Habitat use and population dynamics of the Azure-Winged Magpie ...

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Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of International Nature Conservation Abstract Habitat Use and Population Dynamics of the Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus, and their Response to Fire in Northern Mongolia by Haojin Tan Fires are natural distubances in many ecosystems, but humans have altered fire regimes throughout the world. The effect of fire on organisms, particularly birds, depend on the extent and regime of the fire and the species’ ecology. The Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus is a cooperative breeder, and occurs in a disjunct distribution across much of Asia and in Iberia (Portugal and Spain). I conducted my study on the Northern Mongolian subspecies of Cyanopica cyanus in West Khentii, Northern Mongolia in 2009 and 2010. An anthropogenic fire that broke out in 2009 in the study area provided an opportunity to document the habitat use of the C. cyanus during the breeding seasons of 2009 and 2010, and to investigate the impacts of fire on the population dynamics of C. cyanus. The home range of this colony of C. cyanus is ca. 1.233 km 2 and the colony utilises six main areas (ca. 0.532 km 2 ) in their home range. C. cyanus utilises an area which has the densest Padus asiatica shrub stands within their home range, and which is also the richest in species utilised by the C. cyanus. This area was also the least affected by the fire amongst all six areas in 2009. C. cyanus seemed to have expanded their home range compared to pre-fire years, and a change in social structure was observed. To address questions on population dynamics, four years worth of data was obtained from a previous study of the breeding biology of the same colony of C. cyanus. I found that over the four years: (1) colony size at the beginning of the breeding season did not change; (2) the number of hatched and fledged chicks declined significantly; (3) juvenile survival was constant, but adult survival declined slightly after the year of the major fire and following severe winter; (4) variable iii
proportions of banded adults and juvenile were re-sighted from year to year, suggesting an open population; (5) between 26-67% of adults breed each year; (6) divorce rates in this colony of C. cyanus can be as high as 25%, and females still obtained new mates even though they had bred successfully the previous years; and (7) there was no association between breeding success and likelihood of returning in subsequent years. At this stage, no conclusions can be made about the long-term impacts of fire on this colony. A longer-term study must be conducted in order to understand the population dynamics and ecology of the Northern Mongolian population of Cyanopica cyanus. The presence of cooperative breeding behaviour is expected to affect population structure and how this species reacts to environmental stochasticity and catastrophies. Keywords: Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus, Northern Mongolia, habitat utilisation, forest fire, population dynamics, survival, pair-bonds, site-fidelity. iv
Page 1 and 2: Copyright Statement Lincoln Univers
Page 3: The Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica c
Page 7 and 8: Table of Contents Abstract ........
Page 9 and 10: List of Tables Table 2.1 Definition
Page 11 and 12: Figure 3.9 Proportion of time spent
Page 13 and 14: 1.1 Impact and effects of fire Chap
Page 15 and 16: In contrast to the arguments above,
Page 17 and 18: capacity will result in increased i
Page 19 and 20: The subject of this study, Cyanopic
Page 21 and 22: Chapter 2 Methods 2.1 General Infor
Page 23 and 24: The extreme disjunct distribution o
Page 25 and 26: The IUCN lists Cyanopica cyanus as
Page 27 and 28: Clutches range from four to eleven
Page 29 and 30: logging set up a makeshift camp ca.
Page 31 and 32: 2.2.2 Cyanopica cyanus in Khonin Nu
Page 33 and 34: 2.3 Methods 2.3.1 Data collection H
Page 35 and 36: If the group moved on to another ar
Page 37 and 38: Population Dynamics Nest predation
Page 39 and 40: I investigated the similarities of
Page 41 and 42: I performed a Chi-Square Test of As
Page 43 and 44: Figure 3.2 Home range of Cyanopica
Page 45 and 46: Kassel The area used by the birds i
Page 47 and 48: 2007. It is also the primary night
Page 49 and 50: (a) (b) Figure 3.6 Detailed map of
Page 51 and 52: significantly from 9% in 2009 to 15
Page 53 and 54: observed individuals in Betula plat
Page 55 and 56:
3.3 Population Dynamics 3.3.1 Frequ
Page 57 and 58:
Table 3.6 Life history of individua
Page 59 and 60:
Number of individuals 60 50 40 30 2
Page 61 and 62:
Proportion (%) of individuals re-si
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3.3.4 Breeding individuals Out of t
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3.3.5 Pair-bond retentions Due to t
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Table 3.12 Banded females and known
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Proportion (%) of individuals 80 70
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coordinate system. However, the res
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(Dendrocopus spp. and Picus canus)
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also be useful for further studies
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Cyanopica cyanus respond to aerial
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e explained by the formula which us
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Breeding individuals, pair-bonds, s
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UNICEF, 2010). This event and the f
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(Bayartaa et al., 2007). In Norther
Page 87 and 88:
This study provides a baseline for
Page 89 and 90:
BirdLife International. (2009). Cya
Page 91 and 92:
Ford, H.A. (1989) Ecology of Birds:
Page 93 and 94:
Kirkpatrick, C. & Conway, C. (2010)
Page 95 and 96:
Pryde, M.A. (2003) Using Program 'M
Page 97 and 98:
Valendik, E.N., Ivanova, G.A., Chul
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Appendix A Datasheet for observatio
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Gypsy Moth, Lymantria dispar larvae
Page 103 and 104:
The author coming back from a day i
Page 105:
Dense Padus asiatica form a ‘cano
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