Doi: https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.73.1.2026.ra3
Authors: Esther Sebastián González, Susana Carrión, Cristian Pérez-Granados, Germán M. López-Iborra, Francisco Botella, Claudia Pérez, Gloria Rocher, Juan Manuel Pérez-García, José García-Rodríguez, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata and Adrian Orihuela-Torres
E-mail: esther.sebastian@ua.es
Published: Volume 73.1, January 2026. Pages 43-66.
Language: English
Keywords: cultural service, ecological function, ecosystem provisioning, ecosystem regulation, ecotourism, provisioning service and regulation service
Summary:
The study introduce ServiBirds, an innovative database meticulously designed to quantify the ecosystem services (ES) delivered by bird species, using Spain, a species-rich country, as study model. The database describes the species-level values in 12 different provisioning, supporting/regulating and cultural ES for 378 bird species from 73 families. For each species, the supporting/regulating services were weighted by its field metabolic rate and its population size in Spain. In addition, birds provide diverse other ES, especially aesthetic, ecotouristic, as pest controllers and as seed dispersers. The most important providers of supporting/ regulating services in Spain included some, such as the Eurasian Magpie Pica pica and the Common Blackbird Turdus merula, that provide several services and specialists, such as the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus, that provide a single service. For cultural services, the top species were those, such as the Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa, Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos or European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis, that provide multiple services. The study underlines the important role that birds play in ecosystem conservation and for human wellbeing.
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