Abstract
Human settlement is a prevalent source of land-use change worldwide, but our understanding of the effects of settlement on avian communities is limited. Settlement has been characterized as a gradient that extends from urban development to exurban and rural areas. An important advantage of the gradient approach is the potential to identify thresholds in the response of birds to settlement. Although gradients have been used in studying the effects of urbanization on birds, relatively little attention has been paid to the exurban end of the spectrum, despite the potential for this type of development to affect large expanses of habitat. Studies at relatively fine scales are useful for investigating the influence of proximate factors, such as vegetation structure and composition, on birds in human-dominated areas. However, such studies must be coupled with investigations at broader scales to gain a more complete understanding of the ways that human settlement affects bird communities. Urban-wildland gradients can be quantified using remotely-sensed imagery in combination with data on the intensity and pattern of settlement. However, metrics used to describe patterns of settlement are only useful to the extent that they represent something meaningful to birds. The extent of the landscape mosaic surrounding a study site that neEDS to be quantified depends on the goals for a particular study. We propose a research protocol for studying the effects of settlement on birds that may be useful at multiple scales. Study sites are distributed among land-cover and settlement types, and replicated surveys are progressively aggregated from small to large scales. These data serve as the basis for interpolation, using traditional statistical tools and geostatistical methods, to areas not sampled. To be effective, conservation must be focused on landscape mosaics, not habitat patches. Areas where people live and work are important components of these mosaics.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alberti, M., E. Botsford, and A. Cohen. 2001. Quantifying the urban gradient: linking urban planning and ecology, p. 89–115. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Aldrich, J. W., and R. W. Coffin. 1980. Breeding bird populations from forest to suburbia after thirty-seven years. Amer. Birds 34:3–7.
Anderson, J. R., E. E. Hardy, J. T. Roach, and W. E. Witmer. 1976. A land-use and land-cover classification system for use with remote sensor data. USGS Professional Paper 964. USGS, Reston, VA.
Andren, H. 1992. Corvid density and nest predation in relation to forest fragmentation: a landscape perspective. Ecology 73:794–804.
Beatley, T. 1994. Habitat conservation planning. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Beissinger, S. R., and D. R. Osborne. 1982. Effects of urbanization on avian community organization. Condor 84:75–83.
Bennett, A. F. 1991. Roads, roadsides and wildlife conservation: a review, p.99–117. In D. A. Saunders and R. J. Hobbs [EDS.], Nature conservation 2: the role of corridors. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia.
Berry, B. J. L. 1990. Urbanization, p.103–120. In B. L. I. Turner, W. C. Clark, R. W. Kates, J. F. Richards, J. T. Mathews, and W. B. Meyer [EDS.], The earth as transformed by human action. Cambridge University Press, England.
Blair, R. B. 1996. Land-use and avian species diversity along an urban gradient. Ecol. Appl. 6:506–519.
Blair, R. 2001. Creating a homogeneous avifauna, p. 461–488. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Bolger, D. 2001. Urban birds: population, community, and landscape approaches, p. 155–177. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Bolger, D. T., T. A. Scott, and J. T. Rotenberry. 1997. Breeding bird abundance in an urbanizing landscape in coastal Southern California. Conserv. Biol. 11:406–421.
Brooks, D. and A. Begazo. 2001. Mccaw abundance in relation to human population density, p. 429–439. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Cicero, C. 1989. Avian community structure in a large urban park: controls of local richness and diversity. Land. Urban Plann. 17: 221–240.
Clergeau, P., J. P. L. Savard, G. Mennechez, and G. Falardeau. 1998. Bird abundance and diversity along an urban-rural gradient: A comparative study between two cities on different continents. Condor 100:413–425.
Cody, M. L. 1975. Towards a theory of continental species diversities: bird distributions over mediterranean habitat gradients, p.214–257. In M. L. Cody and J. M. Diamond [EDS.], Ecology and evolution of communities. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Cohen, J. 1997. Conservation and human population growth: what are the linkages?, p.29–42. In S. T. A. Pickett [ED.], The ecological basis of conservation: heterogeneity, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Chapman & Hall, New York, NY.
Cullingworth, B. 1997. Planning in the USA: policies, issues, and processes. Routledge, London, England.
Darveau, M., P. Beauchesne, L. Belanger, J. Huot, and P. Larue. 1995. Riparian forest strips as habitat for breeding birds in boreal habitat. J. Wildl. Manage. 59:67–78.
