Before-and-after evidence that urbanization contributes to the decline of a migratory songbird

Avian Conservation and Ecology

article

Karl T. Heide¹  Lyle E. Friesen²  Virgil E. Martin⁴  Edward D. Cheskey⁵  Michael D. Cadman⁶  D. Ryan Norris¹ 

[1] Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph;Environment and Climate Change Canada;Dept. Biology, Western University;Regional Municipality of Waterloo;Nature Canada;Canadian Wildlife Service

关键词: breeding abundance;    forest fragmentation;    Hylocichla mustelina;    neotropical migrant;    nest success;    population dynamics;    urban sprawl;    Wood Thrush;   

DOI  :  10.5751/ACE-02366-180115

学科分类：口腔科学

来源: Resilience Alliance Publications

【 摘 要 】

Although urbanization is widely believed to be an increasing threat to biodiversity, drawing strong inferences about its effects on wildlife has been challenging because the state of a population prior to development is rarely known. The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is a steeply declining migratory songbird that breeds in North American temperate deciduous forests and winters in Central America. From 1987 to 2001, Wood Thrush abundance and daily nest survival were measured in 72 forest fragments across Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Some of these fragments have since been surrounded by urbanization while others have remained rural. In 2020 and 2021, we reassessed Wood Thrush abundance and daily nest survival in these same fragments by replicating point count and nest monitoring protocols. Our results suggest that Wood Thrush have declined most steeply in fragments with development built within 1 km during the intervening 20-year period (-79% vs. only -57% elsewhere), although experiencing no decline in daily nest survival over the same time period, regardless of development. Our findings provide rare before-and-after evidence that urbanization near breeding habitat is contributing to a pronounced localized decline of a migratory songbird, likely by mechanisms unrelated to nest survival.

【 授权许可】

CC BY