| 1. |
- Edenius, Lars, et al.
(författare)
-
Landscape level effects of modern forestry on bird communities in North Swedish boreal forests
- 1996
-
Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - 0921-2973 .- 1572-9761. - 0921-2973 ; 11:6, s. 325-338
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We address effects of large-scale forestry on landscape structure and the structure and composition of boreal bird communities in North Sweden. Specifically, we ask: after controlling for the effect of patch size, forest age and tree species composition, is there any residual effect attributable to the reduction in area of old forest? Pairs of landscape blocks (25 by 25 km) were selected to maximize area difference in human-induced disturbance, clear-cut as opposed to semi-natural old forest. Median distance to natural edge (wetlands, open water) from randomly selected points in forest was 250 and 200 m in high and low impact landscapes, respectively, indicating a high degree of 'natural' fragmentation of the pristine boreal landscape in the area. By contrast, median distance to clear-cut in uncut forest was 750 and 100 m, respectively. Clear-cuts in high impact landscapes were disproportionally more common in areas with contiguous forest land than in areas with spatially disjunct forest, implicating that forestry increases natural fragmentation of the landscape by subdividing larger forest tracts. Point counts along forestry roads showed that species richness and relative abundance of forest birds were higher in landscapes with low forestry impact. These differences can partly be explained by differences in age composition of forest and composition of tree species. After controlling for patch size, forest age and tree species composition, a significant effect of forestry impact remained for Sibirian species and the Tree pipit Anthus trivialis. Our results thus imply that this group of species and the Tree pipit may be sensitive to forest fragmentation. In contrast to previous Finnish studies, we found relatively small negative effects on relative abundance of species hypothesized to be negatively affected by large-scale clear-cutting forestry. However, our picture of the present does not contradict results from Finnish long-term population studies. Five factors may account for this: 1) clear-cut areas are not permanently transformed into other land use types, 2) planted forests are not completely inhabitable for species preferring older forest, 3) the majority of species in the regional pool are habitat generalists, 4) the region studied is still extensively covered with semi-natural forest, and 5) our study area is relatively close to contiguous boreal forest in Russia, a potential source area for taiga species.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Elmberg, Johan, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
-
Interspecific interactions and co-existence in dabbling ducks : observations and an experiment
- 1997
-
Ingår i: Oecologia. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. - 0029-8549 ; 111:1, s. 129-136
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the possible role of resource limitation and interspecific competition in assemblages of dabbling ducks on breeding lakes in Finland and Sweden with observational and experimental data. After initial vegetation mapping and yearly censuses of ducks in 1985-1990, we collected observational data in 1991-1994 from 28 lakes with natural populations of mallard Anas platyrhynchos and teal A. crecca. Mallard and teal co-occur over vast areas in the Holarctic and they are the only breeding dabbling ducks on many oligotrophic lakes. Both species are migratory in our study regions, teal arriving later in spring than mallards. Log-linear model analysis of observational presence/absence data revealed a positive, not a negative, association between the species. This association was independent of habitat diversity as well as of lake size. Mallard-teal interaction was also studied in a cross-over introduction experiment in 32 other lakes in two years. Wing-clipped mallards were introduced to breeding lakes before the arrival of teal to induce resource limitation and interspecific competition, hypothesized to reduce lake use by teal. The density of mallard pairs on experimental lakes was 2.9-8.0 times higher than on controls, but there was no negative response by teal to the treatment. This is the first combined observational-experimental demonstration of lack of interspecific competition in waterfowl. Our results indicate that heterospecific attraction may affect species co-existence in dabbling ducks.
|
|
| 4. |
- Miaud, Claude, et al.
