Vogelwelt 02-2011

VOGELWELT 132: 101 – 108 (2011)
101
Long-term decline of grassland waders in western Poland
Łukasz Ławicki, Przemysław Wylegała, Andrzej Batycki, Zbigniew Kajzer, Sebastian Guentzel, Michał
Jasiński, Robert Kruszyk, Sławomir Rubacha & Michał Żmihorski
Ławicki, Ł., P. Wylegała, A. Batycki, Z. Kajzer, S. Guentzel, M. Jasiński, R. Kruszyk, S. Rubacha
& M. Żmihorski 2011: Long-term decline of grassland waders in western Poland. Vogelwelt
132: 101 – 108.
During the periods 1980–1990 and 2000–2010, surveys on breeding populations of waders have
been conducted in the 11 largest wet grassland sites in Western Poland, mainly in the valleys of
the big rivers Odra, Warta, Noteć, and Obra. Changes in the numbers of breeding pairs between
these two periods have been studied for five species: Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa, Eurasian Curlew Numenius
arquata, and Common Redshank Tringa totanus. A decline of all five species has been noted
during the last 30 years. The most significant decrease concerns Black-tailed Godwit (84.6 %) and
Eurasian Curlew (74.6 %), followed by Northern Lapwing (66.1 %), Common Redshank (57.8 %),
and Common Snipe (44.6 %) although for the latter on the verge of significance. Besides habitat
loss through drainage, agricultural abandonment or intensification, a probable reason for the
decline of grassland waders in Western Poland was low breeding success caused by enhanced
predation, similar as in other parts of Europe. The results prove the declining trend of these
species across Europe.
Key words: Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Blacktailed Godwit Limosa limosa, Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Common Redshank Tringa
totanus, breeding population, decline, Western Poland.
1. Introduction
Grassland – especially on wet sites – is one of the most
threatened habitat types in Europe. For many years
grasslands have suffered serious changes with almost
adverse effects on biodiversity. Grassland ecosystems
cover almost 13 % of Poland, and many of the meadows and pastures are among the richest in bird species
number in Europe (Krogulec 1998; Bański 2007).
Grassland birds, especially waders, are amongst the
most threatened ecological groups, mainly as a result of
abandonment of traditional meadow-pasture management, drainage, intensified farming and/or enhanced
predation by mammals (Langgemach & Bellebaum
2005; Hötker et al. 2007; Verhulst et al. 2007; Pehlak & Lõhmus 2008). This paper describes the population changes of waders in the largest grassland areas
in Western Poland during the last 30 years; it also discusses key factors for the decline of these species.
2. Study area
The survey was conducted on the 11 largest grassland areas in
Western Poland (Fig. 1). Total area of the study sites is 2,835
km2, average size of the single sites is 258 km2 (range: 2.4–600
km2, n = 11). The percentage of meadows and pastures in
the individual site varied from 15 % to 80 % (average 44.5 %;
Table 1) while remaining area was covered by arable lands
and built-up areas. Most of the study sites are situated in the
valleys of the big rivers (Odra, Warta, Noteć, Obra, n = 8),
only three sites are placed at a Baltic Sea lagoon, adjacent to a
lake and in a river estuary (Photos 1–3). Most of the study sites
were wet sedge meadows on peat soils as well as temporarily
flooded pastures and halophilic plant communities (Świna
River estuary). In the 1980s, these areas were intensively cultivated, whereas in the 1990s parts of them became rewetted as a result of the abandonment of any agricultural use,
causing expansion of reeds and occasionally willow shrubs.
During the last years, most of the studied grasslands have
been mown and grazed again due to agricultural subsidies
and agri-environmental schemes. Quite regular spring (less
often summer) floods in the river valleys cause inundation
of many large grassland areas.
