The impact of urbanization on regional bird distribution and habitat connectivity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

doi:10.17520/biods.2022161

Abstract

Abstract:

Aim: Rapid economic development and urban expansion have caused dramatic changes in land use in Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GHMGBA), resulting in the urgent need to study their effects on the distributions and habitat connectivity of birds in this area.

Method: Based on 15 environmental variables, we used the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the habitats of 82 bird species in GHMGBA in 2000 and 2015, and then analyzed the changes in bird distribution patterns and habitat connectivity under urbanization using an equivalent connected area index (ECA).

Results: From 2000 to 2015, areas of forest, water, and farmland decreased by 3.22%, 0.97%, and 23.19% respectively, while grassland, buildings, and other area types (bare land and mudflat) increased by 33.95%, 80.34%, and 453.52% respectively. The distributions of 30 forest or farmland dwelling species decreased, and the distributions of 52 common urban species and waterbirds increased. The distributions of birds were closely related to the type of land use. In addition, habitat connectivity showed a trend consistent with the distribution area. Analysis results of the four species with the largest changes in distributions showed that: the distributions and habitat connectivity of Surniculus lugubris and Yuhina castaniceps decreased with urbanization (i.e., changes in land use types, vegetation coverages, the distances to water and disturbances etc.); whereas the distributions and habitat connectivity of Bubulcus ibis and Ardea cinerea increased with urbanization. Furthermore, the increased area of habitat patches significantly improved the connectivity of habitats.

Expectation: It is recommended to assess the changes of habitat quality as urban expansion occurs throughout GHMGBA, and to use these assessment results to build ecological corridors and biodiversity protection networks for birds to maintain the safety and stability of the regional ecosystem.

Key words: connectivity, MaxEnt model, bird distribution, habitat patch, land use change, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Qiongyue Zhang, Zhuodi Deng, Xuebin Hu, Zhifeng Ding, Rongbo Xiao, Chen Xiu, Zhenghao Wu, Guang Wang, Donghui Han, Yuke Zhang, Jianchao Liang, Huijian Hu. The impact of urbanization on regional bird distribution and habitat connectivity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2023, 31(3): 22161.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2022161

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2023/V31/I3/22161

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Climate factors in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area during 2015. a, Annual mean temperature, AMT; b, Temperature seasonality, TS; c, Maximum temperature of the warmest month, MTWM; d, Minimum temperature of the coldest month, MTCM; e, Temperature annual range, TAR; f, Annual precipitation, AP; g, Precipitation of the wettest month, PWM; h, Precipitation of the driest month, PDM; i, Precipitation seasonality, PS; j, Elevation, ELEV; k, Slope, SLP.

Fig. 2 Changes of urbanization environmental factors (land cover, enhanced vegetation index, EVI) in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 2000 to 2015

Fig. 3 Changes of urbanization environmental factors (distance to disturbance, distance to water) in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 2000 to 2015

Table 1 Matrix of the change of land use types in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area between 2000 and 2015

2000年各土地利用类型 Land use types in 2000	2015年各土地利用类型面积 Areas of each land use type in 2015 (km²)
2000年各土地利用类型 Land use types in 2000	草地 Grassland	耕地 Farmland	建设用地 Building	林地 Forest	裸地与滩涂 Bare land and mudflat	水体 Water	合计 Total	变化比例 Change proportion
草地 Grassland	41.78	3.48	10.34	10.54	0.60	2.09	68.82	33.95%
耕地 Farmland	4.28	7,189.09	2,281.25	1,098.99	18.08	1,166.84	11,758.51	-23.19%
建设用地 Building	4.08	193.32	4,029.98	201.58	2.59	61.64	4,493.19	80.34%
林地 Forest	38.37	1,159.69	982.76	30,786.88	235.41	252.75	33,455.86	-3.22%
裸地与滩涂 Bare land and mudflat	0.00	4.18	6.47	34.06	1.89	1.70	48.29	453.52%
水体 Water	3.69	481.67	792.11	246.15	8.74	3,341.68	4,874.04	-0.97%
合计 Total	92.19	9,031.43	8,102.90	32,378.20	267.30	4,826.70	54,698.71

Fig. 4 Changes in the area of bird habitats in the process of urbanization of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 2000 to 2015

Fig. 5 Distribution changes of the core patches of bird habitat (Surniculus lugubris, Yuhina castaniceps) and the least cost path among them under the process of urbanization in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 2000 to 2015

Fig. 6 Changes in the core patch of bird habitat and the least cost path between the core patches under the process of urbanization (Bubulcus ibis, Ardea cinerea)

Table 2 Changes of distribution area and the equivalent connected area index of the four representative bird species in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 2000 to 2015.

物种 Species	分布面积 Distribution area (km²)		栖息地面积变化 The change of habitat area (dA)	等效连接面积 The equivalent connected area (ECA) (km²)		等效连接面积的变化 dECA	等效连接面积变化比值 rECA
物种 Species	2000	2015	栖息地面积变化 The change of habitat area (dA)	2000	2015	等效连接面积的变化 dECA	等效连接面积变化比值 rECA
苍鹭 Ardea cinerea	21.68	33.22	0.53	1,140.81	2,150.92	0.89	1.66
牛背鹭 Bubulcus ibis	47.27	80.05	0.69	3,113.29	5,993.31	0.93	1.33
乌鹃 Surniculus lugubris	41.30	23.75	-0.43	3,506.69	2,152.00	-0.39	0.91
栗耳凤鹛 Yuhina castaniceps	17.65	10.80	-0.39	1,396.05	916.29	-0.34	0.88

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