|
|
Pesticide impacts on farmland bird populations
Kutzendőrferová, Adéla ; Reif, Jiří (advisor) ; Grünwald, Jan (referee)
Pesticides are problematic chemicals that are found in a variety of environments. These substances tend to accumulate in living organisms, where they decomposite very slowly and can have a negative impact on bird populations. This is why some chemicals are still detected in these environments today, even years after their use has been banned, and may continue to affect organisms. The aim of my bachelor thesis was to conduct a literature search on the impact of pesticides on farmland bird populations. The first part of the thesis focuses on pesticides, their history, their division into different systems and their effects. The second part of the thesis then discusses the overall effects of pesticide use on farmland bird populations, particularly on breeding success and abundance. In this part, several studies have been collected that confirm the negative effect of pesticides on bird abundance, but not all of these studies are representative of real situations in the landscape. Finally, the paper assesses the overall role of pesticides in the observed bird declines and also presents suggestions to address the current negative trends. The thesis points to the need for expanded research studies that reflect actual conditions in agricultural landscapes to reveal the true extent of the effects of these...
|
|
|
The importance of woodlots and their ecological characteristics for birds in an intensively managed agricultural landscape
Rajmonová, Lenka ; Reif, Jiří (advisor) ; Šálek, Martin (referee)
Various types of woody vegetation are a key biodiversity refugee in intensively managed agricultural landscapes. However, the role of woodlots, representing an important type of such a vegetation, remains overlooked so far. Whereas the previous studies focused on the effect of their area, shape and isolation, consequences of variation in their habitat quality for biodiversity were not assessed up to now. This thesis is thus one of the first studies focusing on woodlots as a specific habitat for birds in agricultural landscape. My goals were: (I) to find out what is the bird community composition of woodlots in a Czech landscape, (II) to find out, what are the key habitat predictors of bird species richness and abundance in woodlots, (III) to describe differences in habitat preferences among various guilds and (IV) to formulate recommendations for conservational practice. I surveyed birds in 82 woodlots in an intensively managed landscape in Central Bohemia, Czechia, and measured variables describing woodlots' habitat quality together with woodlots' area, shape, isolation and types of surrounding land-use. I recorded numerous forest and non-forest bird species (57 in total), including some endangered farmland birds. The habitat variables showing significant relationships to bird community...
|
|
|
The importance of woodlots for birds in farmland
Rajmonová, Lenka ; Reif, Jiří (advisor) ; Zasadil, Petr (referee)
One of the outcomes of agricultural intensification is landscape homogenization, particularly obvious in developed countries. Unproductive plots of woody vegetation may represent a refuge for many species within large blocks of open areas. Eventhough it is crucial to assess the importance of such plots for animals in farmland, surprisingly, no synthesis on this topic has been published up to now. Therefore, performance of such an assessment is the main task of this bachelor thesis which is focused on birds since they heavily suffer from agricultural intensification. It was found that marginal vegetation provides not only habitat for breeding and foraging but also ecological corridor for birds᾽ short-distance movement and stopover sites for long-distance migrants. The structure of avian community is affected by specific characteristics of vegetation itself considerably and also by characteristics of landscape in smaller measure. Both farmland and forest birds occur in marginal vegetation, each of these bird groups utilizes these plots in a different way based on its ecological needs, however. The understanding of these mechanisms will allow effective conservation of biodiversity and restoration of once devastated areas. The main goal of conservation should be to ensure heterogeneous landscape mosaic...
|
|
|
A Comparison of Bird Abundance in Different Types of Rural Settlements along the Czech-Austrian Border
Třeská, Klára ; Zasadil, Petr (advisor) ; Hodačová, Lenka (referee)
Abstract
Along with the changes in the management of human, which took place from the mid-20th century, bird populations changed the balances. The aim of my thesis is to determine the differences in the abundance and distribution of selected species of synanthropic birds. These concern of the following species: House sparrow (Passer domesticus), Tree sparrow (Passer montanus), Collared dove (Sreptopelia decaocto), Common linnet (Carduelis cannabina), White wagtail (Motacilla alba), Common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), European greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) and European serin (Serinus serinus). Using the simplified method of mapping (Bibby et al. 1992), the bird census took place in spring 2015 in 20 villages on the Czech-Austrian border. Counting squares were set in each village for different types of environment: the center of the village, edge of village and agricultural area including farm building with livestock.