DeGraaf, R. M., and J. M. Wentworth. 1986. Avian guild structure and habitat associations in suburban bird communities. Urban Ecol. 9:399–412.
DeGrove, J. M. 1992. Planning and growth management in the States. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, MA.
Duerksen, C. J., D. L. Elliot, N. T. Hobbs, E. Johnson, and J. R. Miller. 1997. Habitat protection planning: where the wild things are. Amer. Planning Assoc. Planning Advisory Serv. Rep. No. 470–471.
Engels, T. M., and C. W. Sexton. 1994. Negative correlation of Blue Jays and Golden-cheeked Warblers near an urbanizing area. Conserv. Biol. 8:286–290.
Ferris, C. R. 1979. Effects of Interstate 95 on breeding birds in northern Maine. J. Wildl. Manage. 43:421–427.
Forman, R. T. T. 1995. Land mosaics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Forman, R. T. T., and L. Alexander. 1998. Roads and their major ecological effects. Ann. Rev. Ecology Syst. 29:207–231.
Fraterrigo, J. M. 2000. Low-density settlement in the Rocky Mountain West: effects on bird communities and landscape patterns. M.S. thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Friesen, L. E., P. F. J. Eagles, and R. J. MacKay. 1995. Effects of residential development on forest-dwelling neotropical migrant songbirds. Conserv. Biol. 9:1408–1414.
Gavareski, C. A. 1976. Relation of park size and vegetation to urban bird populations in Seattle, Washington. Condor 78:375–382.
Geis, A. D. 1974. Effects of urbanization and type of urban development on bird populations, p.97–105. In J. H. Noyes and D. R. Progulski [EDS.], Wildlife in an Urbanizing Environment. November 27–29, 1973, Springfield, Massachusetts. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Germaine, S. S., S. S. Rosenstock, R. E. Schweinsburg, and W. S. Richardson. 1998. Relationships among breeding birds, habitat, and residential development in greater Tucson, Arizona. Ecol. Appl. 8:680–691.
Gittens, R. 1968. Trend-surface analysis of ecological data. J. Ecology 56:845–869.
Green, R. J., C. P. Catterall, and D. N. Jones. 1989. Foraging and other behaviour of birds in subtropical and temperate suburban habitats. Emu 89:216–222.
Gustafson, E. J. 1998. Quantifying landscape spatial pattern: what is the state of the art? Ecosys. 1:143–156.
Guthrie, D. A. 1974. Suburban bird populations in southern California. Am. Midi. Nat. 92:461–466.
Hanowski, J. M., and G. J. Niemi. 1995. A comparison of on- and off-road bird counts: Do you need to go off road to count birds accurately? J. Field Ornithology 66:469–483.
Hargrove, W. W., and J. Pickering. 1992. Pseudo-replication: a sine qua non for regional ecology. Landscape Ecol. 6:251–258.
Harris, L. D. 1988. Edge effects and conservation of biotic diversity. Conserv. Biol. 2:330–332.
Haskell, D., A. M. Knupp, and M. C. Schneider. 2001. Nest predator abundance and urbanization, p. 245–260. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Hilden, O. 1965. Habitat selection in birds. Ann. Zool. Fenn. 2:53–75.
Hodges, M. F. J., and D. G. Krementz. 1996. Neotropical migratory breeding bird communities in riparian forests of different widths along the Altamaha River, Georgia.Wilson Bull. 108:496–506.
Hostetler, M. 2001. The importance of multi-scale analyses in avian habitat selection studies in urban environments, p. 139–154. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Howe, J., E. McMahon, and L. Propst. 1997. Balancing nature and commerce in gateway communities. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Jokimaki, J., and J. Suhonen. 1993. Effects of urbanization on the breeding bird species richness in Finland: a biogeographical comparison. Ornis Fenn. 70:71–77.
Karr, J. R., and R. R. Roth. 1971. Vegetation structure and avian diversity in several new world areas. Am. Nat. 105:423–435.
Knight, R. L., G. N. Wallace, and W. E. Riebsame. 1995. Ranching the view: subdivisions versus agriculture. Conserv. Biol. 459–461.
Knick, S. T., and J. T. Rotenberry. 1996. Landscape characteristics of fragmented shrubsteppe habitats and breeding passerine birds. Conserv. Biol. 9:1059–1071.
