Using bird-habitat relationships to inform urban planning

Urbanisation is a rapidly growing phenomenon that is affecting global biodiversity, but the integration of conservation goals into urban planning can minimise ecological damage. Conservation planning for birds can be informed by knowledge of species-habitat relationships, but opportunities for studying these relationships before urbanisation occurs are rare. Our study took place in the Molonglo Valley, southeastern Australia, where approximately 30% of the area will be developed for new human settlement over the next 30 years. We surveyed 80 sites for birds and used multiple regression to explore the role that land use, vegetation cover and structure play on total species richness, woodland species richness and prevalence (proportion of total species), and also on the presence of 10 woodland species. We found that total species richness was higher in river corridors and eucalypt woodland. Woodland species richness was higher in river corridors and eucalypt woodlands, and when leaf litter was present. Woodland species prevalence was higher in river corridors and when leaf litter and eucalypt regeneration were present. Individual woodland species showed a range of responses to five main structural and compositional categories: (1) land use, (2) tree cover and composition, (3) eucalypt regeneration, (4) shrub cover, and (5) ground cover attributes. We use these data on bird-habitat relationships to develop five recommendations on: (1) eucalypt woodland, (2) high quality riparian areas, (3) scattered trees, (4) eucalypt regeneration, and (5) structurally complex habitats, to aid policy makers, planners and developers to integrate conservation for woodland birds into their urban planning.