Abstract:
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Capsule Careful management is required to maintain or create habitats with the correct proportions of rush with reeds that are preferred by this subspecies.
Aims To determine the habitat requirements of Eastern Iberian ...[+]
Capsule Careful management is required to maintain or create habitats with the correct proportions of rush with reeds that are preferred by this subspecies.
Aims To determine the habitat requirements of Eastern Iberian (Western Iberian Reed Buntings were not included in the study) Reed Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi, a subspecies endemic to a few marshes in France, Spain and Morocco, with a population of 254-360 breeding pairs.
Methods Twenty-five wetlands in Spain were surveyed and presence/absence of Iberian Reed Buntings was deteremined together with data on 41 environmental variables. The relationships between the birds and habitat data were investigated using GLM.
Results Proportion of rush with reeds, proportion of reed-bulrush patches and perimeter length of rush-reed patches, were the variables that primarily explained the present distribution of Eastern Iberian Reed Buntings. Other vegetation classes traditionally associated with the presence of the Eastern Iberian Reed Buntings, such as sedges, were not found to be important in the selected models.
Conclusion Conservation planning and management guidelines for this subspecies should focus on encouraging these specific-vegetation parameters. Flood control and grazing are proposed as the best practices that will favour these vegetation variables and avoid simplification of the plant community.
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Thanks:
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This study would not have been possible without the help of many people, among whom we acknowledge: A. Rodriguez, D. Bigas, P. Vicens, M. Suarez, J.L. Martinez, V. Urios, M. Rebassa, C. Torralvo, J.L. Hernandez, P. Alcazar, ...[+]
This study would not have been possible without the help of many people, among whom we acknowledge: A. Rodriguez, D. Bigas, P. Vicens, M. Suarez, J.L. Martinez, V. Urios, M. Rebassa, C. Torralvo, J.L. Hernandez, P. Alcazar, D. Alonso, J. Arizaga, and many others who helped us with the difficult task of sampling reed buntings. We apologize if we have forgotten anyone. We would also like to thank the authorities of the Daimiel National Park, the Marjal Pego-Oliva Natural Park, the S'Albufera de Mallorca Natural Park, the Delta de L'Ebre Natural Park, 'Consejeria de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Rural de Castilla La Mancha', 'Servicio de Conservacion de la Diversidad del Gobierno de Navarra', 'Consorci per a la Proteccio i la Gestio dels Espais Naturals del Delta del Llobregat', 'Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge de la Generalitat de Catalunya', 'Departamento de Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de Aragon' and 'Servei de Conservacio de la Biodiversitat de la Generalitat Valenciana' for providing the facilities to work in protected areas and for the appropriate permits. The people at these protected areas were always very kind and helped us with the fieldwork. This study has been funded by projects CGL2005-02041/BOS from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and SC000207 of the 'Consejeria de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Rural de la Junta de Castilla La Mancha' of Spain. Two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the first version of the manuscript with their comments and suggestions.
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