New Publication on birds and humans!

Marjakangas, E.-L., Johnston, A., Santangeli, A., & Lehikoinen, A. (2024). Bird species' tolerance to human pressures and associations with population change. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, e13816. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13816

In a shell: About 22% of bird species can tolerate heavily modified human-dominated environments, while only 0.001% are exclusive to intact environments, with variations in HTI linked to species' population trends, providing valuable insights for conservation planning and identifying species at risk

 Abstract: Some species thrive in human-dominated environments, while others are highly sensitive to all human pressures. However, standardized estimates of species' tolerances to human pressures are lacking at large spatial extents and taxonomic breadth. Here, we quantify the world's bird species' tolerances to human pressures. The associated precision values can be applied to scientific research and conservation. We used binary observation data from eBird and modelled species' occurrences as a function of the Human Footprint Index (HFI). With these models, we predicted how likely each species was to occur under different levels of human pressures.

Then, we calculated each species' Human Tolerance Index (HTI) as the level of the HFI where predicted occurrence probability was reduced to 50% of the maximum species' occurrence probability. We used resampling to obtain estimates of uncertainty of the Human Tolerance Indices. We also compared tolerances across species with increasing, stable, and decreasing population trends. We found that 22% of the bird species tolerated the most modified human-dominated environments, whereas 0.001% of species only occurred in the intact environments. We also found that HTI varied according to species' population trend categories, whereby species with decreasing population trends had a lower tolerance than species with increasing or stable population trends. 

The estimated HTI indicates the potential of species to exist in a landscape of intensifying human pressures. It can identify species unable to tolerate these environments and inform subsequent conservation efforts. We found evidence that species' sensitivity to human-dominated environments may be driving birds' use of space. Bird species' tolerances are also linked to their population trends, making the tolerances a relevant addition to conservation planning.