Landscape Ecology

, Volume 30, Issue 1, pp 67–75 | Cite as

The effects of road networks and habitat heterogeneity on the species richness of birds in Natura 2000 sites in Cyprus

Research Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The large European supra-national network of protected areas, known as Natura 2000, is considered to be the cornerstone of the European Union’s efforts to conserve its biodiversity. The effective management of these areas requires a good understanding of how human-induced ecosystem change, evident in these sites, affects habitats and species of interest. In this study, we examine the factors that influence the presence of birds in thirty-eight Natura 2000 sites in Cyprus. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we test the direct and indirect effects of human population density, road networks and hunting on the overall species richness of birds and the species richness of four additional bird categories: (1) forest and shrubland species, (2) farmland species, (3) wetland species and (4) species listed in the Annex I of the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC). Other potentially important factors such as size of the area, habitat diversity, percentage of the area covered by migratory corridors and mean altitude, are also incorporated into the analyses. Our results show that road networks have negative effects on four of the five bird categories tested while area and habitat diversity positively influence all categories. These findings have significant conservation implications for the management of the Natura 2000 sites in the EU.

Keywords

Bird richness Road density Habitat diversity Vegetation cover Protected areas Structural equation modeling 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to experts from BirdLife Cyprus, Department of Forests, Game Fund and the Environment Service for providing useful feedback on the preliminary model. We are also thankful to Mick Crawley, Alex Kirschel and two anonymous reviewers for commenting on the results and providing additional suggestions. This project was funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus, with co-funding from the European Union’s Structural Funds (Protocol PENEK/Support/0308/42).

Supplementary material

10980_2014_100_MOESM1_ESM.doc (49 kb)
Supplementary material 1 (DOC 49 kb)
10980_2014_100_MOESM2_ESM.doc (24 kb)
Supplementary material 2 (DOC 24 kb)

