09219e65-8537-4bc0-b1cd-53b1bd32c165 https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=jlm_bird Jean-Louis Martin CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1538-2278 Sabina Amparo Caula CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4666-1176 2026-02-11 eng

This dataset documents bird communities across different districts of the city of Montpellier (France). Standardized surveys were conducted during winter and spring in 2005 and 2006 to assess the effects of urbanization, landscape structure, and vegetation cover on urban avifauna. The dataset includes: Biological data: species composition and abundance of bird communities per sampling point, by season (winter, spring) and by year. Environmental conditions: information related to building density and age, vegetation indices, and urban landscape characteristics (collected during the study but not included in this published dataset). These data were produced as part of Sabina Caula’s PhD research, which explored urban birds as ecological and socio-economic indicators. The project aimed to analyze how urbanization and landscape structure influence bird biodiversity and the ecological quality of urban green spaces in Montpellier. The dataset provides a reproducible baseline for assessing long-term changes in bird communities and urban landscapes over time. License: CC BY 4.0 Contacts: Jean-Louis Martin (ORCID), Aurélien Besnard (ORCID)

Occurrence Urban biodiversity Bird communities Community structure Species distribution Species abundance Biodiversity monitoring Urban ecosystems Landscape ecology Environmental gradients Vegetation cover Anthropogenic habitats Conservation biology GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml Observation GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html CC-BY-4.0 https://ipt.gbif.fr/archive.do?r=jlm_bird The study was conducted in the city of Montpellier (southern France) along a gradient of urbanization. Sampling sites span a range of land-use contexts, from densely built city-centre neighborhoods to residential areas and urban parks, and extend to peri-urban landscapes including agricultural fields/croplands and other open habitats. This gradient was designed to capture how urban form and vegetation cover vary across the city and surrounding areas. 3.816327 3.932594 43.644045 43.583528 2005-01-21 2006-12-18 order Gruiformes family Fringillidae order Columbiformes class Aves order Charadriiformes family Passeridae family Troglodytidae family Laridae family Sylviidae order Bucerotiformes family Corvidae family Accipitridae family Upupidae family Phylloscopidae family Columbidae family Regulidae family Certhiidae family Hirundinidae family Strigidae family Muscicapidae family Motacillidae kingdom Animalia family Alaudidae family Aegithalidae order Galliformes order Caprimulgiformes family Emberizidae family Phasianidae family Panuridae family Falconidae order Passeriformes family Turdidae family Apodidae family Rallidae order Strigiformes order Pelecaniformes order Piciformes order Coraciiformes family Paridae family Picidae order Falconiformes family Ardeidae family Oriolidae family Cisticolidae order Accipitriformes family Sittidae family Sturnidae family Meropidae unknown Aurélien Besnard CEFE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2289-9761 Field surveys were conducted using standardized point count methods. Sampling locations were selected to represent the diversity of urban habitats along an urbanization gradient. At each point, trained observers performed fixed-duration observation sessions during which all birds seen or heard were recorded. Surveys were carried out during both winter and spring seasons to capture seasonal variation in bird community composition. Following field collection, data were compiled, standardized, and quality-checked. Species identifications were harmonized according to the TAXREF taxonomic reference. Geographic coordinates were verified for consistency, and observation dates were formatted to comply with Darwin Core standards. Abundance values and metadata associated with each sampling event were validated prior to dataset publication. The study was conducted in the city of Montpellier, southern France, along a gradient of urbanization. Sampling sites were distributed across a range of urban contexts, including densely built city-center districts, residential neighborhoods, urban parks, and peri-urban areas. The spatial design aimed to capture variability in landscape structure, vegetation cover, and anthropogenic pressure across the urban matrix. Surveys were carried out during winter and spring seasons in 2005 and 2006 in order to assess seasonal and inter-annual patterns in bird community composition and abundance. Bird communities were surveyed using standardized point count protocols. At each sampling point, observers conducted fixed-duration listening and visual detection sessions to record all bird species seen or heard. Surveys were repeated across seasons to ensure comparability of detection conditions and to capture temporal variation in species presence and activity. The protocol allowed the estimation of species occurrence, relative abundance, and community composition in relation to urban habitat characteristics. All observations were georeferenced and associated with sampling metadata to support ecological and landscape-level analyses. Sabina Amparo Caula https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4666-1176 author Jean-Louis Martin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1538-2278 author 2026-02-11T15:17:32.891+00:00 dataset Martin J, Amparo Caula S (2026). Birdlife in the urban environment: ecological and socio-economic indicator. Version 1.1. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive (CEFE). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=jlm_bird&v=1.1 Caula, Sabina, Pascal Marty, and Jean-Louis Martin. "Seasonal variation in species composition of an urban bird community in Mediterranean France." Landscape and Urban Planning 87.1 (2008): 1-9. 09219e65-8537-4bc0-b1cd-53b1bd32c165/v1.1.xml