Biological Conservation 147 (2012) 13–21 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon Israel’s breeding avifauna: A century of dramatic change ⇑ Yoram Yom-Tov a, , Ohad Hatzofe b, Eli Geffen a a Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel b Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Am Veolamo 3, Giva’at Shaul 95463, Jerusalem, Israel article info abstract Article history: During the course of the 20th century many changes took place in the area encompassing Israel and the Received 25 July 2011 Palestinian Authority (hereafter Israel; ca. 28,000 km2): the human population grew from ca. 650,000 Received in revised form 3 January 2012 inhabitants during 1900–1903 (Rupin, 1920) to ca. 10 million in 2008, i.e. a 16-fold increase. This popu- Accepted 5 January 2012 lation increase was accompanied by an increase in land use for human needs – agriculture, aquaculture, Available online 7 February 2012 forestry, construction of buildings and roads, etc., and a dramatic rise in the standard of living. Here we compare the status (distribution and abundance) of the 227 bird species that are breeding or Keywords: have bred in Israel from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. For each species we doc- Avifauna umented the environmental factors presumed to have affected it, and examined the effects of taxonomic Israel Habitat change order, body mass, diet, world and local distribution and nest location on the status of the avifauna. We Poisoning found that 73.6% of the bird species breeding in Israel had undergone a change in their status during Invasive species the studied period. While several of the examined factors were significantly related to the observed changes, some of them were also interrelated to some degree, making it difficult to single out the factor responsible for a particular change. The main reasons for the changes were nonetheless assessed as hab- itat change, introduction of invasive species and poisoning. Habitat change had many forms, most of which are related to agriculture, including irrigation, aquaculture and construction of water reservoirs; but also included afforestation, preservation of the natural forest, urbanization, gardening and the intro- duction of exotic plants. Habitat change was responsible for a population decline in 64 species and pop- ulation increase in 62 species. Thirteen species, mostly Falconiformes, were impacted by poisoning. Sixteen invasive species, all of tropical origin, were introduced, of which seven were Psittaciformes. Although changes occurred throughout the country, the birds inhabiting the Mediterranean region were more affected than those inhabiting the desert region, reflecting the denser human population in the for- mer region. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction due to human activity is the most important cause of these de- clines, followed by hunting and invasive alien species. Habitat It is widely accepted that the world’s avifauna, like many other destruction and degradation as a consequence of agriculture is animals, is in the midst of a serious crisis that is altering the status the greatest threat (Green et al., 2005; Butchart et al., 2010). Agri- of a large proportion of this fauna. In their recent review, Butchart culture is the prime cause of habitat loss worldwide and the area et al. (2010) provide a summary of the present status of the world’s currently occupied by agriculture comprises 11% of total land cover birds and the most important pressures they face today. They show (FAO, 2007). that since 1988 there has been a steady and continuing deteriora- The effects of the above crisis have not been evenly distributed tion in the status of the world’s birds, and many birds in terrestrial, with some countries having been impacted more than others. Hu- freshwater and marine ecosystems have declined in status over the mid tropical countries have been the most affected, mainly due to last 20 years. This is particularly true in the tropics, but the spread forest loss, which has been followed by catastrophic extinctions and intensification of agriculture in temperate regions has had a (Butchart et al., 2010). In Singapore, for example, local extinctions similar effect (Hoffman, 2011; Perry et al., 2011). Nearly half of were found among a wide range of terrestrial and freshwater taxa, the bird species worldwide show a declining population, 132 and substantial rates of extinctions occurred among forest special- (about 1.3%) species have become extinct since 1600, 44% are sta- ists, with the greatest proportion of extinct taxa (34–87%) being in ble and 7% are increasing (Butchart et al., 2010). Habitat change butterflies, fish, birds and mammals (Brook et al., 2003). However, changes in the status of birds have not been confined to the tropics ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +972 36409058; fax: +972 3 6409403. but have