title: Contrasting changes in the abundance and diversity of North American bird assemblages from 1971 to 2010.
abstract: Although it is generally recognized that global biodiversity is declining, few studies have examined long-term changes in multiple biodiversity dimensions simultaneously. In this study, we quantified and compared temporal changes in the abundance, taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity of bird assemblages, using roadside monitoring data of the North American Breeding Bird Survey from 1971 to 2010. We calculated 12 abundance and diversity metrics based on 5-year average abundances of 519 species for each of 768 monitoring routes. We did this for all bird species together as well as for four subgroups based on breeding habitat affinity (grassland, woodland, wetland, and shrubland breeders). The majority of the biodiversity metrics increased or remained constant over the study period, whereas the overall abundance of birds showed a pronounced decrease, primarily driven by declines of the most abundant species. These results highlight how stable or even increasing metrics of taxonomic, functional, or phylogenetic diversity may occur in parallel with substantial losses of individuals. We further found that patterns of change differed among the species subgroups, with both abundance and diversity increasing for woodland birds and decreasing for grassland breeders. The contrasting changes between abundance and diversity and among the breeding habitat groups underscore the relevance of a multifaceted approach to measuring biodiversity change. Our findings further stress the importance of monitoring the overall abundance of individuals in addition to metrics of taxonomic, functional, or phylogenetic diversity, thus confirming the importance of population abundance as an essential biodiversity variable.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), PO Box 303, 3720 AH, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aafke M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schipper
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Belmaker
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108, Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Murilo Dantas
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: de Miranda
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108, Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Laetitia M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt (Main), Germany.|Institute for Ecology, Evolution & Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max von Laue Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt (Main), Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Böhning-Gaese
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Costello
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, Scotland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dornelas
authors.affiliation: SOVON Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, PO Box 6521, 6503 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Animal Ecology and Physiology, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ruud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Foppen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeography and Global Change, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 , Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hortal
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), PO Box 303, 3720 AH, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark A J
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Huijbregts
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Scharnhorststrasse 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Berta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martín-López
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY, London, UK.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pettorelli
authors.affiliation: Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Cibele
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK.
authors.forename: Axel G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Rossberg
authors.affiliation: Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza Università di Roma, Viale dell'Università 32, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5418-3688
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.affiliation: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt (Main), Germany.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schiffers
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Zoran J N
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Steinmann
authors.affiliation: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DL, UK.
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Visconti
authors.affiliation: Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza Università di Roma, Viale dell'Università 32, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rondinini
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108, Halle (Saale), Germany.|Infraestruturas de Portugal Biodiversity Chair, CIBIO/InBIO, Universidado do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas 7, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.
authors.forename: Henrique M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001717:Birds / Q000145:classification*; D017753:Ecosystem; D009656:North America; D010802:Phylogeny
keywords: biodiversity change; biodiversity metrics; functional diversity (FD); phylogenetic diversity (PD); species abundance; taxonomic diversity (TD)