Factors affecting site occupancy by woodland bird species of conservation concern

R. M. Montague-Drake*, D. B. Lindenmayer, R. B. Cunningham

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    79 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Significant biodiversity loss is characteristic of agricultural landscapes worldwide. Biodiversity recovery efforts in such landscapes can be hamstrung by a paucity of information on factors affecting species' distributions, particularly for threatened and/or declining species. The temperate woodlands of south-eastern Australia have been extensively modified for agriculture and numerous bird taxa are declining. We have explicitly identified habitat and landscape attributes of woodland remnants affecting site occupancy by 13 woodland bird species of conservation concern. Using case-control data and linear logistic regression, we found that site occupancy for each species was related to both habitat and landscape variables. Habitat variables of particular importance included those in the ground layer (an abundance of leaf litter, an intact surface crust of mosses and lichens and a scarcity of annual grasses) and overstorey (a scarcity of eucalypt dieback and an abundance of mistletoe). Landscape variables strongly affecting site occupancy included the number of paddock trees and the area of native grass within 500 m of a site. Many of our study species were found most often in regrowth remnants. Our findings indicate a gap between current conservation practices and the actual habitat requirements of woodland bird species of conservation concern. Successful management will require protection and/or rehabilitation of the ground layer and overstorey of woodland remnants and sympathetic management of the surrounding landscape. It also will require managers to go beyond current practices of conserving old growth remnants and establishing replantings to maintaining and creating stands of woodland regrowth. Crown

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2896-2903
    Number of pages8
    JournalBiological Conservation
    Volume142
    Issue number12
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2009

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Factors affecting site occupancy by woodland bird species of conservation concern'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this