Gap-crossing decisions of forest birds in a fragmented landscape Robertson, Oliver J. and Radford, James Q. 2009, Gap-crossing decisions of forest birds in a fragmented landscape, Austral ecology, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 435-446, doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.01945.x. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Gap-crossing decisions of forest birds in a fragmented landscape Author(s) Robertson, Oliver J. Radford, James Q. Journal name Austral ecology Volume number 34 Issue number 4 Start page 435 End page 446 Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia Place of publication Milton, Qld. Publication date 2009-06 ISSN 1442-9985 1442-9993 Keyword(s) call playback Collurincla harmonica Cormobates leucophaeus functional connectivity gap-tolerance habitat fragmentation Summary Habitat loss and fragmentation are recognized as primary drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide. To understand the functional effects of habitat fragmentation on bird populations, data on movement across gaps in habitat cover are necessary, although rarely available. In this study, we used call playback to simulate a conspecific territorial intruder to entice birds to move through the landscape in a predictable and directional manner. We then quantified the probability of movement in continuous forest and across cleared gaps for two forest-dependent species, the grey shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) and the white-throated treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaeus). Fifty-four playback trials were conducted for each species across distances ranging from 25 to 480 m in continuous forest and 15-260 m across gaps in a forest-agricultural landscape in southern Victoria, Australia. The probability of movement was significantly reduced by gaps in forest cover for both species. Shrike-thrushes were six times more likely to move 170 m in continuous forest than to cross 170-m gaps. The mean probability that treecreepers would cross any gap at all was less than 0.5, and they were three times less likely to move 50 m across a gap than through continuous forest. Both species displayed non-linear responses to increasing gap distance: we identified a gap-tolerance threshold of 85 m for the shrike-thrush and 65 m for the treecreeper beyond which individuals were most unlikely to cross. The presence of scattered paddock trees increased functional connectivity for the shrike-thrush, with individuals crossing up to 260 m when scattered trees were present. We conclude that gaps in habitat cover are barriers to movement, and that characteristics of the intervening matrix influence landscape permeability. Language eng DOI 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.01945.x Field of Research 050104 Landscape Ecology Socio Economic Objective 961305 Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas in Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2009, The Authors Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30023664 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Life and Environmental Sciences Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Fri, 12 Feb 2010, 10:50:37 EST Fri, 12 Feb 2010, 11:14:58 EST Mon, 15 Feb 2010, 08:28:51 EST Mon, 15 Feb 2010, 08:30:30 EST Mon, 20 Feb 2012, 12:46:27 EST Mon, 16 Jun 2014, 14:22:49 EST Fri, 17 Oct 2014, 10:04:55 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 69 times in TR Web of Science Cited 72 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 447 Abstract Views, 1 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Fri, 12 Feb 2010, 10:50:34 EST by Teresa Treffry