Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: RAIANE VITAL DA PAZ

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : RAIANE VITAL DA PAZ
DATE: 19/11/2021
TIME: 08:00
LOCAL: Videoconferência online
TITLE:

Assessing scale dependent effects of urbanization on different dimensions of bird diversity

KEY WORDS:

Aggregation, beta diversity, N, SAD, urbanization

PAGES: 60
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUMMARY:

Urbanization is a major driver of natural habitat reduction and fragmentation, and these impacts have been shown to influence species richness. However, how different components of diversity are influenced by urban intensity, patch size, and isolation between patches has not been mechanistically investigated yet. Another complexity refers to the incongruence between different dimensions of diversity, since taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity do not always respond in the same way to anthropic impacts. In this context, urbanization gradients are ideal for assessing how species respond to these impacts, and also allow us to better understand how local and regional changes in habitat quality influence the components of species diversity, such as: species abundance distribution (SAD), total community abundance (N) and within-species spatial aggregation (Agg). Overall, in this dissertation we aimed to assess, i) whether urban impacts on bird diversity is dependent on the spatial scale of observation; (ii) whether the degree of temporal and spatial turnover is influenced by the intensity of urbanization; and iii) whether functional and phylogenetic diversity metrics respond congruently to traditional taxonomic metrics. This was done by assessing patterns of abundance, spatial clustering of individuals, and species richness, as well as through analyses of functional traits and evolutionary distances of birds along an urbanization gradient. To represent different levels of urbanization, two contrasting categories were considered, those being parks and squares. For parks, two conservation units were chosen within the city of Natal/RN, and the other category consists of a set of small squares with different degrees of isolation from the parks. Altogether, 24 plots were allocated, each subdivided into four subplots, totaling 96 points, which were visited five times during the dry season. In these same plots/subplots local and regional environmental characteristics were measured. In the first chapter we observed a significant reduction in species richness and abundance with increasing urbanization. However, these effects were evident across all scales analyzed. In addition to the marked reduction in richness with increasing urbanization, preliminary results from the second chapter indicate significant variation in species composition across categories. Finally, both local and regional variables, including vegetation cover and structural connectivity, were important determinants of bird diversity patterns. Thus, our results indicate that it is necessary to conduct practices that can reduce the intensive impact of urbanization on birds. This could be achieved, for example, through the expansion of green areas within and around squares as well as building ecological corridors to connect larger and more natural green parks with urban squares.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - 3060333 - ANDROS TAROUCO GIANUCA
Interno - 1718346 - EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
Externo à Instituição - LUIZ DOS ANJOS - UEL