Comparison of bird diversity within and outside protected areas (PA) of Central Italy: are PAs protecting better species richness, functional diversity or evolutionary uniqueness in bird communities?

B.Sc. Danielle Lee Meyers, BSc

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Diversity metrics estimated on species assemblages or communities are often used to measure and quantify the biodiversity in an area. Previously, it was common to only use indices such as species richness and abundance. However, in recent years popularity has increased using functional, taxonomic, and phylogenetic diversity metrics in order to determine the effectiveness of areas protecting biodiversity. A multi-facet approach can offer a better focus on the complexity of ecological systems. However, there is often discrepancy among the use of many diversity metrics, in that they can be redundant. There have been several studies showing that functional richness is positively correlated with species richness but functional evenness is uncorrelated. Additionally, there are some studies showing how these metrics can be affected by land composition and landscape heterogeneity. In this study, the influence of land use composition on the diversity metrics estimated on bird communities are explored both inside and outside of protected areas in the central Marche Region of Italy. With this, the effectiveness of the protected areas protecting different facets of the avian diversity can be evaluated and where the focus of improvement needs to be.Results of this study determined that sites outside of the protected areas were in general characterized by higher values of bird species richness and functional richness than inside. When comparing the avian diversity metrics across different types of land uses, the land use with the lower values in overall avian diversity metrics, especially in terms of bird species richness, was the grassland. In conclusion, protected areas studied need to consider the many facets of avian diversity and community metrics, in order to be able to better conserve bird community biodiversity. There are numerous management techniques that can help to produce better results.

Keywords

Italy, Protected Areas Network, conservation, Natura2000, Avian diversity

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 19. 4. 2018

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Federico Morelli
• Reader: Peter Kumble, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Environmental Sciences

Master programme / field:
Engineering Ecology / Nature Conservation