Strong Decline in Breeding-Bird Community Abundance Throughout Habitats in the Azov Region (Southeastern Ukraine) Linked to Land-Use Intensification and Climate

Anastasiia Zymaroieva; Oleksandr Zhukov; Tetiana Fedoniuk; Jens Christian Svenning

doi:10.3390/d14121028

Strong Decline in Breeding-Bird Community Abundance Throughout Habitats in the Azov Region (Southeastern Ukraine) Linked to Land-Use Intensification and Climate

Anastasiia Zymaroieva^*, Oleksandr Zhukov, Tetiana Fedoniuk, Jens Christian Svenning

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

In recent decades, bird communities associated with agricultural systems have declined in Western and Central Europe and in North America, but how widely these dynamics extend to other regions is poorly known. In this study, we assessed the dynamics and the main drivers of the changes in the abundance, richness, and composition of breeding bird communities over a 30-year period in the various types of habitats of southeastern Ukraine (Azov region), a region that has undergone agricultural intensification for several decades. This study was conducted in the valley of the Molochna River during the 1988 to 2018 nesting seasons. The area studied hosted 81 bird species. Species richness varied from three species in salt marshes to thirty-three in reed beds but did not show a general trend over time. However, we identified a decline in bird communities’ total abundance over time in all habitats except shelterbelts and meadows. Similarly, species composition changed over time, reflecting the way in which species varied in their abundance changes. Climatic variables contributed to bird community turnover, but with decreasing importance over time. Overall, our results indicate that the recent declines in bird populations in farmland regions also extend to eastern Europe, with land-use effects interacting with climate to shape temporal dynamics of bird communities.

Original language	English
Article number	1028
Journal	Diversity
Volume	14
Issue	12
ISSN	1424-2818
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121028
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022

Keywords

abundance
birds
climate change
communities
land use intensification
temporal turnover

Access to Document

10.3390/d14121028Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{0bf0a42738b04a238aba14f879d82936,

title = "Strong Decline in Breeding-Bird Community Abundance Throughout Habitats in the Azov Region (Southeastern Ukraine) Linked to Land-Use Intensification and Climate",

abstract = "In recent decades, bird communities associated with agricultural systems have declined in Western and Central Europe and in North America, but how widely these dynamics extend to other regions is poorly known. In this study, we assessed the dynamics and the main drivers of the changes in the abundance, richness, and composition of breeding bird communities over a 30-year period in the various types of habitats of southeastern Ukraine (Azov region), a region that has undergone agricultural intensification for several decades. This study was conducted in the valley of the Molochna River during the 1988 to 2018 nesting seasons. The area studied hosted 81 bird species. Species richness varied from three species in salt marshes to thirty-three in reed beds but did not show a general trend over time. However, we identified a decline in bird communities{\textquoteright} total abundance over time in all habitats except shelterbelts and meadows. Similarly, species composition changed over time, reflecting the way in which species varied in their abundance changes. Climatic variables contributed to bird community turnover, but with decreasing importance over time. Overall, our results indicate that the recent declines in bird populations in farmland regions also extend to eastern Europe, with land-use effects interacting with climate to shape temporal dynamics of bird communities.",

keywords = "abundance, birds, climate change, communities, land use intensification, temporal turnover",

author = "Anastasiia Zymaroieva and Oleksandr Zhukov and Tetiana Fedoniuk and Svenning, {Jens Christian}",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

doi = "10.3390/d14121028",

language = "English",

volume = "14",

journal = "Diversity",

issn = "1424-2818",

publisher = "M D P I AG",

number = "12",

}

Strong Decline in Breeding-Bird Community Abundance Throughout Habitats in the Azov Region (Southeastern Ukraine) Linked to Land-Use Intensification and Climate. / Zymaroieva, Anastasiia; Zhukov, Oleksandr; Fedoniuk, Tetiana et al.
In: Diversity, Vol. 14, No. 12, 1028, 12.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Strong Decline in Breeding-Bird Community Abundance Throughout Habitats in the Azov Region (Southeastern Ukraine) Linked to Land-Use Intensification and Climate

AU - Zymaroieva, Anastasiia

AU - Zhukov, Oleksandr

AU - Fedoniuk, Tetiana

AU - Svenning, Jens Christian

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - In recent decades, bird communities associated with agricultural systems have declined in Western and Central Europe and in North America, but how widely these dynamics extend to other regions is poorly known. In this study, we assessed the dynamics and the main drivers of the changes in the abundance, richness, and composition of breeding bird communities over a 30-year period in the various types of habitats of southeastern Ukraine (Azov region), a region that has undergone agricultural intensification for several decades. This study was conducted in the valley of the Molochna River during the 1988 to 2018 nesting seasons. The area studied hosted 81 bird species. Species richness varied from three species in salt marshes to thirty-three in reed beds but did not show a general trend over time. However, we identified a decline in bird communities’ total abundance over time in all habitats except shelterbelts and meadows. Similarly, species composition changed over time, reflecting the way in which species varied in their abundance changes. Climatic variables contributed to bird community turnover, but with decreasing importance over time. Overall, our results indicate that the recent declines in bird populations in farmland regions also extend to eastern Europe, with land-use effects interacting with climate to shape temporal dynamics of bird communities.

AB - In recent decades, bird communities associated with agricultural systems have declined in Western and Central Europe and in North America, but how widely these dynamics extend to other regions is poorly known. In this study, we assessed the dynamics and the main drivers of the changes in the abundance, richness, and composition of breeding bird communities over a 30-year period in the various types of habitats of southeastern Ukraine (Azov region), a region that has undergone agricultural intensification for several decades. This study was conducted in the valley of the Molochna River during the 1988 to 2018 nesting seasons. The area studied hosted 81 bird species. Species richness varied from three species in salt marshes to thirty-three in reed beds but did not show a general trend over time. However, we identified a decline in bird communities’ total abundance over time in all habitats except shelterbelts and meadows. Similarly, species composition changed over time, reflecting the way in which species varied in their abundance changes. Climatic variables contributed to bird community turnover, but with decreasing importance over time. Overall, our results indicate that the recent declines in bird populations in farmland regions also extend to eastern Europe, with land-use effects interacting with climate to shape temporal dynamics of bird communities.

KW - abundance

KW - birds

KW - climate change

KW - communities

KW - land use intensification

KW - temporal turnover

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144727003&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/d14121028

DO - 10.3390/d14121028

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85144727003

SN - 1424-2818

VL - 14

JO - Diversity

JF - Diversity

IS - 12

M1 - 1028

ER -

Strong Decline in Breeding-Bird Community Abundance Throughout Habitats in the Azov Region (Southeastern Ukraine) Linked to Land-Use Intensification and Climate

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this