Determinants of Mallard and Gadwall Nesting on Constructed Islands in North Dakota

Shaffer, Terry L.; Dahl, Ann L.; Reynolds, Ronald E.; Johnson, Michael; Sargeant, Glen A.

doi:10.2193/0022-541x(2006)70[129:domagn]2.0.co;2

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Further, Little Terns may have higher reproductive success at such sites (Catry et al 2004). Studies of other tern species suggest that they too may have higher reproductive success on artificial sites than on natural ones (reviewed in Fujita et al 2009), and artificial islands have long been known to provide breeding sites for other waterbirds and sometimes have been created for that reason (Erwin et al 1995, Erwin et al 2003, Shaffer et al 2006). Given these findings, our results suggest that protection or creation of relatively small, slender islands at moderate distances from shores may be an effective means of increasing the number of breeding sites for Little Terns, a species with declining populations over much of its range.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Eason

Rabea

Attum

2012

Journal of Field Ornithology

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“…Fixed date Field N/A (Luttschwager, Higgins, & Jenks, 1994) Fixed date Field N/A (Greenwood, Pietruszewski, & Crawford, 1998) Fixed date Field N/A (Lapointe, Giroux, Belanger, & Filion, 2000) Fixed date Field N/A (Piest & Sowls, 1985) Fixed date Field N/A (Shaffer et al, 2006) Fixed date Field N/A (West & Messmer, 2006) Fixed date Field N/A (Bélanger & Picard, 1999) Fixed date Field N/A (Zicus, Rave, Das, Riggs, & Buitenwerf, 2006) Fixed date Field N/A (Carroll, Arnold, & Beam, 2007) Fixed date Field N/A (Kantrud, 1993) Fixed date Field N/A (Haffele, Eichholz, & Dixon, 2013) Fixed date Field N/A (Devries & Armstrong, 2011) Fixed date Field Positive effect-artificial nests (Butler & Rotella, 1998) No…”

Section: Timing Of Measurement Site Measured Effect On Nest Success Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation phenology and nest survival: Diagnosing heterogeneous effects through time

Ringelman

Skaggs

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Birds should select nest sites that minimize predation risk, but understanding the influence of vegetation on nest survival has proven problematic. Specifically, the common practice of measuring vegetation on nest fate date can overestimate its effect on nest survival, simply because vegetation at hatched nests grows for a longer period of time than vegetation at nests that were depredated. Here, we sampled the literature to determine the prevalence of this bias in studies of duck breeding ecology. We then used survival data collected from ~2,800 duck nests to empirically evaluate evidence of bias in four different vegetation metrics: vegetation density measured when the nest was found, density when the nest was fated, and date‐corrected regression residuals of these two. We also diagnosed the magnitude of vegetation effects on nest survival by restricting our analysis to only nests which were fated contemporaneously (thereby removing potential bias in the timing of measurement). Finally, we examined whether systematic phenological differences exist between vegetation at hatched and depredated nests that have the potential to further obfuscate the relationship between vegetation and nest survival. We found evidence for a true‐positive effect of vegetation density on nest survival that appeared to be inflated when using raw vegetation measurements collected at fate date. However, taken in combination with the literature review, our results suggest that the majority of duck nesting studies have evaluated the role of vegetation on nest survival using a relatively less biased metric—vegetation density when the nest was found. Finally, we found that over the course of a nesting attempt, vegetation increased in density at successful nests, but decreased in density at depredated nests. As a consequence, duck researchers using vegetation data collected when the nest was found may actually be underestimating the magnitude of the effect. This seasonal change potentially points to an important new metric for understanding predation risk, but further experimental research is required to fully eliminate potential biases in the timing of vegetation measurements.

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“…Landscape‐level effects may also arise from individuals substituting or supplementing resources in a habitat patch with those found in the surrounding landscape (Dunning et al , Brotons et al ) or through numerical and behavioral changes in predator populations (Phillips et al ) that in turn influence reproduction and habitat selection (Martin , ). Furthermore, species abundance may increase in preferred breeding habitats in landscapes where suitable habitat is scarce (McMaster et al , Shaffer et al ). Agriculture and wildlife conservation programs typically have not considered the surrounding landscape matrix when providing incentives to landowners to convert cropland to perennial grasslands (Weber et al ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Songbird abundance in native and planted grassland varies with type and amount of grassland in the surrounding landscape

et al. 2013

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Agriculture and wildlife conservation programs have converted vast amounts of cropland into grasslands planted with exotic species. Understanding how landscape context influences avian use of native and planted grasslands is essential for developing effective conservation strategies in agricultural landscapes. Our primary objective was to determine the extent to which the amount and type of grassland in the surrounding landscape influences the abundance of grassland songbird species on native and planted grassland parcels in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. Bird abundance was more strongly influenced by the amount and type of grassland within 400 m of breeding parcels than at larger spatial scales. Grassland specialists responded similarly to habitat and landscape type over both years and provinces. Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii) and Baird's sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii) were most common in native grassland parcels surrounded by native grassland and were more likely to occur in planted grasslands surrounded by native grassland. Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) were most common in planted grassland parcels, but their abundance increased with the amount of native grassland surrounding these parcels. Our findings indicate that the suitability of planted grasslands for these species is influenced by their proximity to native grassland. Grassland generalists showed mixed responses to habitat and landscape type over the 2 years (Le Conte's sparrow [Ammodramus leconteii]) and between provinces (Savannah sparrow [Passerculus sandwichensis] and western meadowlark [Sturnella neglecta]). Management to benefit grassland specialists should therefore consider the landscape context when seeding cultivated land to non‐native grassland and conserve extant native grassland. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

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Determinants of Mallard and Gadwall Nesting on Constructed Islands in North Dakota

Cited by 9 publications

References 11 publications

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

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

Vegetation phenology and nest survival: Diagnosing heterogeneous effects through time

Songbird abundance in native and planted grassland varies with type and amount of grassland in the surrounding landscape

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