Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Characteristics of Urban Natural Areas Influencing Winter Bird Use in Southern Ontario, Canada

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Characteristics of urban natural areas and surrounding landscapes were identified that best explain winter bird use for 28 urban natural areas in southern Ontario, Canada. The research confirms for winter birds the importance of area (size) and natural vegetation, rather than managed, horticultural parkland, within urban natural areas as well as percent urban land use and natural habitat in surrounding landscapes. Alien bird density and percent ground feeding species increased with percent surrounding urban land use. Higher percent forest cover was associated with higher percentages of forest, bark feeding, small (<20 g) and insectivorous species. Natural area size (ha) was related to higher species richness, lower evenness and higher percentages of insectivorous, forest interior, area-sensitive, upper canopy, bark feeding, and non-resident species. Higher number of habitat types within natural areas and percent natural habitat in surrounding landscapes were also associated with higher species richness. Common, resident bird species dominated small areas (<6.5 ha), while less common non-residents increased with area, indicative of a nested distribution. Areas at least 6.5 ha and more generally >20 ha start to support some area-sensitive species. Areas similar to rural forests had >25% insectivores, >25% forest interior species, >25% small species, and <5% alien species. Indicator species separated urban natural areas from rural habitats and ordination placed urban natural areas along a gradient between urban development and undisturbed, rural forests. More attention is needed on issues of winter bird conservation in urban landscapes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams L. 1994. Urban wildlife habitats: a landscape perspective. University of Minneapolis Press, Minneapolis, 186 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams L., L. Dove. 1989. Wildlife reserves and corridors in the urban environment: a guide to ecological landscape planning and resource conservation. National Institute for Urban Wildlife, Sheperdstown, West Virginia, 91 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Austen M., C. Francis, D. Burke, M. Bradstreet. 2001. Landscape context and fragmentation effects on forest birds in Southern Ontario. Condor 103:701–714

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belbin L. 1995. A multivariate approach to the selection of biological reserves. Biodivers Conserv 4:951–963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellamy P., S. Hinsley, I. Newton. 1996a. Local extinctions and recolonisations of passerine bird populations in small woods. Oecologia 108:64–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellamy P., S. Hinsley, I. Newton. 1996b. Factors influencing bird species numbers in small woods in south-east England. J Appl Ecol 33:249–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird D., D. Varland, J. Negro. 1996. Raptors in Human Landscapes: Adaptations to built and cultivated environments. Academic Press, London, 396 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake J. 1987. Species-area relationships of winter residents in isolated woodlots. Wilson Bull 99:243–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Bock, C., T. Root. 1981. The Christmas Bird Count and avian ecology. In C. Ralph and J. Scott (eds), Estimating the numbers of terrestrial birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6, pp 17–23

  • Boonstra R. 2004. Coping with changing northern environments: the role of the stress axis in birds and mammals. Integr Comp Biol 44:95–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryce S., R. Hughes, P. Kaufmann. 2002. Development of a bird integrity index: using bird assemblages as indicators of riparian condition. Environ Manage 30:294–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke D., E. Nol. 2000. Landscape and fragment size effects on reproductive success of forest-breeding birds in Ontario. Ecol Appl 10:1749–1761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham K., D. Anderson. 2002. Model selection and multi-model inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. 2nd ed. Springer-Verlag, New York, 488 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabeza, M., A. Moilanen. 2001. Design of reserve networks and the persistence of biodiversity. Trends Ecol Evol 16:242–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cadman, M., P. Eagles, F. Helleiner. 1987. Atlas of the breeding birds of Ontario. University of Waterloo Press, Waterloo, Canada, 617 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell C., A. Dagg. 1976. Bird populations in downtown and suburban Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Ontario Field Biol 30:1–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Chace J., J. Walsh. 2006. Urban effects on native avifauna: a review. Landscape Urban Plan 74:46–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clergeau P., J. Jokimäki, J.-P. Savard. 2001. Are urban bird communities influenced by the bird diversity of adjacent landscapes? J Appl Ecol 38:1122–1134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clergeau P., S. Croci, J. Jokimäki, M.-L. Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki, M. Dinetti. 2006. Avifauna homogenisation by urbanization: analysis at different European latitudes. Biol Conserv 127:336–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crosby N., R. Blair. 2001. Do temporal trends in Christmas Bird Counts reflect the spatial trends of urbanization in southwest Ohio? In J. Marzluff, R. Bowman, R. Donnelly (eds), Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA, pp 19–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Degraaf R., N. Tilghman, S. Anderson. 1985. Foraging guilds of North American birds. Environ Manage 9:493–536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doherty P., T. Grubb. 2000. Habitat and landscape correlates of presence, density, and species richness of birds wintering in forest fragments in Ohio. Wilson Bull 112:388–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doherty P., T. Grubb. 2002. Survivorship of permanent-resident birds in a fragmented forested landscape. Ecology 83:844–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnelly R., J. Marzluff. 2004. Importance of reserve size and landscape context to urban bird conservation. Conserv Biol 18:733–745

