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Temporal persistence of taxonomic and functional composition in bird communities of urban areas: an evaluation after a 6-year gap in data collection

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Abstract

Urban areas tend to stabilize interannual variations of habitat structure and food resources for birds, thus inducing a temporal homogenization of bird composition. However, a comparison of long-term changes of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic composition along urbanization gradients is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare interannual dissimilarities in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic composition of bird communities along urban-rural gradients of three cities in central Argentina. Bird surveys were made in urban, suburban and rural habitats during December 2011 and December 2017. Dissimilarity indices were compared against null models. These models took into account differences in species richness between years. Differences in sample completeness between sampling units were taken into account. The interannual taxonomic dissimilarity was lower in urban habitats than in suburban and rural habitats. The abundance and frequency of the Rock Dove (Columba livia) and the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in urban areas was stable between years, whereas the abundance and frequency of the Grassland Yellow-finch (Sicalis luteola) changed between years in rural areas. The interannual functional dissimilarity was lower in urban habitats than in rural habitats. Bird body mass and the abundance of granivorous species were stable in urban habitats, whereas most of the traits in rural areas changed their abundances between years. The interannual phylogenetic dissimilarity was comparable between habitats. Urban areas had a higher long-term persistence of taxonomic composition and functional traits than rural areas, supporting the idea that urban areas induce a temporal homogenization of bird communities.

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Acknowledgements

Paloma Garcia Orza revised the English writing. The comments of the associate editor and four anonymous reviewers greatly improved a first version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was partially funded by Project PICT-2015-0978 of the Agencia Nacional de Promoción de la Investigación, el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación.

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  1. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires – IEGEBA (CONICET – UBA), Ciudad Universitaria, Pab 2, Piso 4, 1426, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Lucas M. Leveau

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Leveau, L.M. Temporal persistence of taxonomic and functional composition in bird communities of urban areas: an evaluation after a 6-year gap in data collection. Urban Ecosyst 25, 9–20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01132-4

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