Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation
Wet grassland degradation is a global issue that involves both altered land cover patterns and ecological processes, which affect the distribution and abundance of species. The sharp decline in European wader bird (Charadrii) populations is a good example. The aim of this study is to test the hypoth...
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ftslunivuppsala:oai:pub.epsilon.slu.se:25143 2023-05-15T16:51:27+02:00 Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation Manton, Michael Angelstam, Per 2021 application/pdf https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25143/ https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25143/1/manton_m_et_al_210901.pdf en eng eng https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25143/1/manton_m_et_al_210901.pdf Manton, Michael and Angelstam, Per (2021). Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation. Sustainability. 13 , 8138 [Research article] Ecology Research article NonPeerReviewed 2021 ftslunivuppsala 2022-01-09T19:16:37Z Wet grassland degradation is a global issue that involves both altered land cover patterns and ecological processes, which affect the distribution and abundance of species. The sharp decline in European wader bird (Charadrii) populations is a good example. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that the anthropogenic developmental stage of wet grassland habitats and landscapes drives avian nest predator abundance, and thus the predation pressure on nests, which is a major cause of wader bird declines. Using a macroecological approach we selected six wet grassland landscapes representing a gradient in both grassland habitat development and breeding wader population status in four European countries (Belarus, Iceland, Lithuania and Sweden). We (1) mapped wader and avian predator assemblages in multiple wet grassland patches in each landscape, (2) used artificial nests to estimate the relative rate of egg predation, and (3) analyzed relationships between nest predation pressure, corvid nest predators versus raptors, nest loss and the stage of wet grassland habitat and landscape development. We found (1) inverse relationships between the abundance of corvids and waders, as well as between wet grassland developmental stage and waders, and (2) a positive correlation between the probability of nest loss and the density of corvid birds. In conclusion, we found a clear macroecological pattern linking habitat quality, wader populations, nest predators and nest predation. These linkages stress the importance of including nest predation as a factor limiting wader bird populations, and that corvid control or management may be useful management tools. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU): Epsilon Open Archive |
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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU): Epsilon Open Archive |
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language |
English |
topic |
Ecology |
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Ecology Manton, Michael Angelstam, Per Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation |
topic_facet |
Ecology |
description |
Wet grassland degradation is a global issue that involves both altered land cover patterns and ecological processes, which affect the distribution and abundance of species. The sharp decline in European wader bird (Charadrii) populations is a good example. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that the anthropogenic developmental stage of wet grassland habitats and landscapes drives avian nest predator abundance, and thus the predation pressure on nests, which is a major cause of wader bird declines. Using a macroecological approach we selected six wet grassland landscapes representing a gradient in both grassland habitat development and breeding wader population status in four European countries (Belarus, Iceland, Lithuania and Sweden). We (1) mapped wader and avian predator assemblages in multiple wet grassland patches in each landscape, (2) used artificial nests to estimate the relative rate of egg predation, and (3) analyzed relationships between nest predation pressure, corvid nest predators versus raptors, nest loss and the stage of wet grassland habitat and landscape development. We found (1) inverse relationships between the abundance of corvids and waders, as well as between wet grassland developmental stage and waders, and (2) a positive correlation between the probability of nest loss and the density of corvid birds. In conclusion, we found a clear macroecological pattern linking habitat quality, wader populations, nest predators and nest predation. These linkages stress the importance of including nest predation as a factor limiting wader bird populations, and that corvid control or management may be useful management tools. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Manton, Michael Angelstam, Per |
author_facet |
Manton, Michael Angelstam, Per |
author_sort |
Manton, Michael |
title |
Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation |
title_short |
Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation |
title_full |
Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation |
title_fullStr |
Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation |
title_sort |
macroecology of north european wet grassland landscapes: habitat quality, waders, avian predators and nest predation |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25143/ https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25143/1/manton_m_et_al_210901.pdf |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_relation |
https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/25143/1/manton_m_et_al_210901.pdf Manton, Michael and Angelstam, Per (2021). Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation. Sustainability. 13 , 8138 [Research article] |
_version_ |
1766041557531623424 |