Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments?
Monitoring of biodiversity in expanding urban areas is an essential part of wildlife conservation. There is evidence that raptors, such as Northern Goshawks ( Accipiter gentilis ), are effective bioindicator species in urban areas, however, their relationship with other bird populations is not clear...
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2023
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:93ae940e61f340b7ae492e4d69533d7a 2023-07-23T04:12:46+02:00 Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? Ülo Väli Jaan Grosberg Pelle Mellov Tiiu Tali Paweł Mirski 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060749 https://doaj.org/article/93ae940e61f340b7ae492e4d69533d7a EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/6/749 https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818 doi:10.3390/d15060749 1424-2818 https://doaj.org/article/93ae940e61f340b7ae492e4d69533d7a Diversity, Vol 15, Iss 749, p 749 (2023) bioindicator species bird abundance bird diversity birds of prey citizen science GPS telemetry Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060749 2023-07-02T00:38:33Z Monitoring of biodiversity in expanding urban areas is an essential part of wildlife conservation. There is evidence that raptors, such as Northern Goshawks ( Accipiter gentilis ), are effective bioindicator species in urban areas, however, their relationship with other bird populations is not clearly established. We asked whether activity patterns of Goshawks are a reliable indicator of wintering bird abundance and diversity in urban ecosystems. We tracked the movement of eight GPS-tagged Goshawks in the city of Tartu (Estonia) and analysed the numbers and diversity of birds in the same area using direct mapping and occasional data obtained from birdwatchers. The direct mapping approach revealed that the number of birds and avian species richness were higher in Goshawk activity hotspots than at random sites in 2022, however, no such differences were detected in 2023. Analysis of occasional citizen-collected data showed no effect of avian abundance nor species richness on the distribution of Goshawk activity. These results suggested that the movements of Goshawks may indicate the abundance and diversity of its prey, however, this relationship depends on the detection methodology. Hence, raptors are a promising bioindicator in urban environments, but results should be interpreted with caution, particularly when using citizen-collected data. Article in Journal/Newspaper Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Diversity 15 6 749 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
bioindicator species bird abundance bird diversity birds of prey citizen science GPS telemetry Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
bioindicator species bird abundance bird diversity birds of prey citizen science GPS telemetry Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ülo Väli Jaan Grosberg Pelle Mellov Tiiu Tali Paweł Mirski Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? |
topic_facet |
bioindicator species bird abundance bird diversity birds of prey citizen science GPS telemetry Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Monitoring of biodiversity in expanding urban areas is an essential part of wildlife conservation. There is evidence that raptors, such as Northern Goshawks ( Accipiter gentilis ), are effective bioindicator species in urban areas, however, their relationship with other bird populations is not clearly established. We asked whether activity patterns of Goshawks are a reliable indicator of wintering bird abundance and diversity in urban ecosystems. We tracked the movement of eight GPS-tagged Goshawks in the city of Tartu (Estonia) and analysed the numbers and diversity of birds in the same area using direct mapping and occasional data obtained from birdwatchers. The direct mapping approach revealed that the number of birds and avian species richness were higher in Goshawk activity hotspots than at random sites in 2022, however, no such differences were detected in 2023. Analysis of occasional citizen-collected data showed no effect of avian abundance nor species richness on the distribution of Goshawk activity. These results suggested that the movements of Goshawks may indicate the abundance and diversity of its prey, however, this relationship depends on the detection methodology. Hence, raptors are a promising bioindicator in urban environments, but results should be interpreted with caution, particularly when using citizen-collected data. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ülo Väli Jaan Grosberg Pelle Mellov Tiiu Tali Paweł Mirski |
author_facet |
Ülo Väli Jaan Grosberg Pelle Mellov Tiiu Tali Paweł Mirski |
author_sort |
Ülo Väli |
title |
Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? |
title_short |
Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? |
title_full |
Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? |
title_fullStr |
Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Is the Northern Goshawk an Efficient Bioindicator of Avian Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Environments? |
title_sort |
is the northern goshawk an efficient bioindicator of avian abundance and species richness in urban environments? |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060749 https://doaj.org/article/93ae940e61f340b7ae492e4d69533d7a |
genre |
Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk |
genre_facet |
Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk |
op_source |
Diversity, Vol 15, Iss 749, p 749 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/6/749 https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818 doi:10.3390/d15060749 1424-2818 https://doaj.org/article/93ae940e61f340b7ae492e4d69533d7a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060749 |
container_title |
Diversity |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
749 |
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1772176781475840000 |