Fallow management increases habitat suitability for endangered steppe bird species through changes in vegetation structure

Introduced livestock may indirectly affect bird species by decreasing vegetation structure and affecting the selection of nesting sites. This is especially true for birds that use shrubs as the raw material for nest construction or for nest placement. Nesting in inadequate supporting structures or the use of inadequate raw material for nest building may increase nest vulnerability (e.g. increasing structure weakness, falling and nest exposure to predation). Accordingly, bird species show a great variation in the selectivity of nesting sites and the raw material they use. Furnariidae family members exhibit an extraordinary diversity in nest placement and structure, which allows them to survive in different arid environments. I report here on a study of nest site selection of two common furnariid species, Leptasthenura aegithaloides and Pseudoseisura gutturalis, across a grazing gradient composed by nine independent paddocks within the same arid habitat. These species use large closed-nests (>40 cm long) built with thorny branches, placed on spiny shrubs. I measured nest abundance and supporting plants characteristics, vegetation structure, browsing intensity and compared the plants selected by the birds with the surrounding vegetation. These bird species used only few plant species for nest building and location. Livestock significantly reduced vegetation cover of the species used to build and place the nests, affecting nest site selection and reducing nest abundance. As livestock density increased, both species selected aggregated plants and the tallest plants for nesting, which may increase nest exposure. Therefore, livestock may indirectly affect nest-site selection of birds ultimately affecting their nesting ecology. This work illustrates how domestic livestock, through decreasing plant cover, may affect native biota with consequences on key species within an ecosystem.

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Grazing animals as habitat engineers for ground-nesting birds – a review of the issues

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s1752756200009790 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 2005 ◽

pp. 68-68

Author(s):

K. Norris

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Vegetation Structure ◽

Production Systems ◽

Bird Species ◽

Plant Species Composition ◽

Integral Role ◽

Avian Biodiversity ◽

The Uk ◽

Grassland Habitats ◽

Ground Nesting

Habitats associated with livestock production systems are important in terms of avian biodiversity in the UK and across Europe. Livestock play an integral role in structuring grassland habitats, which in turn affects their suitability for different ground-nesting bird species. Such habitat engineering is driven mainly by the effect of grazing on plant species composition and vegetation structure. However, ground-nesting birds are also negatively affected by the presence of grazing animals since livestock destroy nests mainly through trampling.

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Fallow management for steppe bird conservation: the impact of cultural practices on vegetation structure and food resources

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-016-1230-7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 133-150 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Irene Robleño ◽

Gerard Bota ◽

David Giralt ◽

Jordi Recasens

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Structure ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Food Resources ◽

Bird Conservation ◽

Fallow Management ◽

The Impact

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Effects of forest degradation on abundance and microhabitat selection by ground dwelling Chaco lizards

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853809788201162 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 265-271 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Nicolás Pelegrin ◽

Enrique Hugo Bucher ◽

Ada Lilian Echevarría ◽

José María Chani

Keyword(s):

Habitat Suitability ◽

Vegetation Structure ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Microhabitat Use ◽

Microhabitat Selection ◽

Bare Ground ◽

Thermal Requirements ◽

Plastic Process ◽

Disturbed Forest ◽

Forest Conditions

AbstractHuman-induced degradation of Chaco forests has led to a mosaic of habitats with different forest conditions, offering different habitat suitability characteristics to the native fauna. Abundance and microhabitat use of Teius teyou, Liolaemus chacoensis, Cnemidophorus ocellifer, and Tropidurus etheridgei were analyzed in the western Chaco forest of Argentina. A mature forest that has remained undisturbed for the last 30 years (Los Colorados Biological Station, LC) and a highly disturbed forest (Campo Grande, CG) were compared through diurnal visual encounter surveys along 74 1-km transects. Lizards were assigned to the microhabitat category according to the site where they were first observed (bare ground, litter/grass/herbs, shrubs or trees). T. teyou preferred bare ground in LC, avoiding litter/grass/herbs and using shrubs according to availability, whereas in CG the species preferred shrubs, avoiding bare ground. C. ocellifer used microhabitats according to their availability in LC, whereas in CG, this species preferred shrubs and avoided the remaining microhabitats. L. chacoensis preferred bare ground in LC, using litter/grass/herbs and shrubs according to availability. In CG, the species used bare ground according to availability, preferred shrubs, and avoided litter/grass/herbs. T. etheridgei preferred bare ground in LC, avoiding litter/grass/herbs, and using shrubs according to availability, whereas in CG both bare ground and shrubs were preferred, and litter/grass/herbs was avoided. Our results suggest that microhabitat selection by lizards in the Chaco is a plastic process influenced by vegetation structure, and probably regulated by lizards' thermal requirements.

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Past and future impact of climate change on foraging habitat suitability in a high-alpine bird species: Management options to buffer against global warming effects

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2018.03.008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 221 ◽

pp. 209-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Mattia Brambilla ◽

Jaime Resano-Mayor ◽

Davide Scridel ◽

Matteo Anderle ◽

Giuseppe Bogliani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Habitat Suitability ◽

Bird Species ◽

Foraging Habitat ◽

Management Options ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Species Management

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Effects of fire, food availability and vegetation on the distribution of the rodent Bolomys lasiurus in an Amazonian savanna

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467403001263 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 183-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Viviane Maria Guedes Layme ◽

Albertina Pimentel Lima ◽

William Ernest Magnusson

Keyword(s):

Spatial Variation ◽

Food Availability ◽

Significant Relationship ◽

Habitat Suitability ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Vegetation Structure ◽

Short Term ◽

Tall Grass ◽

Insect Abundance ◽

Habitat Suitability Models

We investigated the relative influences of vegetation cover, invertebrate biomass as an index of food availability and the short-term effects of fires on the spatial variation in densities of the rodent Bolomys lasiurus in an Amazonian savanna. Densities were evaluated in 31 plots of 4 ha distributed over an area of approximately 10×10 km. The cover of the tall grass (Trachypogon plumosus), short grass (Paspalum carinatum), shrubs and the extent of fire did not explain the variance in densities of Bolomys lasiurus. Food availability alone explained about 53% of the variance in B. lasiurus densities, and there was no significant relationship between insect abundance and vegetation structure. Fires had little short-term impact on the density of Bolomys lasiurus in the area we studied. As the species appears to respond principally to food availability, habitat suitability models based on easily recorded vegetation-structure variables, or the frequency of disturbance by fire, may not be effective in predicting the distribution of the species within savannas.

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