Simulating the responses of forest bird species to multi-use recreational trails

Abstract

Although non-consumptive recreation can promote wildlife preservation and add socio-economic value to parks and nature reserves, such activities can have negative implications for wildlife. For sensitive species, recreation can lead to displacement, influence breeding success and reduce survival. Thus managing recreational activities by regulating visitor access, densities and frequency can effectively reduce human–wildlife interactions. In many instances, simulation modeling has been used as a management tool, as it allows the user to explore the impact of alternative park designs and management strategies on wildlife in a risk-free environment. Such exercises tend to focus on single species, generally a species of conservation concern, on which management decisions are based. As an alternative approach, we used a modeling simulation to compare the disturbance caused by different trail designs, trail use rates and the management of invasive vegetation (i.e., removal) on a forest community of breeding birds at a state park in Indiana, USA. Our multi-species approach revealed that an appropriate trail design for one species was not necessarily appropriate for another, even among species of concern. We therefore caution that management based on a single high profile species could have far-reaching implications on the local community. We also found that invasive vegetation removal did not have a cumulative influence on the recreational disturbance experienced by birds. This study demonstrates that by identifying and comparing the differences between individual species within a community, we gain valuable insights that can be used devise more resilient long-term management strategies that aim to preserve biodiversity.