Grassland-breeding waders: identifying key habitat requirements for management

Smart, Jennifer, Gill, Jennifer A., Sutherland, William J. and Watkinson, Andrew R. (2006) Grassland-breeding waders: identifying key habitat requirements for management. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43 (3). pp. 454-463. ISSN 1365-2664

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Abstract

Habitat loss and degradation of wetland ecosystems, principally through large-scale drainage and conversion to arable farmland, have been implicated in the widespread, dramatic declines of breeding waders across Europe. Managing the remaining wetlands to reverse these declines will require a detailed understanding of their habitat requirements. In the UK, grazing marshes are key components of the remaining wetlands in both coastal and inland sites, and the structure of grazing marsh habitat can differ between these locations. Redshank Tringa totanus is a declining wader species that breeds in both marsh types. We quantified the habitat features that influence redshank selection of breeding and nest site locations, across coastal and inland marshes, in eastern England. On both marsh types, breeding location and breeding densities within fields were positively related to the lengths of pool edge and all wet features, respectively. Nest site location was principally influenced by vegetation characteristics, with soil penetrability also important on inland sites but proximity to wet features and vegetation type at the nest important on coastal sites. Hatching probability was higher when the surrounding soils were more penetrable. Synthesis and applications. The wet features of critical importance for breeding redshank are common on coastal marshes and can be deliberately established on inland sites. Coastal marshes are often rare and frequently threatened by dynamic coastal processes, whereas inland marshes are more abundant but largely unsuitable for breeding waders at present. These analyses highlight the scope for improving the management of inland marshes for breeding redshank. As habitat suitable for breeding redshank frequently supports a range of other wader species, this information can also direct management efforts to improve breeding wader populations in the wider countryside.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 15 - life on land ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_on_land
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Depositing User:	EPrints Services
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2010 13:38
Last Modified:	24 Sep 2024 09:52
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1185
DOI:	10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01166.x

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