3.Material and methods
The material presented in this paper has been gathered during
the periods (A) 1980s and 1990s and (B) 2000–2010. It gathers published and unpublished data of the authors’ team and
the group of associates. For one of the sites (Middle Warta
River valley, site 11), the data for the second period is from
1998 (Tab. 1). The bird counts are based on mapping locations of selected wader species in the period between March
and June. Estimation of abundance is based on the number
of nests found, observation of adult birds with young and
breeding behaviour of pairs during the peak of the breeding
Ł Ławicki et al.: Long-term decline of grassland waders in Western Poland
102
Lakes, lagoons – Seen
Rivers – Flüsse
Towns – Städte
Study area – Untersuchungsgebiet
0
50 km
Koszalin
1
N
2
Szczecin
3
Pila
4
Germany
Gorzow Wlkp.
Bydgoszcz
8
Torum
7
6
5
season (Gilbert et al. 1996). Each site was
visited from 5 to 12 times per year during
the breeding period.
Changes in numbers between the two
periods were analysed for five species:
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa (11
sites), Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus,
Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Common Redshank Tringa totanus (10 sites) and
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata (9 sites)
(Tab. 2). The percentage of changes has been
calculated using the geometric mean of estimated minimum and maximum size of the
population. We used Wilcoxon signed rank
test implemented in SPSS 16.0 to assess the
significance of the trends. In order to provide some explanations for the observed
trends of the five studied species we also
checked trends of area size of meadows
and pastures in Poland as preferred habitat type as well as changes in abundance
of Red Fox Vulpes vulpes (annual hunting
bags) as important predator during the
study period (data from Central Statistical
Office in Poland).
Poznan
10
11
9
Fig. 1: Study area and study sites. Numeration of
the sites according to Table 1. – Lage der Untersuchungsgebiete in West-Polen. Nummerierung
der Gebiete wie in Tab. 1.
Zielona Gora
Table 1. Characteristics of the study sites in Western Poland. – Eckdaten der Untersuchungsgebiete in Westpolen.
Site – Description –
Gebiet Kurzbeschreibung
1
Delta of the Świna River
89 km2
Proportion of
grassland – Anteil
Grünland
15 %
2
Szczecin Lagoon
560 km2
15 %
A: 1995–1996
B: 2001–2010
3
Lower Odra River valley
600 km2
30 %
4
Lake Miedwie
160 km2
40 %
A: 1990–1996
B: 2004–2008
A: 1990–1995
B: 2000–2008
5
Lower Warta River valley
330 km2
50 %
A: 1987–1997
B: 2005–2009
6
Lower Noteć River valley
220 km2
50 %
A: 1982
B: 2004
7
Noteć River Floodplain
170 km2
70 %
8
Middle Noteć River valley
340 km
2
50 %
9
Obra River Flood Plain
230 km2
40 %
10
Rogalinecko-Sowinieckie
Meadows
Middle Warta River valley
2,4 km
2
80 %
134 km2
50 %
A: 1981
B: 2003
A: 1983-1984
B: 2009
A: 1980s
B: 2008–2009
A: 1980s
B: 2007–2008
A: 1980s
B: 1998
11
Area –
Fläche
Years of study
– Untersuchungs­
jahre
A: 1991–1996
B: 2006–2010
Data source – Quellen
A: Osiejuk et al. 1993;
Kaliciuk & Staszewski 1997
B: Ławicki & Racławski 2006;
autors unpubl. data
A: Kaliciuk & Staszewski 1997
B: Ławicki & Racławski 2006;
Staszewski 2010; autors unpubl. data
A: Krogulec 1998; Ławicki et al. 2007
B: Ławicki et al. 2009
A: Krogulec 1998
B: Guentzel & Wysocki 2004;
autors unpubl. data
A: Jermaczek et al. 1995;
Bartoszewicz et al. 2000
B: autors unpubl. data
A: Bednorz & Kupczyk 1995
B: Wylegała et al. 2004;
autors unpubl. data
A: Bednorz & Kupczyk 1995
B: Wylegała 2003
A: Bednorz & Kupczyk 1995
B: Wylegała et al. 2010
A: Bednorz et al. 2000
B: autors unpubl. data
A: Łucka & Winiecki 2000
B: autors unpubl. data
A: Winiecki 1992
B: Krupa & Winiecki 2000
VOGELWELT 132: 101 – 108 (2011)
103
Photo 1: Meadows at Lake Miedwie – study site number 4. – Wiesen
am Miedwie-See – Untersuchungsgebiet 4.