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunning J. 1993. The CRC handbook of bird weights. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 371 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada. 2004. How much habitat is enough? A framework for guiding habitat rehabilitation in Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Environment Canada, Downsview, Ontario, Canada, 80 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada. 2006. How much habitat is enough? Area-sensitive forest birds in urban areas. Environment Canada, Downsview, Ontario, Canada, 67 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Law Institute. 2003. Conservation thresholds for land use planners. The Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, 55 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Erskine A. 1980. Urban birds in the context of Canadian climate and settlement. In R. Murton, M. Luniak (eds), Symposium on Urbanization, Proceedings of the 17th International Ornithological Congress. Berlin, Germany, pp 1321–1326

  • Fahrig L. 2003. Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annu Rev Ecol Evol System 34:487–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairbanks D., B. Reyers, A. Van Jaarsveld. 2001. Species and environment representation: selecting reserves for the retention of avian diversity in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Biol Conserv 98:365–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Juricic E. 2002. Nested patterns of species distribution and winter flock occurrence of insectivorous birds in a fragmented landscape. Ecoscience 9:450–458

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Juricic E., J. Jokimäki. 2001. A habitat island approach to conserving birds in urban landscapes: case studies from southern and northern Europe. Biodivers Conserv 10:2023–2043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Figley W. K., L. W. VanDruff. 1982. The ecology of urban Mallards. Wildlife Monogr 81:1–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer J., D. Lindenmayer. 2005. Perfectly nested or significantly nested an important difference for conservation management. Oikos 109:485–494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friesen L., P. Eagles, R. Mackay. 1995. Effects of residential development on forest-dwelling neotropical migrant songbirds. Conserv Biol 9:1408–1414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauch H., R. Whittaker. 1981. Hierarchical classification of community data. J Ecol 69:537–557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert O. 1989. The ecology of urban habitats. Chapman and Hall, London, 369 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins B., R. Field, H. Cornell, D. Currie, J-F. Guégan, D. Kaufman, J. Kerr, G. Mittelbach, T. Oberdorff, E. O’Brien, E. Porter, J. Turner. 2003. Energy, water, and broad-scale geographic patterns of species richness. Ecology 84:3105–3117

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbers J., R. Serrouya, K. Maxcy. 2004. Effects of elevation and forest cover on winter birds in mature forest ecosystems of southern British Columbia. Can J Zool 82:1720–1730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennings L., D. Edge. 2003. Riparian bird community structure in Portland, Oregon: habitat, urbanization, and spatial scale patterns. Condor 105:288–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heusmann H., R. Burrell. 1984. Park waterfowl populations in Massachusetts. J Field Ornithol 55:89–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinsley S., P. Bellamy, I. Newton, T. Sparks. 1996. Influences of population size and woodland area on bird species distributions in small woods. Oecologia 105:100–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill M. 1973. Diversity and evenness: a unifying notation and its consequences. Ecology 54:427–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill M., H. Gauch. 1980. Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. Vegetation 42:47–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill M., R. Bunce, M. Shaw. 1975. Indicator species analysis, a divisive polythetic method of classification, and its application to a survey of native pinewoods in Scotland. J Ecol 63:597–613

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holloway G., B. Naylor, W. Watt (eds). 2004. Habitat relationships of wildlife in Ontario. Revised habitat suitability models for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence and Boreal East forests. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southern Science and Information Section and Northeast Science and Information. Joint Technical Report No. 1. Peterborough, Ontario

