BIRDS AND URBANISATION

CONVENORS
Catarina Miranda
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Von-der-Tann-Str. 7, D-82346 Andechs/Erling, Germany
Fax: +49-8152-373-133, miranda@orn.mpg.de

Dr. Karl L. Evans
Biodiversity & Macroecology Group, Sheffield University, Dept. Animal & Plant Sciences, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN
Fax: 0114 222 0002, karl.evans@sheffield.ac.uk

DESCRIPTION
Globally, urbanisation is one of the fastest growing land uses, and over half of the world’s human population is now located in urban areas. Urbanisation has already consumed large amounts of land in some regions, especially north-western Europe. Interest in urban ecology has risen commensurately. Much of this interest has focused on how assemblage composition and structure vary along a gradient of land-use from rural to urban areas, and birds are particularly well studied in this regard. Avian species richness typically peaks in areas of intermediate levels of urbanisation, with changes in habitat diversity at fine resolutions considered to drive this pattern. Many relatively specialist and rare species occur at lower densities in all urban environments than rural ones, yet a small number of urban species may be of conservation concern at regional levels. The divergent selection pressures occurring in urban and rural areas that drive changes in assemblage structure and composition can also drive marked intra-specific variation in numerous traits including communication signals, demography, disease risk, mating systems, morphology, and physiology. Urban and rural populations may also exhibit genetic divergence with implications for adaptation to urban areas and the management of these populations. This symposium will assess current knowledge concerning the consequences of urbanisation for European birds with regard to both adaptive and non-adaptive changes and promote a forum for discussion concerning the future directions of research in this field.

OPENING: Karl Evans
Processes and consequences of urban colonisation: the blackbird Turdus merula as a case study.

KEYNOTE 1: Hans Slabbekoorn 
Songs and the city: ecology and evolution in the urban soundscape.

KEYNOTE 2: Jesko Partecke
Evolutionary consequences of an urbanizing world

Arroyo Solís, Aída
Effects of habitat structure, landscape matrix and human disturbance on the distribution and abundance of breeding birds in urban parks in a Mediterranean city: Seville (Spain).

Isaksson, C      
The effect of urbanization on avian oxidative stress status