Conservation Ecology of the Black Stork in Latvia
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UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA FACULTY OF BIOLOGY Māris Strazds Conservation Ecology of the Black Stork in Latvia Dissertation for a PhD in Biology, Zoology Rīga, 2011 2 Conservation Ecology of the Black Stork in Latvia Māris Strazds The work described in the dissertation has been published as six articles, and one manuscript has been prepared: I Strazds, M. (1993c). Die Änderungen der Nahrungsbiotope der Schwarzstörche in Lettland und deren möglicher Einfluß auf die Storchenpopulation Lettlands und Europas. — Schriftenr. Umwelt u. Naturschutz K. Minden-Lübbecke 2:49–53. II Strazds, M. (1993d). Horstschutzzonen für den Schwarzstorch in Lettland — eine wichtige Maßnahme für den Biotopschutz. In: Schutzstrategien für Schwarzstorch und Rauchfußhühner. Naturschutzzentrum Vasserschloß Mitwitz e.V.: 39–45. III Strazds, M., (1998a). The Status of the World Black Stork Population and Ringing Recoveries, Are all nests equal? In Leshem, Y., E. Lachman & P. Berthold (Eds.) Migrating birds know no boundaries. — The Torgos 28:223–232 IV Strazds, M. (2005). Melnā stārķa (Ciconia nigra) aizsardzības pasākumu plāns Latvijā. Ķemeru Nacionālā parka administrācija. Latvija, Rīga. 70 lpp. V Strazds, M. (2006). Mežsaimnieciskās darbības ietekme uz melnā stārķa ligzdošanas sekmēm. Zinātniskā pētījuma atskaite. Latvijas Ornitoloģijas biedrība, Rīga. 21 lpp. VI Strazds, M., J. Ķuze, S. Reine (2006). Evaluation of Black Stork Ciconia nigra Nest Inspections in Latvia. 2003–2005. Biota 7/1–2: 93–101. VII Strazds, M., H.-G. Bauer, S. Avotiņa (manuskr.) “Silent Spring” Revisited — Recent Breeding Data and Egg-shell Analyses of European Black Storks Corroborate Deleterious DDT Intake in African Wintering Areas. 3 Supervisors Hans-Günther Bauer, Dr. Biol., Max Plank Institut für Ornithologie, Radolfzell, Germany Jānis Priednieks, Asoc. Professor, Dr. Biol., Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia Reviewers Guntis Brūmelis, Professor, Dr. Biol., University of Latvia Jānis Vīksne, Full Member of Latvian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Biol., Institute of Biology Ola Olsson, Asoc. Professor, PhD, University of Lund, Sweden Doctoral committee Guntis Brūmelis, Professor, Dr. Biol., University of Latvia — chairman Tatjana Zorenko, Asoc. professor, Dr. Hab. Biol., University of Latvia Juris Imants Aivars, Professor, Dr. Hab. Biol., University of Latvia Voldemārs Spuņģis, Asoc. professor, Dr. Biol., University of Latvia Indriķis Krams, Dr. Biol., University of Daugavpils The dissertation will be defended at a public meeting of the Doctoral Committee of Biology, University of Latvia, at 4:00 PM on March 29, 2011. The address: Kronvalda Blvd. 4, Rīga. The dissertation will be available at the Library of the University of Latvia, Kalpaka Blvd. 4, Rīga, and the Academic Library of the University of Latvia, Lielvārdes Street 4, Rīga. This dissertation was written at the faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, from 2007 to 2010. Different funding sources have been used in various periods of the work. Separate important parts of this survey have been funded by the Latvian Fund for Nature (1990–1996), the Stock Company "Latvijas valsts meži" (2004–2008), „The Stork Foundation” (2008–2010, Germany) and the European Social Fund (2010); registration No at Univerity of Latvia ESS2009/77, Contract Nr. 2009/0138/1DP/1.1.2.1.2/09/IPIA/VIAA/004, 4 Conservation Ecology of the Black Stork in Latvia Contents Annotation.......................................................................................................................................6 Anotācija .........................................................................................................................................6 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................7 Population changes in Latvia .....................................................................................................8 Factors affecting population size .............................................................................................12 Disturbances.............................................................................................................................13 The quality of habitats..............................................................................................................14 The initial hypotheses....................................................................................................................16 The objective .................................................................................................................................17 Thesis to be defended ....................................................................................................................17 Methods.........................................................................................................................................18 Definitions................................................................................................................................18 Nest inventories........................................................................................................................19 Determination of the breeding season......................................................................................20 Locating and determining the age of nests...............................................................................21 Characteristics of the home range............................................................................................22 The size of foraging territories (home ranges).........................................................................22 The age of nesting trees............................................................................................................23 Visibility of nests from the air .................................................................................................24 Reasons for the abandonment of nests.....................................................................................25 The impact of forestry operations ............................................................................................27 Study of contamination level ...................................................................................................29 Statistical processing of data....................................................................................................30 Results ...........................................................................................................................................32 Breeding success......................................................................................................................32 Habitat......................................................................................................................................32 Characteristics of nest trees and nesting stands .......................................................................35 The location of the nest in the tree...........................................................................................39 The lifespan of nests and nesting locations..............................................................................40 Disturbances.............................................................................................................................43 Impact of predators ..................................................................................................................47 Reasons for nest abandonment and movement distances.........................................................49 Eggshell weight........................................................................................................................52 Changes in eggshell thickness..................................................................................................52 Presence of DDT......................................................................................................................53 Changes in the breeding season ...............................................................................................54 Changes in breeding success....................................................................................................55 Discussion .....................................................................................................................................56 Food .........................................................................................................................................56 The quality of habitats..............................................................................................................56 The impact of forestry..............................................................................................................59 The role of predators................................................................................................................63 Contamination with DDT.........................................................................................................65 Conservation measures and management ................................................................................68 Causal relationships.................................................................................................................71 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................73