Mortality of Redshanks and Oystercatchers from starvation during severe weather

Davidson, Nicholas; Evans, P. R.

doi:10.1080/00063658209476755

Cited by 66 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Wader mortality has been shown to substantially increase during periods of very cold weather (Dugan et al 1981, Davidson & Evans 1982, Davidson & Clark 1985, Clark 2004, 2009). The freezing temperatures affect the birds directly, by increasing metabolic stress (Dugan et al 1981, McCulloch & Clark 1992, Thompson & Hale 1993, Burton & Evans 1997, Warnock et al 1997, Kelly et al 2002 and indirectly, by affecting the behaviour of their prey (Goss-Custard 1969, Davidson 1981, as well as occasionally freezing the surface of the upper tidal mudflats (Thompson & Hale 1993).…”

Section: Severe Cold Weather Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weather conditions and conspecific density influence survival of overwintering DunlinCalidris alpinain North Wales

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Severe Cold Weather Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weather conditions and conspecific density influence survival of overwintering DunlinCalidris alpinain North Wales

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Reduceret fødegrundlag kan i vaerste fald reducere overlevelsen hos de voksne fugle eller få fuglene til at opgive at yngle pga. dårlig kondition (Davidson & Evans 1982). Det skal her bemaerkes, at myndighederne inkluderer fenner, der har undergået markbehandling i deres definition af vedvarende graes, blot arealet er udpeget som vedvarende graes i loven om beskyttelse af de Ydre Koge.…”

Section: Klima Og Lokale Vejrforholdunclassified

Habitat preference of geese is affected by livestock grazing ‐ seasonal variation in an experimental field evaluation

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The number of staging geese in northwestern Europe has increased dramatically. Growing goose numbers put strong grazing pressure on agricultural pastures. Damage to agricultural land may be mitigated by managing nature reserves in order to optimally accommodate large numbers of grazing geese. Livestock grazing has been shown to facilitate foraging geese; we take the novel approach of determining the effects of four different livestock grazing treatments in a replicated experiment on the distribution of geese. We present experimental field evidence that livestock grazing of a salt marsh in summer affects the habitat preference of foraging geese during autumn and spring staging. In an experimental field set‐up with four different livestock grazing treatments we assessed goose visitation through dropping counts, in both autumn and spring. Grazing treatments included 0.5 or 1 horse ha‐1 and 0.5 or 1 cattle ha‐1 during the summer season. The livestock grazing regime affected goose distribution in autumn, just after livestock had been removed from the salt marsh. In autumn, goose visitation was highest in the 1 head ha‐1 grazing treatments, where grazing intensity by livestock was also highest. In line with this result, goose visitation was lowest in the 0.5 head ha‐1 livestock grazing treatments, where the grazing intensity by livestock was lowest. The differences in goose visitation among the experimental treatments in autumn could not be explained by the canopy height. In spring we did not find any effect of livestock grazing treatment on goose visitation. Differences in the distribution of geese over the experiment between autumn and spring may be explained by changes in the availability of nutrient‐rich vegetation. Livestock summer grazing with a high stocking density, especially with horses, can be used to attract geese to salt marshes in autumn and potentially reduces damage caused by geese to inland farmland. From a nature conservation interest point of view, however, variation in structure of the vegetation is a prerequisite for other groups of organisms. Hence, we recommend grazing of salt marshes with densities of 0.5 head ha‐1 of livestock when goose conservation is not the only management issue.

show abstract

“…Animals may therefore undergo a fasting period leading to death (Davidson and Evans, 1982). Fasting is characterized by three phases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of extreme climatic events on the energetics of long-lived vertebrates: the case of the greater flamingo facing cold spells in the Camargue

Deville

Labaude

Robin

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most studies analyzing the effects of global warming on wild populations focus on gradual temperature changes, yet it is also important to understand the impact of extreme climatic events. Here we studied the effect of two cold spells (January 1985 and February 2012) on the energetics of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) in the Camargue (southern France). To understand the cause of observed flamingo mass mortalities, we first assessed the energy stores of flamingos found dead in February 2012, and compared them with those found in other bird species exposed to cold spells and/or fasting. Second, we evaluated the monthly energy requirements of flamingos across 1980-2012 using the mechanistic model Niche Mapper TM . Our results show that the body lipids of flamingos found dead in 2012 corresponded to 2.6±0.3% of total body mass, which is close to results found in woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola) that died from starvation during a cold spell (1.7±0.1%), and much lower than in woodcocks which were fed throughout this same cold spell (13.0±2%). Further, Niche Mapper TM predicted that flamingo energy requirements were highest (+6-7%) during the 1985 and 2012 cold spells compared with 'normal' winters. This increase was primarily driven by cold air temperatures. Overall, our findings strongly suggest that flamingos starved to death during both cold spells. This study demonstrates the relevance of using mechanistic energetics modelling and body condition analyses to understand and predict the impact of extreme climatic events on animal energy balance and winter survival probabilities.

show abstract

Mortality of Redshanks and Oystercatchers from starvation during severe weather

Cited by 66 publications

References 8 publications

Weather conditions and conspecific density influence survival of overwintering DunlinCalidris alpinain North Wales

Weather conditions and conspecific density influence survival of overwintering DunlinCalidris alpinain North Wales

Habitat preference of geese is affected by livestock grazing ‐ seasonal variation in an experimental field evaluation

Impacts of extreme climatic events on the energetics of long-lived vertebrates: the case of the greater flamingo facing cold spells in the Camargue

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About