Species Richness and Composition of Forest Birds in Urban Parks and Reserves of Buenos Aires City, Argentina

Simple Summary Urban green spaces provide multiple services and are important for biodiversity and human well-being. Nevertheless, studies analyzing the relationship between green spaces and forest birds in the Global South are still scarce. Using citizen science data, we evaluated the variation in the richness and specific composition of forest birds in two types of urban green spaces in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina: parks and reserves. Sampling effort was considered as the number of checklists for each site. Forest bird species richness was higher in reserves and was positively related to sampling effort. Forest bird species composition varied as a function of green space type and sampling effort. Moreover, the species present in sites with lower richness were a subset of the species present in richer sites. Reserves and sites with the highest sampling effort concentrated all species. The results obtained show the importance of urban reserves and citizen science platforms in the conservation of forest birds.Abstract Urbanization is among the main factors of ecosystem transformation and threats to global biodiversity. Urban green spaces provide multiple services, being important for biodiversity and human well-being. However, the relationship between green spaces and forest birds has been scarcely studied in the Global South. In this work, we used citizen science data (eBird) to assess the variation in the species richness and composition of forest birds in two types of public urban green spaces characterized by different vegetation composition and management: parks and reserves. In general, reserves had more native and unmanaged vegetation than parks. We selected parks and reserves located in the coastal area of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sampling effort was considered as the number of checklists for each site. The database allowed information to be extracted from 12 sites and 33 species. The most common species were the Green-barred Woodpecker (Colaptes melanochloros), the Narrow-billed Woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes angustirostris), and the White-crested Tyrannulet (Serpophaga subcristata). Bird species richness was higher in reserves than in parks and was positively related to sampling effort. The forest bird species composition varied according to the type of green area and sampling effort. Species composition showed a significant nestedness, with the least rich sites being a subset of species from the richest sites. Reserves and sites with the highest sampling effort concentrated all species. The results obtained show the importance of urban reserves in the conservation of forest birds.