Effects of landscape-scale broadleaved woodland configuration and extent on roost location for six bat species across the UK

Boughey, Katherine L.; Lake, Iain R.; Haysom, Karen A.; Dolman, Paul M.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.06.008

Cited by 94 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The apparent degree of support for effects may be inflated by reliance on relative variable importance (RVI) (the sum of Akaike weights of all models in which the variable occurs) when there are many competing models (Boughey et al 2011). Therefore, we also examined the 95 % null interval of the probability distribution of RVI for a random variable (mean = 1, SD = 1) across 1000 MMI iterations, following Boughey et al (2011).…”

Section: Vegetation Mds2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat and livestock on nest productivity of the Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan

et al. 2016

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To inform population support measures for the unsustainably hunted Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii (IUCN Vulnerable), we examined potential habitat and landuse effects on nest productivity in the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. We monitored 177 nests across different semiarid shrub assemblages (clay-sand and salinity gradients) and a range of livestock densities (0-80 km −2). Nest success (mean 51.4 %, 95 % CI 42.4-60.4 %) was similar across 4 years; predation caused 85 % of those failures for which the cause was known, and only three nests were trampled by livestock. Nesting begins within a few weeks of arrival when food appears scarce, but later nests were more likely to fail owing to the emergence of a key predator, suggesting that foraging conditions on wintering and passage sites may be important for nest productivity. Nest success was similar across three shrub assemblages and was unrelated to landscape rugosity, shrub frequency or livestock density but was greater with taller mean shrub height (range 13-67 cm) within 50 m. Clutch size (mean = 3.2 eggs) and per-egg hatchability in successful nests (87.5 %) did not differ with laying date, shrub assemblage or livestock density. We therefore found no evidence that livestock density reduced nest productivity across the range examined, while differing shrub assemblages appeared to offer similar habitat quality. Asian houbara appear well-adapted to a range of semi-desert habitats and tolerate moderate disturbance by pastoralism. No obvious in situ mitigation measures arise from these findings, leaving regulation and control as the key requirement to render hunting sustainable.

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Section: Vegetation Mds2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat and livestock on nest productivity of the Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan

et al. 2016

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“…After this point, the marginal effect of additional trees on birds and bats diminished rapidly 344 (Fischer et al 2010b). A comparison of roosts and random non-roost locations in the U.K. showed 345 that P. pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, Rhinolophus hipposideros, E. serotinus and Myotis nattereri were 346 more likely to be found in landscapes with higher proportions of woodland, and that the greatest effect 347 was seen as woodland cover rose from 0 to 20% (Boughey et al 2011b). Roosts were found closer to 348 broadleaved woodland than expected by chance but importantly, the size of the woodland was not 349 important indicating that even small woodland patches can contribute to improvements in agricultural 350…”

Section: I) Connective Elements 276mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating the impacts of agriculture on biodiversity: bats and their potential role as bioindicators

Park

2015

Mammalian Biology

102

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1Agriculture is a dominant land use worldwide with approximately 40% of the land's surface used for 2 farming. In many countries, particularly parts of Europe, this figure is substantially higher and most 3 agricultural land is under intensive practices aimed at maximising the production of food. The 4 intensification and expansion of modern agricultural practices led to the biological simplification of 5 the farmed environment, which has resulted in declines in farmland biodiversity during the last 6 century. As with other taxa, many bat species have suffered severe population declines during the 7 20th century, with agriculture believed to be one of the main drivers reducing roost availability and 8 foraging habitat. Lower intensity farming methods, and the creation or management of habitat features 9 on farmland could potentially mitigate some of these negative impacts but the effects of this on bats, 10 in comparison to other taxa, have received relatively little attention. Here, I review evidence on the 11 impacts of efforts to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes on bat populations, and explore 12 whether responses of bats to agricultural activities are similar to those of other taxa, a necessary 13 requirement if they are to be used as bioindicator species. 14 The review revealed that there are relatively few studies with which to assess the effects of 15 management interventions on bats in agricultural landscapes, and these are restricted to only a few 16 countries. Nevertheless, there is evidence that bats benefit from lower intensity agricultural systems, 17 specifically organic farming and shaded agroforestry: these systems tend to be associated with higher 18 bat abundance, species richness and diversity, and are more heavily utilised by foraging bats. Whilst 19very few studies have explicitly tested the utility of bats as bioindicators in agricultural landscapes, 20 overall, the response of bats to lower intensity agricultural systems also reflect responses by other 21 taxa. These studies have been largely restricted to temperate regions, however. The review highlights 22 several major gaps in our knowledge of bats in agricultural landscapes and where future research 23 could be usefully directed including: 1) a broader geographical range of studies examining both the 24 efficacy, and the underlying mechanisms through which lower intensity agricultural systems may 25 benefit bats; 2) the potential for lower intensity systems in key crops such as oil-palm; 3) studies of 26 the demographic effects of conservation management on bats; 4) in order to assess the potential of 27 bats as bioindicators, studies quantifying the response of both bats and other taxa to environmental 28 change in a wider range of biomes and regions are needed. 29 30 31

