RETURN URBANIZATION – THE LAST CHANCE FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES OF BIRDS IN EUROPE AND OTHERS HIGH-URBANISED REGIONS, OR IS IT?

Russian Journal of Ecosystem Ecology

N. Yu. Zakharova¹  V. S. Friedmann²  G. S. Eryomkin² 

[1] Institute of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Moscow City Pedagogical University, 29 Sheremet’evskaya street, Moscow,127521, Russia;Lomonosov Moscow State University, 1 Leninskiye gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia;

关键词: ornithology;    urbanization;    ethology;    population biology;    rare species;    conservation biology;    biodiversity;    urban ecology;    microevolution;    evolutionary biology;    rapid adaptation;    environmental stress;   

DOI  :  10.21685/2500-0578-2016-4-3

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

We have demonstrated the universal nature of “recurrence urbanization” with the example of the interaction of the avifauna of the center of Nonblack Soil Zone with urban landscape. Wild birds are adapting to a sustainable livelihood in «island landscape». This process occurs for many rare and endangered species of birds, traditionally attributed to urbofoba (including middle spotted woodpecker, black stork, woodpigeon and large birds of prey, which are considered as unable to this). This process changes the original biological characteristics of species such as stenotopic, territorial conservatism, attachment to large tracts of undisturbed habitat to the opposite characteristics – insensitivity to the “island effect”, an active adaptation to life in microfragments of the original habitat type. As a result, the species of birds, which yesterday were urbofoba, begins to nest in urbanized “core” of the region, starting with “islands” of natural landscapes within it, and then in buildings. During the process of urbanization, these fragments turn increasingly altered as compared to the “mainland”, more isolated from it. Permissible nesting habitats are starting to include “islands” decreasing in area. We have shown that the population of different species during such “recurrence urbanization” changes uniformly. This change is provided by the restructuring of space-ethological structure under the “pressure” of environmental stress in the direction of greater labilization relations in the system. The behavior of individuals (flight distance, attitude to people and technology, atypical forms of feeding and placing nests) is changed only later, often much later than the beginning of urbanization. We have shown that what is happening can be described by par forсe model of quick adaptation proposed by V. V. Suslov. However, amendments are necessery to the connectivity of individuals in a population system, their sorting, directed along a gradient of urbanization, a special adaptation not only to environmental stress, but their variable relationships within the system – biotopical, spatial, social. We need to adjust the models of “island biogeography” in relation to “the islands” created by anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. After reaching equilibrium, postulated by standard models, recolonization of species on the “archipelago” begins to exceed extinction. After a period of latency L (proportional to the degree of conservatism for initial vital strategy of species (1)), and if the latter does not die out in the region for L years of retreat to the periphery under the “pressure” of urbanized “core”, the species undergo “recurrence urbanization”. “Recurrence urbanization” gives a chance to save rare and endangered species of birds in the earlier developed regions of Europe, European Russia and other regions of the globe. If appropriate species in the development of urbanization (with its consequence – the fragmentation of habitats far around the burgeoning “urbanized core”) could only retreat preserved in large tracts of intact natural communities, they were doomed to be guaranteed even if the timely capture of their custody. The number of intact arrays is always too short, their “islands” are too isolated from each other and are insufficient in size to maintain viable populations of the species concerned. Even with the full protected mode vulnerable species have a high probability of becoming extinct due to the island effect. The only salvation for these species is “recurrence urbanization” which allows them to exist stably not only on the mainland, but also in the “archipelago” of fragmented habitat, which is typologically similar to the mainland, to settle them back and increase the number. Possible ending of this process is complete urbanization and the rapid settlement of the region from the periphery back to the “urbanized core” (and even inside it). Even the first steps in this direction extremely promote the welfare of the species, and give the opportunity to reverse the adverse trend of population dynamics, to increase the stability of the species in the region. This is particularly important because converted landscape of earlier developed regions dramatically increases the instability of populations even for common birds. Fortunately, even the most vulnerable species of birds (due to ecological specialization and rigid attachment to the “favorite” habitats / territories) were not rigid, as it was previously thought. They adapt to anthropogenic landscape in exactly the same way as the others, but they start doing it later, so they make huge losses. This is the way in which they can be saved and are already beginning to flee. It is necessary to form the urban landscape and settlement structure in the region so as to facilitate the natural ongoing process, not hinder it. Factors of attractiveness for urban landscape / fragmented habitats for the “wild” species of birds are known, and the problem of people, urban economy is not to increase the risks.

【 授权许可】

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