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Cross-continental differences in Black-tailed Godwit breeding densities are best explained by arthropod abundance in the chick-hatching period

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Abstract

The endangered continental Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa limosa) is a migratory ground-nesting wader breeding in a wide variety of open, wet habitats across Europe. Conservation research has concentrated on the causes of population decline, but we know surprisingly little about whether any resources limit local breeding populations and if so, whether these are resources for the adults or the chicks. We collected data from 63 key breeding sites in five countries across Europe to test whether, after correcting for differences in surveyed areas, the size of Godwit breeding populations was related to environmental variables (vegetation biomass, soil moisture) or food resources for adult birds (soil invertebrates) or chicks (vegetation dwelling arthropods) measured during different times of the reproductive cycle. We found the number of Godwit territories to be positively related to arthropod abundance during the chick-hatching period. We found additional, weaker support for a positive relation between Godwit territory numbers and the abundance of soil-dwelling invertebrates (mostly earthworms) at clutch laying, but not at chick-hatching. These relationships were observed across countries, while we found little support for relationships within countries, possibly due to the smaller range in conditions that exist within countries. Both vegetation growth and soil moisture weren’t related to Godwit territory numbers. Our results suggest that food abundance for chicks, and to a lesser extent adult birds, are key factors determining the size of local Godwit breeding populations. Conservation management aiming to enhance local Godwit populations should therefore consider the impacts of management strategies on the arthropod prey of chicks.

Zusammenfassung

Kontinentale Unterschiede in den Brutdichten der Uferschnepfe lassen sich am besten durch das Vorkommen von Arthropoden in der Zeit des Schlüpfens der Küken erklären.

Die Uferschnepfe (Limosa limosa limosa) ist ein ziehender, bodenbrütender Watvogel, der in einer Vielzahl von offenen, feuchten Lebensräumen in ganz Europa brütet. Die Naturschutzforschung hat sich auf die Ursachen des Populationsrückgangs konzentriert, aber wir wissen erstaunlich wenig darüber, ob es irgendwelche Ressourcen gibt, die lokale Brutpopulationen begrenzen und wenn ja, ob es sich dabei um Ressourcen für Altvögel oder Küken handelt. Wir haben Daten von 63 großen Brutplätzen in fünf europäischen Ländern gesammelt, um zu prüfen, ob - nach Ausgleichen der Unterschiede in den untersuchten Gebieten - die Größe der Uferschnepfen-Brutpopulationen mit Umweltfaktoren (Biomasse der Vegetation, Bodenfeuchtigkeit) oder Nahrungsressourcen für Altvögel (im Boden lebende Wirbellose) oder Küken (in der Vegetation lebende Arthropoden), deren Mengen zu verschiedenen Zeiten des Fortpflanzungszyklus erfasst wurden, zusammenhängt. Wir stellten fest, dass die Anzahl der Uferschnepfenreviere positiv mit dem Arthropodenaufkommen während der Schlüpfzeit der Küken zusammenhängt. Ferner fanden wir weitere, schwächere Belege für eine positive Korrelation zwischen der Anzahl der Uferschnepfenreviere und dem Vorkommen von bodenbewohnenden Wirbellosen (hauptsächlich Regenwürmern) zur Zeit der Eiablage, aber nicht des Schlüpfens der Küken. Diese Zusammenhänge wurden länderübergreifend beobachtet, während wir innerhalb der Länder kaum Belege für Zusammenhänge fanden, was möglicherweise auf die geringere Variationsbreite der Bedingungen innerhalb der Länder zurückzuführen ist. Weder die Vegetationsentwicklugn noch die Bodenfeuchte zeigten einen Zusammenhang mit der Anzahl der Uferschnepfenreviere. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass das Nahrungsangebot für die Küken und in geringerem Maße für die Altvögel ein Schlüsselfaktor für die Größe der örtlichen Uferschnepfenpopulationen ist. Schutzmaßnahmen zum Erhalt des Bestands und zur Stärkung lokaler Uferschnepfenpopulationen sollten deshalb die Auswirkungen von Managmentmaßnahmen auf die Arthropoden-Beute der Küken berücksichtigen.

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Acknowledgements

MSM was funded by a grant from Wageningen University & Research to DK (proj. nr. 5160957485). JL and MV and the research infrastructure in NL was supported by the Province of Fryslân and the NWO-Spinoza Premium 2014 to Theunis Piersma. Thanks to Kim Peterse, Ilona Lepik and Samuel Leeming for the support in the fieldwork conducted in Finland and Estonia. Thanks to Tomasz Tumiel, Paweł Białomyzy and Grzegorz Grygoruk from Nature Association Dubelt for the support in the fieldwork conducted in Poland. Thanks to Jean-Guy Robin for the support in the fieldwork conducted in France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwaldi 5, 51006, Tartu, Estonia

    Miguel Silva-Monteiro & Hannes Pehlak

  2. Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Miguel Silva-Monteiro, Melissa Onwezen, Morten Bongers, Jaap Hamelink, Frederik Lembreght, Audrey Dunn & David Kleijn

  3. Department of Ecology and Genetics, The University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Sami Timonen

  4. The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Oulu, North Ostrobothnia, Finland

    Jorma Pessa

  5. Nurmikankuja 6-8 AS. 5, 04410, Järvenpää, Finland

    Esko Pasanen

  6. Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Mo Verhoeven, A. H. Jelle Loonstra & Theunis Piersma

  7. Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Mo Verhoeven

  8. LPO France, Fonderies Royales, 17300, Rochefort, France

    Frederic Robin

  9. Museum & Institute of Zoology Polish Academy of Sciences, 00-679, Warsaw, Poland

    Michał Korniluk

  10. NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Mo Verhoeven, A. H. Jelle Loonstra & Theunis Piersma

Authors
  1. Miguel Silva-Monteiro
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  2. Hannes Pehlak
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  3. Sami Timonen
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Contributions

MSM and DK conceived the ideas and designed methodology; MSM, HP, ST, JP, EP, MV, JL, FR, MK, MO, AD, MB, JH and FL collected the data; MSM analyzed the data; MSM and DK led the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.

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Correspondence to Miguel Silva-Monteiro.

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Silva-Monteiro, M., Pehlak, H., Timonen, S. et al. Cross-continental differences in Black-tailed Godwit breeding densities are best explained by arthropod abundance in the chick-hatching period. J Ornithol 164, 287–297 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-022-02041-9

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