Winter density and habitat preferences of three declining granivorous farmland birds: The importance of the keeping of poultry and dairy farms |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic;2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Brani?ovská 31, 370 05 ?eské Budějovice, Czech Republic;3. Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia, Studentská 13, 370 05 ?eské Budějovice, Czech Republic;4. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vini?ná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic;1. Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC), Spain;2. Université de Neuchâtel (Unine), Switzerland;3. Technische Universität Dresden, Germany;4. Cloud & Heat Technologies GmbH, Germany;5. Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC), Belgium;6. IIIA – CSIC – Spanish National Research Council, Spain;1. U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA;2. U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI, 53711, USA;1. Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras Campus, PO Box 23360, San Juan 00936, Puerto Rico;2. Sociedad Ambiente Marino, PO Box 22158, San Juan 00931-2158, Puerto Rico;3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras Campus, PO Box 70377, San Juan 00936, Puerto Rico;1. Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Department of Medical Biology and Biochemistry, Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, M. Sk?odowska-Curie St. 9, PL 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland;2. University of Zielona Góra, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Prof. Z. Szafran St. 1, PL 65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland;3. University of Zielona Góra, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Department of Nature Protection and Biodiversity, Prof. Szafran St. 1, PL 65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland;4. University of Zielona Góra, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Department of Zoology, Prof. Z. Szafran St. 1, PL 65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland;5. Nicolaus Copernicus University, Department of Ecology and Biogeography, Lwowska St. 1, PL 87-100 Toruń, Poland;6. University of Pre?ov, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, Laboratory and Museum of Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Ecology, 17. novembra 1, SK-081 16 Pre?ov, Slovakia;7. University of Technology and Life Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Seminaryjna St. 5, PL 85-326 Bydgoszcz, Poland;8. Nicolaus Copernicus University, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Department of Medical Biology and Biochemistry, Kar?owicz St. 24, PL 85-092 Bydgoszcz, Poland;1. Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana 141004, India;2. Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana 141004, India;3. School of Public Health and Zoonoses, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana 141004, India |
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| Abstract: | Populations of granivorous farmland birds have dramatically declined during recent decades in many European countries. Winter conditions and consequently, survival rates of farmland bird species during this critical period, are considered as one of the main causes of this negative trend. However, the importance of different habitat structures and connected food sources for successful overwintering in bird species has gained little attention so far in the Czech Republic. In this study we aimed to examine the role of habitat composition and food availability on winter distribution and abundance of three declining sedentary and granivorous bird species. During the winters 2009–2014, 149 villages in the Czech Republic were monitored for distribution and density of three farmland seed-eaters. House Sparrow was the most dominant species (88.6% of villages occupied; 4.32 ± 4.67 ind./100 m of transect), followed by Tree Sparrow (67.1% villages occupied; 1.83 ± 3.53 ind./100 m of transect) and Collared Dove (65.8% villages occupied; 0.72 ± 1.51 ind./100 m of transect). Occurrence of House and Tree Sparrow was significantly affected by the number of instances of poultry keeping. In both species, occupied villages showed a higher number of instances of poultry keeping. We did not find any such significant relationship for Collared Dove. Density of House Sparrow was significantly higher in villages with dairy farms, but we failed to find this relationship for Tree Sparrow and Collared Dove. Habitat preferences were similar for all three studied species. They positively responded to the proportion of shrubs/trees, the keeping of poultry, dairy farms and they avoided houses, arable land and grasslands. We conclude that poultry keepings and dairy farms can be important for studied species during the winter since they offer high food availability and good protection against predators. This suggestion is supported by the fact that long-term population decline has coincided with a long-term reduction in the keeping of poultry and dairy farms in the Czech Republic during the last 50 years. |
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| Keywords: | Central Europe Dairy farms Granivorous birds Habitat preferences Poultry keeping Winter period |
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