Dataset Information

Dataset of Passerine bird communities in a Mediterranean high mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain).

ABSTRACT: In this data paper, a dataset of passerine bird communities is described in Sierra Nevada, a Mediterranean high mountain located in southern Spain. The dataset includes occurrence data from bird surveys conducted in four representative ecosystem types of Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2015. For each visit, bird species numbers as well as distance to the transect line were recorded. A total of 27847 occurrence records were compiled with accompanying measurements on distance to the transect and animal counts. All records are of species in the order Passeriformes. Records of 16 different families and 44 genera were collected. Some of the taxa in the dataset are included in the European Red List. This dataset belongs to the Sierra Nevada Global-Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this area.

SUBMITTER: Perez-Luque AJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4740854 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dataset of Passerine bird communities in a Mediterranean high mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain).

Pérez-Luque Antonio Jesús AJ Barea-Azcón José Miguel JM Álvarez-Ruiz Lola L Bonet-García Francisco Javier FJ Zamora Regino R

ZooKeys 20160113 552

In this data paper, a dataset of passerine bird communities is described in Sierra Nevada, a Mediterranean high mountain located in southern Spain. The dataset includes occurrence data from bird surveys conducted in four representative ecosystem types of Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2015. For each visit, bird species numbers as well as distance to the transect line were recorded. A total of 27847 occurrence records were compiled with accompanying measurements on distance to the transect and animal ...[more]

PMID: 26865820

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Project description:This dataset was obtained over repeated field-trips to the Sierra Nevada Massif and contains the physical parameters of its recognised water-bodies. It therefore defines the general cartography of the area, with data on individual features regarding the geographical coordinates (x, y, z), dimensions (length, width, depth), flooded surface area, stored water volume, shoreline length, as well as the area of associated green fringes and the length of their borders. These data were basically obtained using straightforward techniques, such as GPS, tape measurements and photographic interpretation. The data were then previously used to define the role of these water-bodies in the hydrology of the massif: relationships between number of water-bodies and water volumes between 2700 and 3200 m a.s.l. regarding watersheds (Mediterranean, Atlantic and total massif), relationships with green fringes, moment of maximum snowmelt discharge and the estimation of different components of water volumes discharged during the main period of thaw. The formation patterns of each water-body were also identified in their situational context, and the role played by each formation process on the stored water volume: the water-bodies close to the peak line (2918 m mean altitude) are highly dependant on the glacial processes that created the hollows in which they are located. Slope instability created water-bodies mainly located at lower altitudes and are more fragile due intense slope dynamics. In any case, these hydrological data show a paradoxical behaviour because despite its higher xericity, the Mediterranean watershed generally has higher water contents than the Atlantic. The cause of this hydrological imbalance between watersheds seems to be unrelated to the formation processes of the existing water-bodies. Sierra Nevada is considered to be clearly representative of a high mountain Mediterranean environment, where the data collected are a starting point to define the different habitats or for investigation of the hydrological processes of the massif and their evolution. Lack of such data is often a problem that in the present case is solved with this contribution.

Project description:Widespread farmland abandonment has led to significant landscape transformations of many European mountain areas. These semi-natural multi-habitat landscapes are important reservoirs of biodiversity and their abandonment has important conservation implications. In multi-habitat landscapes the adaptation of communities depends on the differential affinity of the species to the available habitats. We use nested species-area relationships (SAR) to model species richness patterns of bird communities across scales in a mountain landscape, in NW Portugal. We compare the performance of the classic-SAR and the countryside-SAR (i.e. multi-habitat) models at the landscape scale, and compare species similarity decay (SSD) at the regional scale. We find a considerable overlap of bird communities in the different land-uses (farmland, shrubland and oak forest) at the landscape scale. Analysis of the classic and countryside SAR show that specialist species are strongly related to their favourite habitat. Farmland and shrubland have higher regional SSD compared to oak forests. However, this is due to the opportunistic use of farmlands by generalist birds. Forest specialists display significant regional turnover in oak forest. Overall, the countryside-SAR model had a better fit to the data showing that habitat composition determines species richness across scales. Finally, we use the countryside-SAR model to forecast bird diversity under four scenarios of land-use change. Farmland abandonment scenarios show little impact on bird diversity as the model predicts that the complete loss of farmland is less dramatic, in terms of species diversity loss, than the disappearance of native Galicio-Portuguese oak forest. The affinities of species to non-preferred habitats suggest that bird communities can adapt to land-use changes derived from farmland abandonment. Based on model predictions we argue that rewilding may be a suitable management option for many European mountain areas.

Dataset Information

Dataset of Passerine bird communities in a Mediterranean high mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain).

Publications

Dataset of Passerine bird communities in a Mediterranean high mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain).

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