Abstract
The reduction of green spaces in urban areas demands focused conservation efforts to counter declining bird populations and promote urban biodiversity. This study aims to compare the bird diversity and richness across parks of varying sizes and urbanization intensities. A total of 90 species were recorded within 64 urban parks of Delhi, India. The diversity and richness of birds across the different sizes of parks was found to be varied, the highest mean diversity and richness occurred in large-sized parks (14.62 ± 0.45; 30.2 ± 5.6) and the parks with low urbanized intensity (13.9 ± 0.51; 29.4 ± 6.8). The post hoc test revealed that there is significant difference in diversity and richness (P < 0.05) across different park sizes and urbanization intensity. Park size found to be a crucial factor in determining the species diversity in urban parks. The nMDS plot showed different bird assemblages across different park sizes and urbanization intensities, reflecting the availability of resources in parks of different sizes and levels of urbanization. ANOSIM confirmed the significant separation between the bird assemblages of small and large-size park (78%) and low and high-urbanized intensity (66%) parks. SIMPER identified Columba livia, Acridotheres tristis, Corvus splendens, and Psittacula krameri as important species contributing to the observed dissimilarity. These species could be used as indicators of habitat quality if their movement or distribution in narrow-range habitats is restricted in future scenarios. Therefore, the study suggests that park size is the most critical factor, and an area greater than 30.35 ha can support up to 82% of the native bird species. By prioritizing the preservation and enhancement of urban parks, sustainable management practices, and thoughtful urban planning is required to maintain biodiversity and bird habitats.
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Kumari, D., Srivastava, A. & Hore, U. Park size as a key factor in urban bird diversity: insights from a study in Delhi, India. Ornithol. Res. 32, 336–346 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-024-00193-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-024-00193-1