also occurred in major temperate regions. For example, E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Yom-Tov). many farmland species declined in Europe due to changes in their 0006-3207/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.01.005 14 Y. Yom-Tov et al. / Biological Conservation 147 (2012) 13–21 habitat and to global warming (Georgy et al., 2005, 2008; Ivits pools, rivers and streams) has resulted in the disappearance of et al., 2011). Dramatic population declines also occurred in North most aquatic habitats (Yom-Tov and Mendelssohn, 1988). On the America, especially in grassland and arid land habitats, and have other hand, the establishment of aquaculture (currently occupying been attributed mainly to habitat loss due to agriculture and 22 km2) and ca. 550 water reservoirs has created new wetlands urbanization (Butchart et al., 2010). Declining trends of woodland, (Yom-Tov, in press). grassland and heathland have been reported in Australia (Olsen, At the beginning of the 20th century the natural forest occupied 2008). In these areas as well as others, habitat loss is the most about 100 km2 (A. Rabinowitz, pers. comm.), and currently covers important factor impacting bird populations, with agriculture, about 350 km2 (Omi, 1978; Statistical Abstracts of Israel, 2009), drainage of wetlands, unsustainable forestry and urbanization in addition to 1020 km2 of afforested areas (Statistical Abstracts being the main causes (Stanner and Bourdeau, 1995; Vie et al., of Israel, 2010). In addition, extensive gardening in urban areas 2008; Butchart et al., 2010). Green et al. (2005) claimed that agri- as well as in agricultural settlements has added wooded areas to culture poses the greatest threat to birds worldwide. The impact of where none existed at the beginning of the 20th century. agriculture takes various forms, such as expansion of cultivated Growth of the human population, accompanied by a rise in liv- areas, aquaculture and construction of water reservoirs, drainage ing standards, has also led to a significant increase in the amount of of water bodies, increased food availability to species commensal domestic solid waste produced (more than 4.5 million tons in with humans (including bird predators) in the form of garbage 2000; Statistical Abstracts of Israel, 2007). Many small and even and surplus agricultural products, as well as poisoning. Pesticide medium-size settlements and military bases have created their residues negatively affect many birds, but deliberate poisoning to own, illegal, garbage dumps, where the waste remains largely un- prevent damage to crop and livestock is also quite common (Mine- treated. Garbage in Israel comprises about 40% organic material, au et al., 1999). and until recently this percentage had been as high as 75%, provid- Invasive alien species pose the second major threat to birds ing a readily available source of food for birds and mammals (Ost- after habitat change (Schmitz and Simberloff, 1997; Parker et al., rovsky et al., 2009). These changes (and many others) have had a 1999; Butchart et al., 2010). The success of invaders depends on major, in many cases fatal, effect on the status, distribution and the suitability of the abiotic environment for the exotic species at abundance of vertebrates in Israel. Nathan et al. (1996) have shown the introduction site (Blackburn and Duncan, 2001). Invasive alien that many of the birds inhabiting Israel are at the southern periph- species often compete and interfere with native species, and many ery of their distribution, and are more likely to stop breeding due tend to become pests (Parker et al., 1999). Several alien invaders to their inherent vulnerability to human pressure. have become established in Israel, and their number is growing Global warming has been shown to impact the distribution of (Hatzofe and Yom-Tov, 2002). animals, and many bird species have extended their ranges to The area encompassing Israel and the Palestinian Authority is the north (reviewed by Hughes, 2000; Parmesan and Yohe, 2003; small (ca. 28,000 km2), located in the eastern Mediterranean be- Root et al., 2003). Worldwide, global mean surface temperatures tween the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, a region far have increased by 0.6 °C since the late 19th century (IPCC, 2007). from the tropics. It lies between latitudes 29°300N and 33°200N In Israel, average minimum summer temperatures increased by on the verge of the Saharo-Arabian desert belt, and has been inhab- an average of 0.26 °C per decade during the second half of the ited by humans for approximately one million years (Bar-Yosef and 20th century (Ben-Gai et al., 1999). Garfunkel, 2008). During the course of the 20th century many Here we document the changes in the breeding avifauna of Is- changes took place in this area: the human population grew from rael from the beginning of the 20th century to 2010.