# Ecological Correlates of Ecological Specialization of Avian Communities in University Campuses of China

## TL;DR

This study explores how university campuses in China support bird species with specialized diets and foraging behaviors, finding that campus size and elevation are key factors.

## Contribution

The first continent-wide investigation into how university campuses support ecological specialists in bird communities.

## Key findings

- Campus area and elevation are important for maintaining ecological specialization in birds.
- NDVI has a positive effect on foraging stratum specialization but a negative effect on diet specialization.
- Larger or higher-elevation campuses are more effective in supporting ecological specialists.

## Abstract

Ecological specialists are species with a narrow niche and are usually vulnerable to disturbance and environmental changes. As a special type of urban green space, university campuses often act as biodiversity hotspots in cities, providing essential refuges for many species. It is thus important to understand whether university campuses would also help to maintain ecological specialists. Based on a citizen science dataset, we explored the spatial distribution and ecological drivers of ecological specialization of bird communities across 188 university campuses of China. Among the 398 species recorded in these campuses, 109 and 104 species were categorized as diet and foraging stratum specialist species. The results of modeling highlighted the importance of campus area and elevation in maintaining ecological specialization in birds. However, the effect of net primary production on ecological specialization is relatively complex, with a positive effect on the community-wide foraging stratum specialization index, and a negative effect on the community-wide diet specialization index. As the first continent-wide investigation on the role of university campuses in protecting ecological specialization, our study should provide insights into urban planning and wildlife conservation.

With the rapid process of urbanization at a global scale, university campuses have been viewed as important urban green spaces for biodiversity conservation. However, little is known about the role of university campuses in protecting ecological specialists, the species usually vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. We assessed the associations between several ecological variates and ecological specialization of bird communities across 198 Chinese university campuses. A total of 398 bird species were recorded, including 109 diet specialist species and 104 foraging stratum specialist species. We found that the elevation of campuses was positively related to diet specialist species richness, and the campus area was positively related to foraging stratum specialist species richness. NDVI was positively associated with the community-wide foraging stratum specialization index, but negatively associated with the community-wide diet specialization index. Our results suggest that campuses with larger areas or located at high elevations play an important role in maintaining ecological specialization of bird communities.