Vanellus Vanellus Research Articles

Kin selection and polygyny: can relatedness lower the polygyny threshold?

Resource polygyny incurs costs of having to share breeding resources for female breeders. When breeding with a relative, however, such costs may be lessened by indirect fitness benefits through kin selection, while benefits from mutualistic behaviour, such as communal defence, may increase. If so, females should be less resistant to sharing a territory with a related female than with a non-related one. We investigated whether kin selection may lower the threshold of breeding polygynously, predicting a closer relatedness between polygynous females breeding on the same territory than between females breeding on different territories. Northern lapwings, Vanellus vanellus, are suitable for testing this hypothesis as they are commonly polygynous, both sexes take part in nest defence, and the efficiency of nest defence increases with the number of defenders. Using an index of relatedness derived from DNA fingerprinting, we found that female lapwings that shared polygynous dyads were on average twice as closely related as were random females. Furthermore, relatedness did not correlate with distance between breeders, indicating that our findings cannot be explained by natal philopatry alone. Our results suggest that the polygyny threshold in lapwings may be lowered by inclusive fitness advantages of kin selection.

Food Availability for Meadow Bird Families in Grass Field Margins

Agricultural intensification in grasslands has led to the decline of meadow bird populations in The Netherlands in the last 60 years. Habitat for meadow bird chicks has declined in quality and quantity, thereby reducing food availability. Agri-environment schemes (AES) to halt the decline in meadow bird numbers have thus far been insufficient. These AES are on the level of entire fields, but recent research suggests that margins of fields may be more suitable chick habitat than centres of fields. Therefore, it could be productive to specifically target grass field margins as part of meadow bird AES. Our study examined the differences in food availability for meadow bird families in different portions of a grass field. Invertebrates were sampled in different locations on the field and results were compared to known dietary preferences of four species of meadow bird chicks. We show strong differences in food availability within fields, depending on meadow bird species. The preferred prey species of chicks of Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and Redshank Tringa totanus predominantly occurred in field margins, whereas those of Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus chicks were found mostly in the main part of the field. The prey species of Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus chicks showed no clear pattern within fields. We conclude that food availability within a field differs spatially between meadow bird species. Particularly for Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, grass field margins constitute an important part of the field. Therefore, specific management to further enhance food availability in these margins may constitute an important addition to the existing mosaic approach.

Frequent within-pair copulations during incubation in Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus are consistent with the sperm competition hypothesis

Social partners of some bird species copulate during the incubation period; explanations for this include strengthening social bonds and/or reducing the risk of extra-pair paternity in consecutive clutches within the same season. According to current opinion, Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus exhibit this behavior, uncommon in shorebirds, in order to strengthen social bonds. Based upon field observations at 36 nests, I found that mating frequency increased after cessation of male incubation bouts, i.e., after the male had been unable to guard the female and prevent opportunities for extra-pair mating. This pattern is consistent with the sperm competition hypothesis: increased rates of copulation may be a way of devaluing the sperm of possible competitors and a strategy to secure paternity in subsequent clutches, which Northern Lapwings frequently lay throughout the breeding season. This explanation extends the previous interpretation of the frequent mating of Northern Lapwings during the incubation period.

Different temperature and cooling patterns at the blunt and sharp egg poles reflect the arrangement of eggs in an avian clutch.

Incubation is an energetically demanding process during which birds apply heat to their eggs to ensure embryonic development. Parent behaviours such as egg turning and exchanging the outer and central eggs in the nest cup affect the amount of heat lost to the environment from individual eggs. Little is known, however, about whether and how egg surface temperature and cooling rates vary among the different areas of an egg and how the arrangement of eggs within the clutch influences heat loss. We performed laboratory (using Japanese quail eggs) and field (with northern lapwing eggs) experiments using infrared imaging to assess the temperature and cooling patterns of heated eggs and clutches. We found that (i) the sharp poles of individual quail eggs warmed to a higher egg surface temperature than did the blunt poles, resulting in faster cooling at the sharp poles compared to the blunt poles; (ii) both quail and lapwing clutches with the sharp poles oriented towards the clutch centre (arranged clutches) maintained higher temperatures over the central part of the clutch than occurred in those clutches where most of the sharp egg poles were oriented towards the exterior (scattered clutches); and (iii) the arranged clutches of both quail and lapwing showed slower cooling rates at both the inner and outer clutch positions than did the respective parts of scattered clutches. Our results demonstrate that egg surface temperature and cooling rates differ between the sharp and blunt poles of the egg and that the orientation of individual eggs within the nest cup can significantly affect cooling of the clutch as a whole. We suggest that birds can arrange their eggs within the nest cup to optimise thermoregulation of the clutch.

