Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England

Summary 1. Overexploited fisheries threaten many species that depend on the exploited resource. Shorebird populations are in decline globally and here we describe how changing shellfishery management and nutrient inputs have had dramatic influence on waterbird communities on an internationally impor...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Applied Ecology
Main Authors: Atkinson, Philip W., Maclean, Ilya M.D., Clark, Nigel A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
id crwiley:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
record_format openpolar
spelling crwiley:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x 2024-09-15T18:00:49+00:00 Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England Atkinson, Philip W. Maclean, Ilya M.D. Clark, Nigel A. 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2664.2009.01760.x https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Applied Ecology volume 47, issue 1, page 191-199 ISSN 0021-8901 1365-2664 journal-article 2010 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x 2024-07-04T04:30:50Z Summary 1. Overexploited fisheries threaten many species that depend on the exploited resource. Shorebird populations are in decline globally and here we describe how changing shellfishery management and nutrient inputs have had dramatic influence on waterbird communities on an internationally important wetland. 2. Cockle Cerastoderma edule and mussel Mytilus edulis fisheries conflict with shorebirds by removing prey and increasing mortality amongst non‐target benthic invertebrates. Under intense dredging pressure, evidence suggests that benthic invertebrates such as worms, with rapid growth and short‐generation times, should predominate over species such as bivalves, with slower growth and longer generation times. 3. We investigated the change in the waterbird assemblage in the Wash, eastern England, between 1981–1982 and 2002–2003. This period was characterized by heavy fishing pressure on mussels and cockles, ultimately leading to a crash in the mussel stocks. 4. During the study period, the waterbird assemblage underwent a gradual change from one dominated by those species with a high proportion of bivalves or ‘other’ prey (e.g. crustaceans, fish) in their diet to those with a higher proportion of worms. This gradual change was punctuated by major shifts, corresponding to three winters when oystercatcher Haemotopus ostralegus mortality was 5–13 times normal winter levels. 5. Oystercatcher, knot Calidris canutus and shelduck Tadorna tadorna showed the highest levels of decline. Since the last major oystercatcher mortality event in 1996–1997, the assemblage has not shifted back to that observed prior to the major crash in the mussel stock in 1992. 6. Changes in the waterbird assemblage were significantly related to mussel and cockle stock levels and, to a lesser extent, nutrient levels. Although correlative, evidence from this study indicates that fisheries caused shifts towards a waterbird community dominated by species with a high proportion of worms in their diet. 7. Synthesis and applications. Mechanical ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Calidris canutus Wiley Online Library Journal of Applied Ecology 47 1 191 199
institution Open Polar
collection Wiley Online Library
op_collection_id crwiley
language English
description Summary 1. Overexploited fisheries threaten many species that depend on the exploited resource. Shorebird populations are in decline globally and here we describe how changing shellfishery management and nutrient inputs have had dramatic influence on waterbird communities on an internationally important wetland. 2. Cockle Cerastoderma edule and mussel Mytilus edulis fisheries conflict with shorebirds by removing prey and increasing mortality amongst non‐target benthic invertebrates. Under intense dredging pressure, evidence suggests that benthic invertebrates such as worms, with rapid growth and short‐generation times, should predominate over species such as bivalves, with slower growth and longer generation times. 3. We investigated the change in the waterbird assemblage in the Wash, eastern England, between 1981–1982 and 2002–2003. This period was characterized by heavy fishing pressure on mussels and cockles, ultimately leading to a crash in the mussel stocks. 4. During the study period, the waterbird assemblage underwent a gradual change from one dominated by those species with a high proportion of bivalves or ‘other’ prey (e.g. crustaceans, fish) in their diet to those with a higher proportion of worms. This gradual change was punctuated by major shifts, corresponding to three winters when oystercatcher Haemotopus ostralegus mortality was 5–13 times normal winter levels. 5. Oystercatcher, knot Calidris canutus and shelduck Tadorna tadorna showed the highest levels of decline. Since the last major oystercatcher mortality event in 1996–1997, the assemblage has not shifted back to that observed prior to the major crash in the mussel stock in 1992. 6. Changes in the waterbird assemblage were significantly related to mussel and cockle stock levels and, to a lesser extent, nutrient levels. Although correlative, evidence from this study indicates that fisheries caused shifts towards a waterbird community dominated by species with a high proportion of worms in their diet. 7. Synthesis and applications. Mechanical ...
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Atkinson, Philip W.
Maclean, Ilya M.D.
Clark, Nigel A.
spellingShingle Atkinson, Philip W.
Maclean, Ilya M.D.
Clark, Nigel A.
Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England
author_facet Atkinson, Philip W.
Maclean, Ilya M.D.
Clark, Nigel A.
author_sort Atkinson, Philip W.
title Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England
title_short Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England
title_full Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England
title_fullStr Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England
title_full_unstemmed Impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the Wash, England
title_sort impacts of shellfisheries and nutrient inputs on waterbird communities in the wash, england
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2010
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
genre Calidris canutus
genre_facet Calidris canutus
op_source Journal of Applied Ecology
volume 47, issue 1, page 191-199
ISSN 0021-8901 1365-2664
op_rights http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01760.x
container_title Journal of Applied Ecology
container_volume 47
container_issue 1
container_start_page 191
op_container_end_page 199
_version_ 1810437972085964800