Photo J. Kaliciuk
Photo 2: Flooded meadows in the
Noteć River valley – plot number 7. –
Überflutungsgrünland im Netzebruch
– Untersuchungsgebiet 7.
Photo P. Wylegała
Photo 3: Meadows in the Obra River
valley – plot number 9. – Wiesen im
Obra-Tal – Untersuchungsgebiet 9.
Photo P. Wylegała
Ł Ławicki et al.: Long-term decline of grassland waders in Western Poland
104
Table 2: Number of breeding pairs of grassland waders in the 11 study sites in Western Poland in 1980s-1990s (A) and 2000s (B). Numeration of the study sites according to Table 1. – Brutbestände von Wiesenlimikolen in den 11 westpolnischen Untersuchungsgebieten in den
Zeiträumen 1980er-1990er Jahre (A) und 2000er Jahre (B). Nummerierung der Gebiete wie in Tab. 1.
Study period–
Untersuchungs­
zeitraum
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
Species –
Art
Vanellus
vanellus
Gallinago
gallinago
Limosa
limosa
Numenius
arquata
Tringa
totanus
Study site number – Untersuchungsgebiet Nr.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
80–90 200–220 250–350 21–28 250–300 400
300
300
– 15–40
500
50–60 90–105 170–190 15–24 60–120 55–60
42
64
–
1–3
216
13–20 210–230 250–280 16–24 200–300
–
100–170 50–100 50–80 1–4
70
35–40 150–175 110–120 28–46 20–120
–
56
80–82 10–17 1–2
44
5–19
4–13
8–11
6–10
50–90 70–100 67–70 80–100 14–15 3–14 300–330
3
0–1
1–2
0–1
10–16
3–4
4
10
0–1 0–1
68
5–17
10–14
10–15 13–16 10–15 17–20
60
52–63 20
–
–
1–4
2–3
2–3
1–2
10–12
2
19
10
3–6
–
–
35–50
4–15
60
6–9
40–50 18–20
4–5
9–12
–
2–9
200
17–21
8–10
13
3–9
26–55
2–3
3
2
–
0
76
4. Results
In last 30 years, a decline of all five species of grassland
waders was noted in Western Poland (Fig. 2). In four
cases (Northern Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew and Common Redshank), the decrease was
very distinct (over 50 %; Table 3, Fig. 2). The strongest decline was observed for Black-tailed Godwit and
Eurasian Curlew. The Northern Lapwing decrease
concerned all study sites and, depending on the area
size, ranged from 22 to 92 % (n = 10). In the Com-
mon Snipe, a decline was detected for six sites (range:
21–79 %), the abundance was fluctuating or stable in
two sites, and at two locations a significant increase
was recorded (83–134 %) (Table 2). The numbers of
Black-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Curlew dropped at
all study sites, ranging from 57–96 % for the former to
20–89 % for the latter. The Common Redshank number
dropped in eight sites (range 12–100 %) and at two locations the numbers were similar in both periods. The
Fig. 2: Mean abundances (log-transformed) of the five studied species in the two periods 1980–1997 and 1998–2010 at the 11 studied
sites in Western Poland. Numbers indicate particular sites listed in Table 1. Significance of Wilcoxon signed rank tests are given in each
subplot. – Mittlere Abundanz (log-transformed) der fünf untersuchten Arten in den Zeiträumen 1980-1997 und 1998-2010 in den 11 westpolnischen Untersuchungsgebieten. Die Nummern bezeichnen die einzelnen Untersuchungsgebiete wie in Tab. 1.
