Comparative Studies on Earthworm Density by Breeding Place Characteristics of Fairy Pitta on Jeju Island

Kim, Eun‐Mi; Choi, Hyung-Soon; Kang, Chang-Wan; Min, Dong-Won; Yang, Eunjung; Oh, Mi-Rea

doi:10.13087/kosert.2014.17.5.43

Cited by 3 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…In terms of prey availability, earthworms were the most important food item for nestlings of the pitta and accounted for >73% of the food delivered during chick provisioning periods [13]. According to a previous study on prey availability for breeding pittas, the earthworm density in forest floors around the pitta breeding habitat at 100 m elevation was higher than at 380 m elevation [31], suggesting a decline in prey availability along the elevation gradient. The distribution, growth, and activity of earthworms are also largely affected by non-biotic factors, such as humidity and temperature [32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Distribution and Elevation Preference for the Breeding of Fairy Pittas on Jeju Island, Korea

Kim

Kang

Choi

et al. 2019

Forests

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Elevation often becomes an important component in the breeding site selection of forest birds because it may affect individual fitness. To understand how the threatened fairy pitta (Pitta nympha Temminck & Schlegel) selects a particular elevation for breeding and whether the pitta achieves better reproductive performance in its preferred elevation, we surveyed for the presence of breeding pittas and recorded their reproductive performances at six different elevation zones on Mount Halla in Jeju Island, Korea. We expected that preference for breeding sites and reproductive performance would gradually decrease with increasing elevation. In fact, 73 presence and 78 absence records indicated no preference for breeding sites at elevations lower than 400 m. However, forest habitats between 400 and 600 m were strongly preferred, while locations above 800 m were clearly avoided. The egg-laying date was significantly earlier at lower elevations, but other measures of reproductive performance did not differ between the preferred and non-preferred elevations. Contrary to our expectations, this indicates that there was no clear advantage to a pitta’s reproductive performance based on elevation preference. Our findings suggest that the inherent optimal selection for the best reproductive outcomes was not a key driving factor for the pattern of elevation preference observed, and that the pitta’s preference might be a response to external and environmental factors such as climate conditions. The reduction of anthropogenic impacts by mitigating human–pitta conflicts at lower elevations, such as accidental non-reproductive mortality and forest loss, would help enhance the conservation of the fairy pitta on Jeju Island, a stronghold of this threatened species in Korea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Distribution and Elevation Preference for the Breeding of Fairy Pittas on Jeju Island, Korea

Kim

Kang

Choi

et al. 2019

Forests

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“…Epigeic earthworms, primarily found in the leaf litter (layer A0) of the forest floor, are the main group available to foraging pittas. Hence, we assumed that earthworm densities in the litter follow reported values for fairy pitta breeding habitats, ranging from 0.53 to 8.7 earthworms/m 2 ( Minamiya, Ishizuka & Tsukamoto, 2007 ; Kim et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing dietary specialization to inform the conservation of the fairy pitta (Pitta nympha), an endangered vermivore

Park,

Ha,

Kim

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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Quantifying the diet of endangered species is crucial for conservation, especially for diet specialists, which can be more susceptible to environmental changes. The vulnerable fairy pitta (Pitta nympha) is considered a specialist that primarily feeds its nestlings with earthworms. However, there have been few studies of the nestling diet provisioned by parents, and no assessments of earthworm proportion in the diet of adults. Our study aimed to fill these gaps, shedding light on crucial factors for conservation. Combining new observations with existing literature, we confirmed a consistent dominance of earthworms in the nestling diet, regardless of rainfall, nestling age, and time of day. We extrapolated the total earthworm consumption during a breeding event, accounting for potential variation in the availability of earthworms and their prevalence in the adult diet. We used literature-based earthworm densities in pitta habitats and our estimates of family earthworm consumption to calculate the habitat area that could provide a pitta family with the number of earthworms consumed during a breeding event. The predictions matched observed pitta home range sizes when assumed that the adult diet is comprised of approximately 70% earthworms. The results highlight the importance of earthworm-rich habitats for conservation planning of the fairy pitta. To mitigate the effects of habitat destruction, we discuss conservation practices that may involve enhancing earthworm abundance in natural habitats and providing vegetation cover for foraging pittas in adjacent anthropogenic habitats rich in earthworms. To guide conservation efforts effectively, future studies should investigate whether previously reported breeding in developed plantation habitats is due to high earthworm abundance there. Future studies should also quantify correlations between local earthworm densities, home range size, and the breeding success of the fairy pitta.

