Simulating the responses of forest bird species to multi-use recreational trails

Authored by Patrick A Zollner, Inaki Rodriguez-Prieto, Victoria J Bennett, Mike Mycroft, Mike List, Esteban Fernandez-Juricic

Date Published: 2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.03.008

Sponsors: Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Although non-consumptive recreation can promote wildlife preservation and add socio-economic value to parks and nature reserves, such activities can have negative implications for wildlife. For sensitive species, recreation can lead to displacement, influence breeding success and reduce survival. Thus managing recreational activities by regulating visitor access, densities and frequency can effectively reduce human-wildlife interactions. In many instances, simulation modeling has been used as a management tool, as it allows the user to explore the impact of alternative park designs and management strategies on wildlife in a risk-free environment. Such exercises tend to focus on single species, generally a species of conservation concern, on which management decisions are based. As an alternative approach, we used a modeling simulation to compare the disturbance caused by different trail designs, trail use rates and the management of invasive vegetation (i.e., removal) on a forest community of breeding birds at a state park in Indiana, USA. Our multi-species approach revealed that an appropriate trail design for one species was not necessarily appropriate for another, even among species of concern. We therefore caution that management based on a single high profile species could have far-reaching implications on the local community. We also found that invasive vegetation removal did not have a cumulative influence on the recreational disturbance experienced by birds. This study demonstrates that by identifying and comparing the differences between individual species within a community, we gain valuable insights that can be used devise more resilient long-term management strategies that aim to preserve biodiversity. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tags

Management Land-use Human disturbance protected areas Predation risk habitat Populations Communities Shrub lonicera maackii Crowned night-herons