Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China

Urbanisation significantly impacts the composition and distribution of species through habitat loss and fragmentation. Nestedness is a significant pattern often observed in species assemblages on islands or within fragmented systems. However, numerous studies on nestedness have focused on species ri...

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Main Authors: Binqiang Li, Nehafta Bibi, Shanjun Ma, Wenxuan Chen, Miaodan Yang, Na Xiang, Qingjiang Cui, Lifeng Tan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2025-05-01
Series:Biodiversity Data Journal
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Online Access:https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/154385/download/pdf/
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author Binqiang Li
Nehafta Bibi
Shanjun Ma
Wenxuan Chen
Miaodan Yang
Na Xiang
Qingjiang Cui
Lifeng Tan
author_facet Binqiang Li
Nehafta Bibi
Shanjun Ma
Wenxuan Chen
Miaodan Yang
Na Xiang
Qingjiang Cui
Lifeng Tan
author_sort Binqiang Li
collection DOAJ
description Urbanisation significantly impacts the composition and distribution of species through habitat loss and fragmentation. Nestedness is a significant pattern often observed in species assemblages on islands or within fragmented systems. However, numerous studies on nestedness have focused on species richness and composition, neglecting the role of species traits in generating and explaining nestedness. To determine whether functional nestedness follows the same pattern as taxonomic nestedness. In this study, we examined the nestedness patterns of bird assemblages (all birds, passerines, insectivorous, omnivorous and resident birds) across 17 urban parks in Liuzhou of Guangxi Province, China, focusing on taxonomic and functional nestedness. From April 2021 to February 2022, we conducted line transect surveys of bird communities, with three surveys during the breeding season and three surveys during the non-breeding season. In total, we documented 95 bird species. Taxonomic nestedness was assessed using NODF (a nestedness metric, based on overlap and decreasing fill) and WNODF (weighted nestedness metric, based on overlap and decreasing fill) metrics, while functional nestedness was evaluated using treeNODF. Our results showed that none of the birds, passerines, insectivorous, omnivorous and resident birds in Liuzhou urban parks exhibited significant nestedness patterns. However, the nested pattern strongly depended on the choice of the null model. In contrast, as the park area gradually decreases, we observed significant functional nestedness, implying that the trait loss in parks with decreasing area follows an ordered pattern, where smaller parks represent nested subsets of functional traits found in larger parks. From the perspective of species conservation, we recommend prioritizing the protection of larger urban parks to support species with larger habitat requirements. All in all, our findings highlight the importance of considering both taxonomic and functional nestedness in urban biodiversity conservation.
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spelling doaj-art-42707aec4bfc449099d914abb364bf7c2025-08-20T01:53:05ZengPensoft PublishersBiodiversity Data Journal1314-28282025-05-011311710.3897/BDJ.13.e154385154385Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, ChinaBinqiang Li0Nehafta Bibi1Shanjun Ma2Wenxuan Chen3Miaodan Yang4Na Xiang5Qingjiang Cui6Lifeng Tan7Planing and Design Institute, Yunnan Forestry Technological CollegeDepartment of Zoology, Government Girls Degree College #1 MansehraPlaning and Design Institute, Yunnan Forestry Technological CollegeCollege of Forestry, Southwest Forestry UniversityCollege of Forestry, Guangxi Eco-engineering Vocational & Technical CollegeCollege of Resources Environment and Chemistry, Chuxiong Normal UniversityPlaning and Design Institute, Yunnan Forestry Technological CollegeCollege of Forestry, Guangxi Eco-engineering Vocational & Technical CollegeUrbanisation significantly impacts the composition and distribution of species through habitat loss and fragmentation. Nestedness is a significant pattern often observed in species assemblages on islands or within fragmented systems. However, numerous studies on nestedness have focused on species richness and composition, neglecting the role of species traits in generating and explaining nestedness. To determine whether functional nestedness follows the same pattern as taxonomic nestedness. In this study, we examined the nestedness patterns of bird assemblages (all birds, passerines, insectivorous, omnivorous and resident birds) across 17 urban parks in Liuzhou of Guangxi Province, China, focusing on taxonomic and functional nestedness. From April 2021 to February 2022, we conducted line transect surveys of bird communities, with three surveys during the breeding season and three surveys during the non-breeding season. In total, we documented 95 bird species. Taxonomic nestedness was assessed using NODF (a nestedness metric, based on overlap and decreasing fill) and WNODF (weighted nestedness metric, based on overlap and decreasing fill) metrics, while functional nestedness was evaluated using treeNODF. Our results showed that none of the birds, passerines, insectivorous, omnivorous and resident birds in Liuzhou urban parks exhibited significant nestedness patterns. However, the nested pattern strongly depended on the choice of the null model. In contrast, as the park area gradually decreases, we observed significant functional nestedness, implying that the trait loss in parks with decreasing area follows an ordered pattern, where smaller parks represent nested subsets of functional traits found in larger parks. From the perspective of species conservation, we recommend prioritizing the protection of larger urban parks to support species with larger habitat requirements. All in all, our findings highlight the importance of considering both taxonomic and functional nestedness in urban biodiversity conservation.https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/154385/download/pdf/urbanisationtaxonomic diversityspecies richnes
spellingShingle Binqiang Li
Nehafta Bibi
Shanjun Ma
Wenxuan Chen
Miaodan Yang
Na Xiang
Qingjiang Cui
Lifeng Tan
Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China
Biodiversity Data Journal
urbanisation
taxonomic diversity
species richnes
title Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China
title_full Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China
title_fullStr Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China
title_full_unstemmed Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China
title_short Taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of Liuzhou, China
title_sort taxonomic and functional nestedness of bird communities in urban parks of liuzhou china
topic urbanisation
taxonomic diversity
species richnes
url https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/154385/download/pdf/
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