La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Breeding success of Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in a cold and dry spring
Auteurs :	Jann Wuebbenhorst, Auteur ; Franz Bairlein, Auteur ; Frank Henning, Auteur ; Brigitte Schottler, Auteur ; Volkmar Wolters, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Vogelwelt (Die) (121(1) 2000)
Article en page(s) :	15-25
Résumé :	Occurrence and breeding success of Lapwings in the 1996 breeding season were investigated in relation to the intensity of land-use and the occurrence of ground arthropods (as food for Lapwing chicks). Studies were carried out in a pasture of 167 ha situated on an island in the river Weser (north-western Lower-Saxony, Germany). The density of breeding pairs was 3,65 bp./10 ha, the rate of reproduction was only 0,13 fledged juv./bp. This was due to the high rate of nest losses in combination with poor chick survival. 43% of the clutches were trampled by cattle, 27% were lost through predation or for unknown reasons. Cold and dry weather conditions in spring 1996, particularly in the first half of May, reduced the number and activity of ground living arthropods, which is supposed to be the main reason for the high chick mortality. It is concluded that the intensity of agricultural land-use in the investigated area is too high to maintain stable Lapwing populations. In years with unfavourable weather conditions this leads to an extremely low reproductive success.

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