Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China
University campuses are important components of cities, harboring the majority of urban biodiversity. In this study, based on monthly bird survey data covering 12 university campuses located either downtown or in the newly developed areas in Nanjing, China, in 2019, we studied the assembly processes...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/673 |
| _version_ | 1797622878616682496 |
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| author | Zixi Zhao Amaël Borzée Jinghao Li Sheng Chen Hui Shi Yong Zhang |
| author_facet | Zixi Zhao Amaël Borzée Jinghao Li Sheng Chen Hui Shi Yong Zhang |
| author_sort | Zixi Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | University campuses are important components of cities, harboring the majority of urban biodiversity. In this study, based on monthly bird survey data covering 12 university campuses located either downtown or in the newly developed areas in Nanjing, China, in 2019, we studied the assembly processes of each campus’s bird population and their main drivers by modeling a set of ecological and landscape determinants. Our results showed that (1) bird abundance and species diversity in the newly developed areas were significantly higher than in those downtown; (2) the phylogeny of bird communities in all universities followed a pattern of aggregation, indicating that environmental filtering played a major role in community assembly; (3) specifically, grass, water, and buildings were the main factors affecting each campus’s bird community’s functional and phylogenetic diversity, with the areas of grass and water habitats having a significant positive correlation with phylogenetic diversity, while the size of building areas was negatively correlated. Our results emphasize that habitat features play a decisive role in determining urban bird population diversity and community assembly processes. We suggest that increasing landscape diversity, e.g., by reasonably arranging the location and area of water bodies and grasslands and improving the landscape connectivity, could be a powerful way to maintain and promote urban bird diversity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:16:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3e275c6ae2447daa48936d5a0b5967f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:16:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3e275c6ae2447daa48936d5a0b5967f2023-11-16T18:39:56ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-02-0113467310.3390/ani13040673Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, ChinaZixi Zhao0Amaël Borzée1Jinghao Li2Sheng Chen3Hui Shi4Yong Zhang5Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaLaboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaCenter for Biological Disaster Prevention and Control, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Shenyang 110141, ChinaCo-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaCo-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaCo-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaUniversity campuses are important components of cities, harboring the majority of urban biodiversity. In this study, based on monthly bird survey data covering 12 university campuses located either downtown or in the newly developed areas in Nanjing, China, in 2019, we studied the assembly processes of each campus’s bird population and their main drivers by modeling a set of ecological and landscape determinants. Our results showed that (1) bird abundance and species diversity in the newly developed areas were significantly higher than in those downtown; (2) the phylogeny of bird communities in all universities followed a pattern of aggregation, indicating that environmental filtering played a major role in community assembly; (3) specifically, grass, water, and buildings were the main factors affecting each campus’s bird community’s functional and phylogenetic diversity, with the areas of grass and water habitats having a significant positive correlation with phylogenetic diversity, while the size of building areas was negatively correlated. Our results emphasize that habitat features play a decisive role in determining urban bird population diversity and community assembly processes. We suggest that increasing landscape diversity, e.g., by reasonably arranging the location and area of water bodies and grasslands and improving the landscape connectivity, could be a powerful way to maintain and promote urban bird diversity.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/673urban greenspacesbird community assemblylandscape metricsdiversityurban planning |
| spellingShingle | Zixi Zhao Amaël Borzée Jinghao Li Sheng Chen Hui Shi Yong Zhang Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China Animals urban greenspaces bird community assembly landscape metrics diversity urban planning |
| title | Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China |
| title_full | Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China |
| title_fullStr | Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China |
| title_short | Urban Bird Community Assembly Mechanisms and Driving Factors in University Campuses in Nanjing, China |
| title_sort | urban bird community assembly mechanisms and driving factors in university campuses in nanjing china |
| topic | urban greenspaces bird community assembly landscape metrics diversity urban planning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/673 |
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