Long-term decline and homogenization of an avian community surpasses effects on bird diversity caused by a single extreme flood event
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/eurojecol.v11i1.21879Keywords:
ecology, conservation, Protected areas, disturbance, flood, river, birds, Natura 2000Abstract
Protected areas are key elements in conservation. However, baseline data for these areas is often missing making estimation of biodiversity trends and effectiveness of management difficult to assess. Moreover, severe weather events that are intensified by climate change might heavily affect protected areas. Herein, we analyse breeding bird surveys from a small-scale protected area, the mouth of the river Ahr in western Germany. The area was stroked by a catastrophic flood event in the year 2021. We perform a before-after study spanning 38 years using breeding bird data from the yeas 1984, 2020 and 2022. Our results show only minor effects caused by the flood event. In contrast, long term data show an increase of species tight to woody vegetation while open habitat birds, among them more specialist species, often decreased. Hence, the protected area does only partially fulfil its purpose and important gaps are identified. Finally, we conclude that the results of our case study might well be exemplary for many insufficiently managed special protected areas and recommend more effective conservation efforts.
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