References

  1. Atauri JA, de Lucio JV (2001) The role of landscape structure in species richness distribution of birds, amphibians, reptiles and lepidopterans in Mediterranean landscapes. Landscape Ecol 16:147–159CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Benítez-López A, Alkemade R, Verweij PA (2010) The impacts of roads and other infrastructure on mammal and bird populations: a meta-analysis. Biol Conserv 143:1307–1316CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Blake JG, Karr JR (1987) Breeding birds of isolated woodlots: area and habitat relationships. Ecology 68:1724–1734CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Boecklen WJ (1986) Effects of habitat heterogeneity on the species-area relationships of forest birds. J Biogeogr 13:59–68CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Brotons L, Herrando S (2001) Reduced bird occurrence in pine forest fragments associated with road proximity in a Mediterranean agricultural area. Landsc Urban Plan 57:77–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Coffin AW (2007) From roadkill to road ecology: a review of the ecological effects of roads. J Transp Geogr 15:396–406CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Donald PF, Sanderson FJ, Burfield IJ, Bierman SM, Gregory RD, Waliczky Z (2007) International conservation policy delivers benefits for birds in Europe. Science 317:810–813PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. EC (2011a) Natura 2000 Barometer, European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/barometer/index_en.htm#newstat. Accessed Jan 2011
  9. EC (2011b) Commission Implementing Decision of 11 July 2011 concerning a site information format for Natura 2000 sites (notified under document C (2011) 4892). http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011D0484. Accessed Oct 2014
  11. EIONET (2013) Eionet Central Data Repository. http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/cy/eu/n2000/envtkl3sg. Accessed Oct 2014
  12. ESRI (2009) ArcMap 9.2. ESRI (Environmental Systems Resource Institute), RedlandsGoogle Scholar
  13. Fairbrass J, Jordan A (2001) Protecting biodiversity in the European Union: national barriers and European opportunities? J Eur Public Policy 8:499–518CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Findlay CS, Houlahan J (1997) Anthropogenic correlates of species richness in southeastern Ontario wetlands. Conserv Biol 11:1000–1009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Fox A, Madsen J (1997) Behavioural and distributional effects of hunting disturbance on waterbirds in Europe: implications for refuge design. J Appl Ecol 34:1–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Grace JB (2006) Structural equation modeling and natural systems. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Heymann YC, Steenmans G, Croisille, Bossard M (1994) Corine land cover project-technical guide. European Commission, Directorate General Environment. Nuclear safety and civil protection, ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels-LuxembourgGoogle Scholar
  18. Iezekiel S, Makris C, Antoniou A (2004) Important bird areas of European Union importance in Cyprus. BirdLife Cyprus, NicosiaGoogle Scholar
  19. Jiguet F, Godet L, Devictor V (2012) Hunting and the fate of French breeding waterbirds. Bird Stud 59:474–482CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Kallimanis AS, Koutsias N (2013) Geographical patterns of Corine land cover diversity across Europe: the effect of grain size and thematic resolution. Prog Phys Geogr 37:161–177CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Kallimanis AS, Mazaris AD, Tzanopoulos J, Halley JM, Pantis JD, Sgardelis SP (2008) How does habitat diversity affect the species–area relationship? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 17:532–538CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Kociolek A, Clevenger A, St Clair C, Proppe D (2011) Effects of road networks on bird populations. Conserv Biol 25:241–249PubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. MacArthur RH, Wilson EO (1967) The theory of island biogeography. Princeton University Press, PrincetonGoogle Scholar
  24. Magurran AE (1988) Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton University Press, PrincetonCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Mücher CA, Hennekens SM, Bunce RGH, Schaminée JHJ, Schaepman ME (2009) Modelling the spatial distribution of Natura 2000 habitats across Europe. Landsc Urban Plan 92:148–159CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, Da Fonseca GA, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Nilsson SG, Bengtsson J, As S (1988) Habitat diversity or area per se? Species richness of woody plants, carabid beetles and land snails on islands. J Anim Ecol 57:685–704CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Paralikidis N, Papageorgiou N, Tsiompanoudis A, Konstantinou L, Christakis T (2010) Foods of hunter-killed Black francolins (Francolinus francolinus) in Cyprus. Eur J Wildl Res 56:89–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Peris S, Pescador M (2004) Effects of traffic noise on paserine populations in Mediterranean wooded pastures. Appl Acoust 65:357–366CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Pino J, Rodà F, Ribas J, Pons X (2000) Landscape structure and bird species richness: implications for conservation in rural areas between natural parks. Landsc Urban Plan 49:35–48CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Rafe R, Usher M, Jefferson R (1985) Birds on reserves: the influence of area and habitat on species richness. J Appl Ecol 22:327–335CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Ricklefs RE, Lovette IJ (1999) The roles of island area per se and habitat diversity in the species–area relationships of four Lesser Antillean faunal groups. J Anim Ecol 68:1142–1160CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Schermelleh-Engel K, Moosbrugger H, Müller H (2003) Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods Psychol Res 8:23–74Google Scholar
  34. Schindler S, von Wehrden H, Poirazidis K, Wrbka T, Kati V (2013) Multiscale performance of landscape metrics as indicators of species richness of plants, insects and vertebrates. Link Landsc Struct Biodivers 31:41–48Google Scholar
  35. Selva N, Kreft S, Kati V, Schluck M, Jonsson B-G, Mihok B, Okarma H, Ibisch PL (2011) Roadless and low-traffic areas as conservation targets in Europe. Environ Manag 48:865–877CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Statistical Service (2014) Population Census 2001. http://www.cystat.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/index_en/index_en?OpenDocument. Accessed Oct 2014
  37. Stattersfield AJ, Crosby MJ, Long AJ, Wege DC (1998) Endemic bird areas of the World: priorities for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series no. 7. BirdLife International, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
  38. Trombulak SC, Frissell CA (2000) Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conserv Biol 14:18–30CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Tsiafouli MA, Apostolopoulou E, Mazaris AD, Kallimanis AS, Drakou EG, Pantis JD (2013). Human activities in Natura 2000 sites: a highly diversified conservation network. Environ Manag. doi: 10.1007/s00267-013-0036-6-9Google Scholar
  40. Tucker GM, Evans MI (1997) Habitats for birds in Europe: a conservation strategy for the wider environment. BirdLife International, CambridgeGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Christos Mammides
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
  • Costas Kadis
    • 2
  • Tim Coulson
    • 1
    • 4
  1. 1.Division of Biology and Centre for Population Biology, Faculty of Life SciencesImperial CollegeAscotUK
  2. 2.Nature Conservation UnitFrederick UniversityNicosiaCyprus
  3. 3.Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesMenglunChina
  4. 4.Department of ZoologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK

Personalised recommendations