Evidence for contrasting causes of population change in two closely related, sympatric breeding species the WhinchatSaxicola rubetraand StonechatSaxicola torquatain Britain

Abstract

2014): Evidence for contrasting causes of population change in two closely related, sympatric breeding species the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra and Stonechat Saxicola torquata in Britain, Bird Study To link to this article: http://dx.

Breeding success affects site fidelity in a WhinchatSaxicola rubetrapopulation in abandoned fields

“…Thus research into demographic rates are particularly important for understanding the reasons that lead to population decline for many bird species. The Whinchat Saxicola rubetra, a wide ranging groundnesting meadow passerine, has experienced dramatic population declines in Western and Central Europe over the past decades (Bastian et al 1997, Grüebler et al 2012, Henderson et al 2014. Due to the urgent need for conservation, the population ecology of the Whinchat is becoming relatively well studied in Western and Central Europe (Schmidt & Hantge 1954, Bezzel & Stiel 1975, Bastian 1992, Müller et al 2005, Frankiewicz 2008).…”

Characterising demographic contributions to observed population change in a declining migrant bird

“…This study demonstrates the potential of high quality breeding habitat to dampen the rate of population decline and seemingly provide a remedy to that decline. However, this remedy is likely to be unsustainable if the decline in the wider UK or source population continues to reduce the pool of potential recruits, with abandonment of many previously well populated areas (Henderson et al ). No single study can provide absolute generality and we would welcome similar demographic analyses from other breeding populations in other landscape contexts, but our results suggest that focussing conservation action on improving productivity is an important immediate strategy for Europe.…”

“…However, large-scale declines across even stronghold populations of the UK suggest that in more recent times (last 20 yr), survival outside the breeding season (i.e. post-fledging, migration or over-winter survival) may not compensate for mean levels of breeding productivity (Henderson et al 2014). Studies in Nigeria indicate that over winter survival may not be limiting (Hulme andCresswell 2012, Blackburn andCresswell 2016).…”

Nestling diet optimization and condition in relation to prey attributes and breeding patch size in a patch-resident insectivorous passerine: an optimal continuum and habitat constraints

“…The primary breeding habitat of Whinchat used to be invertebrate-rich grasslands, especially those lying within traditionally managed agricultural landscapes, where the abundance and diversity of arthropod prey were higher than in intensively managed grasslands (Oppermann 1999;Bastian and Bastian 1996;Britschgi et al 2006;Broyer et al 2012;Strebel et al 2015). The recent population decline of grassland birds, including the Whinchat, has been ascribed mainly to nest losses/female mortality resulting from more intensive agriculture practices, primarily earlier and more frequent mowing (Grüebler et al 2008(Grüebler et al , 2012, deteriorating food/foraging conditions in semi-natural grasslands/meadows and the loss of marginal habitats (Müller et al 2005;Britschgi et al 2006;Perlut et al 2008;Broyer 2009;Broyer et al 2012Broyer et al , 2014Henderson et al 2014;Strebel et al 2015). A very recent investigation has found evidence that mortality in Whinchats occurs primarily outside the wintering period, i.e.…”

“…Since 1980 it has undergone an estimated 71 % long-term decline in abundance in Europe, which has resulted in an exceptionally high level of interest in ecological/conservation investigations of this species (Henderson et al 2014;Strebel et al 2015;cf. Bastian and Feulner 2015).…”