1,453
Views
14
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Evidence for contrasting causes of population change in two closely related, sympatric breeding species the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra and Stonechat Saxicola torquata in Britain

, , , &
Pages 553-565 | Received 30 Jul 2014, Accepted 02 Sep 2014, Published online: 08 Oct 2014

REFERENCES

  • Alexander, W.B. & Lack, D. 1944. Changes in status among British breeding birds. Br. Birds 38: 62–69.
  • Archaux, F. 2007. Are mountains refuges for farmland bird species? A case study in the northern French Alps. Bird Study 54: 73–79.
  • Balmer, D.E., Gillings, S., Caffrey, B.J., Swann, R.L., Downie, I.S. & Fuller, R.J. 2013. Bird Atlas 2007–11: The Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland. BTO Books, Thetford.
  • Bibby, C.J., Philips, B.N. & Seddon, A.J.E. 1985. Birds of restocked conifer plantations in Wales. J. Appl. Ecol. 22: 619–633.
  • Birrer, S., Spiess, M., Herzog, F., Jenny, M., Kohli, L. & Lugrin, B. 2007. The Swiss agri-environment scheme promotes farmland birds: but only moderately. J. Ornithol. 148: 295–303.
  • Britschgi, A., Spaar, R. & Arlettaz, R. 2006. Impact of grassland farming intensification on the breeding ecology of an indicator insectivorous passerine, the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra: lessons for overall Alpine meadowland management. Biol. Conserv. 130: 193–205.
  • Brown, A.F. & Grice, P.V. 2005. Birds in England. T. & A.D. Poyser, London.
  • Broyer, J. 2009. Whinchat Saxicola rubetra reproductive success according to hay cutting schedule and meadow passerine density in alluvial and upland meadows in France. J. Nat. Conserv. 17: 160–167.
  • Broyer, J., Sukhanova, O. & Mischenko, A. 2014. Mowing management and density dependence in meadow passerine hatching success. Bird Study 61: 394–403.
  • Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. & Thomas, L. 2001. Introduction to Distance Sampling, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Bunce, R.G.H., Barr, C.J., Clarke, R.T., Howard, D.C. & Lane, A.M.J. 1998. ITE Land Classification of Great Britain 1998. NERC-Environmental Information Data Centre. doi:10.5285/971671a6-98b4-4d80-b165-21dace7373b9
  • Calladine, J. & Bray, J. 2012. The importance of altitude and aspect for breeding Whinchats Saxicola rubetra in the uplands: limitations of the uplands as a refuge for a declining, formerly widespread species? Bird Study 59: 43–51.
  • Cook, M., Waltho, C., Evans, I. & Wernham, C. 2011. Why bird monitoring in Scotland needs more volunteers. In Marrs, S.J., Foster, S., Hendrie, C., Mackey, E.C. & Thompson, D.B.A. (eds) The Changing Nature of Scotland, 139–144. TSO Scotland, Edinburgh.
  • Crick, H.Q.P. 1992. A bird-habitat coding system for use in Britain and Ireland incorporating aspects of land-management and human activity. Bird Study 39: 1–12.
  • Dejaifve, P.A. 1994. Ecology and behaviour of a palearctic migrant in Africa – the wintering of the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra in the Zaire and its winter distribution in Africa. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 49: 35–52.
  • Eaton, M.A., Balmer, D.E., Cuthbert, R., Grice, P.V., Hall, J., Hearn, R.D., Holt, C.A., Musgrove, A.J., Noble, D.G., Parsons, M., Risely, K., Stroud, D.A. & Wotton, S. 2011. The State of the UK's Birds 2011. RSPB, BTO, WWT, CCW, JNCC, NE, NIEA and SNH, Sandy, Bedfordshire.
  • EBCC. 2012. European Bird Census Council. Available from: http://www.ebcc.info
  • Fischer, K., Busch, R., Fahl, G., Kunz, M. & Knopf, M. 2013. Habitat preferences and breeding success of Whinchats (Saxicola rubetra) in the Westerwald mountain range. J. Ornithol. 154: 339–349.
  • Fuller, R.J. 2012. Avian responses to transitional habitats in temperate cultural landscapes: woodland edges and young-growth. In Fuller, R.J. (ed.) Birds and Habitats: Relationships in Changing Landscapes, 125–149. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Fuller, R.J. & Glue, D.E. 1977. The breeding biology of the Stonechat and Whinchat. Bird Study 24: 215–228.
  • Fuller, R.J. & Gough, S.J. 1999. Changes in sheep numbers in Britain: implications for bird populations. Biol. Conserv. 91: 73–89.
  • Fuller, R.M., Smith, G.M., Sanderson, J.M., Hill, R.A. & Thomson, A.G. 2002. The UK Land Cover Map 2000: construction of a parcel-based vector map from satellite images. Cartogr. J. 39: 15–25.
  • Fuller, R.J., Atkinson, P.W., Garnett, M.C., Conway, G.J., Bibby, C.J. & Johnstone, I.G. 2006. Breeding bird communities in the upland margins (ffridd) of Wales in the mid-1980s. Bird Study 53: 177–186.
  • Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993. The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988–1991. T.& A.D. Poyser, London.
  • Grant, M.C. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2012. Spatial variation and habitat relationships in moorland bird assemblages: a British perspective. In Fuller, R.J. (ed.) Birds and Habitat. Relationships in Changing Landscapes, 207–236. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Gregory, R.D., Baillie, S.R. & Bashford, R.I. 2004. Monitoring breeding birds in the United Kingdom. Bird numbers 1995. In: A. Anselin, ed. Proceedings of the international conference and 13th meeting of the European Bird Census Council, Pärnu, Estonia. Bird Census News, 13 (2000): 101–112.
