Habitat displacement effect between two competing owl species in fragmented forests

Many owl species use the same nesting and food resources, which causes strong interspecific competition and spatio-temporal niche separation. We made use of a recent colonisation of Ural Owls (Strix uralensis) in southern Poland to compare habitat preferences of Tawny Owls (Strix aluco) allopatry and sympatry with Ural Owls. We investigated spatial niche segregation of Ural Owl and the Tawny Owl in sympatry and compared habitat preferences of Tawny Owls breeding in allopatry and sympatry. Tawny Owls breeding in sympatry with Ural Owls occupied forests with higher canopy compactness, sites located closer to forest border and to built-up areas, as well as stands with a higher share of fir and spruce and a lower share of beech as compared to sites occupied by Ural Owls. Allopatric Tawny Owls occupied sites with lower canopy compactness and bred at sites located further from forest borders and in stands with lower share of fir and spruce and a higher share of deciduous as compared to sympatric Tawny Owls. As Ural owls are dominant in relation to Tawny Owls, this indicates that the presence of Ural Owls prevents Tawny Owls from occupying deciduous-dominated and old stands located in forest interior areas, far from buildings and forest edges. The results support habitat displacement between the two species when breeding in sympatry. We also show that protection of large forest patches is crucial for the Ural Owl, a species still rare in central Europe, while small patches are occupied by the abundant Tawny Owl

Evaluating Google Street View for tracking invasive alien plants along roads

Invasive alien plants are considered a major driver of global biodiversity loss. Therefore, there is a huge demand of spatial and temporal data on their distribution for investigating possible drivers of species invasions and for predictions of future distributions. We use Google Street View imagery (GSV) as a new source of spatial and temporal data. GSV provides millions of panoramic views along road networks worldwide allowing for the identification of many plant species, including invasive ones. Thus, GSV has a great potential to support ecological research in documenting species distribution, but reliable validation of its precision and accuracy is lacking. Here, we describe and evaluate an approach using GSV to visually track the spread of invasive alien plants, the North American goldenrods (Solidago canadensis and S. gigantea) occurring abundantly along road network in Poland (Central Europe). We determined presence/absence of the species along 160 randomly selected transects of a length of 500 m by visual inspection of GSV images and compared it with field surveys at the same transects. We show that the occurrence of goldenrods in GSV is a reliable predictor of their occurrence in the wild. Sampling parameters, like road width, season when GSV pictures were taken and number of months elapsed since taking the GSV pictures, did not change the correlation between outputs of the two methods (GSV and field sampling). Furthermore, both the occurrence of goldenrods observed in the field and their occurrence in GSV have similar relations to habitat characteristics investigated (the same direction of relationship and similar effect size). We suggest Google Street View images may be an additional tool to be used in the detection and tracking of the spread of invasive alien plants along roadsides. The approach may be useful in assessing temporal changes in roadside vegetation and managing problematic plant species across large spatial scales and may contribute to the further development of more efficient sampling methods in ecological studies

Linking occurrence and changes in local abundance of farmland bird species to landscape composition and land-use changes

Changes in agricultural policies have caused dramatic changes in land-use in agricultural landscapes. To investigate whether such changes in land-use relate to temporal changes in bird communities a repeated inventory (1994 and 2004) of farmland birds was made in 212 point-count sites in south-central Sweden.Distinct changes in abundance of several species over the study period were recorded, abundance of the 16 studied species decreased by 23%. The decline was significant for eight species, while two species increased significantly. Persistence and colonisation models suggested similar species-habitat relationships as the snapshot models, i.e. eight of the 12 associations were in line with what could be expected from the snapshot models. Occurrence of nine species was linked to land-use whereas six species displayed links between changes in occurrence and changes in land-use. In line with previous studies positive effects of short rotation coppice and negative effects of autumn-sown crops were found, while set-asides showed fewer effects than expected. In the snapshot models several species showed links to landscape characteristics such as amount of forest (negative for five species) and landscape heterogeneity (positive for six species). The evidence for effects of the landscape variables on persistence/colonisation was more restricted.The results suggest that both land-use changes and the landscape setting may cause local changes in abundance of farmland birds, even for species displaying a general decline in numbers between years, the effects of land-use changes being, however, strongly species specific. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Betydelsen av kraftledningsgator, skogsbilvägar och naturbetesmarker för fjärilar i olika landskapstyper

