Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition
Many species of large herbivore rely on agricultural land for their feeding habitats, but available food resources are highly variable in space and time. The conservation and management of farmland-dependant herbivores would therefore benefit from predictions about how species will respond to change...
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ftunivbournem:oai:eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk:35086 2023-06-11T04:11:13+02:00 Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition Wood, K.A. Stillman, R.A. Newth, J.L. Nuijten, R.J.M. Hilton, G.M. Nolet, B.A. Rees, E.C. 2021-02-01 application/pdf http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35086/ https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35086/3/Wood%20et%20al%20Avian%20herbivores%20revision_draftv2.pdf en eng https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35086/3/Wood%20et%20al%20Avian%20herbivores%20revision_draftv2.pdf Wood, K.A., Stillman, R.A., Newth, J.L., Nuijten, R.J.M., Hilton, G.M., Nolet, B.A. and Rees, E.C., 2021. Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition. Ecological Modelling, 441 (February), 109421. cc_by_nc_nd_4 Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftunivbournem 2023-05-28T05:45:05Z Many species of large herbivore rely on agricultural land for their feeding habitats, but available food resources are highly variable in space and time. The conservation and management of farmland-dependant herbivores would therefore benefit from predictions about how species will respond to changes in their environment. We developed an individual-based model (IBM) to provide such predictions for three overwintering avian herbivore species that feed on agricultural land: Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii), whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), and mute swans (Cygnus olor). Our validated model predicted how potential future changes in food availability and competition would affect (i) the proportion of the current swan population that could be supported, (ii) the proportion of swans that successfully departed on migration at the end of winter, (iii) swan daily foraging effort, and (iv) late winter crop biomasses. Regardless of competitor numbers or food availability, all individuals were predicted to avoid starvation and depart successfully. Individual swans offset higher competition and reduced food availability by increasing the proportion of daylight spent foraging. Our simulations indicate that swans have considerable capacity to buffer against losses of food resources and increased competition by increasing their foraging effort, but this may result in additional grazing damage to agricultural crops. Our findings suggest that the recent c.40% decline in Bewick's swan numbers was unlikely to be linked to changes in winter food resources or competition. Article in Journal/Newspaper Cygnus columbianus Cygnus cygnus Bournemouth University Research Online (BURO) Olor ENVELOPE(88.531,88.531,69.600,69.600) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Bournemouth University Research Online (BURO) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbournem |
language |
English |
description |
Many species of large herbivore rely on agricultural land for their feeding habitats, but available food resources are highly variable in space and time. The conservation and management of farmland-dependant herbivores would therefore benefit from predictions about how species will respond to changes in their environment. We developed an individual-based model (IBM) to provide such predictions for three overwintering avian herbivore species that feed on agricultural land: Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii), whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), and mute swans (Cygnus olor). Our validated model predicted how potential future changes in food availability and competition would affect (i) the proportion of the current swan population that could be supported, (ii) the proportion of swans that successfully departed on migration at the end of winter, (iii) swan daily foraging effort, and (iv) late winter crop biomasses. Regardless of competitor numbers or food availability, all individuals were predicted to avoid starvation and depart successfully. Individual swans offset higher competition and reduced food availability by increasing the proportion of daylight spent foraging. Our simulations indicate that swans have considerable capacity to buffer against losses of food resources and increased competition by increasing their foraging effort, but this may result in additional grazing damage to agricultural crops. Our findings suggest that the recent c.40% decline in Bewick's swan numbers was unlikely to be linked to changes in winter food resources or competition. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wood, K.A. Stillman, R.A. Newth, J.L. Nuijten, R.J.M. Hilton, G.M. Nolet, B.A. Rees, E.C. |
spellingShingle |
Wood, K.A. Stillman, R.A. Newth, J.L. Nuijten, R.J.M. Hilton, G.M. Nolet, B.A. Rees, E.C. Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
author_facet |
Wood, K.A. Stillman, R.A. Newth, J.L. Nuijten, R.J.M. Hilton, G.M. Nolet, B.A. Rees, E.C. |
author_sort |
Wood, K.A. |
title |
Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
title_short |
Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
title_full |
Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
title_fullStr |
Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
title_sort |
predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35086/ https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35086/3/Wood%20et%20al%20Avian%20herbivores%20revision_draftv2.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(88.531,88.531,69.600,69.600) |
geographic |
Olor |
geographic_facet |
Olor |
genre |
Cygnus columbianus Cygnus cygnus |
genre_facet |
Cygnus columbianus Cygnus cygnus |
op_relation |
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35086/3/Wood%20et%20al%20Avian%20herbivores%20revision_draftv2.pdf Wood, K.A., Stillman, R.A., Newth, J.L., Nuijten, R.J.M., Hilton, G.M., Nolet, B.A. and Rees, E.C., 2021. Predicting avian herbivore responses to changing food availability and competition. Ecological Modelling, 441 (February), 109421. |
op_rights |
cc_by_nc_nd_4 |
_version_ |
1768386139380514816 |