Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Part I The complexity of patterns and processes
- Part II Case studies of habitat use and selection
- Chapter Eight Spatial variation and habitat relationships in moorland bird assemblages: a British perspective
- Chapter Nine Arctic-alpine mountain birds in northern Europe: contrasts between specialists and generalists
- Chapter Ten Bird–habitat relationships in reedswamps and fens
- Chapter Eleven Breeding waders on wet grassland: factors influencing habitat suitability
- Chapter Twelve Processes influencing bird use of estuarine mudflats and saltmarshes in western Europe
- Chapter Thirteen Avian habitat use on the non-estuarine intertidal coast
- Chapter Fourteen Temperate western European woodland as a dynamic environment for birds: a resource-based view
- Part III Wider perspectives
- Species index
- Subject index
- References
Chapter Ten - Bird–habitat relationships in reedswamps and fens
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2012
Edited by
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Part I The complexity of patterns and processes
- Part II Case studies of habitat use and selection
- Chapter Eight Spatial variation and habitat relationships in moorland bird assemblages: a British perspective
- Chapter Nine Arctic-alpine mountain birds in northern Europe: contrasts between specialists and generalists
- Chapter Ten Bird–habitat relationships in reedswamps and fens
- Chapter Eleven Breeding waders on wet grassland: factors influencing habitat suitability
- Chapter Twelve Processes influencing bird use of estuarine mudflats and saltmarshes in western Europe
- Chapter Thirteen Avian habitat use on the non-estuarine intertidal coast
- Chapter Fourteen Temperate western European woodland as a dynamic environment for birds: a resource-based view
- Part III Wider perspectives
- Species index
- Subject index
- References
Summary
This chapter focuses on the habitat relationships of birds that are closely associated with reedswamps and fens in western Europe. These are normally waterlogged habitats with vegetation frequently dominated by tall robust plant species. They embrace an extremely diverse range of ecological conditions, often described by tortuous technical terminology. Classification systems struggle to capture the fluid and fragile nature of these dynamic environments that change through time with hydroseral succession and frequently grade into one another in space. Water chemistry and the physical processes that create the waterlogged conditions underpin much of the complex variation in plant communities (e.g. Rodwell, 1995). Using British examples, this section introduces the variety of habitat types which, although generally very localised, support highly distinctive bird assemblages.
‘Reedbeds’ are dominated mainly by common reed Phragmites australis. The term ‘reedswamp’ refers to the wettest reedbeds, with at least 20 cm or more of standing water throughout the year. Early successional areas may be dominated by Typha latifolia, T. angustifolia or Schoenoplectus lacustris (Rodwell, 1995). Reedswamp may develop from open water, into swamp, then to waterlogged woodland (‘carr’) and eventually to relatively dry woodland. This succession is only arrested by grazing or cutting, or natural disturbance such as severe winter flooding. Reedswamp is not necessarily confined to peat-based, water-retentive soils; it can rapidly colonise mineral extraction sites, natural lake margins and estuaries with a variety of substrates. Reedbeds are relatively rare in Britain: a total of 5000 ha was recorded in 1993, with only 50 sites larger than 20 ha (Gilbert et al., 1996). Recent creation and restoration projects are substantially increasing reedbed area. For example, three newly created sites in Somerset, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire will eventually provide at least another 1000 ha.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Birds and HabitatRelationships in Changing Landscapes, pp. 253 - 277Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012
References
2002 Il tarabuso ed il suo habitat: riflessi sul comportamento spaziale e riproduttivoUniversity of PisaGoogle Scholar
2004 Factors affecting Bittern distribution in a Mediterranean wetlandBird Conserv. Int. 14 153CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1996 The role of territory choice, mate choice and arrival date on breeding success in the Savi’s Warbler J. Avian Biol. 27 143CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1982 Polygamy in the Marsh harrier, : individual variation in hunting performance and number of matesBehaviour 79 272CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2006 Factors influencing occurrence of passerines in the reed archipelago of Lake Velence (Hungary)Acta Ornithol. 41 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1998 Factors influencing the occurrence of Great White Egret (), Mallard (), Marsh Harrier () and Coot () in the reed archipelago of Lake Velence, HungaryEkol. Bratislava 17 384Google Scholar
1999 Species-specific distribution of reed-nesting passerine birds across reed-bed edges: effects of spatial scale and edge typeActa Zool. Hung. 45 97Google Scholar