Knopf, F. L., and F. B. Samson. 1994. Scale perspectives on avian diversity in western riparian ecosystems. Conserv. Biol. 8:669–676.
Lee, K. N. 1993. Compass and gyroscope: integrating science and politics for the environment. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Limerick, P. N. 1987. The legacy of conquest. W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY.
MacArthur, R. H., and J. W. MacArthur. 1961. On bird species diversity. Ecology 42:594–598.
Major, R. E., G. Gowing, and C. E. Kendal. 1996. Nest predation in Australian urban environments and the role of the Pied Currawong, Strepera graculina. Aust. J. Ecol. 21:399–409.
Marzluff, J. M. 2001. Worldwide increase in urbanization and its effects on birds, p. 19–47. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Marzluff, J. M., R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly. 2001. A historical perspective on urban bird research: trends, terms and approaches, p. 1–17. InJ. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Marzluff, J. M., F. R. Gehlbach, and D. A. Manuwal. 1998. Urban environments: influences on avifauna and challenges for the avian conservationist. In J. M. Marzluff and R. Sallabanks [EDS.], Avian conservation: research and management. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Marzluff, J. M., and M. Restani. 1999. The effects of forest fragmentation on avian nest predation, p. 155–169. In J. A. Rochelle, L. A. Lehmann, and J. Wisniewski [EDS.], Forest fragmentation. Wildlife and management implications. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands.
McDonnell, M. J., and S. T. A. Pickett. 1990. Ecosystem structure and function along urban-rural gradients: an unexploited opportunity for ecology. Ecology 71:1232–1237.
Miller, J. R., and N. T. Hobbs. 2000. Effects of recreational trails on nest predation rates and predator assemblages. Land. Urban Plann. 50:227–236.
Miller, J. R., J. A. Wiens, and N. T. Hobbs. 2001. How does urbanization affect bird communities in riparian habitats? An approach and preliminary assessment, p.427–439. In J. Craig, N. Mitchell, and D. Saunders [EDS.], Nature conservation 5. Nature conservation in production environments: Managing the matrix. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping-Norton, New South Wales, Australia.
Mumme, R. L., S. J. Schoech, G. E. Wooflenden, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 2000. Life in the fast lane: Demographic consequences of road mortality in the Florida Scrub-Jay. Cons. Biol. 14: 501–512.
Nelson, A. 1992. Characterizing exurbia. J. Planning Lit. 6:350–368.
Nilon, C. H., C. N. Long, and W. C. Zipperer. 1995. Effects of wildland development on forest bird communities. Land. Urban Plann. 32:81–92.
NRCS. 1995. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Res. Inv. http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/NRI/tables/1992/table.7.html.
O’Dell, E. 2000. Wildlife communities and exurban development in Pitkin County, Colorado. M.S. Thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Osborne, P., and L. Osborne. 1980. The contribution of nest site characteristics to breeding-success among Blackbirds Turdus mercula. Ibis 122:512–517.
Ostrom, E. 1991. Managing the commons. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Pearson, S. M. 1993. The spatial extent and relative influence of landscape-level factors on wintering bird populations. Landscape Ecol. 8:3–18.
Reijnen, R., R. Foppen, C. ter Braak, and J. Thissen. 1995. The effects of car traffic on breeding bird populations in woodland. III. Reduction in density in relation to the proximity of main roads. J. of Appl. Ecol. 32:187–202.
Reijnen, R., R. Foppen, and H. Meeuwsen. 1996. The effects of traffic on the density of breeding birds in Dutch agricultural grasslands. Biol. Conserv. 75:255–260.
Riebsame, W. E., H. Gosnell, and D. M. Theobald. 1996. Land-use and landscape change in the Colorado mountains I: Theory, scale, and pattern. Mount. Res. and Devel. 16: 395–405.
Robertson, G. P. 1987. Geostatistics in ecology: Interpolating with known variance. Ecology 63:744–748.
Rolando, A., G. Maffei, C. Pulcher, and A. Giuso. 1997. Avian community structure along an urbanization gradient. Italian J. of Zool. 64:341–349.
Romme, W. H. 1997. Creating pseudo-rural landscapes in the mountain west, p. 139–161. In J. I. Nassauer [ED.], Placing nature. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Saab, V. 1999. Importance of spatial scale to habitat use by breeding birds in riparian forests: a hierarchical analysis. Ecol. Appl. 9:135–151.
