The bird life of the nature reserve Pulau Dua

No abstract availabl

Habitat Relationships of Three Grassland Breeding Bird Species: Broadscale Comparisons and Hayfield Management Implications

Generalized recommendations for the conservation of birds in agro-ecosystems have been elusive because studies are often of a local nature, and do not compare source data against those from other regions. In this study, we developed geographically broad habitat relationship models to provide conservation prescriptions for three species that breed in farmed grasslands: Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus). We develop models from our study in Nova Scotia, Canada and confront them with independent data from Wisconsin, USA pastures and Iowa, USA restored prairies. Vegetation that was higher and denser in the prebreeding season was linked to increased occupancy rates and abundance of Bobolinks in each study region. Providing tall spring grass is easily accomplished by not cutting late in the previous year. Savannah Sparrows were instead associated with shorter and sparser spring grass, which highlights the need to simultaneously provide heterogeneous habitat for otherwise ecologically similar species. Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows were more likely to occur, and be numerous, in areas with greater availability of drainage ditches. They and several other species would benefit from provision of ditches with adequate vegetation to promote occupancy. By combining these with other well-established recommendations, such as a delayed first harvest, a greater net conservation benefit can be realized from these working landscapes

Dynamic vegetation cover and decline in common eider breeding numbers in Nova Scotia, Canada

The American common eider (Somateria mollissima dresseri) is a colonially nesting sea duck breeding on islands in the coastal regions of Atlantic Canada. Declines in colony size have been pronounced in some parts of its range, notably in Nova Scotia, and may be attributable to a variety of interconnected factors including changes in habitat conditions. Using surveys collected two decades apart, we compared nesting habitat types, availability, and use by breeding eiders on 16 islands that supported >1600 eider nests in 1992–1993, but 830 nests in 2013. While general patterns of eider nesting habitat use remained consistent (e.g., nesting preferences exhibited for Low Shrubland and Grassland habitats, and avoidance of forest or beach habitats), overall vegetation cover declined, but relative habitat changes were inconsistent across islands. Three of the islands with the greatest change in vegetation had cormorant (Phalacrocorax spp.) colonies in 2013 that were not there in the earlier years. We suggest that changes in vegetation, in some cases facilitated by cormorant colony formation, influenced susceptibility of nesting females to predators, and these interconnected factors may be contributing to local population declines

Intertidal Flats of East and Southeast Asia

A recent rise in economic prosperity in Asia, the most densely populated region of the world, has created a shortage of land for industry, housing developments and aquaculture. Consequently, large extents of tidal flat habitat in East and Southeast Asia, and especially in the Yellow Sea, have been lost since 1980, some through sediment inflow reduction, some through reclamation to satisfy demand for land. Throughout the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), over 600,000 ha of tidal flats were the subject of further proposed land claims in 2012; in the Yellow Sea, planned conversions of >300,000 ha would amount to a further loss of 40% of the remaining habitat. Here we articulate five arguments to contribute to convincing governments and other stakeholders in the EAAF that the current rate of loss is a disaster which must be urgently addressed. (1) Global responsibility: the EAAF is a large flyway supporting 176 waterbird species, of which 34 (19%) are globally threatened or Near Threatened. Nine more species are under consideration for such listing. Other flyways have 5-13 threatened species, amounting to 4-12%. (2) Regional responsibility: migratory shorebird species essentially make a single stop, or very few stops, when moving between non-breeding and breeding sites. In the EAAF, most of these critical sites where birds refuel for a few weeks are in the Yellow Sea. (3) Regional effects: shorebird population trends in Japan, and at a single wintering site in Australia showed that shorebirds dependent on the Yellow Sea during migration show the strongest population declines. (4) Local effects: migratory shorebirds that lost their fuelling site due to the largest land claim projects in the Yellow Sea (Saemangeum and Bohai Bay) did not all redistribute to the adjacent tidal flats, resulting in a net population decline. (5) Self-interest: Tidal flats and associated coastal ecosystems provide critical ecosystem services including protection from storm surges and sea level rise. This information was summarized in a 2012 IUCN report and subsequently EAAF governments have committed via IUCN Resolution 28 to protect the EAAF