V. vanellus
G. gallinago
3
5
2
11
Number of pairs (log-transformed) – Anzahl Paare
6 6
7
8
3
5
1
5
2
3
11
3
5 7
1 4
5
8
11
9
8
6
2
7
4
L. limosa
1
4
8
6
5
7
9
2
3
10
9 2
4
2
1 10
1980-97
10
1998-2010
11
1980-97
5
3
6
7
4
9
1
2
5
8
5
8
10
1998-2010 1980-97
9
4
10
3
3
5
2
5
6
2
3
8
1
9
1
0
Z = 2.94
p = 0.003
4
2
7
6
2
3
Z = 1.89
p = 0.059
5
11
3
1
Z = 2.80
p = 0.0050
11
4 8
5
3
2
8
5 4
7
11
1
4
2
1
T. totanus
7
11
3
3 4
10
4
N. arquata
6
Z = 2.67
p = 0.008
1998-2010 1980-97
1
3
2
6
4
1
2 4
10
7
1
Z = 2.80
p = 0.005
1998-2010 1980-97
4
7
6
8
1998-2010
VOGELWELT 132: 101 – 108 (2011)
decline in numbers was statistically significant in all species except for the Common
Snipe, which showed changes
on the verge of significance
(Fig. 2). During the study
period the meadow coverage did not decline, however,
the area of pastures showed
a two-fold decrease (Fig. 3).
Moreover, the index of Red
Fox abundance increased
distinctly during the last 15
years (Fig. 3).
105
Table 3: Changes in numbers of grassland waders in Western Poland during the last 30 years (n
= number of sites). ↓ – moderate decline (1–20 %), ↓↓ – strong decline (21–50 %), ↓↓↓ – very
strong decline (51–100 %). – Bestandsänderungen von Wiesenlimikolen in Westpolen während der
letzten 30 Jahre (n = Anzahl Gebiete). ↓ – mäßige Abnahme (1–20 %), ↓↓ – starke Abnahme (21–50 %),
↓↓↓ – sehr starke Abnahme (51–100 %).
Species – Art
Vanellus vanellus (n=10)
Gallinago gallinago (n=10)
Limosa limosa (n=11)
Numenius arquata (n=9)
Tringa totanus (n=10)
5. Discussion
Meadows – Wiesen
Annual hunting bag – Jagdstrecke (*1000)
50
100
150
1500
1000
Pastures – Weiden
500
Area – Fläche (ha * 1000)
2000
2500
During the past decades in Europe all the five wader
species showed a decline in numbers (Birdlife
International 2004). The most threatened species
are Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank, Eurasian
Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit. Eurasian Curlew and
Black-tailed Godwit have been qualified as near-threatened species on the IUCN Red List (Iucn 2011), and
management programmes to help prevent the extinction of these species have been created on behalf of the
European Commssion (Jensen & Lutz 2007; Jensen
& Perennou 2007).
It is believed that the reasons for the decline of the
previously mentioned species in many countries are
the loss of breeding habitats and the low breeding success because of enhanced predation (Grant et al. 1999;
Groen & Hemerik 2002; Bellebaum & Boschert
2003; Boschert 2005; Jensen & Lutz 2007; Schekkerman et al. 2009). Loss of breeding habitats might
0
Red Fox –
Rotfuchs
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Fig. 3: Area of meadows and pastures and hunting bags of Red Fox
in Poland during 1980–2010. – Fläche von Wiesen und Weiden sowie
Jagdstrecken des Rotfuchses in Polen im Zeitraum 1980-2010.
