The Birds of the Western Palearctic

Changing land use and its impact on the habitat suitability for wintering Anseriformes in China's Poyang Lake region

The development and presence of roads can reduce landscape permeability, lead to habitat loss, and increase habitat fragmentation. It is these fundamental changes in landscape structure that can have both direct and indirect impacts on the conservation of species and biodiversity. In this review, I examine 215 research studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 that explore the impacts of roads and road networks on a wide range of species. I divided these studies into four main categories: 1) the direct effects of roads on wildlife, 2) the indirect effects of roads on wildlife, 3) the consequences of road networks on wildlife populations, and 4) survey design and mitigation including both innovations and evaluations. I found that the majority of studies (38%) explored the indirect effects of roads on wildlife, including displacement, fitness consequences, and road crossing ability of wildlife. Nevertheless, despite there being a pressing need to understand how existing road networks impact wildlife and how increasing road density may influence local and regional population persistence, only 10% of the studies considered the implications of road networks on wildlife. However, there is an increasing trend towards the development of predictive models that can be used for a better understanding of road network impacts, assess landscape connectivity, and devise mitigation. This review also highlighted the continued need to devise and evaluate mitigation measures so transportation authorities and conservation practitioners may be better equipped to address the ecological implications of roads and proposed road development.

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Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

In this article we quantify the marginal external effects of nearby land-based wind turbines on property prices. We succeed in separating the effect of noise and visual pollution from wind turbines. This is achieved by using a dataset consisting of 12,640 traded residential properties located within 2,500 meters of a turbine sold in the period 2000–2011. Our results show that wind turbines have a significant negative impact on the price schedule of neighboring residential properties. Visual pollution reduces the residential sales price by up to about 3%, while noise pollution reduces the price between 3% and 7%.

The Vindication of Don Quixote: The Impact of Noise and Visual Pollution from Wind Turbines

Railway ecology is an emerging discipline. In this review, we focus on what is known today regarding the impacts of railways on wildlife, and on the methods to identify, monitor, and mitigate these impacts. Wildlife-train collisions are the most often reported impact, although railway lines can also represent barriers to animal movement, bisecting populations or reducing wildlife access to resources. Little is known on the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation due to railways alone, or on their disturbance effects, including pollution (noise, chemical, light), and on the potential to provide habitat connectivity or surrogate habitats for native species in degraded landscapes. Molecular techniques are one of the most promising methods to study the impacts of railways, as genetic analyses are useful to identify both population sub-structuring, and to assess the potential restoration of functional connectivity by mitigation measures like wildlife passes, or to estimate effective population sizes. Field work is necessary to provide credible mortality rates, which, combined with computer simulations, can allow for estimations of the impact of mortality on population viability. Studies should ideally have Before-After-Control-Impact designs and be long-term. We need to improve mortality estimates, and to understand how impacts threaten population dynamics. We need to go from local-scale studies (e.g., animals use the underpasses) to landscape-scale (i.e., where to place these underpasses to maximize the connectivity at regional/populational levels). Finally, we need to expand our knowledge on less studied, less charismatic species, and to explore the potential environmental benefits of green practices on railway corridors.

Railway ecology vs. road ecology: similarities and differences

The very rapid development of the road infrastructure in recent years has adversely affected the natural environment. The main effects of this have been the loss or deteriorating quality of habitats, the mortality of animals due to collisions with road vehicles, the withdrawal of birds as a result of disturbance and excessive noise in the neighbourhood of roads. In this study, we attempted to define the influence of a busy road on a breeding community of woodland birds. Individuals were counted using the point method at 54 observation points located at three various distances (60, 310, 560 m) from the road. At each point, we determined the habitat parameters and the intensity of noise. In total, 995 individuals of 39 species were recorded on the study plot. This study showed that the area was homogeneous with respect to habitat. The number of birds per point increased with distance from the road. Species diversity was lower near the road. The density of nine common species increased with distance from the road. Great Tit Parus major and Song Thrush Turdus philomelos preferred the neighbourhood of the road, whereas the numbers of the other species were the highest in the middle row of points. The number and species diversity of birds were correlated with the pattern of sound propagation across our study area. Our results showed that the species particularly sensitive to road traffic were those nesting near the ground and with low-frequency calls.

