The decline of the Corncrake<i>Crex crex</i>in Britain continues

Green, R. E.

doi:10.1080/00063659509477150

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…For example, bird breeding success has been shown to vary with the timing of mowing (e.g. Green & Stowe 1993, Green 1995) or its frequency (Beintema et al . 1985, Beintema & Muskens 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What attracts birds to newly mown pasture? Decoupling the action of mowing from the provision of short swards

Devereux

Whittingham

Krebs

et al. 2006

Ibis

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Many bird species flock to forage on newly mown grass swards. Several potential benefits are offered by such swards, including increases in prey availability (flush of foliar prey, reduced physical obstruction to surface and soil prey) and a foraging environment with fewer visual obstructions, so allowing predators to be detected more easily. We performed a field experiment using captive Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris foraging in bottomless enclosures on newly mown swards (within 1 h) and old mown swards (48 h). We performed the experiment during winter months and standardized sward height to exclude other confounding effects in order to determine the temporal benefits of mowing for species foraging on soil invertebrates. We found no differences in the vigilance or time budgets of Starlings foraging on newly or old mown swards. Intake efficiency (prey captured per 100 roots) was greater on newly mown swards, suggesting that Starlings used less energy to obtain their prey on that substrate. It is possible that mowing alters the microclimate of the soil and sward, causing invertebrate availability to decline over time, which causes the lower foraging efficiency. Mowing is a technique often used to manipulate grassland habitats in ecological research; it has recently been advocated as a conservation management tool for wintering bird populations. We suggest that care should be taken when designing such studies to avoid confounding the factors under investigation with temporal changes in prey availability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What attracts birds to newly mown pasture? Decoupling the action of mowing from the provision of short swards

Devereux

Whittingham

Krebs

et al. 2006

Ibis

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“…Species occurrence data for 10 km × 10 km grid squares (hectads) for the periods 1968-1972 and 1988-1991 were obtained from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) atlases of breeding birds (Gibbons et al, 1993;Sharrock, 1976 (Evans et al, 1999;Green, 1995;Peach, Lovett, Wotton, & Jeffs, 2001) which could potentially influence the natural processes which underlie the mechanisms being investigated in this paper. Any relationship with changes in occurrence with these species is likely to be indirect, that is, via human conservation efforts such as reintroduction, as opposed to the direct mechanisms we are trying to elucidate.…”

Section: Data and Covariate Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of local rarity and climatic suitability to local extinction and colonization varies with species traits

White

Montgomery

Lennon

2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Changes in species distributions through local extinction and colonization events are a major consequence of climate change. The mechanisms underlying these processes, however, are yet to be fully understood. We investigate the effects of climatic suitability and local rarity on local extinction and colonization of British birds. We test the hypothesis that local extinction and colonization on decadal scales are driven by both climatic suitability and the prevalence of the species within an area and that the balance between these two is affected by species traits. We use spatially explicit conditional autoregressive models to determine the effect size of local rarity and climatic suitability (extracted from climate envelope models) on local extinction and colonization events. We then use phylogenetically constrained, generalized least-square models to estimate the association of extinction and colonization predictors with body mass, clutch size and national range of each species. Both local rarity and climatic suitability of an area contributed to local extinctions and colonizations, but the importance of these predictors varied between species. This interspecific variation was explained, in part, by species traits, in particular national range, which influenced the importance of local rarity and climatic suitability to both local extinction and colonization. These results further our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying changes in species occupancy due to climate change. This can inform predictive models as well as contribute to more focussed avian conservation efforts.

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“…There have been full surveys of the British Corncrake population at regular intervals, in 1978/79 (Cadbury 1980), 1988(Hudson et al 1990, 1993 (Green 1995), 1998 (Green & Gibbons 2000) and 2003(O'Brien et al 2006. Average annual rates of population change for Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man combined were calculated for each interval between successive national surveys, using the method of O'Brien et al (2006).…”

Section: Average Annual Rates Of Population Change Between Pairs Of Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the UK, the Corncrake is on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern because of a large population decline and range contraction over a period of about 100 years (Eaton et al 2009). The species was formerly widespread as a breeding bird throughout the UK up to the late 19th century (Holloway 1996), but then a marked decline began that continued through most of the 20th century (Green 1995). The timing of the rapid declines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was correlated with the replacement of hay mowing by hand with horse-drawn mowing machines, the efficiency of which allowed a higher proportion of mowing of hay to occur during the Corncrake's breeding season (Norris 1947a(Norris , 1947b(Norris , 1948.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The increase in the CorncrakeCrex crexpopulation of the United Kingdom has slowed

et al. 2015

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Capsule The UK Corncrake population increase has slowed, but has rapidly recovered from a large decline in 2013. Aims To provide an update on the population size and distribution of breeding Corncrakes in the UK, including the results of the most recent full national survey and annual monitoring of the core population. Methods A full survey of singing Corncrakes was undertaken in the UK and the Isle of Man in 2009, following the last full censuses in

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The decline of the CorncrakeCrex crexin Britain continues

Cited by 29 publications

References 5 publications

What attracts birds to newly mown pasture? Decoupling the action of mowing from the provision of short swards

What attracts birds to newly mown pasture? Decoupling the action of mowing from the provision of short swards

Contribution of local rarity and climatic suitability to local extinction and colonization varies with species traits

The increase in the CorncrakeCrex crexpopulation of the United Kingdom has slowed

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