Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Chamberlain D.E. & Crick H.Q.P. (2003) Temporal and spatial associations in aspects of reproductive performance of Lapwings Vanellus vanellus in the United Kingdom, 1962-99. ARDEA 91 (2): 183-196
The Lapwing Vanellus vanellus has experienced population declines and contractions in range in the UK over the past three decades. Nest monitoring data from the period 1962-99 were analysed to see if the decline could be explained by changes in aspects of reproductive performance described by clutch size, clutch failure rate and lay date. Mean clutch size increased significantly between 1962 and 1999. There was no significant trend in lay date. Clutch failure rates were lowest in the mid- 1970s, but have increased since. These measures of reproductive performance were analysed in relation to four regions: arable, pastoral, marginal upland and upland. Marginal upland had the lowest overall reproductive performance (low clutch sizes and high clutch failure rates) and arable the highest. There were no significant differences in reproductive performance between different nesting habitats (e.g. crop types, unimproved and rough grazing) at a local scale, but grazed grass had higher failure rates and lower clutch sizes than ungrazed grass. Failure rates peaked in the early 1980s in marginal upland regions. Nest destruction as a cause of nest failure was highest during this period. The most common cause of recent nest failure was predation. These results suggest that recent changes in population size may have been influenced by changes in clutch failure rates. This may have been mediated via an increase in grazing intensity in marginal uplands and increased predation rates, possibly associated with habitat change


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