I landskap dominerade av modernt jord- och skogsbruk är många arters livsmiljöer starkt fragmenterade vilket hotar deras långsiktiga överlevnad. Linjära element i landskapet antas kunna underlätta arters spridning och överlevnad i landskapet genom att fungera som spridningskällor och därmed minska de negativa effekterna av fragmenteringen. Kunskapen om i vilken utsträckning linjära landskapselement, som vägkanter och kraftledningsgator utgör spridningskällor (habitat som producerar överskott av individer) och/eller fungerar som funktionella spridningskorridorer är dålig. En av målsättningarna med denna undersökning var att undersöka om närhet till kraftledningsgator ökar art- och individrikedomen av fjärilar i andra biotoper. Vi gjorde detta genom att inventera fjärilar på 160 platser i 23 landskap i södra Sverige. I fjärilsinventeringen jämförde vi fjärilsfaunan i naturbetesmarker och skogsbilvägar på olika avstånd från kraftledningsgator. Dessutom jämförde vi fjärilsfaunan i kraftledningsgator (och naturbetesmarker och skogsbilvägar) i en gradient från relativt öppna landskap med jordbruksmark till skogsdominerade landskap. Vi gjorde även detaljerade studier av några arters rörelsemönster och beteende i några utvalda landskap (två i varje delstudie). Vi studerade i) flygbeteendet hos några utvalda arter i kraftledningsgator, betesmarker och längs vägar med syftet att analysera om andelen individer som uppvisade snabb flykt (spridning) och födosöksflykt skiljde sig mellan habitaten. Dessutom gjordes ii) experiment med utsläpp av fångade individer av ett urval av arter vid gränsen mellan en betesmark och andra habitat för att se om de föredrog att flyga genom betesmark, skog, ledningsgator eller åkermark. Kraftledningsgator tycktes fungera som spridningskälla för fjärilar i skogsbilvägar eftersom både art- och individrikedom var signifikant högre i skogsbilvägar och naturbetesmarker nära kraftledningsgator än i områden långt ifrån ledningsgatorna. Den positiva effekten av närheten till kraftledningsgator tycktes klinga av först vid avstånd på 700-800 m från ledningsgatorna, dvs kraftledningsgatorna hade en positiv effekt på fjärilsfaunan i områden som är mycket större än den areal de täcker. Dessutom var sammansättningen av arter liknande i områden nära och på avstånd från ledningsgatorna, vilket tyder på att ökningen i art- och individrikedom inte berodde på en ökning av arter som normalt inte förekommer i större omfattning på skogsbilvägarna och i naturbetesmarkerna. De analyser vi genomfört när det gäller rörelsemönster och beteenden de utvalda arterna tyder på att det är stor skillnad mellan olika arter, vissa arter (t.ex. pärlgräsfjäril) tycks använda ledningsgatorna för födosök (och därmed troligen också reproduktion), luktgräsfjäril kan enligt våra resultat möjligen också använda ledningsgatorna för spridningsflykt och skogsnätfjäril tycktes göra det. Det troliga är alltså att ledningsgatorna fungerar som spridningskorridorer för vissa arter, medan andra använder habitatet för reproduktion, vilket resulterar i att ledningsgatorna fungerar som spridningskällor (bra habitat) för närliggande habitat. Generellt ökade artrikedomen av fjärilar i naturbetesmarker och skogsbilvägar med ökande andel skog i landskapet. Skogslandskap innehåller mer alternativa habitat än landskap med mer åkermark. I motsats till våra förväntningar fann vi inga starka effekter av landskapets sammansättning (inom 1 km eller 6 km radie) för art- och individrikedom av fjärilar i ledningsgatorna. Detta indikerar att ledningsgatorna (till skillnad från de två andra habitaten) uppfyller kraven för ett flertal arter oavsett det omgivande landskapets sammansättning. I likhet med tidigare studier fann vi att ledningsgatorna var art- och individrikare än naturbetesmarker och skogsbilvägar, vilket bekräftar deras betydelse för fjärilsfaunan. Förutom att fokusera på ledningsgatornas roll som spridningskälla för fjärilar så utvärderade vi betydelsen av övriga habitatvariabler som t.ex. korridorernas bredd, markförhållanden och förekomst av träd och buskar för artrikedom av fjärilar i ledningsgator och skogsbilvägar. En faktor som var viktig för artrikedomen i dessa två habitat var korridorernas bredd (från <10m m i de smalaste vägarna – 200 m i de bredaste ledningsgatorna), vilket visar betydelsen av arealen öppet habitat i de studerade skogslandskapen. För skogsbilvägar kan den högre artrikedomen i breda vägar också bero på mikroklimatets betydelse (solsken och högre temperatur i breda vägar), vilket är en viktig faktor för fjärilar på nordliga latituder. I kraftledningsgator (25 – 200 m breda) är det troligt att den positiva effekten av korridorbredd, ända upp till 200 m, är en effekt av ökad habitatvariation som är kopplat till den större arealen öppet habitat. Andra faktorer som var korrelerat till artrikedomen i både skogsbilvägar och ledningsgator var mängd lövsly längs transekten och mängd lövträd i de omgivande brynen. Detta kan bero på att flera arter är beroende av det skydd som buskarna erbjuder, vissa arter är också knutna till buskar och träd under larvstadiet. Markförhållandena (t.ex. näringsinnehåll) kan också påverka artrikedomen positivt, och lövträd indikerar goda näringsförhållanden (med förekomst av örter) i annars näringsfattiga barrskogsområden. I ledningsgatorna var artrikedomen negativt korrelerad med mängden lövträd (kopplat till tid sedan röjning). Detta indikerar att mer frekvent röjning i ledningsgator med en artrik eller värdefull fjärilsfauna med fördel kan ske oftare än vart 6-8 år som nu är standard i de flesta ledningsgatorna. Artrikedomen var låg i ledningsgator med torr mark och en vegetation dominerad av ris, d.v.s. specifik skötsel för att gynna fjärilsfaunan bör fokusera på breda ledningsgator med frisk-fuktig mark och en gräs-ört vegetation med blommande växter

