EFFECTS OF URBAN NOISE, IRRIGATION, AND NEIGHBORHOOD

SOCIOECONOMICS ON BIRD COMMUNITIES IN FRESNO,

CALIFORNIA

Pedro Garcia

Madhusudan Katti (@leafwarbler)California State University, Fresno

URBANIZATION IMPACTS ON BIRDS

Bird behavior and ecology in cities are influenced by many factors:

Anthropogenic Noise

Landscape Changes

Socioeconomic Factors

Income or Property Value

Irrigation (and other landscaping choices)

NOISE EFFECTS ON SONG

Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) songs get louder in response to higher background noise levels - a short-term adaptation in song amplitude.

(β = 0.794, t =3.151, P < 0.05)

Brumm, H. 2004. The impact of environmental noise on song amplitude in a territorial bird. Journal of Animal Ecology 73:434-440.

San Francisco Change in white-crowned sparrow (Zosterops

lateralis) song structure with an increase in vegetation density over a 35 year period.

HABITAT EFFECTS ON SONG

Derryberry, E. P. 2009. Ecology shapes birdsong evolution: variation in morphology and habitat explains variation in white-crowned sparrow song. Am Nat 174:24-33.

(R2 = 0.15, n = 84, P = 0.0003) (R2 = 0.1, n = 84, P = 0.035)

Mexico City Bird species richness declined with increasing

distance from urban parks and the city border.

LANDSCAPE EFFECTS ON BIRD DIVERSITY

MacGregor-Fors, I., and R. Ortega-Álvarez. 2011. Fading from the forest: Bird community shifts related to urban park site-specific and landscape traits. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 10:239-246

(β = -0.6319, SE = 0.2025, t25 = -3.1212, P = 0.004504).

Vancouver & Burnaby Neighborhoods surrounding large parks had higher bird

species richness than did areas with smaller parks

LANDSCAPE EFFECTS ON BIRD DIVERSITY

Melles, S., S. Glenn, and K. Martin. 2003. Urban bird diversity and landscape complexity: species-environment associations along a multiscale habitat gradient. Conservation Ecology 7:5.

(GROUND = 0.26ln(PARK1000) – 0.86; r2 = 0.43, n = 124, P<0.001)

SHRUB = 0.22ln(PARK1000) – 0.79; r2 = 0.57, n = 87, P<0.001)

These studies view parks and ponds as refuges surrounded by unnatural disturbances (human neighborhoods).

But, urbanized areas constitute a complex, heterogeneous, and dynamic matrix.

Need to include socioeconomic variables such as:

Income or Property value Irrigation – policy and practiceLand use – policy and practiceLand cover outcomes

LANDSCAPE EFFECTS ON BIRD COMMUNITY

FRESNO LAB OF RECONCILIATION ECOLOGY L.O.R.E. (WWW.RECONCILIATIONECOLOGY.ORG)

Primary focus: interactions among ecological, landscape, and socioeconomic variables in the Fresno Clovis Metro Area (FCMA)

To understand: composition, distribution, and population dynamics of urban bird communities.

Aspects of this urban social-ecological system studied so far include … Irrigation Socioeconomics Tree diversity Urban noise Bird diversity

urban-faces.org

HOW MUCH WATER DO WE USE IN THE CADILLAC DESERT?

Albu-querque

Las Vegas Fresno Phoenix Tucson0

250

500

750

1,000

1,250

Lit

ers

of

wate

r /

pers

on

/

day

* 2012 Data from the City of Fresno

*

URBAN LONG-TERM RESEARCH AREA FRESNO AND CLOVIS ECOSOCIAL STUDY

Özgoç-Çağlar, D., A. R. Jones, H. D. Delcore, and M. Katti, In Review.

FRESNO BIRD COUNTwww.fresnobirds.org @FresnoBirds

IRRIGATION AND WEALTH AFFECT BIRD SPECIES RICHNESS & COMMUNITY STRUCTURE

Schleder (2010): bird species richness and guild diversity in the FCMA increased with an increase in yard irrigation.

Schleder, B. W. 2010. Residential irrigation as a driver of urban bird community structure. M.S. Thesis. California State University, Fresno

(R2 =0.131, F(1,34), P<0.0303)

Reid (2011): Tree Diversity, Density, and Canopy Cover increase with an increase in property value.

Reid, S. T. 2011. Ecological and Social Drivers of Tree Species Diversity and Distribution in Urban Habitats of the Central Valley of California. M.S. Thesis. California State University, Fresno

WEALTH AFFECTS TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY AND URBAN FOREST STRUCTURE

NOISE AFFECTS SONG STRUCTURE IN A MIGRATORY SONGBIRD

Phillips (2012): Decreased bandwidth in components of song in wintering migratory white-crowned sparrow with increasing noise.

Phillips, J. N. 2012. The Effects of Urban Noise on Song Structure in a Long Distance Migrant, Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow (Zonatrichia Leucophrys Gambelii). M.S. Thesis. California State University, Fresno.

(β = -0.06, t (53) = -1.95, p = 0.05) (β = -0.08 t (51) = -2.39, p = 0.02)

QUESTIONS FOR PEDRO’S THESIS How does urban noise affect bird species

richness in the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan Area (FCMA)?

How does proximity to Greenscapes (parks) affect bird species richness?

How does proximity to Waterscapes (recharge basins) affect bird species richness?

How do the socioeconomics of a neighborhood (property value) affect bird species richness in context of changing environmental and policy variables?

BROAD-SCALE ANALYSIS

Spring 2008-2012 236 Points Estimated Noise Level Distance to Greenscape Distance to Waterscape Total Bird Abundance Bird Species Richness

URBAN NOISE AND BIRD SPECIES RICHNESS

Fresno Bird Count 67 sites

subsamples by income gradient

Spring 2013 2014

Background noise levels Average of 5min sound meter readings (db(A))

Property Value Mean Zillow® zestimate of properties

overlapping with the 20m radius census point.

FOCAL ANALYSIS: ULTRA-FACES CORE SITES

RESULTS No significant effect of proximity to

Greenscape or Wetscape on bird species richness or abundance.

However…

Significant effect of noise and property value on bird species richness… in some years

RESULTS

(R2 =0.0902, F(1,66), P=0.0135)

(R2 =0.2048, F(1,46), P=0.0014)

20142013

(R2 =0.0029, F(1,66), P=0.6678)

(R2 =0.0565, F(1,46), P=0.1078)

DISCUSSION

Why the difference between years? 2013: first year of residential water metering in

Fresno. 2014: implementation of metering changed. Per capita water use dropped from 350g/day (est. for

2012) to 240g/day (2014) Drought

Noise is only a small component of cumulative influence of human activities on bird species richness.

Ongoing Analyses and Future Goals Analyze change in species composition between

years. Address landscape-level variables, scaling, and

species distribution

Helping pay the bills:National Science Foundation & U.S. Forest Service (ULTRA-Ex Award # 0949036)CSU Fresno: Provost; Dean, College of Science and Mathematics; Division of Graduate Studies; Dept of BiologyAssociated Students Inc, CSU FresnoRobert and Norma Craig FoundationFresno Audubon Society

City of Fresno, City of Clovis, Fresno CountyCitizen Scientists of the Fresno Bird Count!FBC coordination: Kaberi Kar Gupta, Jenny Phillips, Pedro Garcia, Amy Krisch, Stephanie Slonka, Chris HensleyDatabase and GIS: Xiaoming YangField assistance and data entry: Sonia Mendoza, Steven Jones, Amer Naik, Rhiannon Perry, Marissa Montez, Cindy HuaTucson Bird Count, NiJeL.org

urban-faces.org

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