The impact of urbanisation on UK bird assemblages: a spatial and temporal evaluation

Li, Ye (2023). The impact of urbanisation on UK bird assemblages: a spatial and temporal evaluation. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The urbanisation process has numerous and substantial impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. Comprehending how different species react to environmental change through urbanisation is necessary if we are to better understand how to mitigate the negative impacts. Birds, which have relatively high mobility and many of which are sensitive to environmental change, are often used as indicators to determine how urbanisation affects biodiversity. However, most studies of the impacts of urbanisation on birds focus on asingle city, or focus on multiple cities but use non-standardised data. Here, a standardised dataset of bird presence across the UK (BTO Atlas data) was used to compare urban and rural bird assemblages in terms of various spatial and temporal ecological patterns. The 100 most urban grid squares in the BTO dataset were selected, and compared with a random draw of 100 rural squares. The dataset comprised two time periods: 1970 and 2010. Temporal patterns of species richness and composition change were compared between rural and urban sites, as were differences in spatial variation in composition in 2010 (i.e. spatial beta-diversity). To compliment the community-level patterns, an analysis of individual winner and loser species (in terms of urbanisation) was undertaken. It was found that there were some large differences between urban and rural sites. While mean richness did not differ substantially, composition changed to a greater degree through time in urban areas, while in 2010 spatial variation in composition was lower in urban squares relative to rural squares. Together, these results indicate that urban areas are becoming more homogenous in terms of composition, which aligns with published studies that have argued biotic homogenisation of communities is aglobal environmental issue. The species doing well in urban areas (the winners) tend to be doing well nationwide, although the rate of increase in occupancy is generally greater in urban areas.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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