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“…However, variables which have no effect accumulate weight through their presence in models that gain support by their inclusion of important variables. Therefore, to assess the relative importance of candidate predictors, we examined the 95 % interval of RVI distribution of a simulated random null variable (mean = 1, SD = 1) iterated across 1000 MMI iterations, following Boughey et al (2011). Candidate variables with an RVI beyond the 95 % null distribution and with a model average coefficient 95 % confidence limit (calculated from unconditional standard errors) not spanning zero were considered to have support (following Boughey et al 2011).…”

Section: Multivariate Models Of Houbara Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inclusion of a random null variable following Boughey et al (2011) clarified the interpretation of variable importance in cases when model selection ranked a variable high based on the sum of AIC weights. We used GLMs to predict and map abundances-an approach widely used and tested in ecological studies (Segurado and Araújo 2004;Elith and Graham 2009;Oppel et al 2012).…”

Section: Analytical Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat and land use on breeding season density of male Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii

et al. 2016

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Landscape-scale habitat and land use influences on Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii (IUCN Vulnerable) remain unstudied, while estimating numbers of this cryptic, low-density, over-hunted species is challenging. In spring 2013, male houbara were recorded at 231 point counts, conducted twice, across a gradient of sheep density and shrub assemblages within 14,300 km 2 of the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. Four sets of models related male abundance to: (1) vegetation structure (shrub height and substrate); (2) shrub assemblage; (3) shrub species composition (multidimensional scaling); (4) remote-sensed derived land cover (GLOBCOVER, 4 variables). Each set also incorporated measures of landscape rugosity and sheep density. For each set, multi-model inference was applied to generalised linear mixed models of visit-specific counts that included important detectability covariates and point ID as random effects. Vegetation structure received strongest support, followed by shrub species composition and shrub assemblage, with weakest support for the GLOBCOVER model set. Male houbara numbers were greater with lower mean shrub height, more gravel and flatter surfaces, but were unaffected by sheep density. Male density (mean 0.14 km -2 ) estimated by distance analysis differed substantially among shrub assemblages, being highest in vegetation dominated by Salsola rigida, high in areas of S. arbuscula and Astragalus, respectively, lower in Artemisia and lowest in Calligonum. The study area was estimated to hold 1824 males (CI 1645(CI -2030. The spatial distribution of relative male houbara abundance, predicted from vegetation structure models, had the strongest correspondence with observed numbers in both model calibration and the subsequent year's data. We found no effect of pastoralism on male distribution, but potential effects on nesting females are unknown. Density differences among shrub communities suggest extrapolation to estimate country-or range-wide population size must take into account vegetation composition.

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Effects of landscape-scale broadleaved woodland configuration and extent on roost location for six bat species across the UK

Cited by 94 publications

References 71 publications

Effects of habitat and livestock on nest productivity of the Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan

Effects of habitat and livestock on nest productivity of the Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan

Mitigating the impacts of agriculture on biodiversity: bats and their potential role as bioindicators

Effects of habitat and land use on breeding season density of male Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii

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