Seasonal homogenization of bird communities in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Argentina, due to urbanization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.26.36.3.0.2763Keywords:
biotic homogenization, global south, gradient, seasonality, taxonomic diversity, urbanizationAbstract
1. Cities in temperate regions typically show seasonal stabilization of resources for birds. This stabilization is linked to less seasonal variation in bird communities. However, such analysis is rare in the Pampas Region.
2. The goal of this study was to examine seasonal changes in bird diversity and composition along the urbanrural gradient of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, the second-largest city in South America. Bird counts were carried out along transects during the breeding (spring-summer) and non-breeding (autumn-winter) seasons across five levels of urbanization.
3. Bird richness negatively correlated with urbanization during the breeding season, while it reached its peak at scarce levels of urbanization during the non-breeding season. The change in species richness between seasons was greatest in the rural sector, while the sparsely urbanized sector showed no significant change. The largest change in species composition between stages occurred in the rural sector, while the smallest change was seen in the moderately urbanized sector.
4. Implications. The findings support the idea of seasonal homogenization of bird communities in urban areas. However, this study revealed seasonal variations in the more urbanized area, indicating that the homogenizing impact of urbanization on bird communities is not a straightforward process.
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