1962 The occurrence and breeding biology of the Spotted Crake in northeastern ScaniaVår Fågelvärld 21 253Google Scholar
1983 Food and fattening of migrating warblers in some French marshlandsRing. Migr. 4 175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1982 Conservation of reed beds and their avifauna in England and WalesBiol. Conserv. 23 167CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1999 The European research project on reed die-back and progression (EUREED)Limnologia 29 5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2001 A plant trait analysis of responses to grazing in a long-term experimentJ. Appl. Ecol. 38 253Google Scholar
1995 Reedbeds, fens and acid bogsManaging Habitats for Conservation149CambridgeCambridge University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
1974 Habitat selection and breeding success in the reed warbler ()J. Anim. Ecol. 43 363CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1998 Post-breeding and post-fledging movements in the reed warbler () and sedge warbler () depend on food abundanceOrnis Svecica 8 77Google Scholar
1992 The Birds of the Western Palearctic Volumes V and VIOxfordOxford University PressGoogle Scholar
1997 Reproduction of the Marsh Harrier in recent land reclamations in the NetherlandsArdea 85 37Google Scholar
2000 Population changes in European herons in relation to African climateOstrich 71 52CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1999 Dutch Sedge Warblers and West-African rainfall: empirical data and simulation modelling show low population resilience in fragmented marshlandsArdea 87 113Google Scholar
2000 Understanding the role of sink patches in source-sink metapopulations: reed warbler in an agricultural landscapeConserv. Biol. 14 1881CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1986 Populations of breeding waders (Charadrii) and their habitats on the crofting lands of the Outer HebridesBiol. Conserv. 37 333CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2002 The status and habitat of Spotted Crake in Britain in 1999Bird Study 49 79CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2007 The influence of habitat management on the breeding success of the Great Bittern in BritainIbis 149 53CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2005 Nesting habitat selection by Bitterns in Britain and the implications for wetland managementBiol. Conserv. 124 547CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2005 Behaviour, home-range size and habitat use by male Great Bittern in BritainIbis 147 533CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1998 Reed die back, water level management and the decline of the Great Reed Warbler in The NetherlandsArdea 86 187Google Scholar
1999 Effects of reed cutting on density and breeding success of Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler J. Avian Biol. 30 469CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1997 An alternative route to coloniality in the Bearded Tit: Females pursue extra-pair fertilizationsBehav. Ecol. 8 113CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2007 Wetland Vision Technical Document: Overview and Reporting of Project Philosophy and Technical ApproachSandyEngland Wetland Vision PartnershipGoogle Scholar
1981 Dabbling duck and aquatic macroinvertebrate responses to manipulated wetland habitatJ. Wildlife Manage. 45 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1978 Bruchwasserlaeufer und Waldwasserlaeufer und Wittenberg LutherstadtA. Ziemsen VerlagGoogle Scholar
1989 Habitat, behaviour and morphology of warblers: an integrated analysisOrnis Scand. 20 181CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2006 Long-term dynamics of breeding birds in broad-leaved deciduous forest on Hanikatsi Island in the West-Estonian archipelagoOrnis Fennica 83 124Google Scholar
1996 Response of ducks to glyphosate-induced habitat alterations in wetlandsWetlands 16 38CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1996 Responses of red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds and marsh wrens to glyphosate-induced alterations in cattail densityJ. Field Ornithol. 67 167Google Scholar
2007 Delayed reproduction amongst great bitterns breeding in rice fieldsBird Study 54 254CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2000
1999
1996 Variation in seed production and germinability in common reed () in Britain and France with respect to climateNew Phytol. 133 233CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2006 Biodiversity management of fens and fen meadows by grazing, cutting and burningAppl. Veg. Sci. 9 307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2001 Wetland status and trends in Europe. The case for rehabilitation and restoration of naturally functioning wetlandsThe Role of Wetlands in River Basin ManagementCopenhagenWWFGoogle Scholar
2001 A landscape approach to conserving wetland bird habitat in the prairie pothole region of Eastern South DakotaWetlands 21 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2008 Timing of breeding habitat preference and reproductive success of Marsh Harriers Biologia 63 261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1989 Die-back’ of reeds in Europe – a critical review of literatureAquat. Bot. 35 5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2006 Relationships of songbird occupation with habitat configuration and bird abundance in patchy reed bedsArdea 94 87Google Scholar