1980s–1990s
2000s
2316–2528
957–1276
607–772
197–240
378–430
763–884
534–702
99–111
50–61
150–192
Change in numbers – Trend –
Bestandsänderung [ %] Trend
↓↓↓
-66.1
↓↓
-44.6
↓↓↓
-84.6
↓↓↓
-74.6
↓↓↓
-57.8
be a result of: (1) abandonment of grassland use, which
leads to overgrowing by tall herbaceous plants, reeds and
bushes, (2) too frequent mowing as well as too early first
mowing, (3) conversion of grassland into arable lands,
industrial sites and settlements, and (4) too intensive
grazing (Durant et al. 2008; Ławicki & Wylegała
2011). The decrease in abundance of grassland waders in Western Poland, caused by the loss of breeding sites and habitats, has been noticed mainly in the
1990s after the post-socialist big farms had collapsed,
and abandoned grasslands started to overgrow with
reed and bushes. Other contributing factors include
the drainage of river valleys, afforestation of grassland
or conversion into arable land, industrial sites and settlements (Kaliciuk & Staszewski 1997; Wylegała
et al. 2004; Ławicki & Racławski 2006). However, at
a large scale, the area of grassland in Poland remained
rather stable, therefore it seems unlikely that the decline
of the species is driven by the reduction of grassland
availability. We suppose that change in habitat quality
is of much more importance for the declines. Moreover,
it is worth to note the importance of extensively used
pastures. Area of this habitat in Poland showed twofold
decline during the last decades. Grants for Polish farmers who adjust dates and methods of mowing in order
to protect broods of birds did not change the situation
of grassland waders. This may indicate the impact of
factors other than merely the habitat changes.
It seems that in the last years one of the main reasons for the decline of Northern Lapwing, Common
Snipe, Common Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit and
Eurasian Curlew is a low breeding success caused
by increased predation. There are no special studies
from Western Poland to confirm this hypothesis, but
studies in Eastern Poland show a very low breeding
success of grassland waders (Chylarecki et al. 2006;
Trzciński 2008; Świętochowski 2009). In the Biebrza Valley, for example, the percentage of nest losses
was 44.8–50 % for Northern Lapwing, 60–72.9 % for
Common Redshank and 62.8–63 % for Black-tailed
Godwit. The most significant loss factor was predation, mainly raptors and the American Mink Neovison
vison (Świętochowski 2009). In Bug and Narew val-
106
Ł Ławicki et al.: Long-term decline of grassland waders in Western Poland
leys between 2004–2005 the average
breeding success of grassland waders (Northern Lapwing, Black-tailed
Godwit, Common Snipe and Common Redshank) was only 7 %, main
predators being Red Fox and Hooded
Crow Corvus cornix (Chylarecki et
al. 2006). In the Pisa River valley in
Northeast Poland, in 2008 five out
of 17 broods of Eurasian Curlew
have been destroyed by tractors,
another five have been plundered by
Hooded Crow, stray dogs have damaged three more, and one nest with
an adult bird was predated by Red
Fox. Chicks hatched only from three
nests (Trzciński 2008). In the light
of these facts the rapid increase of
hunting bag of Red Fox is bad news
Photo 4: Black-tailed Godwit – nearly extinct species in Western Poland. – Uferschnepfe
for the studied species. Despite this – in Westpolen fast ausgestorben.
Photo A. Gerersdorf
issue needs further research, the distinct increase in predation pressure
seems to be the most likely explanation for the negative northern England. In the last 30 years a strong increase
trends of the species studied. However, it should be of Red Fox population, as well as increasing occurrence
kept in mind that the increase may result from habitat of Racoon Dog Nyctereutus procyonoides, American
transformation including drainage and prevention of Mink and Racoon Procyon lotor (Panek & Bresiński
2002; Brzeziński & Marzec 2003) has been noted,
long-lasting spring floods.
Very low breeding success due to predation (par- indicating the significance of mammal predation in
ticulary Red Fox and corvids) has also been proved Western Poland.
by other studies from Western and Northern Europe
(Berg 1994; Grant et al. 1999; Valkama & Currie 1999; Bellebaum & Boschert 2003; Boschert Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the observers
2005; Mcdonald & Bolton 2008; Schekkerman Karol Drab, Adam Kasprzak, Adam Krupa, Dominik
Marchowski, Zuzanna Rosin, Paweł Sieracki, Marcin
et al. 2009). Fletcher et al. (2010) show that long- Sołowiej, Artur Staszewski and Jacek Udolf for their help
term and enhanced predator reduction (mainly of Red in the field work and contribution of unpublished data. We
Fox and corvids) multiplied the breeding success of thank Artur Gerersdorf and Jacek Kaliciuk for providing
Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvia- photos and Agnieszka Piróg for preparation of the English
lis apricaria and Eurasian Curlew over three times in text version.