Saunders, D. A., R. J. Hobbs, and P. R. Ehrlich. 1993. Nature conservation 3: Reconstruction of fragmented ecosystems, global and regional perspectives. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia.
Savard, J. P. and J. B. Falls. 2001. Bird-habitat relationships of breeding birds in residential areas of Toronto, Canada, p. 543–568. In J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman, and R. Donnelly [EDS.], Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA.
Schmidt, K. A. and C. J. Whelan. 1999. Effects of exotic Lonicera and Rhamnus on songbird nest predation. Cons. Biol. 13: 1502–1506.
Schneider, D. W. 1996. Effects of European settlement and land-use on regional patterns of similarity among Chesapeake forests. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 123: 223–239.
Schwartz, M. W. 1997. Conservation in highly fragmented landscapes. Chapman & Hall, New York, NY.
Small, M. F., and M. L. Hunter. 1988. Forest fragmentation and avian nest predation in forested landscapes. Oecologia 76:62–64.
Smith, H. H. 1993. The citizen’s guide to planning. American Planning Association, Chicago, IL.
Sodhi, N. S. 1992. Comparison between urban and rural bird communities in prairie Saskatchewan: urbanization and short-term population trends. Can. Field-Nat. 106:210–215.
Stauffer, D. F., and L. B. Best. 1980. Habitat selection by birds of riparian communities: evaluating effects of habitat alterations. J. Wildl. Manage. 44:1–15.
Szaro, R. C, and M. D. Jakle. 1985. Avian use of a desert riparian island and its adjacent scrub habitat. Condor 87:511–519.
Terborgh, J. 1971. Distribution on environmental gradients: theory and a preliminary interpretation of distributional patterns in the avifauna of the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Peru. Ecology 52:23–40.
Theobald, D.M. 2000. Fragmentation by inholdings and exurban development, p. 155–174. In R.L. Knight, F.W. Smith, S.W. Buskirk, W.H. Romme, and W.L. Baker, [EDS.], Forest fragmentation in the central Rocky Mountains. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Theobald, D.M. and N. T. Hobbs. 1998. Forecasting rural land-use change: a comparison of regression- and spatial transition-based models. Geog. Env. Mod. 2: 57–74.
Theobald, D. M., N. T. Hobbs, T. Bearly, J. A. Zack, T. Shenk, and W. E. Riebsame. 2000. Incorporating biological information in local land-use decision making: designing a system for conservation planning. Landscape Ecol. 15: 35–45.
Theobald, D. M., J. R. Miller, and N. T. Hobbs. 1997. Estimating the cumulative effects of development on wildlife habitat. Land. Urban Plann. 39:25–36.
Tilghman, N. G. 1987. Characteristics of urban woodlands affecting breeding bird diversity and abundance. Land. Urban Plann. 14:481–495.
Turner, M. G., R. H. Gardner, and R. V. O’Neill. 2000. Pattern and process: landscape ecology in theory and practice. Springer-Verlag, New York.
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. 1996. An urbanising world: global report on human settlements, 1996. Oxford University Press for the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), Oxford, United Kingdom.
US Bureau of the Census. 1998. Statistical abstract of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Vale, T. R., and G. R. Vale. 1976. Suburban bird populations in west-central California. J. Biogeogr. 3:157–165.
van Der Zande, A., W. Ter Keurs, and W. Van Der Weijden. 1980. The impact of roads on the densities of four bird species in an open field habitat - evidence of a long-distance effect. Biol. Conserv. 18:299–321.
Whittaker, R. H. 1967. Gradient analysis of vegetation. Biol. Rev. 42:207–264.
Wiens, J. A. 1989. Spatial scaling in ecology. Func. Ecol. 3:385–397.
Wiens, J. A., and J. T. Rotenberry. 1981. Habitat associations and community structure of birds in shrubsteppe environments. Ecol. Monogr. 51:21–41.
Willson, M. F. 1974. Avian community organization and habitat structure. Ecology 55:1017–1029.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Miller, J.R., Fraterrigo, J.M., Hobbs, N.T., Theobald, D.M., Wiens, J.A. (2001). Urbanization,avian communities,and landscape ecology. In: Marzluff, J.M., Bowman, R., Donnelly, R. (eds) Avian Ecology and Conservation in an Urbanizing World. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1531-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1531-9_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5600-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1531-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive