Nest Types and Nest-Site Selection of the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus Breeding in Fishpond Habitat in South-Eastern Poland

• Autorzy: Flis A.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.3161/15052249PJE2016.64.2.010

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The paper describes chosen habitat conditions determining the occurrence and nesting of the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus and their effect on the nest type (breeding nest BN or mock nest MN). The Little Bittern is a monogamous bird whose male can build a couple of nests during the breeding season. The main questions posed in this work are: (1) what habitat is chosen for the nesting site, and (2) do habitat conditions influence the nest type? The study was carried out in a fishpond complex in the Lasy Janowskie Landscape Park (SE Poland) during the breeding seasons of 2010−2012. All 44 nests (23 BN and 21 MN) were built in a waterside belt of perennial Common Reed Phragmites australis. All nests were built at sites with water depth between 11 and 101 cm. The type of the nest did not depend on the date when it was built during the breeding season. There was a significant difference in the width of the nests between breeding and mock nests. Moreover, obtained results showed a significant influence of the reed belt height and reed stem diameter on the nest type. Further studies on the Little Bittern's nesting habitat, protection of suitable wetlands, and proper water management are important for the conservation of this vulnerable species.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Little Bittern; Ixobrychus minutus; nest types; nesting habitat; reedbeds; fishponds

PL

bączek; Ixobrychus minutus; typy gniazd; siedlisko lęgowe; szuwar; strefa roślin przybrzeżnych; stawy hodowlane; stawy rybne

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2016
• Tom: Vol. 64, nr 2
• Strony: 268--276
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 41 poz., rys., tab., wykr.

Twórcy

autor

Flis A.

• Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Krakow, Poland

Bibliografia

• [1] Báldi A., Kisbenedek T. 1998 — Factors influencing the occurrence of Great White Egret (Egretta alba), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Marsh Harrier (Circus aeroginosus) and Coot (Fulica atra) in the reed archipelago of Lake Velence, Hungary — Ekologia (Bratislava), 17: 384–390.
• [2] Battisti C., Aglitti C., Sorace A., Trotta M. 2006 — Water level decrease and its effects on the breeding bird community in a remnant wetland in central Italy — Ekologia (Bratislava), 25: 252–263.
• [3] Benassi G., Battisti C., Luiselli L., Boitani L. 2009 — Area-sensitivity of three reed bed bird species breeding in Mediterranean marshland fragments — Wetl. Ecol. Manag. 17: 555–564.
• [4] Boileau N., Barbier L. 1997 — Étude sur la reproduction et suivi d'une population nicheuse de Blongios nain Ixobrychus minutus sur les étangs du Romelaëre (Pas-de-Calais, France) en 1996 — Alauda, 65: 343–350 (English summary).
• [5] Bozic I. A. 1992 — [Breeding biology of Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus at Draga Ponds near Ig] — Acrocephalus, 13: 76–84 (in Slovenian, English summary).
• [6] Cempulik P. 1994 — [Population trends, breeding biology and ecology of Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus at fish ponds and industrials reservoirs in Upper Silesia, Poland] — Vogelwelt, 115: 19–27 (in German, English summary).
• [7] Cramp S., Simmons K. E. L. 1977 — The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks — Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 255–260.
• [8] Czyż B., Borowiec M., Wasińska A., Pawliszko R., Mazur K. 2012 — Breeding-season dispersal of male and female Penduline Tits (Remiz pendulinus) in south-western Poland — Ornis Fennica, 89: 216–221.
• [9] Dobrowolski K. A. 1995 — [Environmental-economic evaluation of fish ponds in Poland] — IUCN Poland, Warszawa, pp. 29–33 (in Polish, English summary).
• [10] ESRI 2006 — ArcGIS, version 9.2. Environmental Systems Research Institute — Redlands, CA. www.esri.com.
• [11] Flis A., Betleja J. 2015 — [Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus] (In: [Monitoring of breeding birds. Methodological guide. Second ed.] Eds: P. Chylarecki, A. Sikora, Z. Cenian, T. Chodkiewicz) — GIOŚ, Warszawa, pp. 349–353 (in Polish).
• [12] Johnson D. H. 2001 — Habitat fragmentation effects on birds in grasslands and wetlands: a critique of our knowledge — Great Plains Res. 11: 211–231.
• [13] Ketterson E. D., Nolan V. 1994 — Male parental behavior in birds — Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 25: 601–628.
• [14] Kloskowski J. 2009 — Size-structured effects of common carp on reproduction of pond-breeding amphibians — Hydrobiologia, 635: 205–213.
• [15] Kloskowski J., Grela P., Gąska M. 2012 — The role of male nest building in post-mating sexual selection in the monogamous red-necked grebe — Behaviour, 149: 81–98.
• [16] Kushlan J. A., Hafner H. 2000 — Heron conservation — Academic Press, London, pp. 20–28.
• [17] Kushlan J. A., Hancock J. A. 2005 — The Herons — Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 313–319.
• [18] Langley C. H. 1983 — Biology of the Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus payesii) in the Southwestern Cape (South Africa) — Ostrich, 54: 83–94.
• [19] Leibowitz S. G. 2003 — Isolated wetlands and their functions: an ecological perspective — Wetlands, 23: 517–531.
• [20] Marion L. 1997 — Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus (In: The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds: Their Distribution and Abundance, Eds: W. J. M. Hagemeijer, M. J. Blair) — T.& A.D. Poyser, London, pp. 42–43.
• [21] Marion L., Barbier L., Morin C. 2006 — [Status of Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus in France between 1968 and 2004 and causes of population changes] — Alauda, 7: 155–170 (in French, English summary).
• [22] Martin T. E. 1993 — Nest predation and nest sites: New perspectives on old pattern — BioScience, 43: 523–532.
• [23] Martinez-Abrain A. 1994 — [Notes on the biology of Little Bittern Ixobrychus m. minutus during the breeding season in eastern Spain] — Ardeola, 41: 169–171 (in Spanish).
• [24] Martinez-Vilalta J., Bertolero A., Bigas D., Paquet J-Y., Martinez-Vilalta A. 2002 — Habitat selection of passerine birds nesting in the Ebro Delta reed beds (NE Spain): Management Implications — Wetlands, 22: 318–325.
• [25] Morin C., Bommé S. 2006 — [Methodological contribution to monitoring Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus in fish farming areas] — Alauda, 74: 143–150 (in French, English summary).
• [26] Paracuellos M. 2008 — Effects of long-term habitat fragmentation on a wetland bird community — Rev. Ecol. 63: 1–12.
• [27] Pardo-Cervera F., Sorensen I. H., Jensen C., Ruiz X., Sanchez-Alonso C. 2010 — Breeding biology of the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus in the Ebro Delta (NE Spain) — Ardeola, 57: 407–416.
• [28] Pezzo F., Benocci A. 2001 — Spatial behaviour of the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus, implications for conservation — Avocetta, 25: 78.
• [29] Polak M. 2007 — Nest-site selection and nest predation in the Great Bittern Botaurus stellaris population in eastern Poland — Ardea, 95: 31–38.
• [30] Polak M., Kasprzykowski Z., Kucharczyk M. 2008 — Micro-habitat nest preferences of the great bittern, Botaurus stellaris, on fishponds in central-eastern Poland — Ann. Zool. Fennici 45: 102–108.
• [31] Samraoui F., Nedjah R., Boucheker A., Alfarhan A. H., Samraoui B. 2012 — Breeding ecology of the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus in northeast Algeria — Bird Study, 1: 1–8.
• [32] Saunders D. A., Hobbs R. J., Margules C. R. 1991 — Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review — Conserv. Biol. 5: 18–32.
• [33] Semlitsch R. D., Bodie J. R. 1998 — Are small, isolated wetlands expendable? — Conserv. Biol. 12: 1129–1133.
• [34] Soler J. J., Møller A. P., Soler M. 1998 — Nest building, sexual selection and parental investment — Evol. Ecol. 12: 427–441.
• [35] StatSoft Inc. 2011 — Statistica (data analysis software system), version 10. www.statsoft.com.
• [36] Szlivka A. 1958 — The little bittern breeding in a colony — Aquila, 65: 339.
• [37] Tscharntke T. 1992 — Fragmentation of Phragmites habitats, minimum viable population size, habitat suitability, and local extinction of moths, midges, flies, aphids and birds — Conserv. Biol. 6: 530–536.
• [38] Tyler G. A., Smith K. W., Burges D. J. 1998 — Reedbed management and breeding Bitterns Botaurus stellaris in the UK — Biol. Conserv. 86: 257–266.
• [39] Voisin C. 1991 — The Herons of Europe — T.&A.D. Poyser, London, pp. 75–93.
• [40] Walsh P. T., Hansell M., Borello W. D., Healy S. D. 2010 — Repeatability of nest morphology in African weaver birds — Biol. Lett. 6: 149–151.
• [41] Wesołowski T. 1983 — The breeding ecology and behaviour of Wrens Troglodytes troglodytes under primaeval and secondary conditions — Ibis, 125: 499–515.

Uwagi

Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.