Experimental disturbance by walkers affects behaviour and territory density of nesting Black‐tailed Godwit <i>Limosa limosa</i>

Holm, Thomas Eske; Laursen, Karsten

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2008.00889.x

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…, Schekkerman ), reclamation of coastal habitats (Smart et al. ), increased human disturbance (Holm and Laursen ), climate change impairing environmental conditions for reproduction (van Gils et al. ), and increased predation pressure due to higher abundance of predators (Grant et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation and nutrients drive population declines in breeding waders

Møller

Thorup²,

Laursen

2018

Ecological Applications

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Allee effects are defined as a decline in per capita fitness at low population density. We hypothesized that predation reduces population size of breeding waders and thereby the efficiency of predator deterrence, while total nitrogen through its effects on primary and secondary productivity increases population size. Therefore, nest predation could have negative consequences for population size because nest failure generally results in breeding dispersal and hence reduced local population density. To test these predictions, we recorded nest predation in five species of waders for 4,745 nests during 1987-2015 at the nature reserve Tipperne, Denmark. Predation rates were generally negatively related to conspecific and heterospecific population density, but positively related to overall population density of the entire wader community. Nest predation and population density were related to ground water level, management (grazing and mowing), and nutrients. High nest predation with a time lag of one year resulted in low overall breeding population density, while high nutrient levels resulted in higher population density. These two factors accounted for 86% of the variance in population size, presumably due to effects of nest predation on emigration, while nutrient levels increased the level of vegetation cover and the abundance of food in the surrounding brackish water. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that predation may reduce population density through negative density dependence, while total nitrogen at adjacent shallow water may increase population size. Nest predation rates were reduced by high ground water level in March, grazing by cattle and mowing that affected access to and susceptibility of nests to predators. These effects can be managed to benefit breeding waders.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation and nutrients drive population declines in breeding waders

Møller

Thorup²,

Laursen

2018

Ecological Applications

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“…Breeding populations of waders are declining across western Europe (Thorup, ; Roodbergen, van der Wert, & Hötker, ; Robinson, Morrison, & Baillie, ). The reasons for these declines include intensified agricultural practice, reclamation of coastal habitats, increasing predation pressure, human disturbance, and climate change (Beintema & Müskens, ; Wilson, Ausden, & Milsom, ; Smart, Gill, Sutherland, & Watkinson, ; Holm & Laursen, ; Roodbergen et al., ; Stephens et al., ). Demographic studies show that the declines are mainly caused by poor chick survival rather than adult survival (Roodbergen, Klok, & Schekkerman, ; Roodbergen et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple components of environmental change drive populations of breeding waders in seminatural grasslands

Laursen

Balbontı́n

Thorup³

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Environments are rapidly changing due to climate change, land use, intensive agriculture, and the impact of hunting on predator populations. Here, we analyzed long‐term data recorded during 1928–2014 on the size of breeding populations of waders at two large nature reserves in Denmark, Vejlerne and Tipperne, to determine the effects of components of environmental change on breeding populations of waders. Environmental variables and counts of waders were temporally autocorrelated, and we used generalized least square (GLS) by incorporating the first‐order autoregressive correlation structure in the analyses. We attempted to predict the abundance of waders for short‐term trends for two nature reserves (35 years) and for long‐term trends for one nature reserve (86 years), using precipitation, temperature, nutrients, abundance of foxes Vulpes vulpes, area grazed, and number of cattle. There was evidence of impacts of nutrients, climate (long‐term changes in temperature and precipitation), grazing, mowing, and predation on bird populations. We used standard random effects meta‐analyses weighted by (N–3) to quantify these mean effects. There was no significant difference in effect size among species, while mean effect size differed consistently among environmental factors, and the interaction between effect size for species and environmental factors was also significant. Thus, environmental factors affected the different species differently. Mean effect size was the largest at +0.20 for rain, +0.11 for temperature, −0.09 for fox abundance, and −0.03 for number of cattle, while there was no significant mean effect for fertilizer, area grazed, and year. Effect sizes for two short‐term time series from Tipperne and Vejlerne were positively correlated as were effect sizes for short‐term and long‐term time series at Tipperne. This implies that environmental factors had consistent effects across large temporal and spatial scales.

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“…Human recreational disturbances are also known to cause reduction of reproductive success and nesting failures (Bolduc and Guillemette 2003;Finney et al 2005;McGowan and Simons 2006;Steven et al 2011;Whitfield and Rae, 2014). As explained by Holm and Laursen (2009), disturbances caused by hikers alone can negatively affect territorial densities of certain birds, causing effective habitat loss for breeding. However, such impacts seem to be species-specific and for some birds, human use of recreational trails has no apparent effect on nest survival (Smith-Castro and Rodewald 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of tropical avifauna to visitor recreational disturbances: a case study from the Sinharaja World Heritage Forest, Sri Lanka

2016

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Background:We investigated the impact of human recreational disturbances on the distribution of birds along a popular nature trail in Sinhararja World Heritage Forest, Sri Lanka. It was hypothesized that visual and noise stimuli caused by the presence of humans affect the distribution of avifauna associated with this nature trail. Methods:Nine circular plots of 25 m fixed-radius laid along the trail (0 m), and 18 plots laid perpendicular to the trail at 75 and 150 m intervals, were studied from March 2013 to January 2014. The degree of human recreational disturbances was assessed in terms of visitor group size (visual disturbance) and their noise level (sound disturbance). These disturbances were categorized along a four-point scale (no human disturbance, low, medium and high disturbance). The relationship between disturbance levels and the abundance of birds was statistically tested.Results: ANOVA results revealed that the abundance of birds differed significantly under various intensities of recreational disturbances at each distance level. A significant negative correlation between abundance of birds and intensity of disturbance at 0 m distance suggests an avoidance of edge habitats by birds in the presence of humans. Abundance of birds increased at the 75 and 150 m distance levels with increasing disturbances occurring at the trail. Significant negative correlations were further observed between disturbance level and the abundance of birds in ground/understory and sub-canopy vertical strata of the forest at 0 m distance. Conclusions:Under high levels of recreational disturbance occurring at this trail, the abundance of birds near the trail declined significantly, while bird abundance in the interior of the forest increased. The sensitivity of individual bird species to visitor disturbances varied with the vertical stratum of the forest they usually occupy. Birds occupying the ground, understory and sub-canopy are particularly sensitive to recreational disturbances while bird species occupying the canopy and above are less vulnerable to recreational disturbances.

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Experimental disturbance by walkers affects behaviour and territory density of nesting Black‐tailed Godwit Limosa limosa

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Predation and nutrients drive population declines in breeding waders

Predation and nutrients drive population declines in breeding waders

Multiple components of environmental change drive populations of breeding waders in seminatural grasslands

Response of tropical avifauna to visitor recreational disturbances: a case study from the Sinharaja World Heritage Forest, Sri Lanka

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