Modeling direct and indirect climate change impacts on ecological networks: a case study on breeding habitat of Dutch meadow birds

Context Climate change can directly affect habitats within ecological networks, but may also have indirect effects on network quality by inducing land use change. The relative impact of indirect effects of climate change on the quality of ecological networks currently remains largely unknown. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the relative impact of direct and indirect effects of climate change on a network of breeding habitat of four meadow bird species (Black-tailed godwit, Common redshank, Eurasian oystercatcher and Northern lapwing) in the Netherlands. Methods Habitat models were developed that link meadow bird breeding densities to three habitat characteristics that are sensitive to environmental change (landscape openness, land use and groundwater level). These models were used to assess the impact of scenarios of landscape change with and without climate change on meadow bird breeding habitat quality for a case study area in the peat meadow district of the Netherlands. Results All scenarios led to significantly reduced habitat quality for all species, mainly as a result of conversion of grassland to bioenergy crops, which reduces landscape openness. Direct effects of climate change on habitat quality were largely absent, indicating that especially human adaptation to climate change rather than direct effects of climate change was decisive for the degradation of ecological network quality for breeding meadow birds. Conclusions We conclude that scenario studies exploring impacts of climate change on ecological networks should incorporate both land use change resulting from human responses to climate change and direct effects of climate change on landscapes.

High nest survival and productivity of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus breeding on urban brownfield sites

The breeding ecology of Northern Lapwings is well understood, but little attention has been paid to industrial habitat in urban conglomerations. We compared nest survival and productivity in a large urban Northern Lapwing population breeding on brownfield sites on an industrial estate to estimates from colonies in intensively used arable habitats and those from pastures managed for conservation. Overall nest survival was significantly higher at the industrial site (0.78) compared to arable habitats (0.45) and pastures (0.32). Daily nest survival rate was positively correlated with colony density at the industrial site, but not in the agricultural habitats. Productivity was high at the industrial site (0.74–1.03 chicks per female), but much lower at the arable (0.15 chicks per female) and pasture (0.40 chicks per female) sites. Agricultural operations and predation accounted for similar proportions of clutch losses at the arable sites, while predation was the main cause of clutch losses at the pasture sites. We suggest that the population at the industrial site benefitted from a lack of nest losses to agricultural operations and low predation levels. In Central Europe, brownfield sites can hold significant Northern Lapwing populations. With recent strong Europe-wide population declines attributed to management changes in agriculture and high predation levels in the open landscape, urban brownfield sites might support declining populations in arable habitats and buffer extinction risk locally. As agri-environment schemes have been unsuccessful in slowing down the declines in farmland birds, including Northern Lapwings, we suggest including “marginal” habitat when developing management options outside protected areas, where higher breeding success could lead to higher impact at a comparatively low cost.

Minimizing the cost of locomotion with inclined trunk predicts crouched leg kinematics of small birds at realistic levels of elastic recoil.

Small birds move with pronograde trunk orientation and crouched legs. Although the pronograde trunk has been suggested to be beneficial for grounded running, the cause(s) of the specific leg kinematics are unknown. Here we show that three charadriiform bird species (northern lapwing, oystercatcher, and avocet; great examples of closely related species that differ remarkably in their hind limb design) move their leg segments during stance in a way that minimizes the cost of locomotion. We imposed measured trunk motions and ground reaction forces on a kinematic model of the birds. The model was used to search for leg configurations that minimize leg work that accounts for two factors: elastic recoil in the intertarsal joint, and cheaper negative muscle work relative to positive muscle work. A physiological level of elasticity (∼ 0.6) yielded segment motions that match the experimental data best, with a root mean square of angular deviations of ∼ 2.1 deg. This finding suggests that the exploitation of elastic recoil shapes the crouched leg kinematics of small birds under the constraint of pronograde trunk motion. Considering that an upright trunk and more extended legs likely decrease the cost of locomotion, our results imply that the cost of locomotion is a secondary movement criterion for small birds. Scaling arguments suggest that our approach may be utilized to provide new insights into the motion of extinct species such as dinosaurs.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Vanellus vanellus (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae)

The northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae), is commonly found in temperate Eurasia. In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of V. vanellus has been determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using 13 primer pairs. It was a circular molecule with 16,795 bp in length which contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs and a control region. The composition and gene order are similar to most other vertebrates. There are 28 genes encoded on the H-strand, 9 genes (ND6 subunit and 8 tRNA genes) encoded on the L-strand. The overall base composition of the H-strand is A (31.44%), T (24.03%), G (13.76%), C (30.77%), with a slight A + T bias of 55.47%. This mitogenome sequence of V. vanellus could contribute to a better solution of its phylogenetic position and will contribute to further genetic researches on Charadriidae.

