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Birds
Special Issues
Resilience of Birds in Changing Environments
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Resilience of Birds in Changing Environments

A special issue of Birds (ISSN 2673-6004).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1503

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jason Davis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Radford University, Radford, VA 24142, USA
Interests: hormones; neurotransmitters; behavior; immunity; songbirds; sociality and stress

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Birds highlighting research on resilience, robusticity, and recovery in wild birds, with an emphasis on comparing and contrasting native and invasive species. Given the multifaceted and global scope of ongoing environmental change, and the continuing development of new theoretical models of resilience, exploring the mechanisms through which native and invasive birds cope with change is both meaningful and timely. Birds’ scope has always included a range of multidisciplinary research relating to bird behavior, ecology, and physiology, including how birds adapt, or fail to adapt, to a changing world. Integrative models and studies of resilience, and particularly the differences between resilience functions in native and invasive species, will expand this focus and shine a light on a topic that is broadly interesting and important. 

This Special Issue aims to explore the mechanisms, means, and consequences of resilience, or the lack thereof, in both endemic and introduced species of birds. Both original research articles and reviews are welcome, with topics relating, but not limited to, stress responses, recovery, comparative demography, ecological consequences, adaptations that enable invasion, response to anthropogenic or environmental disruption, and competition between native and invasive species.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Jason Davis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Birds is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • resilience
  • invasive
  • stress
  • robusticity
  • recovery
  • adaptation
  • homeostasis
  • allostasis
  • disruption
  • global change

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 3231 KiB  
Article
Avian Community Structure and Spatial Distribution in Anthropogenic Landscapes in Central Mexico
by Jorge Enrique Ramírez-Albores
Birds 2025, 6(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6020018 - 8 Apr 2025
Viewed by 344
Abstract
Habitat loss, pollution, and climate change have a global impact on bird diversity, particularly in central Mexico, where human disturbances and unplanned urbanization can lead to the decline of this faunal group. In this study, the effects of season (rainy, warm–dry, or cool–dry) [...] Read more.
Habitat loss, pollution, and climate change have a global impact on bird diversity, particularly in central Mexico, where human disturbances and unplanned urbanization can lead to the decline of this faunal group. In this study, the effects of season (rainy, warm–dry, or cool–dry) and environmental variables (size, perimeter, vegetation cover, built cover, distance to nearby greenspaces and distance to the closet natural vegetation patch) on the avian diversity at different sites located in a peri-urban landscape in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City were determined. The study was conducted using the linear transect method to assess the diversity and composition of bird communities from November 2019 to March 2022, recording 290 total bird species. Zumpango Lagoon was the study site with the highest diversity (N = 209, H′  =  3.22) and evenness index (J′  =  0.76). Linear mixed models were used to determine the effects of season and environmental variables of the study sites on the avian diversity. The effect of distance to the nearest greenspace was significantly more positive during the rainy season than the two dry seasons. An ANOSIM test also showed that the avian community associated with water bodies differed significantly from the other communities (R = 0.16, p < 0.001). Despite some anthropogenic activities and human intrusion, sites with water bodies retain a high diversity of birds. This finding indicates the need for immediate conservation efforts to protect many resident breeding species and wintering migratory birds in the study area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience of Birds in Changing Environments)
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13 pages, 1674 KiB  
Article
Urban Environmental Predictors of Group Size in Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota): A Test Using Community-Science Data
by Cassie Rueda and Kevin J. McGraw
Birds 2025, 6(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6020017 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 231
Abstract
Due to continuing worldwide urban expansion, research into how urban environments affect local flora/fauna has grown significantly. Studies on the impacts of urbanization on birds have explored a wide variety of behaviors (e.g., foraging, breeding, migratory), but there is little research on the [...] Read more.
Due to continuing worldwide urban expansion, research into how urban environments affect local flora/fauna has grown significantly. Studies on the impacts of urbanization on birds have explored a wide variety of behaviors (e.g., foraging, breeding, migratory), but there is little research on the impacts of cities on avian coloniality. Various urban-environmental factors may impact colonial birds. The predominance of impervious surfaces in cities, for example, has been associated with the decline of several bird species due to negative effects on availability and quality of habitat. The urban heat island effect and shifts in resource availability (e.g., food, water) may also affect colonial birds. Here, we used five years of community-science data available in eBird to investigate urban impacts on group size in Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), an abundant colonial bird species that now breeds readily under bridges and other built structures over or near water in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. We hypothesized that, based on the colonial breeding habits of these neotropical migratory birds in this desert environment, swallows in Phoenix would form larger groups in areas with more food and water sources and with more built structures. In fact, we found that proximity to water sources and cropland, but not impervious surface density, was positively and significantly related to group size. These results suggest that, in this desert ecosystem, an abundance of food/water resources provided by humans permits Cliff Swallows to form larger social groups during breeding. Although many studies show harmful impacts of cities on local wildlife, our findings highlight how urban and/or agricultural ‘oases’ may relieve some native species from natural resource limitations and permit them to thrive and increase in group size in human-impacted environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilience of Birds in Changing Environments)
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