The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River
The natural valleys of large rivers provide suitable nesting and foraging sites for many bird species. In this study, we assess the effects of water fluctuations during the breeding season on Common Sandpipers’ nest survival on a semi-natural section of the Vistula River, and evaluate which tactics...
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 |
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1424-2818/15/1/90/ 2023-08-20T03:59:04+02:00 The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River Marek Elas Erik Rosendal Włodzimierz Meissner agris 2023-01-10 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Diversity; Volume 15; Issue 1; Pages: 90 shorebirds Vistula River floods riverine birds nest placement Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 2023-08-01T08:13:46Z The natural valleys of large rivers provide suitable nesting and foraging sites for many bird species. In this study, we assess the effects of water fluctuations during the breeding season on Common Sandpipers’ nest survival on a semi-natural section of the Vistula River, and evaluate which tactics this species can adopt to minimise the effects on a long-term scale. Birds can avoid losses due to flooding by adjusting the timing of nesting to avoid the occurrence of extreme water conditions, and/or by choosing a safe nesting location. We found that nest location is a direct response to periodic high water, and the threat of flooding seems to be one of the important determinants of Common Sandpiper nest placement. The choice of nest location is not random, as 70% of pairs nested above a height that provides an 80% chance of avoiding flooding of the nest. For the lowest-lying nests found in this study, nesting success was reduced up to 92% because of inundation. Birds choose more elevated places, even during the second half of the season when the threat of flooding is lower. Their preference for nesting above a certain height does not change over the breeding season, which corresponds to the very small impact of the date of first egg laying on breeding success. Those who breed earlier in the season have a slightly higher risk of being flooded, but nesting in more elevated places reduces this risk much more than shifting the time of breeding. Text Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper MDPI Open Access Publishing Diversity 15 1 90 |
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MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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English |
topic |
shorebirds Vistula River floods riverine birds nest placement |
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shorebirds Vistula River floods riverine birds nest placement Marek Elas Erik Rosendal Włodzimierz Meissner The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River |
topic_facet |
shorebirds Vistula River floods riverine birds nest placement |
description |
The natural valleys of large rivers provide suitable nesting and foraging sites for many bird species. In this study, we assess the effects of water fluctuations during the breeding season on Common Sandpipers’ nest survival on a semi-natural section of the Vistula River, and evaluate which tactics this species can adopt to minimise the effects on a long-term scale. Birds can avoid losses due to flooding by adjusting the timing of nesting to avoid the occurrence of extreme water conditions, and/or by choosing a safe nesting location. We found that nest location is a direct response to periodic high water, and the threat of flooding seems to be one of the important determinants of Common Sandpiper nest placement. The choice of nest location is not random, as 70% of pairs nested above a height that provides an 80% chance of avoiding flooding of the nest. For the lowest-lying nests found in this study, nesting success was reduced up to 92% because of inundation. Birds choose more elevated places, even during the second half of the season when the threat of flooding is lower. Their preference for nesting above a certain height does not change over the breeding season, which corresponds to the very small impact of the date of first egg laying on breeding success. Those who breed earlier in the season have a slightly higher risk of being flooded, but nesting in more elevated places reduces this risk much more than shifting the time of breeding. |
format |
Text |
author |
Marek Elas Erik Rosendal Włodzimierz Meissner |
author_facet |
Marek Elas Erik Rosendal Włodzimierz Meissner |
author_sort |
Marek Elas |
title |
The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River |
title_short |
The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River |
title_full |
The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River |
title_fullStr |
The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Effect of Floods on Nest Survival Probability of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Breeding in the Riverbed of a Large Lowland European River |
title_sort |
effect of floods on nest survival probability of common sandpiper actitis hypoleucos breeding in the riverbed of a large lowland european river |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper |
genre_facet |
Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper |
op_source |
Diversity; Volume 15; Issue 1; Pages: 90 |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010090 |
container_title |
Diversity |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
90 |
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1774713626506035200 |