物多样性保护提供研究参考。
