Dupty Ram and Naveen Tholia
Abstract
The rapid growth of the human population has increased the demand for natural resources to fulfill their daily needs and because of the requirement for shelter and other products, natural areas are rapidly converted into urbanized areas, which contribute to the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and habitat fragmentation. Due to urbanization activities, natural resources rapidly decrease, such as loss of vegetation and forest cover, which negatively affects the survival of wildlife, including bird communities. Urbanization also affects the ecological and biological functions of birds by reducing the nesting and breeding sites for resident and migratory species. Furthermore, urbanization decreases the diversity, abundance, and species richness of birds compared to natural habitats. Urbanization is also a source of various types of environmental pollution, such as water, noise, light, air, and heavy metals, which influence the growth, survival, diversity, abundance, and nesting of birds. Noise pollution interrupts the vocalization and sound communication behavior patterns of different bird species at various stages of life. Heavy metal pollution can negatively influence the breeding success of birds both directly and indirectly. Light pollution affects the daily activity, circadian rhythm, foraging, and migration patterns of birds. Human-derived infrastructure such as roads and multi-story buildings also influence bird communities in various ways, such as collisions with these structures, lack of suitable nesting, roosting, and foraging sites. Air pollutants and combustion of fossil fuels, emissions of industrial smoke, and gases, negatively influence the health of birds.