Abstract
Edge avoidance is an important feature of habitat selection in grassland birds, as their density is usually reduced close to habitat boundaries. In many extensively managed European grasslands, fragmentation is caused by the presence of wooded hedgerows dividing meadows. Comparing the magnitude of hedgerow avoidance by co-occurring species is essential for the management of grassland areas and the implementation of efficient conservation schemes. We quantified hedgerow avoidance by the Corncrake and four grassland passerines in western France. As expected, all species avoided hedgerows, but the effect was less pronounced for the Corncrake. We hypothesize that this may reflect a lower predation risk towards the larger and most inconspicuous species. Alternatively, social communication in Corncrakes may be less impeded by wooded vegetation than in passerines. However, the mechanisms responsible for the observed pattern remain uncertain. Nevertheless, our study provides a general technique that can be applied to measure boundary avoidance. This information is important for policymakers in their efforts to improve management guidelines, which often do not take edge effects into account.
Zusammenfassung
Unterschiede in der Meidung von Randstrukturen bei Grünlandarten: Wachtelkönige sind weniger empfindlich gegenüber der Nähe zu Hecken als Singvögel Randeffekte sind ein wichtiges Merkmal bei der Habitatwahl von Grünlandarten, da sie in der Nähe von Habitatgrenzen normalerweise eine geringere Dichte aufweisen. In vielen extensiv bewirtschafteten Grünlandgebieten in Europa sind die Wiesen und Weiden durch Gebüsch- und Heckenstrukturen zerteilt, was in einer Fragmentierung dieser Flächen resultiert. Ein Vergleich des Umfangs der Heckenmeidung durch nebeneinander vorkommende Arten ist essentiell für das Management von Grünlandgebieten und die Implementierung effizienter Schutzkonzepte. Wir quantifizierten die Meidung von Hecken durch Wachtelkönige und vier weiteren Wiesensingvogelarten in Westfrankreich. Wie erwartet, mieden alle Arten Heckenstrukturen, wobei der Einfluss bei Wachtelkönigen weniger ausgeprägt war. Wir nehmen an, dass dies ein geringeres Prädationsrisiko zugunsten der größeren und unauffälligeren Art widerspiegeln könnte. Andererseits könnte durch Gebüschvegetation die soziale Kommunikation bei Wachtelkönigen weniger behindert sein als bei Singvögeln. Dennoch bleiben die Mechanismen, die für das beobachtete Muster verantwortlich sind, unklar. Gleichwohl bietet diese Studie eine allgemeine Technik, die zur Abschätzung der Meidung von Habitaträndern angewendet werden kann. Diese wichtigen Informationen helfen Entscheidungsträgern Managementrichtlinien zu verbessern, die oftmals Randeffekte nicht mit einbeziehen.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Plan Loire Grandeur Nature, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Région des Pays de la Loire, Agence de l’eau Loire-Bretagne, Angers Loire Métropole, Direction Régionale de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement et du Logement (DREAL), and Département Maine-et-Loire. We are grateful to the Conservatoire Régional des Rives de la Loire et de ses Affluents (CORELA) for providing us a portion of the environmental data. We thank Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux (LPO Anjou) and all volunteer ornithologists for Corncrake data, as well as Guillaume Berdin for his preliminary analyses of the landscape data. This project is part of Zone Atelier Loire. Field data collection complied with current laws of France.
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Communicated by T. Gottschalk.
A. G. Besnard and Y. Fourcade contributed equally to this work.
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Besnard, A.G., Fourcade, Y. & Secondi, J. Measuring difference in edge avoidance in grassland birds: the Corncrake is less sensitive to hedgerow proximity than passerines. J Ornithol 157, 515–523 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1281-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1281-7