Quantifying effects of wetland restorations on bird communities in agricultural landscapes

Restoring wetlands to improve habitats for birds has become an important conservation tool as many wetlands have deteriorated and wetland bird populations declined. To what extent such restorations are effective is not well known because surveys usually either lack data before the restoration or means of correcting for background population trends. We identified wetland restorations made in agricultural landscapes in Sweden and retrieved all available Before-After survey data of breeding birds. From the resulting heterogeneous surveys, we quantified the effectiveness of restorations for eight bird groups comprising 72 bird species from 30 wetlands. We used national survey data to correct for background population trends. We estimated that island breeder populations have increased by between 62 % and 315 % (95 % confidence intervals) following restorations. Deep water foragers, shallow water foragers and short meadow breeders also mainly increased following restoration. The direction of effect was uncertain for tall meadow breeders, reed breeders and predators. Shrubland breeder populations declined between-55 % and-4 % following restorations. While restoration measures seemed to generally benefit about half of the breeding wetland bird community, estimated species-and site-specific re-sponses varied greatly and were associated with large uncertainty. Such heterogeneity in responses can arise due to biotic and abiotic interactions, varying management actions and survey methods between wetlands. Thus, to improve the effectiveness of future wetland restorations, funding bodies and environmental agencies should require standardised Before-After bird surveys at both restored and non-restored reference sites. Such improved survey designs would facilitate the development of more efficient restoration efforts

Community associations of birds with amphibians and fish in wetlands created for biodiversity