Coastal grassland wader abundance in relation to breeding habitat characteristics in Matsalu Bay, Estonia

Wader populations have been declining worldwide, providing a fundamental question as to which environmental factors limit population growth. Many studies have focused on the effects of habitat change on wader populations as a result of climate change, agricultural intensification or abandonment of arable land. However, there are few studies investigating the relationship between wader distribution/abundance and prey abundance. This study focused on the relationship between breeding wader abundance, habitat characteristics and prey abundance on different types of coastal and floodplain grasslands. The study was carried out in the Matsalu Bay area, Western Estonia between 2001 and 2005. Results showed that most wader species were strongly related to habitat flooding type but not to plant species richness or evenness or mean vegetation coverage. Abundance of epigeic earthworms at a site was positively correlated with wader species diversity and abundance, as well as at the individual species level for abundance of Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and Redshank Tringa totanus. Endogeic earthworm abundance was not significantly related to total wader abundance, although for some species there was a weak negative relationship. We conclude that epigeic earthworms are an important food source for most wader species on Matsalu grasslands and endogeic earthworms are not likely to be utilised as a prey source. Wader abundance was most strongly related to flooding as a determinate factor for breeding habitat characteristics and with epigeic earthworms as a food source. These factors are impor- tant environmental variables influencing local abundance and distribution of coastal waders.

Changes in breeding wader assemblages, vegetation and land use within machair environments over three decades

Capsule Changing agricultural activity and soil chemistry appear to be associated with some changes in breeding wader assemblages on the machair of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, between the 1980s and 2000s.Aims To identify potential factors in addition to nest predation by Hedgehogs that could have driven changes in machair breeding wader assemblage of the Western Isles.Methods Surveys of breeding waders in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and of vegetation in 1976 and 2009 were carried out on machair habitats on the west coast of Uist (four study sites). Generalized linear mixed models were used to identify associations between: (1) breeding wader densities in 2007–2010 and vegetation metrics (Ellenberg indicator values, axes determined by detrended correspondence analyses and structural measures) derived from the 2009 vegetation survey and (2) changes in breeding wader densities between 1983–1987 and 2007–2010 and changes in vegetation metrics derived from surveys in 1976 and 2009. Reported changes in agricultural use were assessed from interviews with local land managers to assess the likely influence of land-use changes on vegetation and breeding waders.Results Changes in population densities of breeding waders differed between species and sites over the three decades. Overall, Eurasian Oystercatcher and Common Redshank increased. Common Ringed Plover, Dunlin and possibly Common Snipe decreased and there were no significant changes for Northern Lapwing. Changes in vegetation indicated relatively small decreases in soil fertility of machair grassland cultivation, increased soil salinity and a decrease in overall vegetation cover. Higher breeding wader densities were associated with higher values of soil moisture, pH, fertility, salinity, vegetation height, vegetation density and extent of cultivation with inter-specific differences mostly associated with vegetation structure. Where soil fertility declined, Ringed Plover and Dunlin tended to decline while Oystercatcher increased. Temporal changes in Lapwing density were positively associated with changes in soil moisture. Ringed Plover density changes were positively associated with indicators of vegetation shade intolerance, soil acidity, soil fertility and reduced soil salinity. Changes of Redshank were positively associated with vegetation height. Reported changes in land use included a reduction in the number of people practising cultivation, though not necessarily in the area cultivated, reductions in numbers of grazing cattle and increases in numbers of sheep, a switch from using seaweed and farmyard manure to using compound fertilizers and deeper ploughing.Conclusions Although pointing to some interesting changes in machair systems associated with soil fertility, moisture and salinity that may have affected breeding waders, possibly acting through alterations to food supplies, further understanding of how waders use the mosaic of habitats is required to understand potential mechanisms. The importance of vegetation changes relative to, and interacting with, predation deserves further attention.

