Abstract
In this study, we explored the habitat associations of the five most abundant passerine species nesting in the Ebro Delta reedbeds (NE Spain). Habitat characteristics (water depth, vegetation height and density, and plant-species composition) and abundance of all passerine species were measured at each of the 68 sampling points. The sampled area included most of the reedbeds in the Ebro Delta. Sampling points were classified according to the habitat paramenters measured using cluster analysis. The resulting four habitat types differed in the composition and attributes of their passerine communities. The abundance of the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) was greatest in tall, permanently inundated and almost monospecific Phragmites reedbeds. In contrast, the numbers of the reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) and Savi’s warbler (Locustella luscinioides) were greatest in areas of drier soils and a denser basal stratum. Finally, the fan-tailed warbler (Cisticola juncidis) showed no clear habitat association. In the Ebro Delta, reedbed management includes freshwater inputs and burning of standing reeds. These practices promote tall, permanently inundated reedbeds with minimal detrital accumulation. Bird species richness and diversity were greater in less intensely-managed habitats, but only diversity was significant (p<0.001). We conclude that, since reedbeds are important habitats for several scarce bird species, and the abundance of these species seem to be influenced by vegetation structure, bird conservation considerations should be incorporated into future reedbed management practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bibby, C. J. and J. Lunn. 1982. Conservation of reed beds and their avifauna in England and Wales. Biological Conservation 23:167–186.
Bibby, C. J., N. Burgess, and D. A. Hill. 1992. Bird Census Techniques. Academic Press, London, UK.
Burgess, N. and C. Evans. 1989. The Management of Reed-Beds for Birds. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Bird Life International, Sandy, UK.
Byers, C., U. Olsson, and J. Curson. 1995. Buntings and Sparrows. A Guide to the Buntings and North American Sparrows. Pica Press, Nr. Robertsbridge, UK.
Cody, M. L. 1978. Habitat selection and interspecific territoriality among the sylviid warblers of England and Sweden. Ecological Monographs 48:351–396.
Cody, M. L. (ed.) 1985. Habitat Selection in Birds. Academic Press. London, UK.
Collins, S. L., F. C. James, and P. G. Risser. 1982. Habitat relationships of wood warblers (Parulidae) in northern central Minnesota. Oikos 39:50–58.
Comín, F. A., M. Martín, M. Menéndez, J. A. Romero, and J. A. Herrera-Silveira. 1995. Integrated management of a coastal lagoon in the Ebro Delta. p. 883–895. In E. Özhan (ed.) Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment, MEDCOAST 95, Tarragona, Spain.
Comín, F. A., M. Menéndez, and E. Forés. 1987. Salinidad y nutrientes en las lagunas costeras del Delta del Ebro. Limnética 3: 1–8.
Cowie, N. R., W. J. Sutherland, M. K. M. Ditlhogo, and R. James. 1992. The effects of conservation management of reed beds. II The flora and litter disappearance. Journal of Applied Ecology 29: 277–284.
Cramp, S. (ed.). 1992. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol VI. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Cramp, S. and C. M. Perrins. (eds.) 1994. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol IX. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Curcó, A., A. Canicio, and C. Ibáñez. 1997. Mapa d’hàbitats potencials al delta de l’Ebre. Butlletí Parc Natural Delta de l’Ebre 9:4–12.
Curcó, A., C. Ibáñez, and J. W. Day. 1996. Evolution of primary production and decomposition. p. 6.1–6.35. In Impact of Climatic Change on Northwestern Mediterranean Deltas. Final Report, Vol. 1. LIM, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Díaz, M., R. Carbonell, T. Santos, and J. L. Telleria. 1998. Breeding bird communities in pine plantations of the Spanish plateaux: biogeography, landscape and vegetation effects. Journal of Applied Ecology 35:562–574.
Ditlhogo, M. K. M., R. James, B. R. Laurence, and W. J. Sutherland. 1992. The effects of conservation management of reed beds. I. The invertebrates. Journal of Applied Ecology 29:265–276.
