2023-11-29 12:45:18
Scientists have analyzed the distribution of 115 species of birds in spring and 72 that spend winter in nine European cities.
The study is the work of an international team in which researchers from the University of Granada and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN, dependent on the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)) in Spain participate.
For this work, in which scientists from research centers in Finland, Poland, Germany, Holland and the Czech Republic also participate, the research team has collected data on bird communities in the two main types of urban development (integrative or separator) from various European cities such as Madrid, Granada, Toledo or Prague (Czech Republic). Integrative urban development is characterized by maintaining small green areas, usually in the form of private gardens and vegetation on the streets, mixed with single-family buildings and low population density. On the contrary, separating urban development is characterized by preserving large green areas, usually large parks and gardens, well differentiated from built-up areas, which have a high population density with apartment blocks.
“We have quantified characteristics such as their degree of dietary specialization, the type of nests they build, the effort they invest in reproducing or their longevity for each species identified in the European cities studied. Thus, we have been able to analyze whether urban design favors species with one or other types of traits,” explains MNCN researcher Mario Díaz.
The conclusion reached by the authors of the new study is that the configuration of urban spaces favors the presence of species with different characteristics, with what this means for the improvement of ecosystems and the health of citizens. The study proposes lines of action to promote the creation of more habitable cities for both birds and citizens.
Great tit, a species linked to integrative urban developments. (Photo: Mario Díaz)
“In previous studies we had detected that an integrating or separating urban development determined the presence of different bird communities,” comments Juan Diego Ibáñez Álamo, researcher at the University of Granada. “This research has also allowed us to identify what characteristics of birds allow them to settle in one or another type of urban areas,” continues Ibáñez.
In separating urban spaces, birds that lay many eggs breed, which more frequently use open nests with rapid life cycles, such as stonechats, chiffchaffs and larks. In contrast, in integrating urban areas, birds with more demanding breeding and longer life cycles predominate, such as chickadees, kestrels or seagulls.
“The data we have obtained clearly indicates the need to favor the mixture of both types of urban development to allow for greater bird diversity. Greater urban biodiversity is not only beneficial for our immediate environment but also for our own health and well-being,” concludes the MNCN researcher.
The study is titled “Urban landscape organization is associated with species-specific traits in European birds”. And it has been published in the academic journal Science of the Total Environment. (Source: MNCN / CSIC)
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