Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
Oecologia. 2020 Apr;192(4):865-878. doi: 10.1007/s00442-020-04611-1. Epub 2020 Feb 6.
Restoration plantings are frequently occupied by native wildlife, but little is known about how planting attributes influence breeding by, and persistence of, fauna populations. We monitored breeding success of woodland birds in restoration plantings in a fragmented agricultural landscape in south-eastern Australia. We documented nest fate and daily nest survival (DSR) in plantings and remnant woodland sites. We analysed the influence on breeding success of patch attributes (size, shape, type) compared to other potentially influential predictors such as nest-site and microhabitat variables. We found that, in general, patch attributes did not play a significant role in determining breeding success for woodland birds. However, we examined a subset of species of conservation concern, and found higher DSR for these species in restoration plantings than in similarly sized woodland remnants. We also found negative effects of patch size and linearity on DSR in species of conservation concern. The primary cause of nest failure was predation (91%). We used camera trap imagery to identify the most common nest predators in our study sites: native predatory bird species, and the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Our findings are further evidence of the value of restoration plantings and small habitat patches for bird populations in fragmented agricultural landscapes. We recommend controlling for foxes to maximise the likelihood that restoration plantings and other woodland patches in Australia support breeding populations of woodland birds. More broadly, our study highlights the importance of taking a detailed, population-oriented approach to understanding factors that influence habitat suitability for fauna of conservation concern.
修复种植区经常被本地野生动物占据，但对于种植属性如何影响动物种群的繁殖和持续存在，人们知之甚少。我们监测了澳大利亚东南部破碎化农业景观中修复种植区的林地鸟类的繁殖成功率。我们记录了种植区和残留林地中鸟巢的命运和每日巢存活率（DSR）。我们分析了斑块属性（大小、形状、类型）对繁殖成功率的影响，以及与巢位和微生境变量等其他潜在影响因素的比较。我们发现，一般来说，斑块属性并不能决定林地鸟类的繁殖成功率。然而，我们研究了一组具有保护意义的物种，发现这些物种在修复种植区的 DSR 高于同等大小的林地残余物。我们还发现，斑块大小和线性度对具有保护意义的物种的 DSR 有负面影响。巢失败的主要原因是捕食（91%）。我们使用相机陷阱图像来确定我们研究地点中最常见的巢捕食者：本地掠食性鸟类物种和引入的红狐（Vulpes vulpes）。我们的研究结果进一步证明了修复种植区和小栖息地斑块对破碎化农业景观中鸟类种群的价值。我们建议控制狐狸的数量，以最大限度地提高修复种植区和澳大利亚其他林地斑块支持林地鸟类繁殖种群的可能性。更广泛地说，我们的研究强调了采取详细的、面向种群的方法来理解影响具有保护意义的动物栖息地适宜性的因素的重要性。