The results confirm the dependence of house sparrow to agricultural areas with breeding livestock in the Czech Republic. Abundance, density and frequency was evaluate for each species separately. Effect of biotope and state were significant effects only for House sparrow population. Factors of poultry and built up area were significant for White wagtail bird. Effect of state was significant for bird species Collared dove. There were no effects for Tree sparrows populations.
|
|
|
Winter Density of House Sparrow in Different types of Rural Settlements along the Czech – Austria Border
Oberpfalzerová, Michaela ; Zasadil, Petr (advisor) ; Šmejdová, Lucie (referee)
From the point of view of the Czech Republic in the last 80 years we can specify two periods, which had a significant impact on the general character and development in agriculture. The first period can be traced to the 50s of the last century, in which the concentration of agricultural production headed towards to factory farming. The second one began at the beginning of the 90s. At that time a sharp downtown of animal production occurred and the sooner concentrated production began, after the regaining by previous owners, to erode into what it is today private agriculture.
This thesis aims tocontribute to a confirmation of rejection of the hypothesis that the above described changes have a negative impact on the selected avian species. These species are represented by significantsynanthropic birds: house sparrow (which is a crucial representative in this thesis), tree sparrow and collared dove. Thirty municipalities were chosen to emphasize the differences in quantity of these species, half of them located on each side of the border with the Czech Republic and Austria. The comparison of quantities of bird populations took place in the surroundings of the cities Znojmo and Retz.In this thesis the Republic of Austria acts as a country which has not been burdened by a substantial economic development and which has applied the continuous market economy since the end of the Second World War.
In the individual squares the numbers of the representatives of the studied species and the environmental characteristics were recorded during the winter period. The significant differences in the numbers of birds at selected locations were demonstrated using a multifactor ANOVA STATISTICA 12. Moreover, the impact of selected environmental variables on the abundance of observed species was also analysed. It was found that the selected species depend on an inclusion into the individual states as well as on a classification into various biotope types. Finally, the dependence on the area of trees and bushes, the proportion of new buildings and the presence of poultry in the square were also observed. The most numerous species in the Republic of Austria was the house sparrow, the most abundant species in the Czech Republic was the collared dove. A slight increase in the occurrence of the collared dove was recorded in both states. Tree sparrow as a species occurred in relatively large numbers, but only locally. It was found that the populationsof the above mentioned species were generally more numerous in the Austrian municipalities. An interesting fact is that most of the observed individuals in the Czech Republic occurred in village built-up areas rather than in agricultural premises, as it was initially estimated.
|
|
|
Winter Bird Assemblages in Different types of Rural Settlements along the Czech-Polish Border
Moravec, David ; Zasadil, Petr (advisor) ; Šmejdová, Lucie (referee)
In the last few years there has been a significant decrease in the of number of wild birds across the Europe. It is mostly concerns synantropic species and species related to agricultural landscapes. The main cause of this decrease could be the changes in agriculture and also changes in the character of village surroundings and therefore the connection to a decrease of livestock.
In this thesis a comparison of the differences in the bird community in winter months has been made, focusing on a sparrow in the Czech-Polish borderlands. There have been found differences between the agriculture development and development of rural settlements in each of these countries especially in the second part of the 20th.century. At the end of my thesis there are the comparison results of my thesis and the research, that was carried out in the summer months of 2014.
The main research was done between December 2015 and January 2016 along the CzechPolish border. 16 villages were chosen and in each village there were 2 research areas the the dimensions of 100 x 100 meters. The total study consists of 64 research areas in different types of environments. The data collection was done twice in each area.
