Multiple fragmented habitat-patch use in an urban breeding passerine, the Short-toed Treecreeper

Individual responses of wild birds to fragmented habitat have rarely been studied, despite large-scale habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss resulting from widespread urbanisation. We investigated the spatial ecology of the Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla, a tiny, resident, woodla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one Vol. 15; no. 1; p. e0227731
Main Authors:	Snell, Katherine R S, Jensen, Rie B E, Ortvad, Troels E, Willemoes, Mikkel, Thorup, Kasper
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 14-01-2020 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Animal behavior Animal Distribution Animals Biodiversity Biodiversity loss Biology and Life Sciences Biotelemetry Birds Breeding Certhia brachydactyla Cities Conservation of Natural Resources Corridors (Ecology) Denmark Dispersal Earth Sciences Ecological effects Ecological monitoring Ecology Ecology and Environmental Sciences Ecosystem Ecosystems Evolution Geospatial data Habitat destruction Habitat fragmentation Habitats Home range Land use Macroecology Male Museums Natural history Novels Parks Parks & recreation areas Passeriformes - physiology Radio telemetry Range extension Social Sciences Species Studies Telemetry Trees Urbanization Vegetation Woodlands Denmark Cities United Kingdom
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Summary:	Individual responses of wild birds to fragmented habitat have rarely been studied, despite large-scale habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss resulting from widespread urbanisation. We investigated the spatial ecology of the Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla, a tiny, resident, woodland passerine that has recently colonised city parks at the northern extent of its range. High resolution spatiotemporal movements of this obligate tree-living species were determined using radio telemetry within the urbanized matrix of city parks in Copenhagen, Denmark. We identified regular edge crossing behaviour, novel in woodland birds. While low numbers of individuals precluded a comprehensive characterisation of home range for this population, we were able to describe a consistent behaviour which has consequences for our understanding of animal movement in urban ecosystems. We report that treecreepers move freely, and apparently do so regularly, between isolated habitat patches. This behaviour is a possible driver of the range expansion in this species and may contribute to rapid dispersal capabilities in certain avian species, including Short-toed Treecreepers, into northern Europe. Alternatively, these behaviours might be common and/or provide an adaptive advantage for birds utilising matrix habitats, for example within urban ecosystems.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0227731