2004 Factors affecting the distribution of a waterbird community: the role of habitat configuration and bird abundanceWaterbirds 27 446CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2008 Small and large wetland fragments are equally suited breeding sites for a ground nesting passerineOecologia 156 703CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2006 The effect of age and sex on wing morphology and body size of the bearded tit in relation to complete moultRing. Migr. 23 101CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1996 Family Scolopacidae (snipes, sandpipers and phalaropes)Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 3444BarcelonaLynx EdicionsGoogle Scholar
2010 The need for future wetland bird studies: scales of habitat use as input for ecological restoration and spatial water managementArdea 98 403CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2007 Nest-site selection and nest predation in the Great Bittern population in eastern PolandArdea 95 31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2008 Micro-habitat nest preferences of the great bittern on fish ponds in central Eastern EuropeAnn. Zool. Fenn. 45 102CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2007 The invasive Louisiana red-swamp crayfish as a predictor of Eurasian bittern density in the Camargue, FranceJ. Zool. 273 98CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2005 Habitat selection by booming Bitterns in French Mediterranean reed-bedsOryx 39 265CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2002 Habitat requirements of passerines and reedbed management in southern FranceBiol. Conserv. 107 315CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2005 Man induced habitat changes and sensitive species: a GIS approach to the Eurasian Bittern () in a Mediterranean wetlandBiodivers. Conserv. 14 1909CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2005 The importance of tail length for habitat use in the bearded tit : an experimental studyIbis 147 464CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1985 Birds on reserves: the influence of area and habitat on species richnessJ. Appl. Ecol. 22 327CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1995 British Plant Communities. Vol. 4: Aquatic Communities, Swamps and Tall-herb FensCambridgeCambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
1999 Habitat use and mating systems of the Corncrake and Spotted CrakeÖkol. Vögel 21 1Google Scholar
2004 Nest site selection by Marsh Harrier ( in the shore belt of helophytes on large lakesActa Zool. Lituanica 14 47CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2003 A survey of the Bearded Tit during the non-breeding season in a landscape of western PolandActa Ornithol. 38 53CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2007 On habitat selection of the Marsh Harrier () in the agricultural region (SW Slovakia, the Danubian lowland)Acta Zool. Univ. Comenianae 47 57Google Scholar
2006 Reedbed structure and habitat preference of reed passerines during the post-breeding periodBiologia 61 225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2008 The effect of reed cutting on the abundance and diversity of breeding passerinesActa Zool. Hung. 54 177Google Scholar
2006 Seasonal changes in bird species diversity at the interface between forest and reed-bedBiodivers. Conserv. 15 3459CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2008 The impact of reed management on wildlife: A meta-analytical review of European studiesBiol. Conserv. 141 364CrossRefGoogle Scholar
1986 Habitat choice and temporal differentiation in reed passerines of a Dutch marshArdea 74 159Google Scholar
2010 Long-term population developments in typical marshland birds in The NetherlandsArdea 98 283CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2003 Species richness-productivity patterns differ between N-, P- and K- limited wetlandsEcology 84 2191CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2001 Introducing the key patch approach for habitat networks with persistent populations: an example for marshland birdsBiol. Conserv. 100 103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2008 Viability of meta-populations of wetland birds in a fragmented landscape: testing the key-patch approachBiodivers. Conserv. 17 2263CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2005 Changes in the breeding bird fauna, waterbird populations in particular, on Lake Engure (Latvia) over the last 50 yearsActa Zool. Lituanica 15 188CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2006 Impact of an exceptional winter flood on the population dynamics of bearded tits ()Anim. Conserv. 9 463CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2004 Causes and consequences of invasive plants in wetlands: opportunities, opportunists, and outcomesCrit. Rev. Plant Sci. 23 431CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 1
- Cited by