  • Grüebler, M.U., Schuler, H., Müller, M., Spaar, R., Horch, P. & Naef-Daenzer, B. 2008. Female biased mortality caused by anthropogenic nest loss contributes to population decline and adult sex ratio of a meadow bird. J. Ornithol. 146: 14–23.
  • Hagemeier, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J. (eds) 1997. The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds: Their Distribution and Abundance. Poyser, London.
  • Heegaard, E. 2002. The outer border and central border for species-environmental relationships estimated by non-parametric generalised additive models. Ecol. Model. 157: 131–139.
  • Henderson, I.G. 2011. Fighting for Whinchats on Salisbury plain. BTO News, 293, pp. 10–11.
  • Holloway, S. 1996. The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1875–1900. T. & A.D. Poyser, London.
  • Hulme, M.F. & Cresswell, W. 2012. Density and behaviour of Whinchats Saxicola rubetra on African farmland suggest that winter habitat conditions do not limit European breeding populations. Ibis 154: 680–692.
  • Jiguet, F., Gregory, R.D., Devictor, V., Green, R.E., Voříšek, P., Van Strien, A. & Couvet, D. 2009. Population trends of European common birds are predicted by characteristics of their climatic niche. Global Change Biol. 16: 497–505.
  • Maggini, R., Lehmann, A., Kéry, M., Schmid, H., Beniston, M., Jenni, L. & Zbinden, N. 2011. Are Swiss birds tracking climate change? Detecting elevational shifts using response curve shapes. Ecol. Model. 222: 21–32.
  • McCullagh, P. & Nelder, J.A. 1989. Generalized Linear Models. Chapman & Hall, London.
  • Morrison, C.A., Robinson, R.A., Clark, J.A. & Gill, J.A. 2010. Spatial and temporal variation in population trends in a long-distance migratory bird. Diversity Distrib. 16: 620–627.
  • Müller, M., Spaar, R., Schifferli, L. & Jenni, L. 2005. Effects of changes in farming of subalpine meadows on a migrant bird, the Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra). J. Ornithol. 146: 14–23.
  • Ockendon, N., Hewson, C.M., Johnston, A. & Atkinson, P.W. 2012. Declines in British-breeding populations of Afro-Palaearctic migrant birds are linked to bioclimatic wintering zone in Africa, possibly via constraints on arrival time advancement. Bird Study 59: 111–125.
  • Parslow, J. 1973. Breeding Birds of Britain and Ireland: A Historical Survey. T.& A.D. Poyser, Berkhamsted.
  • Perry, M., Hollis, D. & Elms, M. 2009. The Generation of Daily Gridded Datasets of Temperature and Rainfall for the UK. Climate Memorandum 24. National Climate Information Centre, Exeter.
  • Phillips, J.S. 1970. Inter-specific competition in Stonechat and Whinchat. Bird Study 17: 320–324.
  • R Development Core Team. 2009. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
  • Renwick, A.R., Massimino, D., Newson, S.E., Chamberlain, D.E., Pearce-Higgins, J.W. & Johnston, A. 2011. Modelling changes in species' abundance in response to projected climate change. Divers. Distrib. 18: 121–132.
  • Risely, K., Massimino, D., Newson, S.E., Eaton, M.A., Musgrove, A.J., Noble, D.G., Procter, D. & Baillie, S.R. 2013. The Breeding Bird Survey 2012. BTO Research Report 645. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford.
  • Sanderson, F.J., Donald, P.F., Pain, D.J., Burfield, I.J. & van Bommel, F.P.J. 2006. Long-term population declines in Afro-Palearctic migrant birds. Biol. Conserv. 131: 93–105.
  • SAS. 2002. Statistical Analysis System: Version 9.1. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.
  • Sharrock, J.T.R. 1976. The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. D. Poyser, Berkhamsted.
  • Sokal, R.R. & Rohlf, F.J. 1995. Biometry: The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research, 3rd edn. W.H. Freeman, New York.
  • Stillman, R.A. & Brown, A.F. 1994. Population sizes and habitat associations of upland breeding birds in the south Pennines, England. Biol. Conserv. 69: 307–314.
  • Thomas, L., Buckland, S.T., Rexstad, E.A., Laake, J.L., Strindberg, S., Hedley, S.L., Bishop, J.R.B., Marques, T.A., Burnham, K.P. 2010. Distance software: design and analysis of distance sampling surveys for estimating population size. J. Appl. Ecol. 47: 5–14.
  • Urquhart, E. & Bowley, A. 2002. Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola. Christopher Helm, London.
  • Vickery, J.A., Ewing, S.R., Smith, K.W., Pain, D.J., Bairlein, F., Škorpilova, J. & Gregory, R.D. 2014. The decline of Afro-Palaearctic migrants and an assessment of potential causes. Ibis 156: 1–22.
  • Witherby (Ed), H.F., Jourdain, F.C.R., Ticehurst, N.F., Tucker, B.W. (1936–1941). 1943. The Handbook of British Birds. H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd, London.
  • Zollinger, J.L. 2011. L'expansion du Tarier pâtre Saxicola torquatus au pied du Jura vaudois. Nos Oiseaux 58: 127–144.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.