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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Linear transportation infrastructures may displace wildlife from nearby
areas that otherwise would provide adequate habitat conditions. This exclusion
effect has been documented in roads, but much less is known about railways. Here
we evaluated the potential exclusion effect on birds of a railway crossing a wetland
of international importance (Sado Estuary, Portugal). We selected 22 sectors representative
of locally available wetland habitats (salt pans, rice paddy fields, and
intertidal mudflats); of each, half were located either close to (0–500 m) or far from
(500–1500 m) the railway line. Water birds were counted in each sector between
December 2012 and October 2015, during two months per season (spring, summer,
winter, and autumn) and year, at both low and high tide. We recorded 46 species, of
which the most abundant (>70% of individuals) were black-headed gull, greater
flamingo, northern shoveler, black-tailed godwit, and lesser black-backed gull. Peak
abundances were found in autumn and winter. There was no significant variation
between sectors close to and far from the railway in species richness, total abundance,
and abundance of the most common species. Some species tended to be most abundant either close to or far from the railway albeit not significantly so but this
often varied across the tidal and annual cycles. Overall, our study did not find
noticeable exclusion effects of this railway on wetland birds, with spatial variation
in abundances probably reflecting habitat selection and daily movement patterns.
Information is needed on other study systems to assess the generality of our
findings
Description
L. Borda-de-Água et al. (eds.), Railway Ecology, Chapter 11, p. 179-195
Keywords
aquatic birds habitat loss human disturbance environmental impact transportation infrastructures zone of influence
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Publisher
Springer