Medellín - Minas - Maestría en Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo · 2025

Bird conservation priorities in a northern Andean city

Resumen

In northern tropical Andes, the increasing urbanization sprawl represents a conservation threat for highly biodiverse biotas. However, while most conservation studies in the region have focused on non-urban areas with forest remnants, the role of urbanized landscapes in biodiversity conservation has been largely overlooked. This study seeks to identify priority conservation areas for birds, as well as biodiversity drivers for birds of conservation priority in Medellín, Colombia. In Chapter One, bird species with conservation priorities were identified and mapped across the urban continuum (based on 212 survey sites). Here, the selection of species with priority was based on criteria such as threat status, habitat specificity, endemism, and commercial or cultural use categorizing into three priority levels (very high, high, and moderate). A total of 87 focal bird species were categorized: 9.1% of them were assigned to very high priority, 58.6% to high and 32.2% to moderate. Afterwards, priority areas for bird conservation were identified based on these species distribution. Findings suggests that sites closer to non-urban areas are essential for very high priority species that are disappearing within the city, while only high and moderate priority bird species are found further, especially larger greenspaces. In all cases, most sites representing priority conservation bird areas are not protected. In Chapter Two landscape and habitat characteristics associated with focal bird species richness were assessed, highlighting higher number of buildings, intensity of vegetation management and distance to the urban edge as negative drivers of conservation priority bird species richness. In contrast, vegetation cover exhibited positive relationships, suggesting that urbanization and habitat alteration reduce focal bird species richness. Other variables such the number of motorized vehicles and number of pedestrians also showed a negative association with total focal species richness, and the noise showed a negative association with moderate priority species richness. Finally, in Chapter Three changes in composition, richness, and abundance of a group highly affected by wildlife trade, Psittacidae, were analyzed across different urbanization levels, as well as abundance trends regarding an urbanization gradient at different spatial scales (i.e., 200, 500, 1000 m). Native species were the most abundant Psittacidae species, Brotogeris jugularis and Forpus conspicillatus, with the first increasing abundance with urbanization and the last showing the opposite pattern. This emphasizes the importance of species-specific conservation approaches in urban environments. This study points out the role of cities in biodiversity conservation and the need to integrate biodiversity into urban planning in the northern Andes. (Tomado de la fuente)

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