(författare)
-
Variations in life-history traits in the common frog Rana temporaria (Amphibia: Anura) : a literature review and new data from the French Alps
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Journal of Zoology. - 0952-8369 .- 1469-7998. - 0952-8369 ; 249:1, s. 61-73
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Life-history traits of Rana temporaria were studied in an alpine French population and in the literature. In the living frogs, mean adult body length was greater in females than in males. Sexual dimorphism in body length was 0.109 using Lovich & Gibbons (1992) formula, but tended to decrease with age. Age of adult frogs was assessed by skeletochronology, and age distribution was not significantly different between the sexes (range 4-15 years in males, 5-12 in females). Adult survival rate was about 0.80 in both sexes. Once maturity was reached, the total expected longevity was 6.1 years in males and 5.5 years in females. Age and body length were positively correlated in both sexes. The growth coefficient (K) was 0.47 in males, and 0.55 in females, mainly reflected as faster female growth between metamorphosis and maturation. Growth rate generally decreased before sexual maturity was reached. On average, females matured 1 year later than males. Newly metamorphosed froglets averaged 16.1 mm. When combined with published data from 12 European populations of R. temporaria, the following general patterns emerge. Mean adult body length is significantly greater in females than in males, and mean body length at maturity shows the same trend. Variation in mean age at maturity and in longevity are considerable among populations, but there is no consistent trend of difference between the sexes. Body length and age are correlated between males and females, i.e. populations with long and old males also have long and old females. Mean adult body length, mean body length at maturity, age at maturity, and longevity all increase with decreasing activity period. Adults exposed to a short activity period grow slower but attain a greater final length. Sexual dimorphism in body length generally increases as activity period gets shorter. Polygons describing norms of reaction for maturation in an age-body length space are similarly oriented in both sexes, but with a wider range in age for females. This is due to an older age at maturity for females in populations with a short activity season. Mean age and length at maturity are significantly correlated in females, but not in males, partly supporting the hypothesis that this species has a flexible pattern of development. Observed patterns are compared with predictions from life-history theory, paying attention to all life stages and environmental variation.
|
|
| 5. |
- Nummi, Petri, et al.
(författare)
-
Occurrence and density of mallard and green-winged teal in relation to prey size distribution and food abundance
- 1995
-
Ingår i: Annales Zoologici Fennici. - 0003-455X .- 1797-2450. - 0003-455X ; 32:4, s. 385-390
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied patterns of prey size and abundance among 60 lakes that differed with respect to occupancy by mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and teal (A. crecca crecca). Size distributions of prey in lakes with and without mallards did not differ in the way they deviated from the prey size distribution found in the average diet of the species; the same was true also for teal. However, in lakes with abundant food, average teal diet differed more from what was found in the environment than in lakes with less prey; in the mallard there were no differences in this respect. The densities of mallard and teal correlated positively rather than negatively with each other irrespective of food abundance, suggesting that interspecific competition, at least in ecological time, between the species may not be important in determing their abundance and distribution.
|
|
| 6. |
- Pöysä, Hannu, et al.
(författare)
-
Habitat selection rules in breeding mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) : a test of two competing hypotheses
- 1998
-
Ingår i: Oecologia. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. - 0029-8549 ; 114:2, s. 283-287
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ideal preemption and conspecific attraction are alternative hypotheses of the habitat selection rules used by individuals. According to the former an occupied site is assumed to be preempted and therefore not available for later arriving individuals, whereas according to the latter individuals are assumed to be attracted by conspecifics to occupied sites, rather than avoiding them. We studied these competing hypotheses in breeding mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) by a cross-over experiment in 2 years, introducing birds onto lakes before migratory wild mallards arrived. If mallards use the ideal preemptive rule, breeding density of wild mallards in experimental lakes should be lower and they should be occupied less frequently than control lakes, but if mallards use the conspecific attraction rule the reverse should be true. Our results allowed us to reject the ideal preemptive rule whereas the conspecific attraction rule was to some extent supported. We discuss these findings in relation to population limitation. The results suggest that the local breeding population studied is not limited by spacing behaviour related to habitat selection.
|
|
