Identifying how restoration measures influence the presence of shorebirds: a case study on the use of artificial structures for restoring mussel reefs
Schotanus, J.; Walles, B.; Capelle, J.J.; van de Koppel, J.; Bouma, T.J. (2023). Identifying how restoration measures influence the presence of shorebirds: a case study on the use of artificial structures for restoring mussel reefs. Restor. Ecol. 32(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.14051
In: Restoration Ecology. Blackwell: Cambridge, Mass.. ISSN 1061-2971; e-ISSN 1526-100X, more
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| Author keywords |
artificial structures; curlew; mussel; oystercatcher; restoration; shorebird |
| Authors | | Top |
- Schotanus, J.
- Walles, B., more
- Capelle, J.J.
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- van de Koppel, J., more
- Bouma, T.J., more
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| Abstract |
Artificial structures are often used as a tool for habitat restoration and the recreation of degraded coastal ecosystems and theirassociated food webs. However, it is often unknown if and how these artificial structures may influence the habitat use of targetspecies, thereby hampering restoration goals. In this study, we test how artificial barriers, deployed to enhance the creation ofan intertidal mussel bed, influenced the mussel-habitat use by two bird species under pressure, Eurasian oystercatchers andEurasian curlews. Average bird presence was monitored using time-lapse camera’s from the start of the mussel bed restorationin August 2018 until April 2019. We found that in thefirst few months of the experiment, both oystercatchers and curlewsavoided the restored mussel beds containing artificial structures in the form of metal barriers that act as traps for dislodgedmussels. Thereafter, the presence of barriers had no negative influence on the average presence of oystercatchers or curlews.In fact, curlews were significantly attracted to the mussel beds with barriers in January and February. In addition, we founda negative effect of the presence of European herring gulls on the presence of oystercatchers and curlews. The higher herringgull densities in thefirst 2 months of the experiment might explain the lower-than-expected curlew and oystercatcher densitiesobserved in August. To our knowledge, no other studies have investigated the effect of artificial restoration structures on theabundance or habitat use of specific shorebirds. |
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