From town to town: predicting the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of birds using NDVI

LM LEVEAU; FI ISLA; MI BELLOCQ

ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2020

1470-160X

Biodiversity mapping in urban areas is imperative for theirconservation. Remote sensors produce environmental information, such asthe Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), an indicator ofvegetation cover in urban areas. NDVI can be used to predict thetaxonomic, functional and phylogenetic bird diversity in urban areas.Moreover, a predictive model constructed in one city can be used topredict the bird diversity in other cities. The objectives of this studywere: 1) to construct and evaluate predictive models between NDVI andtaxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of birds in Mar delPlata city, Argentina; and 2) to extrapolate this model to two othercities in the region: Balcarce and Miramar. Generalized additive modelswere applied to relate bird diversity variations to NDVI. In Mar delPlata, the taxonomic and functional diversity increased with increasingNDVI values, and the predictive models explained 64-81% of the taxonomicand functional diversity variation. The models correctly predictedtaxonomic and functional diversity values in additional transects notincluded in the model, although they had a low predictive power ofphylogenetic diversity. The models constructed in Mar del Plataadequately predicted the spatial variation of species diversity (Shannonindex) in Balcarce and Miramar, the spatial variation of species richnessin Balcarce, and the variation of functional diversity in Miramar. Ouranalysis revealed that a predictive model of bird diversity based on NDVIpatterns created in one city can also depict the expected speciesdiversity in other cities, being a time-saving and cost-effective methodto create a tool for urban biodiversity conservation.