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“…Fig. 3A is an example of estimated range (gray-shaded diagonal band of "predicted territory") of the natural breeding habitat surface area (vertical axis) that is needed to provide a su cient number of earthworms (in this case 5668 earthworms needed for a brood of 6 nestlings and 2 parents for the full breeding event assuming that earthworms constitute 70% of adult DEE; see Methods part 6) as a function of proportion of the epigeic earthworm abundance available and detected on the surface by the foraging birds (horizontal axis; 0.1-100%), and assuming that epigeic earthworm densities vary between the smallest (0.53 individuals/m 2 ; blue line upper edge of the gray band) and the highest (8.67 individuals/m 2 ; orange line lower edge of the gray band) value detected in breeding habitats of the Fairy Pitta 21,23 . The vertical semitransparent green band indicates the range of values (0.5-5%) on the horizontal axis that is likely to occur in nature based on Duriez et al 24 .…”

Section: Speculative Partmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We then used the estimates of the number of earthworms needed in calculations to approximate theoretical size of the breeding home range (or breeding territory, as in the case of typical songbirds the two mostly overlap) that may provide a su cient number of earthworms for a typical brood of pittas (and parents) assuming that densities of earthworms in the surface A0 layer of the soil follow the values found in the typical breeding habitats of the Fairy Pitta 21,23 (from the lowest abundance = earthworms/m 2 to the highest abundance = 8.7 earthworms/m 2 ).…”

Section: Afdm)]mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, except for the species account in BirdLife International 11 , no attempt to compile all the evidence from the literature and to summarize it from the standpoint of conservation has been conducted yet. Additionally, apart from only three reports of earthworm densities in the Fairy Pitta's habitats in Korea 21,22 and Japan 23 , we are not aware of broader analyses that would use the results of the nestling diet and parental provisioning studies combined with the literature on earthworm abundance to discuss its consequences for ecology and conservation of the Fairy Pitta. Basic-science of ecology often refrains from speculations that, even if approximate in nature, can be useful for conservation, while practically oriented conservationists may disregard purely basic knowledge if it is not directly linked through generalization and science-based speculations to the applied science of conservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conservation of avian diet specialists: lessons from brood provisioning ecology of the endangered vermivore, the Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha)

Park¹,

Ha²,

Jabłoński

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Information on the diet of endangered species is crucial in conservation, especially for diet specialists. The Fairy Pitta, Pitta nympha, is classified as “vulnerable species” by IUCN. In a field-based study on the nestlings’ diet and parental care, combined with the existing literature, we confirm pitta’s dietary specialization as vermivory and report the effect of rain on the proportion and size of earthworms in the nestlings’ diet. We use the quantitative results, along with the literature on earthworm densities, to speculate that the habitat’s surface area required to supply a pair of the Fairy Pitta with earthworms for the whole breeding event approximately matches the territory (home range) size extracted from the published censuses of the Fairy Pitta. This match highlights the importance of earthworms for the population ecology of the Fairy Pitta. Finally, based on the comparison of earthworm densities in natural and anthropogenic habitats, we hypothesize that spatial mosaic of patches of natural and anthropogenic habitats, with patch sizes based on the Fairy Pitta’s territory size, may mitigate the negative effects of the conversion of natural habitats to anthropogenic habitats on pitta’s population.

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Comparative Studies on Earthworm Density by Breeding Place Characteristics of Fairy Pitta on Jeju Island

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Vertical Distribution and Elevation Preference for the Breeding of Fairy Pittas on Jeju Island, Korea

Vertical Distribution and Elevation Preference for the Breeding of Fairy Pittas on Jeju Island, Korea

Assessing dietary specialization to inform the conservation of the fairy pitta (Pitta nympha), an endangered vermivore

Conservation of avian diet specialists: lessons from brood provisioning ecology of the endangered vermivore, the Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha)

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