The effect of land use on Avian species present along an urban gradient in the city of Richmond, Virginia

Urbanization is the process by which wildlife habitat is transformed to better meet the needs of humans. This project explores how urbanization changes, as reflected by land use, affect the presence of individual bird species and the bird community as a whole. Eleven bird species common to the City of Richmond are examined for presence in two districts varying in degree of urbanization, the Downtown District and the Far West End District. Each district is divided into five major land use categories: (1) open space, (2) lower-intensity residential, (3) higher-intensity residential, (4) office/business, and (5) industrial/commercial. Data are based on interview with an expert, literature, and information from state agencies. Analysis shows that there is more avian diversity in the Far West End District than the Downtown District. Land use differences are used to explain the dissimilaries in avian diversity. This project serves as scientific support for a web document created by the University of Richmond Urban Forestry Project Team (http://hermes.richmond.edu/urbanforests/)