Determining the effects of habitat management and climate on the population trends of a declining steppe bird

Delgado, María Paula; Morales, Manuel B.; Traba, Juán; Morena, Eladio L. García de la

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2009.00927.x

Cited by 31 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It has been suggested that the dry and hot summer weather of Southern Europe has an indirect impact on the little bustard (through a detrimental effect on habitat quality; Delgado and Moreira 2000, Delgado et al 2009), and we now provide evidence that high temperatures directly constrain its periods of activity.…”

Section: Influence Of Time Of Day and Temperature On Activitysupporting

confidence: 63%

Freezing heat: thermally imposed constraints on the daily activity patterns of a free‐ranging grassland bird

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Citation: Silva, J. P., I. Catry, J. M. Palmeirim, and F. Moreira. 2015. Freezing heat: thermally imposed constraints on the daily activity patterns of a free-ranging grassland bird. Ecosphere 6(7):119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00454.1Abstract. Heat stress is a risk for birds exposed to high ambient temperatures, especially for those that live in open environments with limited protection from direct sun radiation. This makes them particularly vulnerable to climate warming. We studied how ambient temperature affects the daily activity of a threatened grassland bird, the little bustard Tetrax tetrax. The activity of 20 birds tracked by GPS satellite telemetry between 2009 and 2012 was monitored throughout the yearly cycle in the Iberian Peninsula. We found that temperatures over ;258C strongly inhibited the activity of birds during the breeding and postbreeding seasons. High temperatures were mostly frequent during mid-day, which often forced birds to reduce activity during this period, especially during summer. We show that the expected future rise in temperatures may result in a substantial reduction in the duration of the period of the day thermally adequate for maintaining activity. With climate change inactivity levels during breeding and post-breeding are expected to rise 37% and 59%, respectivly, compared to present standards. This may pose serious time constraints, particularly on functions like breeding and foraging, with potential consequences for individual fitness and population dynamics. Global warming may thus affect the range of birds not just through habitat change but also by limiting their activity.

show abstract

Section: Influence Of Time Of Day and Temperature On Activitysupporting

confidence: 63%

Freezing heat: thermally imposed constraints on the daily activity patterns of a free‐ranging grassland bird

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other studies have found strong relationships between annual rainfall or moisture and bird abundance and distribution of steppe-land and grassland birds (De Juana & García 2005, Niemuth et al 2008, Delgado et al . 2009).…”

Section: Landscape and Inter-annual Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 93%

Identifying set‐aside features for bird conservation and management in northeast Iberian pseudo‐steppes

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Capsule Set-aside (land temporally removed from agricultural production) features and their regional locations influence steppe-bird species of conservation concern in Catalonia. Aims To identify set-aside features important to the ecology of four ground nesting species, namely Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax , Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus , Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla and Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra . Methods Set-aside fields were surveyed in four regions of Catalonia (northeast of Spain) for the selected species during the 2004 and 2005 breeding seasons. Set-aside habitat descriptors (e.g. size, vegetation structure) were collected. Ordination plots and information theoretic methods were used to assess the relationship between the selected bird species, set-aside features and the regions. Results The region where the set-aside was located had a strong effect on the abundance of the selected species. In addition, vegetation coverage, field shape of set-aside and surrounding natural habitats were critical features, but with contrasting effects on the different species. Conclusion Populations of the selected species of conservation concern could be improved by effective management of set-aside. As selected species responded differently, we recommend that management at local level should take into account the conservation value at a regional level of the protected area for each of the selected species.

show abstract

“…A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the substrate variables per transect with a view to summarising land-use data in a smaller number of variables, to avoid colinearity problems between them and to enable their interpretation in the form of ecological gradients (see Delgado et al 2009 for a similar approach). A sole PCA was carried out for all three study sites combined.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of landscape, conspecifics and heterospecifics on habitat selection by breeding farmland birds: the case of the Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra) and Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

et al. 2011

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of habitat selection studies is to understand the effect of the different factors affecting the spatial distribution of individuals. Within this framework, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relative contributions of landscape features and conspecific and heterospecific interactions to habitat selection by two sympatric species, the Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra and the Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra, during the breeding season. During the 2008 breeding season, the population of both species was censused in three Central Spanish locations by means of transects (N = 58). A model-averaging approach was used to determine the weight and effect of landscape and interaction variables in each species' habitat selection using abundance as the dependent variable. Deviance partitioning was used to determine the unique and shared contributions of these two sets of variables to the variation explained by the models. Calandra Lark was positively associated with mean field size, which reflects its preference for relatively simplified landscapes with a low density of field margins and, consequently, small land-use diversity.

show abstract

Determining the effects of habitat management and climate on the population trends of a declining steppe bird

Cited by 31 publications

References 46 publications

Freezing heat: thermally imposed constraints on the daily activity patterns of a free‐ranging grassland bird

Freezing heat: thermally imposed constraints on the daily activity patterns of a free‐ranging grassland bird

Identifying set‐aside features for bird conservation and management in northeast Iberian pseudo‐steppes

Effects of landscape, conspecifics and heterospecifics on habitat selection by breeding farmland birds: the case of the Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra) and Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About