Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PLoS One. 2020 Jan 14;15(1):e0227731. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227731. eCollection 2020.
Individual responses of wild birds to fragmented habitat have rarely been studied, despite large-scale habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss resulting from widespread urbanisation. We investigated the spatial ecology of the Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla, a tiny, resident, woodland passerine that has recently colonised city parks at the northern extent of its range. High resolution spatiotemporal movements of this obligate tree-living species were determined using radio telemetry within the urbanized matrix of city parks in Copenhagen, Denmark. We identified regular edge crossing behaviour, novel in woodland birds. While low numbers of individuals precluded a comprehensive characterisation of home range for this population, we were able to describe a consistent behaviour which has consequences for our understanding of animal movement in urban ecosystems. We report that treecreepers move freely, and apparently do so regularly, between isolated habitat patches. This behaviour is a possible driver of the range expansion in this species and may contribute to rapid dispersal capabilities in certain avian species, including Short-toed Treecreepers, into northern Europe. Alternatively, these behaviours might be common and/or provide an adaptive advantage for birds utilising matrix habitats, for example within urban ecosystems.
尽管由于广泛的城市化导致大规模的生境破碎化和生物多样性丧失，但对野生鸟类对破碎生境的个体反应的研究甚少。我们研究了短趾树莺（Certhia brachydactyla）的空间生态学，短趾树莺是一种小型、常驻、林地鸣禽，最近在其分布范围的北部城市公园中进行了殖民。通过在丹麦哥本哈根的城市公园城市化矩阵中使用无线电遥测技术，确定了这种专性树栖物种的高分辨率时空运动。我们发现了一种常规的边缘穿越行为，这在林地鸟类中是新颖的。虽然个体数量较少，无法全面描述该种群的栖息地范围，但我们能够描述一种一致的行为，这对我们理解城市生态系统中的动物运动具有重要意义。我们报告说，树莺在孤立的栖息地斑块之间自由移动，而且似乎经常这样做。这种行为可能是该物种范围扩大的驱动因素，并可能有助于某些鸟类（包括短趾树莺）在北欧的快速扩散能力。或者，这些行为可能在利用基质生境的鸟类中很常见和/或提供适应性优势，例如在城市生态系统中。
