Breeding habitat use by colonially nesting waterbirds in two mid-atlantic US regions under different regimes of human disturbance

AbstractEdge effects arising from road construction and other development in protected areas can negatively affect the behaviour of wildlife, particularly large carnivores. The Asiatic leopard Panthera pardus is a large carnivore that may be sensitive to edge effects. Camera trapping was used to assess the influence of human disturbance along forest edges on leopard behaviour and habitat use in a 104 km2 area of Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. A minimum of four male and two female leopards was recorded in the study area. A Park access road bisecting the study area was not a barrier to leopard movement but movements and activity were affected by human traffic inside the Park. A regression model showed that leopard habitat use increased with distance from human settlements at the forest edge. As in other parts of its range, leopards at Kaeng Krachan National Park tended to show less diurnal activity in areas more heavily used by people compared to areas less used. As is the case with tigers, such responses may pose a threat to leopard population persistence but more research is needed to determine the demographic implications of edge effects for Asiatic leopards and other large tropical carnivores, and the appropriate mitigation strategies required.

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Breeding and Post-Breeding Habitat Use by Forest Migrant Songbirds in the Missouri Ozarks

The Condor ◽

10.1093/condor/102.4.738 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 102 (4) ◽

pp. 738-747 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Rich W. Pagen ◽

Frank R. Thompson III ◽

Dirk E. Burhans

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Breeding Season ◽

Forest Canopy ◽

Riparian Forest ◽

Forest Birds ◽

Breeding Habitat ◽

Breeding Period ◽

Forest Species ◽

Upland Forest ◽

Point Counts

Abstract We compared habitat use by forest migrant songbirds during the breeding and post-breeding periods in four Missouri Ozark habitats: mature upland forest, mature riparian forest, 9- to 10-year-old upland forest, and 3- to 4-year-old upland forest created by clearcutting. Adult forest-ground species showed a decrease in abundance in all habitats during the post-breeding period, but hatching-year birds of one of the two forest-ground species were most abundant in early-successional forest during this time. Adults of the two forest-canopy species tended to increase in abundance in 3- to 4-year-old forest from breeding season to post-breeding season. During the breeding season, some forest species were detected with mist-nets in the two early-successional habitats, but infrequently or not at all with point counts in those habitats. Forest birds captured in early-successional habitats during the breeding season may have been nonbreeding floaters, or may have been foraging there from nearby territories in mature forest. Dense shrubs or young trees in early-successional forest may provide habitat for nonbreeding and post-breeding forest migrant songbirds in the Missouri Ozarks.

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