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High nest survival and productivity of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus breeding on urban brownfield sites

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Abstract

The breeding ecology of Northern Lapwings is well understood, but little attention has been paid to industrial habitat in urban conglomerations. We compared nest survival and productivity in a large urban Northern Lapwing population breeding on brownfield sites on an industrial estate to estimates from colonies in intensively used arable habitats and those from pastures managed for conservation. Overall nest survival was significantly higher at the industrial site (0.78) compared to arable habitats (0.45) and pastures (0.32). Daily nest survival rate was positively correlated with colony density at the industrial site, but not in the agricultural habitats. Productivity was high at the industrial site (0.74–1.03 chicks per female), but much lower at the arable (0.15 chicks per female) and pasture (0.40 chicks per female) sites. Agricultural operations and predation accounted for similar proportions of clutch losses at the arable sites, while predation was the main cause of clutch losses at the pasture sites. We suggest that the population at the industrial site benefitted from a lack of nest losses to agricultural operations and low predation levels. In Central Europe, brownfield sites can hold significant Northern Lapwing populations. With recent strong Europe-wide population declines attributed to management changes in agriculture and high predation levels in the open landscape, urban brownfield sites might support declining populations in arable habitats and buffer extinction risk locally. As agri-environment schemes have been unsuccessful in slowing down the declines in farmland birds, including Northern Lapwings, we suggest including “marginal” habitat when developing management options outside protected areas, where higher breeding success could lead to higher impact at a comparatively low cost.

Zusammenfassung

Hoher Nesterfolg und Produktivität von Kiebitzen Vanellus vanellus auf Industriebrachen

Die Brutökologie des Kiebitzes ist gut untersucht, doch bisher fehlen Studien aus urbanen Räumen, wo Kiebitzpopulationen Industriebrachen und Bauerwartungsland besiedeln. Wir untersuchten wie sich Schlupferfolg und Produktivität der Art auf Industriebrachen, intensiv genutzten Äckern und Grünland unterschieden. Die Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit der Gelege war auf den Industriebrachen signifikant höher (0,78) als auf Ackerflächen (0,45) und im Grünland (0,32). Eine höhere Koloniedichte hatte für Gelege auf Industriebrachen einen positiven Einfluss auf die Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit, nicht aber in den landwirtschaftlich genutzten Habitaten. Gelege gingen in der Agrarlandschaft vor allem aufgrund von Feldbearbeitung und Prädation verloren. Die Produktivität war auf Industriebrachen ebenfalls höher (0, 74–1,03 flügge Junge pro Weibchen) als auf Ackerflächen (0, 15) und im Grünland (0,40). Den vergleichsweise hohen Schlupf- und Bruterfolg auf Industriebrachen erklären wir mit ausbleibenden Verlusten durch Feldbearbeitung und möglicherweise geringeren Prädationsraten in urbanen Räumen. Aufgrund des geringen Bruterfolgs ist es fraglich, ob die untersuchten Populationen auf Äckern und im Grünland ohne Immigration über einen längeren Zeitraum fortbestehen können, während dies für die urbane Population auf Industriebrachen möglich scheint. Industriebrachen können in Mitteleuropa bedeutende Anteile lokaler Kiebitzpopulationen beherbergen. Da die starken Rückgänge der Art in ganz Europa überwiegend auf eine intensivierte landwirtschaftliche Nutzung und hohe Prädationsraten in der Agrarlandschaft zurückgeführt werden, halten wir Industriebrachen für geeignete temporäre Rückzugsräume, die durch die dort erzielten höheren Bruterfolge Populationen der umgebenden Agrarlandschaft stützen können. Schutzmaßnahmen in der Agrarlandschaft, wie Agrar-Umweltprogramme, konnten den Rückgang der Kiebitzbestände bisher nicht aufhalten. Innovative Ansätze zum Bestandmanagement in industriellen Habitaten könnten daher Schutzmaßnahmen in der Agrarlandschaft wirkungsvoll ergänzen.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Anja Hüsing, Konstantin Lebus, Annika and Jan Ole Kriegs, Alfons Pelster and Johannes Wahl for help with fieldwork, and Herbert Zucchi and Armin Deutsch for additional support. Herbert Schlicht and Ann Grösch provided information on Northern Lapwings breeding at brownfield sites in Fürth (Bavaria). We are also grateful to Paul F. Donald and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Johannes Kamp & Petra Dieker

  2. Brinker Damm 21a, 48291, Telgte, Germany

    Anneka Pelster

  3. Emdener Str. 2, 48155, Münster, Germany

    Lars Gaedicke

  4. Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten e.V. (DDA), An den Speichern 6, 48157, Münster, Germany

    Johanna Karthäuser

  5. Konsul-Schencking-Str. 9, 48165, Münster, Germany

    Kristian Mantel

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  1. Johannes Kamp
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Correspondence to Johannes Kamp.

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Communicated by O. Krüger.

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Kamp, J., Pelster, A., Gaedicke, L. et al. High nest survival and productivity of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus breeding on urban brownfield sites. J Ornithol 156, 179–190 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-014-1114-0

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