Abstract
In a Mediterranean patchy wetland of central Italy, we analyzed the relationship between the number of bird species, expressed in terms of bird alpha diversity, and plant alpha diversity, expressed as Hill number. This number (the exponential of the Shannon entropy) is considered one of the most strong and reliable indexes of alpha-diversity, synthesizing the information on evenness, richness and diversity in one single metric. We observed a progressive increase of the mean values of bird alpha diversity when plant alpha diversity increases along Hill number. Bird alpha diversity shows an abrupt increase between the first and the second of four categories of plant alpha diversity (0–1, >1–2, >2–3, >3), indicating a threshold response in all the groups considered (breeding, wintering and total bird assemblages). This marked decline of bird species richness at around 1 in the Hill index should represent an alarm for managers: wetland sites at or below this level of plant alpha diversity are likely to be experiencing a drastic decrease in bird species richness, both in spring (breeding birds) and in winter (wintering birds).
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the rangers of the protected area (E. De Angelis, C. Galimberti, N. Trucchia) for the support in the field study. This study has been conducted within the activities of the Environmental Service—Province of Rome, that manage ‘Torre Flavia’ Natural Monument (LTER—Long Term Environmental Research—research Station). We wish to thank to Dr.Ph.D. Alessandro Zocchi for a careful reading of the English language.
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Fanelli, G., Battisti, C. & Malavasi, R. Comparing alpha-diversity between plants and birds in a remnant wetland: evidence for a threshold and implication for management. Wetlands Ecol Manage 22, 565–569 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-014-9353-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-014-9353-7