As 2023 comes to an end, iEcoLab continues to reflect on notable research produced this past year. Timothy Swartz along with iEcoLab colleagues Jason Gleditsch and Jocelyn Behm explores changes in avian ecosystem services in response to impervious surface and green space cover. Results showed shifts in species abundance were more influenced by landscape-scale habitat than local-scale, implying that bird habitat management may need to be coordinated on a landscape-scale as opposed to the local-scale. Furthermore, traits such as acoustic aesthetics, granivory, and diet evenness increased in areas with higher impervious surface.
Read the article here.
Swartz, TM, JM Gleditsch, & JE Behm. 2023. A functional trait approach reveals the effects of landscape context on ecosystem services provided by urban birds. Landscape and Urban Planning. 234