Plumage ornaments in male Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus may not be a reliable indicator of their mating success

Conspicuous morphological traits that signal aspects of physical state of the owner may be used as cues in mate choice, leading to sexual selection of ornamental traits. In birds, colour patterns as well as structural attributes may constitute ornaments affecting mate choice. In the breeding season, Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus males possess long crests, contrast-rich black and white facial markings, a black breast, and a shining greenish dorsal side. In non-breeding and juvenile plumages, and in females, crests are shorter, facial patterns have less clear contrasts, and breast and dorsal side possess varying amounts of light fringes. Depending onmoult energetics in latewinter/early spring, when males acquire their breeding plumage, the state of these characters could potentially signal male condition to females prospecting for mates. We examined if these traits correlated with male mating success in this polygynous species, predicting males with the most expressed ornamental characters (a) tomate earlier and (b) to gain more mates.Trait states were ranked for 31 males of which breeding phenology and number of mates were known. No correlationwas found between trait expression and date of first egg laid on the territory and number of mates did not correlate with trait expression. Thus, the study did not confirm that females use crest length, breast blackness and face contrasts or lack of dorsal fringes as cues in their mate choice. This could be because the elaborate traits do not have an ornamental function important for femalemate choice, but experimental studies would be needed to rigorously test this hypothesis.

Delayed nest predation: a possible tactic toward nests of open-nesting birds

Predators use various tactics to find and depredate bird nests. This study examines a possible tactic of visually orientated predators termed “delayed nest-visit”. This consists in remembering the positions of incubating parents and subsequent easy depredation of eggs when the parents are away from their nests. Conditions for use of this tactic were experimentally simulated by installing artificial nests with quail eggs and plastic dummies of northern lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) at 11 actual breeding grounds with various habitat conditions in southern and eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Habitat, presence of the dummy, and their interaction significantly affected nest survival. While 17.2 % of the nests baited with the dummy were depredated, this occurred in only 6.9 % of the nests without the dummy. This depredation rate was affected by the visibility of the dummies in particular habitats. The results suggest that predators may remember the nest position to delay their first visit to a previously located bird nest from a remote place and may use this tactic to easily capture the clutches. The use of this tactic showed that at least some predator species are able to apply much more sophisticated approaches in search of birds' nests than previously assumed.

Synergies between site protection and agri‐environment schemes for the conservation of waders on lowland wet grasslands

Two conservation strategies have been put in place in Europe to address precipitous population declines of wading birds that breed on lowland wet grasslands. These are site protection and agri‐environment schemes (AESs) and the two are rarely compared, or their synergy assessed. Increasingly, efforts to recover populations of previously widespread species follow a landscape‐scale approach whereby habitat improvement takes place at key sites through partially overlapping protected area management and AESs. To investigate whether site protection and AESs improve the conservation status of breeding waders and how these interact, we partially repeated a 2002 survey of breeding waders on protected areas (nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and sites with wader‐specific AES options in England in 2009 and 2010. We then assessed the individual and combined effects of these delivery mechanisms on field occupancy, breeding density and population change of four species of declining wader (Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Eurasian Curlew Arquata numenius and Common Redshank Tringa totanus). Although results for Curlew differed from the other species, in general field occupancy was positively influenced by conservation delivery mechanisms, with the highest occupancy and breeding densities on land where site protection was combined with wader‐specific AES options. Field occupancy varied between different types of AES, with higher occupancy associated with higher‐level options in fields, particularly those on nature reserves. Outside nature reserves, the history of AES management did not influence wader populations, but within nature reserves and on fields that gained AES management between 2002 and 2009–2010, populations of Curlew and Snipe were more likely to have persisted and population change in Snipe and Lapwing was more positive. We conclude that the conservation of breeding waders will be most effective when site protection and AES management are combined on the same land. Using limited AES money to support management for breeding waders on, around and between the existing network of protected sites will protect remaining populations while presenting opportunities for population expansion in future.

Inter-specific nest scrape reuse in waders: Little Ringed Plovers taking over the nest scrapes of Northern Lapwings

Capsule Inter-specific nest scrape reuse is rare in waders. We review this phenomenon and document it for the first time in the Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius breeding in vacant nest scrapes excavated by Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus.

Resident female Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus fight to exclude settlement by secondary females

In systems with bi‐parental care, sexual conflict theory states that a transition from monogamy to polygyny should increase fitness prospects for males and reduce fitness prospects of resident females. Behavioural observations of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus suggested that resident females try to monopolize their breeding resources by attacking females prospecting for secondary status, and males commonly respond by intervening on behalf of the prospecting females. In four territories the resident females successfully defended their monogamous status, in nine territories the resident females made at least one successful eviction before being forced to accept polygyny and in nine territories observed eviction attempts were unsuccessful. These observations indicate that mating status in Northern Lapwings is partly determined by the competitive ability of resident females.

