Transformation of the community of nesting birds in the process of reorganization of the forest ecosystem into a park
Authors: Gaychenko V. A. , Shupova T. V. 
Published: June 2019

Changes in nesting conditions cause a change in the number of individual species, ecological groups, and, consequently, the structure of the bird community. The purpose of the study is to analyze the possibilities and directions – the transformations of the communitys of nesting birds in the process of reorganization of the forest ecosystem into a park. The material was collected in the territory of one of the forest parks in the Kiev city. Forest is an mixed based on Quercus robur L., Carpinus betulus L., Acer platanoides L., Tilia cordata L., Fraxinus excelsior L. There are individual trees Pinus Syvestris L. The territory of the forest park have different degrees transformed, and includes anthropogenic landscapes and forests plots that have been preserved almost in their natural state. Studies were conducted in the nesting period (April-June) 2012–2017. For analysis average data were used. The number and distribution of the birds were determined by the method of counting on the transects, in the 3 model plots. There are 71 species of birds of 11 orders. Of these, 63 species are nesting. The number of nested species of communities in model plots does not depend on the gradient of anthropogenic transformation, but a average density of nesting birds decrease: 2.91±0.66→2.54±0.67→2.10±0.48 pairs / km of the transect. Nesting birds are distributed between 9 faunogenetic complexes. Of these, in each model plot is represented by 8. Dominated by birds of the European nemoral complex. On the gradient of habitat transformation, a change in the fauna-genetic structure of bird communities in the direction of increasing the proportion of birds of the European nemoral and European forest-steppe complexes, birds of desert-mountain and tropical groups. Boreal and ancient species are superseded. Strengthening the transformation in forest plots, the distribution of birds in community on the ecological groups does change not much. But when the forest ecosystem is replaced by a park ecosystem, the proportion of sclerophiles increases 3–4 times. In all communities is dominated by woody nesters bird. On the gradient of transformation, the number of species of the tree canopies nesters birds (from 21 to 18), ground nesters birds (from 6 to 0), species that use many types of nesting stations (from 4 to 1) are decreases; the number of bird species that nesting in the buildings increases from 0 to 6, and the number of alien species from 0 to 4 (Streptopelia decaocto, Dendrocopos syriacus, Phoenicurus ochruros, Serinus serinus). In the park ecosystems, a decrease in the species composition of woodpeckers, does not entail a significant decrease in the species composition and abundance of secondary hollows nesters birds. Birds of the synanthropic subpopulations are nesting in cavities in park buildings. Most of the indices show an equivalent ά-diversity of all bird communities. The β-diversity of breeding birds during the transformation of the forest ecosystem into a park is reduced by half. Ranked distribution curves of the abundance of species are indicate abrupt changes in the balance of dominance-diversity in communities when a transformation are in the forest ecosystem. The dominant species pressure high are give in community, its abundance is 2.2–2.7 times higher than the abundance of the second species by the abundance. In a slightly transformed forest, this indicator is 1.1 times. Ranked curves of relative abundance of species are a more sensitive index of community transformation than data of indices by the dominance and of species distribution. The introduction into the forest ecosystem of even a small number of anthropogenic structures leads to a significant increase in the relative abundance of synanthropic birds. In our study, in to 2 times. On the gradient of the transformation the absolute number of nesting species of the synanthropic birds increases gradually: 30–33–36; the obligate synanthropic species more stronger: 0–2–7; the index of community synanthropization increases 1.5 times: 0.63–0.72–0.92.