Fasola, M. and X. Ruiz. 1996. The value of rice fields as substitutes for natural wetlands for waterbirds in the Mediterranean Region. Colonial Waterbirds 19 (Special Publication 1): 122–128.
Fouces, V. 1995. Les comunitats d’helòfits i el poblament d’espècies de Passeriformes associat a l’illa de Buda. Departament de Medi Ambient (Generalitat de Catalunya), Barcelona, Spain. Unpublished report.
Hansen, A. J., W. C. McComb, R. Vega, M. G. Raphael, and M. Hunter. 1995. Bird habitat relationships in natural and managed forests in the west cascades of Oregon. Ecological Applications 5:555–569.
Hawke, C. J. and P. V. José. 1996. Reedbed Management for Commercial and Wildlife Interest. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK.
Hoi, H., T. Eichler, and J. Dittami. 1991. Territorial spacing and interspecific competition in three species of reed warblers. Oecologia 87:443–448.
Honza, M., A. Moksnes, E. Roskaft, and I. J. Øien. 1999. Effect of Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus on the reproductive tactics of the Reed Warbler A. scirpaceus. Ibis 141:489–506.
Hutcheson, K. 1970. A test for comparing diversities based on the Shannon Formula. Journal of Theoretical Biology 29:151–154.
Krebs, C. J. 1989. Ecological Methodology. Harper Collins, New York, NY, USA.
Legendre, L. and P. Legendre. 1997. Numerical Ecology, second English edition. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Leisler, B., H.-W. Ley, and H. Winkler. 1989. Habitat, behaviour and morphology of Acrocephalus warblers: an integrated analysis. Ornis Scandinavica 20:181–186.
Lenssen, J. M. P., F. B. J. Menting, W. H. Van der Putten, and C. W. P. M. Blom. 2000. Variation in species composition and species richness within Phragmites australis dominated riparian zones. Plant Ecology 147:137–146.
Martínez-Vilalta, A. and F. Giró. 1996. Case study 3: Spain. The Ebro Delta. p. 103–106. In A. J. Hails (ed.) Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar Convention Bureau & Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ahmedabad, India.
May, R. M. 1975. Patterns of species abundance and diversity. p. 81–120. In M. L. Cody and J. M. Diamond (eds.) Ecology and Evolution of Communities. Belknap Press, Cambridge, UK.
Menéndez, M. and F. Comín. 1987. Las lagunas costeras del delta del Ebro: criterios ecológicos básicos para su gestión. Butlletí Parc Natural Delta de l’Ebre 2:32–35.
Mitsch, W. J. and J. G. Gosselink. 1993. Wetlands, 2nd ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, NY, USA.
Rice, J., R. D. Ohmart, and B. W. Anderson. 1983. Habitat selection attributes of an avian community: a discriminant analysis investigation. Ecological Monographs 53:263–290.
Rotenberry, J. T. and J. A. Wiens. 1980. Habitat structure, patchiness, and avian communities in North American steppe vegetation: a multivariate analysis. Ecology 61:1228–1250.
SEO/Birdlife. 1997. Atlas de las aves de España (1975–95). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
Tucker, G. M. and M. F. Heath. 1994. Birds in Europe: Their Conservation Status. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
Wiens, J. A. 1989. The Ecology of Bird Communities Vol 1. Foundations and Patterns. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK.
Wiens, J. A. and J. T. Rotenberry. 1981. Habitat associations and community structure of birds in shrubsteppe environments. Ecological Monographs 51:21–41.
Winkler, H. and B. Leisler. 1985. Morphological aspects of habitat selection in birds. p. 415–434. In M. L. Cody (ed.) Habitat Selection in Birds. Academic Press, London, UK.
Zahl, S. 1977. Jackknifing an index of diversity. Ecology 58:907–913.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Martínez-Vilalta, J., Bertolero, A., Bigas, D. et al. Habitat selection of passerine birds nesting in the Ebro Delta reedbeds (NE Spain): Management implications. Wetlands 22, 318–325 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0318:HSOPBN]2.0.CO;2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0318:HSOPBN]2.0.CO;2