Effects of Urban land-use type on Avifauna assemblage structure in Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly

Abstract

Given the global trend of increasing urbanization, the need to preserve and improve urban biodiversity has become critical. This study examines the relative influence of different land-use types as well as environmental resources (small trees, large trees, flowering trees, fruiting trees, shrubs, telecommunication mast, pylons, electric poles, buildings) on bird diversity indicators in the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly in Ghana. Remote sensing was used to estimate the extent of conversion of natural habitats into urban settlements. Using point count survey, bird species were recorded and compared in randomly selected plots of four land- use types of farmlands, remnant forest, residential and commercial areas. The relative influence of habitat resources on bird diversity indicators as well as the comparative use of natural and artificial resource by birds in built-up areas within the study area was also evaluated. The study found a significant extension of built-up areas into natural habitats in the study area with a significant increase in sparse vegetation coupled with a drop in the area covered by dense vegetation over the last three decades. Avifauna diversity indicators differ significantly across the four land-use types with urban farmlands being the most species diverse, followed by remnant forest, then residential and finally commercial areas. Findings from the study suggest that avian species diversity indicators decreased significantly with increasing land-use intensity and revealed that the study area still possesses significant conservation potentials for urban birds and by extension biological diversity as long as vegetation fragments are maintained within a sustained urban expansion framework. Biodiversity can be improved by improving the complexity and quantity of plant cover in residential areas by supporting citizens to establish private yards to increase the city’s green networ