Moving Window Abundance – A method to characterise the abundance dynamics of farmland birds: The example of Skylark (Alauda arvensis) |
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| Institution: | 1. Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants JKI, Institute for Strategies and Technology Assessment, Stahnsdorfer Damm 81, D-14532 Kleinmachnow, Germany;2. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research ZALF, Eberswalder Straße 84, D-15374 Müncheberg, Germany;1. Institute of Forest Ecology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Zemedelska 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic;2. Department of Animal Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1-3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic;3. Ceitec VFU, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1-3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic;4. Department of Zoology, Fisheries, Hydrobiology and Apiculture, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of AgriSciences, Zemedelska 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic;5. Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, Hroznova 2, 656 06 Brno, Czech Republic;1. Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, Germany;2. Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalderstr. 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany;3. Restoration Ecology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Germany;4. Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany;5. Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Rothenburgstrasse 12, 12165 Berlin, Germany;6. Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstraße 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany;1. Laboratory of Biomonitoring of the Environment, Coastal Ecology and Ecotoxicology Unit, Carthage University, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Zarzouna 7021, Tunisia;2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, della Vita e dell’Ambiente (DiSTeVA), Università degli Studi di Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’, loc. Crocicchia, 61029 Urbino, Italy;1. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BB, UK;2. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK;3. Field View, School Road, Marshland St James, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE14 8JR, UK;4. Midfield Ecology Ltd, 60 Midfield Road, Humberston, Grimsby DN36 4TH, UK;1. Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Wildlife Damage Center, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-730 91 Riddarhyttan, Sweden;2. Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK;1. Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, PR China;2. Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China;3. Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang 547100, PR China |
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| Abstract: | Farmland birds are important indicators of the state of biodiversity in rural landscapes, and the occurrence and abundance of birds contribute to their importance as bioindicators. However, the measurement of farmland bird abundance can be difficult. The rapid growth of crop plants in the spring combined with disturbances related to farming practices, such as weed and pest control and other measures, can profoundly change the habitat suitability of arable fields for birds within a short period of time. Consequently, the existing dynamics must be incorporated into the applied methods, and a single value of bird abundance during the breeding season is insufficient to characterise the habitat functions of arable land. The abundance of farmland bird species is influenced by crop specific features, which profoundly change within the breeding season and which we have described using a novel concept called Moving Window Abundance. Based on field surveys in 29 observation areas within arable landscapes, each 1 km2, Skylark with territorial behaviour were counted using a mapping method related to the habitats and growth of field crops, such as wheat and maize. To describe the dynamic characteristics of the abundance during the breeding season over the time period from 16 March to 18 July, three methods of Moving Window Abundance were tested: patchy, adjacent and overlapping. These methods differ in the time-space continuity of the considered time window throughout the breeding season. In the Patchy Moving Window Abundance method, we used the exact days in which field surveys were conducted throughout the entire time period of the field surveys. However, with the Adjacent Moving Window Abundance method, the time window included five-day, ten-day and semi-monthly adjacent windows; in the Overlapping Moving Window Abundance method, the time window shifted daily, with five-day, ten-day and semi-monthly overlapping windows used in the calculation procedure. The results indicated that the dynamic nature of Skylark abundance (i) reached a maximum level in the first breeding period in the agricultural landscape and (ii) exhibited large variations in level and time within the various field crops. Therefore, abundance was not described conventionally using a single numerical value but rather using mathematical functions based on the spatial scale of the landscape and habitat. We conclude with recommendations for further research to standardise farmland bird monitoring. |
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| Keywords: | Farmland birds Skylark Moving Window Abundance Breeding season Agriculture landscape Field crops |
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