  • Huertas D., J. Diaz. 2001. Winter habitat selection by a montane forest bird assemblage: the effects of solar radiation. Can J Zool 79:279–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ichinose T., K. Katoh. 1998. Factors influencing bird distribution among isolated woodlots on a heterogeneous landscape in Saitama Pref., Japan. Ekologia (Bratislava) 17:298–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson J., K. Omland. 2004. Model selection in ecology and evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 19:101–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jokimäki J. 1999. Occurrence of breeding bird species in urban parks: Effects of park structure and broad-scale variables. Urban Ecosyst 3:21–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jokimaki J., M. Kaisanlahti-Jokimaki. 2003. Spatial similarity of urban bird communities: a multiscale approach. J Biogeogr 30:1183–1193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jokimäki J., J. Suhonen. 1998. Distribution and habitat selection of wintering birds in urban environments. Landscape Urban Plan 39:253–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jokimäki J., J. Suhonen, K. Inki, S. Jokinen. 1996. Biogeographical comparison of winter bird assemblages in urban environments in Finland. J Biogeogr 23:379–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jokimäki J., P. Clergeau, M. Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki. 2002. Winter bird communities in urban habitats: a comparative study between central and northern Europe. J Biogeogr 29:69–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kadane J., N. Lazar. 2004. Methods and criteria for model selection. J Am Stat Assoc 99:279–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karr J. 1993. Measuring biological integrity: lessons from streams. In S. Woodley, J. Kay, G. Francis (eds), Ecological integrity and the management of ecosystems. St. Lucie Press, Ottawa, pp 83–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolb H. 1965. The Audubon winter bird population study. Audubon Field Notes 19:432–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Lancaster R., W. Rees. 1979. Bird communities and the structure of urban habitats. Can J Zool 57:2358–2368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mancke R., T. Gavin. 2000. Breeding bird density in woodlots: effects of depth and buildings at the edges. Ecol Appl 10:598–611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margules C., R. Pressey. 2000. Systematic conservation planning. Nature 405:243–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Magurran A. 2004. Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 256 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Marzluff J. 2001a. Worldwide increase in urbanization and its effects on birds. In J. Marzluff, R. Bowman, R. Donnelly (eds), Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA, pp 19–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Marzluff J. 2001b. History of urban bird research. In J. Marzluff, R. Bowman, R. Donnelly (eds), Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world. Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA, pp 1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Marzluff J., F. Gehlbach, D. Manuwal. 1998. Urban environments: influences and challenges for the avian conservationist. In J. Marzluff R. Sallabanks (eds), Avian Conservation: Research and Management. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp 283–299

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre N. 1995. Effects of forest patch size on avian diversity. Landscape Ecol 10:85–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan G. 2004. Nonparametric discrimination. Discriminant analysis and statistical pattern recognition. Wiley, New York. 526 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren M. 1998. Selection of Wildlife Species as Indicators of Forest Sustainability in Ontario. Summary of a Workshop held at Peterborough, Ontario on March 18–19, 1997 and Subsequent Recommendations. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario.

  • Meehan T., W. Jetz, J. Brown. 2004. Energetic determinants of abundance in winter landbird communities. Ecol Lett 7:532–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller A. 2002. Subset selection in regression, 2nd ed. Monographs on Statistics and Applied Probability, Volume 95. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 238 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Moilanen A., M. Nieminen. 2002. Simple connectivity measures in spatial ecology. Ecology 83:1131–1145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mörtberg U. 2001. Resident bird species in urban forest remnants; landscape and habitat perspectives. Landscape Ecol 16:193–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nour N., R. Van Damme, E. Matthysen, A. A. Dhondt. 1999. Forest birds in forest fragments: are fragmentation effects independent of season? Bird Study 46:279–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen J., P. Minchin. 1997. Instability of ordination results under changes in input data order: explanations and remedies. J Vegetat Sci 8:447–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2005. Greenbelt Plan, Toronto, 47 pp

  • Ontario Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal. 2006. Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Toronto, 40 pp

  • Ontario Nature. 2004. Suggested Guidelines for the Identification of Significant Woodlands in Southern Ontario. Conserving Southern Woodlands Project, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Ontario Partners in Flight. 2005. Ontario Landbird Conservation Plan: Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain (North American Bird Conservation Region 13), Priorities, Objectives and Recommended Actions. Environment Canada and Ministry of Natural Resources

  • Patterson B., W. Atmar. 2000. Analyzing species composition in fragments. In G. Rheinwald (ed), Isolated vertebrate communities in the tropics, Proc. 4th Int. Symp., Bonn. Bonn Zool Monogr 46, pp 9–24

  • Pim L., J. Ornoy 2002. A smart future for Ontario. How to protect nature and curb urban sprawl in your community. Federation of Ontario Naturalists, Toronto, 72 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Platt A., A. Lill. 2006. Composition and conservation value of bird assemblages of urban habitat islands: Do pedestrian traffic and landscape variables exert an influence? Urban Ecosyst 9:83–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polo V., L. Carrascal. 1999. Shaping the body size distribution of passeriformes: habitat use and body size are evolutionarily and ecologically related. J Anim Ecol 68:324–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Possingham H., I. Ball, S. Andelman. 2000. Mathematical methods for identifying representative reserve networks. In S. Ferson, M. Burgman (eds), Quantitative methods for conservation biology. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp 291–305

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ranney J., M. Bruner, J. Levenson. 1981. The importance of edge in the structure and dynamics of forest islands. In R. Burgess, D. Sharpe (eds), Forest Island dynamics in man-dominated landscapes. Springer Verlag, New York, pp 67–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins C. 1972. An appraisal of the winter bird population study technique. Am Birds 26:688–692