Conservation initiatives to support declining water-related biodiversity through wetland creation have increased during the last decades. Multiple studies have evaluated the suitability of created wetlands for birds and amphibians, but only a few have considered the species associations that might also affect the outcome. Using joint species distribution models, we explored species associations of birds, amphibians and fish in 52 created biodiversity wetlands in Sweden. As most of these wetlands were primarily created for increasing bird diversity, we asked whether the occurrence of fish and amphibians relates to bird species richness, pair abundance and chick abundance (as a measure of reproductive success) and whether conservation conflicts or synergies between birds, amphibians and fish can be observed. In general, we found positive bird-amphibian association patterns and negative bird-fish association patterns, although the uncertainties were high for these estimates. In line with previous research, the generally negative bird-fish co-variance indicates potential conservation conflicts between wetland creation for birds and fish, where fish might be introduced for recreational fishing or other ecosystem services. Therefore, our results suggest that it can be hard to benefit bird and fish communities with the same wetland, and separate wetland creation with different goals may be needed. The generally positive birdamphibian species-species associations and the lack of previous studies revealing conflicts indicate synergies between wetland creation for birds and amphibians. However, research needs to further consolidate such synergies, including amphibian reproductive output from bird-rich wetlands

Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies

Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies.Peer reviewe

Ranging behaviour and habitat use in Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus in extensive farmland of Eastern Poland

Agriculture intensification drives changes in bird populations but also in the space use by farmland species. Agriculture in Eastern Europe still follows an extensive farming model, but due to policy shifts aimed at rural restructuring and implementation of government subsidies for farmers, it is being rapidly intensified. Here, we aimed to document the ranging behaviour and habitat use of a declining farmland bird of prey-Montagu's Harrier-and to compare it to findings from Western Europe. In 2011-2018, 50 individuals were followed with GPS loggers in Eastern Poland to study species spatial ecology. We found home ranges (kernel 90%) to be considerably large: 67.3 (+/- 42.3) km(2) in case of males, but only 4.9 (+/- 6.1) km(2) in females. Home ranges overlapped by 40%, on average, with other males in colonies and by 61%, on average, between consecutive breeding seasons of a particular male. The average daily distance travelled by males and females reached, respectively, 94.5 and 45.3 km, covering a daily home range of 32.3 and 3.1 km(2). Individuals foraged up to 35 km from nests (3.5 km on average). Daily distance travelled and daily home ranges varied across the breeding season, in case of females being shortest in July, but sharply increasing in August. Also, individuals with breeding success had higher daily distance travelled but smaller daily home ranges. Average harriers' distance to nest was generally increasing over the season, but was also changing over time of day: birds were closest to nest during night time, but at the end of the season, males roosted up to 16 km from the nest. While foraging males slightly preferred grasslands, higher elevation and smaller land-use patches, they avoided slopes and proximity of roads. We conclude that the surprisingly large home ranges of breeding harriers may suggest reduced prey availability or high fragmentation of hunting areas, both driving birds to utilise large areas and potentially contributing to population decline

The challenge of abandonment for the sustainable management of Palaearctc natural and semi-natural grasslands

Disturbance by biomass removal is a crucial mechanism maintaining the diversity of Palaearctic grasslands, which are unique biodiversity hotspots. Te century-long traditional land use of mowing, grazing and burning, has been fundamentally changed in many parts of the Palaearctic. Due to socio-economic changes, large areas of former pastures and meadows have been abandoned, leading to a succession towards secondary scrublands or forest and the encroachment of competitor grass species, all leading to a decrease in biodiversity. Here we report the causes and consequences of the cessation of traditional grassland management regimes, provide strategies for reducing the impact of abandonment and consider these from the perspective of sustainability. We consider the possibilities for initiating sustainable management regimes in the contemporary socio-economic environment, and discuss the prospectsand limitation of alternative management regimes in the conservation of grassland biodiversity. Tese themes are also the core topics of this Special Feature, edited by the EDGG. We hope that this Special Feature will encourage steps towards more sustainable strategies for the conservation of Palaearctic grasslands and the integration of the sustainability perspective into their conservation