Habitat selection of the Eurasian woodcock in winter in relation to earthworms availability |
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Authors: | Olivier Duriez,Yves Ferrand,Franç oise Binet,Franç ois Gossmann |
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Affiliation: | a Laboratoire d’Ecologie, UMR 7625, bâtiment A, 7éme étage, case 237, 7 quai St Bernard, Université Paris 6, 75005 Paris, France b Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, CNERA Avifaune Migratrice, Station de Chizé, Beauvoir-sur-Niort, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France c Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, CNERA Avifaune Migratrice, 5 rue de St-Thibaut, BP 20 St-Benoist, 78612 Le-Perray-en-Yvelines cedex, France d CNRS - Université de Rennes I, UMR 6553, Ecobio 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, Bât 14B, CS 74205, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France e Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, CNERA Avifaune Migratrice, 53 rue Russeil, 44000 Nantes, France f CNRS - Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UPR 1934, BP 14, 79360 Beauvoir-sur-Niort, France |
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Abstract: | The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is a game species experiencing high hunting pressure, long-term modifications of its habitats, and with questions regarding its current conservation status. Winter is a season of highest concentration of birds and hunting pressure but woodcock precise habitat requirements are poorly known. It is crucial to assess threats and to develop sustainable management options for the conservation of woodcock populations. During three consecutive winters, we monitored 65 individual woodcocks fitted with radio-tags in Brittany, France. Habitat selection was analysed using GIS and compositional analysis, in relation to vegetation types, soil variables (humus types) and the abundance of their main prey (earthworms). Woodcocks used different habitats diurnally and nocturnally, generally preferring areas with high earthworm biomass. Diurnal habitat selection in forests was associated with humus type (preference for mulls, rich in earthworms) and dense shrub strata (better protection). Hedges with a high density of trees and shrub were also important habitat. At night, grazed meadows were the preferred habitat, containing five times higher biomass of earthworms compared to cultivated fields. Sustainable management of populations requires protection and management of habitats that incorporates food and cover. Forestry practices should preserve rich humus types and coppices by choosing tree species that ameliorate the soil and soil tilling. Changes in landscapes and intensive agricultural practices are current threats to woodcock populations: destruction of hedges, decrease of permanent grazed meadows, impoverishment of soils fauna biomasses from ploughing and chemical applications. However, woodcocks may benefit from the recent development of set-asides, grass field-borders and simplified farm practices (no-tillage and direct sowing). |
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Keywords: | Compositional analysis Lumbricidae Habitat changes Scolopax rusticola Sustainable management |
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