Impacts of Adjacent Land Use and Isolation on Marsh Bird Communities |
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Authors: | Lyndsay A Smith Patricia Chow-Fraser |
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Institution: | (1) Biology Department, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada |
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Abstract: | Over the next half century the human population is expected to grow rapidly, resulting in the conversion of rural areas into
cities. Wetlands in these regions are therefore under threat, even though they have important ecosystem services and functions.
Many obligate marsh-nesting birds in North America have shown declines over the past 40 years, and it is important to evaluate
marsh bird community response to increased urbanization. We surveyed 20 coastal marshes in southern Ontario, Canada, and found
that obligate marsh-nesting birds preferred rural over urban wetlands, generalist marsh-nesting birds showed no preference,
while synanthropic species showed a trend towards increased richness and abundance in urban marshes. The Index of Marsh Bird
Community Integrity (IMBCI) was calculated for each wetland and we found significantly higher scores in rural compared to
urban wetlands. The presence of a forested buffer surrounding the marsh was not an important factor in predicting the distribution
of generalists, obligates, synanthropic species, or the IMBCI. More isolated marshes had a lower species richness of obligate
marsh-nesters and a lower IMBCI than less isolated marshes. Based on our results, we recommend that urban land use is not
the dominant land use within 1000 m from any wetland, as it negatively affects the abundance and richness of obligate marsh-nesters,
and the overall integrity of the avian community. We also recommend that all existing wetlands be conserved to mitigate against
isolation effects and to preserve biodiversity. |
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