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins C. 1981. Reappraisal of the winter bird population study technique. In C.J. Ralph, J.M. Scott (eds), Estimating the numbers of terrestrial birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6, pp 52–57

  • Robbins C., D. Dawson, B. Dowell. 1989. Habitat area requirements of breeding forest birds of the middle Atlantic states. Wildlife Monographs No. 103, 34 pp

  • Roberts J., G. Schnell. 2006. Comparison of survey methods for wintering grassland birds. J Field Ornithol 77:46–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Root T. 1988. Atlas of wintering birds of North America: an analysis of Christmas bird count data. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Saetersdal M., H. Birks. 1993. Assessing the representativeness of nature reserves using multivariate analysis: vascular plants and breeding birds in deciduous forests, western Norway. Biol Conserv 65:121–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlaepfer M., M. Runge, P. Sherman. 2002. Ecological and evolutionary traps. Trends Ecol Evol 17:474–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P. 2003. Winter bird use of urban and rural habitats in Ontario. Can Field Nat 117:173–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith P. 1984a. Observer and annual variation in winter bird population studies. Wilson Bull 96:561–574

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith P. 1984b. Winter birds of small urban woodlots in Kitchener-Waterloo. Am Birds 38:60–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith P., J. Theberge. 1986. A review of criteria used to evaluate natural areas. Environ Manage 10:715–734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P., J. Theberge. 1987. Evaluating natural areas using multiple criteria: Theory and practice. Environ Manage 11:447–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P., V. Glooschenko, D. Hagan. 1991. Coastal wetlands of three Canadian Great Lakes: inventory, current conservation initiatives and patterns of variation. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 48:1581–1594

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith P., G. Fairfield, D. Burton, D. Knauber. 1982. Winter bird communities of urban southern Ontario. Am Birds 36:46–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith P., D. Knauber, D. Ulster, D. Banville, J. MacDonald, G. Fairfield, D. Burton. 1981. Winter bird communities of selected areas in Toronto. Am Birds 35:41–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Taggart J. 1994. Ordination as an aid in determining priorities for plant community protection. Biol Conserv 68:135–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telleria J., T. Santos. 1995. Effects of forest fragmentation on a guild of wintering passerines: the role of habitat selection. Biol Conserv 71:61–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telleria J., T. Santos. 1997. Seasonal and interannual occupation of a forest archipelago by insectivorous passerines. Oikos 78:239–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilghman N. 1987. Characteristics of urban woodlands affecting winter bird diversity and abundance. Forest Ecol Manage 21:163–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson B., M. Hughes, M. Anderson. 2001. Effects of including non-breeding bird species on predicted bird distributions for conservation planning in New Mexico. Biol Conserv 100:229–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trzcinski M., L. Fahrig, G. Merriam. 1999. Independent effects of forest cover and fragmentation on the distribution of forest breeding birds. Ecol Appl 9:586–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitcomb R., C. Robbins, J. Lynch, B. Whitcomb, M. Klimkiewicz, D. Bystrak. 1981. Effects of forest fragmentation on avifauna of the eastern deciduous forest. In R. Burgess, D. Sharpe (eds), Forest island dynamics in man-dominated landscapes. Springer Verlag, New York, pp 125–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams J., C. ReVelle, S. Levin. 2005. Spatial attributes and reserve design models: A review. Environ Model Assess 10:163–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams P., D. Gibbons, C. Margules, A. Rebelo, C. Humphries, R. Pressey. 1996. A comparison of richness hotspots, rarity hotspots and complementary areas for conserving diversity of British birds. Conserv Biol 10:155–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodley S., J. Kay, G. Francis. 1993. Ecological integrity and the management of ecosystems. St. Lucie Press, Ottawa, 220 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Zajc E. 2005. Modelling native bird diversity in the Greater Toronto Area. Master’s of Environmental Studies thesis, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Download references

Acknowledgments

J. Jokimäki, J. Theberge, M. Cadman, G. Francis, and three anonymous reviewers provided comments on drafts of the manuscript. Thanks are extended to the many people who conducted the winter bird population studies used in this paper. The Toronto Field Naturalists, Toronto Bird Observatory, and James L. Baillie Fund supported a number of these field studies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Policy and Programs Branch, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 1 Stone Road West, 3rd floor, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 4Y2

    Paul G. R. Smith

Authors
  1. Paul G. R. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul G. R. Smith.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Smith, P.G.R. Characteristics of Urban Natural Areas Influencing Winter Bird Use in Southern Ontario, Canada. Environmental Management 39, 338–352 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0028-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0028-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation