Habitat management of little terns in Japan’s highly developed landscape

Fujita, Go; Totsu, Kumiko; Shibata, Emi; Matsuoka, Yoshimi; Morita, Hiroyuki; Kitamura, Wataru; Kuramoto, Noboru; Masuda, Naoya; Higuchi, Hiroyoshi

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.024

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Zou et al (2008) reported 22 shorebird species on mangrove wetland surrounding Leizhou Peninsula, China. In several reports, the importance of mangrove areas for waterbirds, especially some threatened species, has been pointed out (Yorke 1984;Brown et al 2001;Gawlik 2002;Kasawani et al 2007;Fernández et al 2008;Fujita et al 2009). However, it is extremely hard to find the comparison of waterbird diversity among the mangroves, because of differences in the link to the nutrient cycles (De Graaf et al 1985) or physical structure of the environment (Josens et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Relative abundance and diversity of waterbirds in a Persian Gulf mangrove forest, Iran

et al. 2012

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Relative abundance and diversity of waterbirds in a Persian Gulf mangrove forest, Iran

et al. 2012

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“…During our study, however, despite the low profiles and nearly flat shores of the islands, flooding did not occur due to the low tidal flux within the protected lagoon. At other locations, Little Terns have been found to nest further from water, e.g., up to 80 m (Goutner 1990) or 700 m (Oro et al 2004) in natural sites and over 300 m in a colony on a building's roof (Fujita et al 2009). However, chick mortality can be high when nests are far from water due to predation on chicks as they move to feeding areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Little Terns breed colonially on beaches of lagoons, estuaries, salt pans, and coastal lakes in Europe, Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australia. Populations of this species have generally declined (Oro et al 2004, Amano and Yamaura 2007), primarily as a result of habitat degradation and destruction on breeding grounds, which can affect the nesting birds directly, or indirectly through increases in populations of predatory species in disturbed areas (e.g., Catry et al 2004, Medeiros et al 2007, Fujita et al 2009). Attempts have been made to provide artificial breeding sites for Little Terns, but with mixed success.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Attempts have been made to provide artificial breeding sites for Little Terns, but with mixed success. Fujita et al (2009) suggested that the small size (0.01–1.2 ha) of some artificial breeding sites created for Little Terns on reclaimed land and rooftops in Japan may have caused failure of colonies, possibly due to the inability of terns to defend nests against predators when colonies are constrained to be small. However, we still do not know the size of breeding sites preferred by Little Terns, and little is known about factors that influence their nest density and abundance.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Island shape, size, and isolation affect nest-site selection by Little Terns

Eason

Rabea

Attum

2012

Journal of Field Ornithology

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Populations of many seabirds and other species that nest along coasts are declining due to habitat degradation and loss. An improved understanding of the species‐specific factors that determine nest density across a landscape is therefore critical for conservation efforts. We examined factors that affected the density (number per hectare) and abundance (number at a sampling site) of nests of Little Terns (Sternula albifrons) on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Terns preferred to nest on islands rather than the mainland, with islands constituting 64% of the area surveyed, but containing 99% of the 439 tern nests we found. Nest densities were highest on islands that were small, located at moderate distances from the mainland, and irregularly shaped or elongated. Most nests (69%) were on islands with areas < 3 ha, although these islands represented < 5% of total island area, and islands with the highest nest densities were 80–300 m from the mainland. Terrestrial predators were more likely to occur on larger islands, visiting three of the largest four islands. Most tern nests were within 1 m of shorelines, causing island perimeter to be a strong influence on nest density. Island shape was the only factor that significantly affected nest abundance, with more nests on islands with relatively long perimeters for their size. Our results suggest that protection or creation of relatively small, slender islands at moderate distances from shore may be an effective means of increasing the number of breeding sites for Little Terns. Although not generally considered a potential determinant of nest site preferences for seabirds, island shape is likely to be important for species that prefer sites adjacent to water, including species that nest on beaches and seaside cliffs.

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“…Vegetation clearance has been used in Europe, North America, and Asia to improve the nesting success of other tern species dependent on open areas for nesting (e.g. Jenniges & Plettner 2008;Fujita et al 2009;Tinbergen & Heemskerk 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clearing islands as refugia for black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) breeding colonies in braided rivers

Schlesselmann¹,

O’Donnell²,

Monks³

et al. 2018

NZ J Ecol

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Black-fronted terns/tarapirohe (Chlidonias albostriatus) are highly adapted to nesting on clear shingle areas of the braided rivers in the South Island, New Zealand. They are nationally and internationally classified as 'Endangered'. Ongoing threats, primarily an interaction of predation and habitat degradation or loss, have resulted in population decline. Conservation management in the form of control of introduced mammalian predators has proven partially successful. Using the lower Waitaki River as a case study, we cleared vegetation from seven islands creating potential refugia from mammalian predators and providing high quality bare gravel breeding habitat. We: (1) determined the mammalian predators present on river banks, vegetated islands and cleared islands; (2) assessed the nesting success of black-fronted terns and primary causes of nest failure; (3) identified the predator species at nests using remote cameras; and (4) compared the nesting success on cleared and vegetated islands. Fewer mammalian predators were detected on islands compared to adjacent riverbanks: mustelids (Mustela spp.) occurred on approximately half of the vegetated islands, but only mice (Mus musculus) were detected once on one of the cleared islands. Black-fronted terns established three colonies on islands immediately after the clearing of vegetation, but nesting success in the lower Waitaki River was low overall (50.5% to 56.4% of nests contained at least one egg that hatched) and the primary cause of nest failure was predation before and after clearing islands. The main predators of nests (62.5% of predation events) were southern black-backed gulls (Larus dominicanus). There was no overall difference in nesting successes of colonies between cleared and vegetated islands, presumably because gulls depredated tern eggs irrespective of vegetation cover around target nests. Nesting success depended on the timing and size of the colony, with earlier established nests and nests in larger colonies being more successful. Artificially created nesting habitat can play a critical role for conservation, particularly on lowland rivers in New Zealand, and we recommend control of avian predators be considered.

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Habitat management of little terns in Japan’s highly developed landscape

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

Relative abundance and diversity of waterbirds in a Persian Gulf mangrove forest, Iran

Relative abundance and diversity of waterbirds in a Persian Gulf mangrove forest, Iran

Island shape, size, and isolation affect nest-site selection by Little Terns

Clearing islands as refugia for black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) breeding colonies in braided rivers

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