Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics
Nest site selection is a vital component of breeding success. Key features that influence nest site selection include concealment from predators and availability of food. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) numbers have declined steeply in Britain, largely driven by agricultural intensification....
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| Format: | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| Language: | English |
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Nanyang Technological University
2023
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166546 |
| _version_ | 1826116519353909248 |
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| author | Yan, Clarice Pei Ling |
| author2 | Lum Shawn Kaihekulani Yamauchi |
| author_facet | Lum Shawn Kaihekulani Yamauchi Yan, Clarice Pei Ling |
| author_sort | Yan, Clarice Pei Ling |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Nest site selection is a vital component of breeding success. Key features that influence
nest site selection include concealment from predators and availability of food. Corn Bunting
(Emberiza calandra) numbers have declined steeply in Britain, largely driven by agricultural
intensification. Corn Buntings are ground-nesting farmland birds that breed late into the
summer, making them vulnerable to nest losses due to crop harvests and agricultural
practices. The aim of this study was to describe life histories of Corn Buntings and to identify
key factors affecting the nest daily survival rates (DSR) of Corn Buntings during the breeding
season. I examined 100 Corn Bunting territories in farmland in eastern Scotland during May
2022 to August 2022. Nest DSR and the influences of explanatory variables were estimated
using RMark. Few nests were lost due to harvesting practices, indicating that other variables
may be more crucial in affecting nest DSR. Nest stage, start day and their interaction were
found to affect DSR significantly. The best-supported model predicted that DSR decreased
with start day, especially during the chick stage although it was generally lower in the egg
stage than in the chick stage. Crop cover, number of crops, mean crop height and altitude
received little support in the models while the crop type nested in received no support in the
models. Forage grass meadows during early summer and spring cereals in late summer could
provide suitable nesting habitat throughout the entire breeding season, potentially boosting
Corn Bunting nest DSR.
Keywords: Nest site selection, farmland birds, nest survival, conservation, population
monitoring |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:12:43Z |
| format | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| id | ntu-10356/166546 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:12:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Nanyang Technological University |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1665462023-05-08T15:31:16Z Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics Yan, Clarice Pei Ling Lum Shawn Kaihekulani Yamauchi Asian School of the Environment University of St Andrews shawn.lum@ntu.edu.sg Science::Biological sciences::Ecology Nest site selection is a vital component of breeding success. Key features that influence nest site selection include concealment from predators and availability of food. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) numbers have declined steeply in Britain, largely driven by agricultural intensification. Corn Buntings are ground-nesting farmland birds that breed late into the summer, making them vulnerable to nest losses due to crop harvests and agricultural practices. The aim of this study was to describe life histories of Corn Buntings and to identify key factors affecting the nest daily survival rates (DSR) of Corn Buntings during the breeding season. I examined 100 Corn Bunting territories in farmland in eastern Scotland during May 2022 to August 2022. Nest DSR and the influences of explanatory variables were estimated using RMark. Few nests were lost due to harvesting practices, indicating that other variables may be more crucial in affecting nest DSR. Nest stage, start day and their interaction were found to affect DSR significantly. The best-supported model predicted that DSR decreased with start day, especially during the chick stage although it was generally lower in the egg stage than in the chick stage. Crop cover, number of crops, mean crop height and altitude received little support in the models while the crop type nested in received no support in the models. Forage grass meadows during early summer and spring cereals in late summer could provide suitable nesting habitat throughout the entire breeding season, potentially boosting Corn Bunting nest DSR. Keywords: Nest site selection, farmland birds, nest survival, conservation, population monitoring Bachelor of Science in Environmental Earth Systems Science 2023-05-08T07:25:33Z 2023-05-08T07:25:33Z 2023 Final Year Project (FYP) Yan, C. P. L. (2023). Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics. Final Year Project (FYP), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166546 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166546 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University |
| spellingShingle | Science::Biological sciences::Ecology Yan, Clarice Pei Ling Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| title | Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| title_full | Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| title_fullStr | Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| title_short | Nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| title_sort | nesting success of corn buntings with respect to nesting habitat and other farmland characteristics |
| topic | Science::Biological sciences::Ecology |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166546 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yanclaricepeiling nestingsuccessofcornbuntingswithrespecttonestinghabitatandotherfarmlandcharacteristics |