Measuring urban bird diversity in Reykjavík’s smaller green spaces.

• Main Author: Rebecca Thompson 1988-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði; Reykjavík; Svæði; Fugla; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/39934

Urban bird diversity has been shown as a useful indicator of overall biodiversity in urban green spaces. While bird diversity surveys have been conducted in other cities around the world, bird research is lacking for many sites within the city of Reykjavík, Iceland. This study aims to address this data gap by providing a baseline of bird diversity in the smaller non-coastal urban parks in Reykjavík. Fifteen green spaces were selected, representing different size categories (small and large) and locations within the urban sprawl (central and suburb). Thirteen transect surveys were conducted at each park from March to September 2020, monitoring species richness and abundance. Abundance, species richness, the Shannon diversity index, and evenness were compared across parks. Bird diversity was significantly higher in large, intermediate-aged, polygon-shaped parks with residential urban contexts (p<0.05). Richness was not significantly different with park size but was significantly higher in old- and intermediate-age parks that were centrally located (p<0.005). Bird diversity did not vary significantly over the survey season. These results provide useful insights for the value of smaller urban green spaces to bird diversity, contributing to urban planning decisions, and reaching goals set by the Reykjavík Municipal Plan and Reykjavík Biodiversity Policy. Reykjavík, as a northern coastal capital, offers a unique look at high latitude urban biodiversity. Að meta fjölbreytileika fugla á grænum svæðum í þéttbýli getur verið mjög upplýsandi um stöðu líffræðilegrar fjölbreytni í borgum. Fuglatalningar sem gefa upplýsingar um þéttleika og tegundasamsetningu eru algengt rannsóknarefni í borgum erlendis, en fyrir mörg svæði í Reykjavík er skortur á slíkum athugunum. Með þessu mastersverkefni er stigið skref í að bæta þann skort með því að framkvæma grunnathugun á fjölbreytni fugla á litlum grænum svæðum inni í byggðu umhverfi Reykjavíkur. Fimmtán svæði voru valin, mismunandi að stærð og staðsetningu í borginni. Á ...