Urbanization near forests reduces by 50%

The effects of artificial light, noise, habitat loss, rising temperatures, and urbanization on birds are some of the known impacts on avian life.

This is the main reason for the massive loss of biodiversity among these animals.

But is it possible to accurately measure the impact of urbanization on wild birds?

To answer this question, the research team studied the impact of urbanization on 126 bird species belonging to 41 families in nine locations in the Atlantic Forest near João Pessoa, Paraíba.

These areas, all protected population units, including those of the conservation unit, vary in size between 14 hectares and 1,058 hectares.

The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation in Science, examined how different forest species affect the forests because they all live in different environments and can change easily.

Species such as frogs and moths (Pitangus sulfratus) are common in large cities due to noise and internal pollution.

Big Data in Urbanization

The study used field data on the number of species observed over a year (2014–2015), including satellite imagery.

The results showed that when forest density varied from 2 to 40 percent, the number of birds decreased by 50 percent.

It is a great place for urban life, with small gardens and trees that support bird populations; hence, the original forests have changed.

Perhaps this is the biggest surprise for the biologists involved.

Studies of each species indicate that all the birds studied are affected by urban development near their environments: the red squirrel (Galbula ruficada) and the royal hawk (Estrilda estrild), or the yellow puppet (Capsimpis flavola) along with a wild species like the winged helper (Mannex mannex).

After all, the first position is not as weak as the second position.

Jose Carlos Philo, Department of Biology, Santa Cruz (B.S.)

Source of information: brasil.mongabay.com

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