Species ecology and the impacts of bioenergy crops: an assessment approach with four example farmland bird species

AbstractThe cultivation of energy crops can cause land‐use conflicts, including loss of biodiversity in farmlands. In our study, we focus on farmland birds and analyse whether the impacts of such bioenergy activities differ for bird species with different ecology. We do this by comparing the impacts on four example species; skylark (Alauda arvensis), yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), corn bunting (Miliaria calandra) and northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). We used a spatially explicit ecological model, which combines three simplified crop selection criteria (suitability for nesting, suitability for foraging, spatial heterogeneity) that differ between the selected species. We used the model to investigate change in breeding pair density between a baseline and several bioenergy scenarios that differ in intensity and spatial agglomeration. We subsequently simulated scenarios with potential positive habitat effects (maintenance of 10% set‐aside or 10% alfalfa) as well as spatial effects (increased crop diversity and reduction of field size) as mitigation strategies to increase the breeding pair density. The four species responded to the bioenergy scenarios with a decrease in breeding pair density that can be divided into roughly three levels: strong (skylark), intermediate (yellow wagtail and corn bunting) and no response (northern lapwing). The intensity of the response depended on the bioenergy scenario. The decrease in breeding pair density under the least intensive bioenergy scenario could be fully mitigated for all the considered bird species through 10% set‐aside. However, with increasing dominance or spatial agglomeration of a single energy crop (e.g., maize), impacts cannot or hardly be mitigated and the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies becomes increasingly more dependent on the ecological preferences of the bird species.

Increased energy maize production reduces farmland bird diversity

AbstractProducing energy crops as an alternative to fossil fuels in order to reduce CO2 emissions will lead to large‐scale changes in agricultural landscapes. Here, we quantify the potential impact of an increase in maize fields on the diversity of farmland birds by means of high resolution (25 × 25 m) land‐use scenarios. We generated scenarios in which the area of maize production in Germany increases from presently 2.6 to 2.9, 3.6 and 4.3 million ha, corresponding to the energy crop production targets of the German Renewable Energy Act for the years 2020, 2035 and 2050. To test the mitigating potential of conservation measures, each scenario was generated in a standard version and a landscape protection version, with the latter excluding valuable farmland areas from being converted into maize fields. Nine species of farmland birds belonging to the governmental indicator scheme for sustainable land‐use in Germany were modelled for the six nation‐wide scenarios. The models predicted that only the Northern Lapwing and the Little Owl might profit from extended maize production. Despite this, the total number of breeding pairs of the indicator species was predicted to decline by about 0.4 million breeding pairs in the most intensive scenario. Protection of valuable farmland did not mitigate these negative effects in the models. Our findings suggest that increased production of energy crops conflicts with conservation of biological diversity.

Rapid sampling of Males and Territories by Female Northern Lapwing,Vanellus vanellus

Abstract In many birds, females prospecting for high quality breeding resources have to inspect a number of males and their territories to make a good mating choice, yet in the face of competition with other females, the search time should be minimized. The sequential sampling of potential mates and territories by females is seldom witnessed. In a study of breeding Northern Lapwings, Vanellus vanellus, in Norway, we observed a female during the pair-formation period visiting seven territories in 105 mins, spending 15–20 mins on each of six territories pecking food from the ground and watching the resident male performing nest-scraping displays. One of the males was already mated, and on this territory the prospecting female spent only ∼2 mins. The observations show that female Northern Lapwings are potentially able to sample a high number of available territories in only a few hours.

Effects of the February 2012 cold spell on terrestrial birds wintering in France

We document the mortality of terrestrial bird species wintering in France as a result of the 2012 February cold spell. We describe the range of species affected and how some of them reacted to the cold spell in term of movement and variation in body mass. Mortality records concerned 1,791 individuals from 42 species. Among terrestrial birds, Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus, Eurasian Woodcocks Scolopax rusticola and thrush species suffered the most from the cold spell. Among casualties, 56% of birds starved to death and 8.4% were predated. Collisions with vehicles accounted for 23.7% of deaths for all species, and reached 50% for Lapwings. Location of mortality records suggested that Lapwings and Woodcocks moved en masse towards the south and southwest of France to escape from the cold spell. Body mass of thrushes, Lapwings and Woodcocks birds was rapidly depleted because birds could not access food resources. On average, birds which were 30% lighter than birds weighed at the same period during normal winters had reached a lethal body mass. The results of this enquiry highlight the impact of such cold-weather events and the need, in particular for game bird species, to promote standardised enquiries on mortality when severe winter events occur.

A new species of nasal mite of the genus <em>Rhinonyssus </em>(Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae) from Leningrad Province, Russia

A new species, Rhinonyssus dobromiri sp. nov., from the genus Rhinonyssus Trouessart, 1894 is described from the avian host the Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus L. (Charadriidae), which was collected in Leningrad province, Russia.