The effects of grassland ecosystem afforestation on avian phylogenetic diversity, taxonomic diversity and evolutionary distinctiveness

Global impacts of exotic eucalypt plantations on wildlife

The establishment of exotic tree plantations poses a pervasive threat to wildlife across the globe. Among the most important tree species used for forestry purposes worldwide are members of the genus Eucalyptus, which have now been established in at least 107 countries outside of their native range. When introduced into non-native areas, eucalypt plantations are associated with myriad novel challenges for native fauna, and have often been associated with reductions in the biodiversity of local communities. However, similar to other anthropogenic habitats, eucalypt plantations can also create novel opportunities for species that can allow them to survive and thrive in these novel environments. In this review, we use eucalypt plantations as a case study for understanding the ecological and evolutionary responses of wildlife to anthropogenic habitat loss and change. We begin by summarising the main avenues of research addressing the study of wildlife responses at the individual, community, and ecosystem levels, and highlight critical research gaps. We also consider the characteristics of different types of eucalypt plantations and how such attributes are linked with the ability of animals to respond appropriately to the establishment of plantations, and summarise important considerations for the conservation of animal communities in these human-altered habitats.

Taxonomic, Phylogenetic and Functional Diversity of Bird Assemblages in Urban Green Spaces: Null Model Analyses, Temporal Variation and Ecological Drivers

Urban expansion is a pervasive driver of biodiversity loss. To understand the effects of urbanization on diversity, we investigated the response of bird taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity to urban green spaces’ characteristics in thirty-one green spaces of Mexico City. Selected sites encompassed variation of environmental factors along a transformation gradient, from natural protected areas to landscaped parks. Bird observations were conducted during winter (non-breeding season), spring (dry breeding season), and summer (wet breeding season). We used multi-model inference to assess the relationship of green space area, shape, isolation, tree richness, habitat diversity, and vegetation cover with species richness, Faith’s phylogenetic diversity, and functional richness. We calculated standardized effect sizes from null models to assess phylogenetic and functional structure. We registered 91 species belonging to 28 families across all sites and seasons. The number of detected species was largest in winter and decreased toward the dry breeding season, and then toward the wet breeding season. We found a moderate to strong positive relationship of species richness with phylogenetic diversity and functional richness. Overall, phylogenetic and functional structure of bird communities in green spaces was neither clustered nor over-dispersed. However, few cases of functional clustering, phylogenetic clustering, or both were observed, and they corresponded to natural protected areas. Results showed a predominant role of green space area in determining community diversity and phylogenetic structure while it did not influence functional structure. Contrary to our predictions, habitat diversity had a negative effect on species richness and phylogenetic diversity and this effect was detected only during the wet breeding season, whereas isolation showed a positive relationship with phylogenetic and functional structure, during the wet breeding season and winter, respectively. This study emphasizes the use of complementary measures of diversity together with the comparison between observed and expected values to get a better insight into the mechanisms by which green spaces’ characteristics affect bird diversity across the seasons.

Database of bird species composition in natural habitats and forest plantations

In southeastern South America, the afforestation over grasslands imposes a severe threat to the grassy landscapes and associated biodiversity. To analyze the effect of forest plantations on grassland birds, we present a new database that considers the composition of bird communities in natural habitats, as well as in eucalyptus plantations from the southeastern South American grasslands. Data were previously used to investigate the effectiveness of legally protected grasslands in private lands to protect birds in “Bird-grassland associations in protected and non-protected areas in the southern Brazil” [1] and also the effects of afforestation of grasslands on different dimensions of bird diversity in “The effects of grassland ecosystem afforestation on avian phylogenetic diversity, taxonomic diversity and evolutionary distinctiveness” [2]. Data were collected during the breeding period of bird species (spring/austral summer), covering three breeding seasons during the years 2014–2016. Species presence and number of individuals were recorded, totaling 107 species and 1175 individuals. The dataset will be useful for researchers interested in conservation studies as it includes data from globally threatened bird species.