Relationships between patterns of habitat cover and the historical distribution of the Marsh Tit, Willow Tit and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Britain

Spatial analysis of remotely-sensed land cover data in conjunction with species distribution atlases can reveal large-scale relationships between animal taxa and their habitats. We investigated the historical distribution patterns of three declining woodland birds, the Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris), Willow Tit (Poecile montana) and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor), in relation to a parsimonious landscape metric for describing habitat availability in Britain. Bird distributions were derived from two field-based atlas surveys, conducted in 1968–1972 and 1988–1991, and used to classify areas of the landscape for each species as retained, lost or gained between atlas periods, or unoccupied in both. We used remotely-sensed land cover data from 1990 to compare percentage habitat cover between landscape areas classified by bird occupation, and regional summary data from national woodland inventories to investigate changes in habitat cover and bird distributions. Percentage habitat cover was a sufficient landscape metric to explain the distribution pattern of all three bird species; habitat cover was greatest in areas where each species was retained between atlas surveys, significantly less in areas from which species were lost, and least in areas that remained unoccupied. Reductions in Marsh Tit distribution were less in regions that showed greater increases in habitat cover, but there was no such relationship for other species. Results indicated that spatial studies could be used to infer aspects of the spatial ecology of species where field data is lacking: by comparing distribution patterns with the relatively well-studied Marsh Tit, we found support for the assumption that the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker occupies very large territories in Britain, and provided evidence that the spatial habitat requirements of the Marsh Tit could be used as a proxy for the data-poor Willow Tit. The results showed that the habitat cover required to retain each species in the landscape had increased over time, illustrating how spatial studies can be used to identify priorities for further research and suggest conservation measures for declining species, and these are discussed.

[1]  Robin Fuller,et al.  Indices of bird-habitat preference from field surveys of birds and remote sensing of land cover: a study of south-eastern England with wider implications for conservation and biodiversity assessment , 2005 .

[2]  Simon Gillings,et al.  Habitat selection by Skylarks Alauda arvensis wintering in Britain in 1997/98 , 2001 .

[3]  J. Gilbert,et al.  National inventory of woodland and trees: Great Britain. , 2003 .

[4]  Simon Gillings,et al.  Bird distributions relative to remotely sensed habitats in Great Britain: towards a framework for national modelling. , 2007, Journal of environmental management.

[5]  Shelley A. Hinsley,et al.  Dispersal, ranging and settling behaviour of Marsh Tits Poecile palustris in a fragmented landscape in lowland England , 2010 .

[6]  Andrew M. Wilson,et al.  Nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos in scrub habitats in the southern fens of East Anglia, England: associations with soil type and vegetation structure , 2005 .

[7]  Paul Opdam,et al.  Metapopulation theory and habitat fragmentation: a review of holarctic breeding bird studies , 1991, Landscape Ecology.

[8]  Shelley A. Hinsley,et al.  Woodland birds in patchy landscapes: the evidence base for strategic networks , 2007 .

[9]  M. Moran.  Arguments for rejecting the sequential Bonferroni in ecological studies , 2003 .

[10]  Richard A. Wadsworth,et al.  Monitoring landscape change , 2007 .

[11]  Paul Opdam,et al.  Bird communities in small woods in an agricultural landscape: Effects of area and isolation , 1984 .

[12]  Ola Olsson,et al.  Seasonal variation in home-range size, and habitat area requirement of the lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor) in southern Sweden , 2001 .

[13]  Paul M. Dolman,et al.  Experimental evidence that deer browsing reduces habitat suitability for breeding Common Nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos , 2010 .

[14]  J. T.R. Sharrock,et al.  The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland , 1980 .

[15]  Graeme M. Buchanan,et al.  Identifying Priority Areas for Conservation: A Global Assessment for Forest-Dependent Birds , 2011, PloS one.

[16]  Shelley A. Hinsley,et al.  Bird species turnover and stochastic extinction in woodland fragments , 1995 .

[17]  G. Des Forges,et al.  The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland . Compiled by J. T. R. Sharrock for the British Trust for Ornithology. Poyser, Berkhamsted, £10. - Minsmere , by Herbert Axell. Hutchinson, £7.50. , 1977, Oryx.

[18]  H. Southern,et al.  The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Vol. IV. Terns to Woodpeckers , 1986 .

[19]  Peter Rothery,et al.  The UK land cover map 2000: Planning, construction and calibration of a remotely sensed, user-oriented map of broad habitats , 2005 .

[20]  H. Nagendra.  Using remote sensing to assess biodiversity , 2001 .

[21]  Jeremy J. D. Greenwood,et al.  Assessing changes in distribution from atlas data : reply to Bircham and Jordan , 2008 .

[22]  P. Donald,et al.  Habitat selection and population size of Corn Buntings Miliaria calandra breeding in Britain in 1993 , 1995 .

[23]  Kevin J. Gaston,et al.  Large‐scale dynamics in colonization and extinction for breeding birds in Britain , 2002 .

[24]  Ian Newton,et al.  The recent declines of farmland bird populations in britain : An appraisal of causal factors and conservation actions , 2004 .

[25]  Stephen R. Baillie,et al.  Agricultural land‐use and the spatial distribution of granivorous lowland farmland birds , 2000 .

[26]  Richard A. Wadsworth,et al.  Final Report for LCM2007 - the new UK land cover map. Countryside Survey Technical Report No 11/07 , 2011 .

[27]  J. Lawton,et al.  Range, population abundance and conservation. , 1993, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[28]  R. Fuller,et al.  Ornithological atlas data: a review of uses and limitations , 1998 .

[29]  Ken W. Smith,et al.  Characteristics of woods used recently and historically by Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos minor in England. , 2010 .

[30]  P. Donald,et al.  Local extinction of British farmland birds and the prediction of further loss , 2000 .

[31]  Richard T. Holmes,et al.  Understanding population change in migratory songbirds: long-term and experimental studies of Neotropical migrants in breeding and wintering areas , 2007 .

[32]  Shelley A. Hinsley,et al.  Patterns of nest placement in a population of Marsh Tits Poecile palustris , 2011, Journal of Ornithology.

[33]  C. Perrins,et al.  Birds of the Western Palearctic , 1978, Nature.

[34]  A. Jones,et al.  The Land Cover Map of Great Britain: an automated classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper data , 1994 .

[35]  Gareth Jones,et al.  The new atlas of breeding birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-1991 , 1993 .

[36]  Richard K. Broughton,et al.  Mapping the understorey of deciduous woodland from leaf-on and leaf-off airborne LiDAR data: A case study in lowland Britain , 2009 .

[37]  Andrew F. Bennett,et al.  Landscape-level thresholds of habitat cover for woodland-dependent birds , 2005 .

[38]  J. Greenwood,et al.  Spatial patterns of range contraction in British breeding birds , 2001 .

[39]  Peter Rothery,et al.  Habitat selection by Marsh Tits Poecile palustris in the UK , 2007 .

[40]  Mary Ann Cunningham,et al.  Seeking Parsimony in Landscape Metrics , 2011 .

[41]  Hans Gelter,et al.  The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. VI. Warblers Stanley Cramp The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. VII. Flycatchers to Shrikes Stanley Cramp C. M. Perrins , 1994 .

[42]  L. Fahrig.  Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Biodiversity , 2003 .