Urbanization as an environmental filter for megacolorful birds

Abstract

The colorfulness of bird plumage plays a crucial role in intraspecific (e.g. sexual display) and interspecific ecological interactions (e.g. camouflage and predation). Consequently, bird plumage colorfulness can affect the success of individuals in novel environments, such as urban settings. However, our understanding of the impact of urbanization on the plumage colorfulness of birds, especially in tropical regions, is limited. To address this gap, we analyzed whether urban environments serve as environmental filters for plumage colorfulness in passerine (Passeriformes) bird assemblages across the biomes of Brazil, the worlds largest tropical country. Using generalized linear models that incorporate bird checklists, functional traits, and a continuous urbanization metric, we show that urbanization increases specific traits that are associated with plumage colorfulness in bird assemblages (i.e. proportion of omnivores, proportion of larger species, and average sexual dichromatism). While the average colorfulness of bird assemblages did not change with increasing urbanization, a negative correlation between the presence of megacolorful birds (i.e. the 5% most colorful species) and urbanization was detected, particularly in biomes with high urban concentrations, such as the Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga. This suggests that urban environments can be unsuitable for the most colorful tropical bird species. Our study additionally shows that factors like body size, diet, and sexual dichromatism play a mediating role in the urban filtering process. Our analyses provide insights into how urban environments act as environmental filters and can help to better understand the consequences of urbanization for tropical biodiversity.