Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe
Agricultural intensification reduces the taxonomic diversity of bird communities, but its influence on functional diversity has been less studied. Here, we analyze the response of functional diversity of different cereal farmland bird communities across Europe to a gradient of agricultural intensifi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Basic and Applied Ecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179123000701 |
| _version_ | 1797353617364090880 |
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| author | Irene Guerrero Diana Duque Juan J. Oñate Tomas Pärt Jan Bengtsson Teja Tscharntke Jaan Liira Tsipe Aavik Mark Emmerson Frank Berendse Piotr Ceryngier Wolfgang W. Weisser Manuel B. Morales |
| author_facet | Irene Guerrero Diana Duque Juan J. Oñate Tomas Pärt Jan Bengtsson Teja Tscharntke Jaan Liira Tsipe Aavik Mark Emmerson Frank Berendse Piotr Ceryngier Wolfgang W. Weisser Manuel B. Morales |
| author_sort | Irene Guerrero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agricultural intensification reduces the taxonomic diversity of bird communities, but its influence on functional diversity has been less studied. Here, we analyze the response of functional diversity of different cereal farmland bird communities across Europe to a gradient of agricultural intensification. We collected bibliographical information on life history traits (i.e. body mass, brain size, age of sexual maturity, clutch size, number of clutches, lifespan) of 30 species of birds recorded during field surveys in eight European countries. The index ''brood value'' was calculated to know each species’ level of reproductive investment per clutch. Intensification gradients at two spatial scales were obtained from field data through PCA, related to management practices at the field scale and the variation in structure and composition of farmland at the landscape scale respectively. We calculated the functional diversity index (FD) and the community-weighted mean (CWM) for each trait and sampling area, and linear mixed models in relation to the two intensification gradients were performed. Results showed that stronger intensification at the field level favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes, also decreasing overall trait diversity. It also restricts the range of strategies for parental investment, reducing the functional diversity of the brood value index. More intensive field management would favor bird communities dominated by generalist and even introduced and/or managed hunting species, while putting at risk those farmland- and grassland-adapted species, typically more associated with the provision of ecosystem services. This highlights the relevance of field management (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) for the functional composition of bird communities and the conservation of farmland biodiversity. These findings add to existing knowledge on how species’ pace of life and cognitive capacity interact with drivers of global change, such as agricultural intensification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:33:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a87c3c7a1186422a818ce77f138b75b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1439-1791 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:33:36Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Basic and Applied Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a87c3c7a1186422a818ce77f138b75b62024-01-17T04:15:35ZengElsevierBasic and Applied Ecology1439-17912024-02-01744048Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across EuropeIrene Guerrero0Diana Duque1Juan J. Oñate2Tomas Pärt3Jan Bengtsson4Teja Tscharntke5Jaan Liira6Tsipe Aavik7Mark Emmerson8Frank Berendse9Piotr Ceryngier10Wolfgang W. Weisser11Manuel B. Morales12Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG), Department of Ecology and Research Center on Biodiversity and Global Change, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, Madrid 28049, SpainTerrestrial Ecology Group (TEG), Department of Ecology and Research Center on Biodiversity and Global Change, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, Madrid 28049, SpainTerrestrial Ecology Group (TEG), Department of Ecology and Research Center on Biodiversity and Global Change, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, Madrid 28049, SpainDepartment of Ecology, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7044, Uppsala SE-700 07, SwedenDepartment of Ecology, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7044, Uppsala SE-700 07, SwedenAgroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanyInstitute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, Tartu 51005, Estonia.Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, Tartu 51005, Estonia.School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 5DL, UKDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen PO Box 47 6700AA, the NetherlandsInstitute of Biological Sciences, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Wóycickiego 1/3, Warsaw 01-938, PolandTerrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, Freising 85354, GermanyTerrestrial Ecology Group (TEG), Department of Ecology and Research Center on Biodiversity and Global Change, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Corresponding author: Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG), Department of Ecology and Research Center on Biodiversity and Global Change, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, Madrid 28049, Spain.Agricultural intensification reduces the taxonomic diversity of bird communities, but its influence on functional diversity has been less studied. Here, we analyze the response of functional diversity of different cereal farmland bird communities across Europe to a gradient of agricultural intensification. We collected bibliographical information on life history traits (i.e. body mass, brain size, age of sexual maturity, clutch size, number of clutches, lifespan) of 30 species of birds recorded during field surveys in eight European countries. The index ''brood value'' was calculated to know each species’ level of reproductive investment per clutch. Intensification gradients at two spatial scales were obtained from field data through PCA, related to management practices at the field scale and the variation in structure and composition of farmland at the landscape scale respectively. We calculated the functional diversity index (FD) and the community-weighted mean (CWM) for each trait and sampling area, and linear mixed models in relation to the two intensification gradients were performed. Results showed that stronger intensification at the field level favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes, also decreasing overall trait diversity. It also restricts the range of strategies for parental investment, reducing the functional diversity of the brood value index. More intensive field management would favor bird communities dominated by generalist and even introduced and/or managed hunting species, while putting at risk those farmland- and grassland-adapted species, typically more associated with the provision of ecosystem services. This highlights the relevance of field management (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) for the functional composition of bird communities and the conservation of farmland biodiversity. These findings add to existing knowledge on how species’ pace of life and cognitive capacity interact with drivers of global change, such as agricultural intensification.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179123000701Brain sizeFarmland biodiversityFarmland birdsField managementFunctional diversityLandscape complexity |
| spellingShingle | Irene Guerrero Diana Duque Juan J. Oñate Tomas Pärt Jan Bengtsson Teja Tscharntke Jaan Liira Tsipe Aavik Mark Emmerson Frank Berendse Piotr Ceryngier Wolfgang W. Weisser Manuel B. Morales Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe Basic and Applied Ecology Brain size Farmland biodiversity Farmland birds Field management Functional diversity Landscape complexity |
| title | Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe |
| title_full | Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe |
| title_fullStr | Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe |
| title_short | Agricultural intensification affects birds' trait diversity across Europe |
| title_sort | agricultural intensification affects birds trait diversity across europe |
| topic | Brain size Farmland biodiversity Farmland birds Field management Functional diversity Landscape complexity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179123000701 |
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