Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Madrid, Spain.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 10;19(4):e0301899. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301899. eCollection 2024.
Linear infrastructure networks, including railways, are undergoing rapid development in order to connect distant urban areas. Particularly, High-Speed Railways are increasingly seen as a viable alternative to domestic flights in many countries. However, this development of linear infrastructures is known to affect the surrounding faunal communities due to the changes in the landscape and operation of said linear infrastructures. Both positive and negative effects of linear infrastructures on adjacent faunal communities have been reported. In this study, we determined the influence of the High-Speed Railway infrastructure on the bird community that surrounds it. Birds were surveyed by using both linear transect and direct counting methods, both in the area directly adjacent to the railway infrastructure and 500m away from it in a period of two years of surveys. A total of 16114 individuals belonging to 71 species were recorded. The presence of the High-Speed Railway caused species-specific changes in the bird communities that surround it, causing the attraction of some species and the rejection of others. Furthermore, we show that the presence of the infrastructure altered the natural species turnover as the landscape changes by attracting the same bird species regardless of changes in the landscape, and filtering out others. We propose that further work in mitigation and development plans should focus on species-specific measures to assess the risk bird communities are exposed to.
线性基础设施网络，包括铁路，正在迅速发展，以便连接遥远的城市地区。特别是，在许多国家，高速铁路越来越被视为国内航班的可行替代品。然而，由于线性基础设施景观和运营的变化，这种线性基础设施的发展已知会对周围的动物区系社区产生影响。已经报道了线性基础设施对邻近动物区系社区的积极和消极影响。在这项研究中，我们确定了高速铁路基础设施对其周围鸟类社区的影响。在两年的调查期间，我们使用线性截距和直接计数两种方法，在铁路基础设施直接相邻的区域以及距离其 500 米的地方对鸟类进行了调查。共记录到 71 种 16114 只个体。高速铁路的存在导致了周围鸟类社区的特定物种变化，吸引了一些物种，排斥了其他物种。此外，我们表明，基础设施的存在改变了自然物种更替，因为景观的变化吸引了相同的鸟类物种，而不管景观的变化如何，都会过滤掉其他物种。我们建议，在缓解和发展计划方面应进一步开展工作，重点关注特定物种的措施，以评估鸟类社区面临的风险。