The results show that in the Czech republic there occurred more birds and also birds species. It has been demonstrated, that poultry farming has a major impact on sparrow numbers. Out of the six surveyed habitats the one with the most birds was found to be found in the middle of a village with a factory farm and the most bird species were found on the outskirts.
|
|
|
Abundance of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and other synantropic species in rural settlements
Havel, Martin ; Zasadil, Petr (advisor) ; Musil, Petr (referee)
The thesis analyses the quantity of eleven species of synanthropic birds. These species include House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris), European Serin (Serinus serinus), Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), Common Linnet (Cardielis cannabinal), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba), Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), and Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). The thesis focuses especially on House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), whose quantity has been decreasing in Czech Republic. The collection of data took place in 2012, 2014 and 2015, from April to June. The census was taken by ten people by means of a modified quick mapping method. The census took place in 180 villages located in eight regions of the Czech Republic. Only villages with population bellow 2000 were included. Two types of counting areas were set in these villages. The counting areas were squares of 100 x 100 metres. There were 229 areas of the first type, placed in ordinary built-up areas. Areas of the second type were set on grounds of factory farms, there were 151 of them. The main aim of the thesis was to find out whether the presence of a factory farm affects quantity of the studied bird species, and to determine which additional environmental factors affect the quantity. The analysed factors included the type of the biotope (a built-up area or a farm factory), location of the census, distance from the village edge, distance from the farm factory, proportion of built-up areas, and proportion of green vegetation. It was further investigated whether the quantity in built-up areas is affected by the presence of poultry, and whether the quantity in farm factories is affected by the functionality (or non-functionality) of the farm factory. It was proved that the overall quantity of all species was significantly affected by the type of biotope, proportion of built-up area and of green vegetation, and the location of the census. The quantity of House Sparrow was affected by the same factors, though the influence of the type of biotope was not proved. The average quantities from built-up areas and from the grounds of the farm factories did not differ significantly in the case of House Sparrow. The quantity of European Tree Sparrow, however, was significantly higher on the grounds of factory farms than in built-up areas. The influence of the presence of poultry in built-up areas on the overall quantity of all species also proved to be significant. The functionality of farm factories significantly influenced the quantity of all species on the grounds of the factory farms. This influence proved to be the most significant in case of House Sparrow and White Wagtail. In both cases, much higher quantity was detected on the grounds of functional farm factories than non-functional ones.
|
|
|
Numbers of selected bird species in various types of village built-up area.
Kebrle, Dominik ; Zasadil, Petr (advisor) ; Šálek, Miroslav (referee)
In Czech rupublic and similar in most of Europe, some of agricultural landscape birds abundance is declining. The biggest decline was record by House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), probably causes by changes in building technique or by lack of food opportunities. The decline in the case of Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) and Linnet (Caduelis cannabina) is attributed to the intensification in farming. In the case of Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is persecution by human possible cause of decline. Estimate abundance overal of eleven bird species was conducted during nestling perion in 2015 in 20 villages situated in the southwest of Central Bohemia. It was select 10 villages with working farming, in these villages was define three census site of 1 ha in different types of bulit-up area (in the centre, in the edge and in factory farm area). In 10 remaining villages was define only two census sites (in the centre and in the edge) because absence of factory farm area. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) significantly favoring village centre in villages without factory farm. Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) significantly prefers the edges in villages with factory farming. Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) significantly favoring village centre no matter on presence of factory farming. Effect of farming on increase of birds abundance wasn´t prove. Only Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) significantly avoid factory farm area. In the case of other factors (bulit-up area, area of trees and shrubs, herb layer surface, proportion of new buildings, distance from factory farm area) was prove influece of trees and shrubs area on House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), which decline abundance with increase the area. It was also prove influence of bulit-up area on Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) which decline abundance with increase the area.
|
guest ::