6. Zusammenfassung
Ławicki, Ł., P. Wylegała, A. Batycki, Z. Kajzer, S. Guentzel, M. Jasiński, R. Kruszyk, S. Rubacha & M. Żmihorski 2011:
Langfristiger Bestandsrückgang von Wiesenlimikolen in Westpolen. Vogelwelt 132: 101 – 108.
Während der Perioden 1980–1990 und 2000–2010 wurden
die Wiesenlimikolen-Bestände in den 11 größten Feuchtgrünland-Gebieten Westpolens untersucht, die sich hauptsächlich
in den Niederungen der größeren Flüsse Oder, Warthe, Netze
and Obra befinden. Die Veränderungen des Brutbestandes
zwischen den beiden Untersuchungsperioden wurden für
die folgenden fünf Arten ermittelt: Kiebitz Vanellus vanellus,
Bekassine Gallinago gallinago, Uferschnepfe Limosa limosa,
Brachvogel Numenius arquata und Rotschenkel Tringa totanus. Alle fünf Arten haben während der letzten 30 Jahre im
Bestand abgenommen. Die stärksten Rückgänge betreffen
Uferschnepfe (84,6 %) and Brachvogel (74,6 %), gefolgt
von Kiebitz (66,1 %), Rotschenkel (57,8 %) und Bekassine
(44,6 %), wobei der Rückgang der letztgenannten Art an
der Signifikanzgrenze liegt. Abgesehen von Lebensraumverlust durch Entwässerung, Aufgabe oder Intensivierung
der landwirtschaftlichen Nutzung liegt ein wahrscheinlicher
Grund für den Bestandsrückgang im durch verstärkte Prädation verursachten zu niedrigen Bruterfolg, wie dies auch
in anderen Teilen Europas festgestellt wurde. Unsere Ergebnisse bestätigen die negativen Trends dieser Arten über weite
Teile Europas.
VOGELWELT 132: 101 – 108 (2011)
107
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Manuskripteingang: 4. Febr. 2011
Annahme: 15. Sept. 2011
Łukasz Ławicki ✉, West-Pomeranian Nature Society,
Flisacza 35e/6, 74-100 Gryfino, Poland;
E-Mail: izuza@interia.pl
Przemysław Wylegała, Polish Society for Nature Protection Salamandra, Stolarska 7/3, 60-788 Poznań,
Poland; E-Mail: przemo@salamandra.org.pl
Andrzej Batycki, Polish Society for Nature Protection
Salamandra, Stolarska 7/3, 60-788 Poznań, Poland;
E-Mail: andrrex@wp.pl
Zbigniew Kajzer, West-Pomeranian Nature Society,
Wiosny Ludów 3/35, 71-471 Szczecin, Poland;
E-Mail: atricilla@interia.pl
Sebastian Guentzel, West-Pomeranian Nature Society,
Chopina 51, 71-450 Szczecin, Poland;
E-Mail: limicola@interia.pl
Michał Jasiński, West-Pomeranian Nature Society,
Sikorki 19a, 72-200 Nowogard, Poland;
E-Mail: czołguczu@interia.pl
Robert Kruszyk, Wrocławska 5/22, 44-335 Jastrzębie
Zdrój, Poland; E-Mail: brkruszyk@gmail.com
Sławomir Rubacha, Laski 17, 66-016 Czerwieńsk,
Poland; E-Mail: ochlapusik@interia.pl
Michał Żmihorski; Museum and Institute of Zoology,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 War­
szawa, Poland; E-Mail: zmihorski@miiz.waw.pl