NDLI: Nonlinear effects of distance to habitat edge on Sprague’s pipits in southern Alberta, Canada

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Koper, Nicola Walker, David J. Champagne, Janessa
Copyright Year	2009
Abstract	Effects of habitat edge may influence habitat quality, but landscape-scale implications of edge effects have rarely been quantified. Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii), a grassland obligate songbird, is declining rapidly throughout its range. Although habitat loss is implicated in the decline, the causes are not well understood. We conducted 290 point counts across a 120 × 130 km study area in southern Alberta, Canada, between 2000 and 2002, and used nonlinear regression to determine effects of distance to water, roads, and cropland or forage habitats on relative abundance of Sprague’s pipits. We then used a geographic information system (GIS) to determine the effect of edges on habitat suitability as indexed by relative abundance. Sprague’s pipit relative abundances declined by 25% from the maximum predicted relative abundance within 900 m (CI = 660–1,280) of croplands or forage crops, and 340 m (CI = 280–460) of wetlands, but there was no effect of roads. Fewer than 1% of grassland patches in the study area contained any habitat far enough away from edge that they would be predicted to support at least 75% of the relative abundance of pipits expected in the absence of edge effects. Only 33% of the landscape can support 75% or more of the relative abundance expected in the absence of edge effects, as a result of habitat conversion or edge effects. Sprague’s pipit populations may be declining in part because edge effects greatly magnify effects of habitat loss.
Starting Page	1287
Ending Page	1297
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09212973
Journal	Landscape Ecology
Volume Number	24
Issue Number	10
e-ISSN	15729761
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2009-06-16
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Alberta Canada Cropland Edge effects Mixed-grass prairie Nonlinear regression Roads Sprague’s pipits Wetlands Plant Sciences Ecology Forestry Plant Ecology Landscape Ecology Forestry Management
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Geography, Planning and Development Ecology Nature and Landscape Conservation

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