/pdf/the-effect-of-road-traffic-on-a-breeding-community-of-mzuzeb2zq6.pdf

The effect of road traffic on a breeding community of woodland birds

http://serwisy.umcs.lublin.pl/marcin.polak/publikacje/Landscape.pdf

The influence of road traffic on birds during autumn period: Implications for planning and management of road network

The construction of railway lines usually has a negative effect on the natural environment: habitats are destroyed, collisions with trains cause deaths, and the noise and vibrations associated with rail traffic disturb the lives of animals. Cases are known, however, where the opposite holds true: a railway line has a positive effect on the fauna in its vicinity. In this study, we attempted to define the influence of a busy railway line on a breeding community of woodland birds. Birds were counted using the point method at 45 observation points located at three different distances (30, 280, 530 m) from the tracks. At each point, we determined the habitat parameters and the intensity of noise. In total, 791 individual birds of 42 species were recorded on the study plot. Even though the noise level fell distinctly with increasing distance from the tracks, the abundance of birds and the number of species were the highest near the railway line. Moreover, insectivorous species displayed a clear preference for the vicinity of the line. The noise from the trains did not adversely affect the birds on the study plot. The environmental conditions created by the edge effect meant that the birds preferred the neighborhood of the tracks: the more diverse habitats near the tracks supplied attractive nesting and foraging niches for many species of birds. Trains passing at clear intervals acted as point sources of noise and did not elicit any negative reactions on the part of the birds; this stands in contrast to busy roads, where the almost continuous flow of traffic in practice constitutes a linear source of noise.

Do Birds Avoid Railroads as Has Been Found for Roads

This paper presents the results of 11 years study of aquatic warblers in the Roskosz Nature Reserve in eastern Poland. The study was carried out in fen mires near Chełm, in the proximity of the Polish-Ukrainian boundary. The number of aquatic warblers was correlated with the mean water level and with the mean groundwater level. We found that the higher the surface water level, the smaller the number of singing males. The largest number of males (density 10.9 singing males per 10 ha) was found when the mean water level was 23.7 cm, and the smallest number (density 2.1 singing males per 10 ha) when the mean water level was 35.7 cm. These results can be useful in studies that focus on the optimal habitat conditions for breeding of aquatic warblers. This is the first systematic study in calcareous Cladium mariscus fen mires.

http://www.pjoes.com/pdf-65268-23981?filename=Water on the Fen Mire as.pdf

Water on the Fen Mire as a Problemin the Protection of Globally ThreatenedSpecies: Long-Term Changesin Aquatic Warbler Numbers

. Anthropogenic noise, a consequence of expanding infrastructure and industry in ecosystems, is a serious and ubiquitous threat, which can significantly modify the behaviour and certain population parameters in animals. Birds are particularly vulnerable in this respect, given that they communicate mostly vocally in dense habitats. In the winter time traffic noise can modify distribution of birds by masking of their alarm and contact calls. Additionally seasonal variation in avian auditory can modified birds responses to traffic noise during winter. The present paper reports the results of an investigation into the influence of a busy road (annual average 6673 motor vehicles per day) and traffic noise on woodland birds in winter. To our knowledge this study is the first to assess the effect of road noise on woodland birds during winter. We counted birds using the point—count method at 36 survey stations located in the forest at various distances from the road. At each such station we assessed selec...

https://bioone.org/journals/acta-ornithologica/volume-50/issue-2/00016454AO2015.50.2.011/Does-Traffic-Noise-Affect-the-Distribution-and-Abundance-of-Wintering/10.3161/00016454AO2015.50.2.011.pdf

Jarosław Wiącek

Papers

The effect of road traffic on a breeding community of woodland birds

The influence of road traffic on birds during autumn period: Implications for planning and management of road network

Do Birds Avoid Railroads as Has Been Found for Roads

Water on the Fen Mire as a Problemin the Protection of Globally ThreatenedSpecies: Long-Term Changesin Aquatic Warbler Numbers

Does Traffic Noise Affect the Distribution and Abundance of Wintering Birds in a Managed Woodland