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Habitat selection and population status of breeding Wood Snipe Gallinago nemoricola in an alpine meadow in Sichuan, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2023

Xiaotong Ren Open the ORCID record for Xiaotong Ren [Opens in a new window] ,
Shen Zhang Open the ORCID record for Shen Zhang [Opens in a new window] ,
Ke Huang ,
He-Bo Peng ,
Changlin Li ,
Ding Zhao ,
Dehong Pang ,
Yong Wu ,
Peng Liu  and
Peng Chen
...Show all authors
Xiaotong Ren*
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Shen Zhang
Affiliation:
Shan Shui Conservation Center, Beijing 100871, China
Ke Huang
Affiliation:
Chengdu Bird Watching Society, Chengdu 610041, China
He-Bo Peng
Affiliation:
Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
Changlin Li
Affiliation:
Xuebaoding National Nature Reserve, Mianyang 622550, China
Ding Zhao
Affiliation:
Xuebaoding National Nature Reserve, Mianyang 622550, China
Dehong Pang
Affiliation:
Xuebaoding National Nature Reserve, Mianyang 622550, China
Yong Wu
Affiliation:
Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Pingwu County, Mianyang 622550, China
Peng Liu
Affiliation:
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, 610081, China
Peng Chen
Affiliation:
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, 610081, China
Rong Hou
Affiliation:
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, 610081, China
Richard A. Fuller
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
Fangyuan Hua
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Pinjia Que*
Affiliation:
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, 610081, China
*
* Author for correspondence: Xiaotong Ren and Pinjia Que, Email: mintren@gmail.com, quepinjia@gmail.com
* Author for correspondence: Xiaotong Ren and Pinjia Que, Email: mintren@gmail.com, quepinjia@gmail.com
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Summary

The Wood Snipe Gallinago nemoricola is one of the least known shorebird species, and its habitat associations are very poorly understood. Here we provide the first assessment of the habitat use of the Wood Snipe during the breeding season. Between May and July 2021 at a 4-km2 alpine meadow in Sichuan province, China, we conducted population surveys and behavioural observations to identify sites where breeding Wood Snipe occurred and foraged. We quantified the habitat characteristics and food resource availability of these sites and compared them with randomly selected “background” sites. Comparison between 34 occurrence sites and 25 background sites indicated that during the breeding season, Wood Snipes are not distributed evenly across alpine meadow habitats, but preferred habitats in the lower part (3,378–3,624 m) of the alpine meadow with intermediate levels of soil moisture. In addition, comparison between 17 foraging sites and 24 background sites showed that the Wood Snipe tended to forage at sites with higher soil fauna abundance. We found weak evidence for denser vegetation cover at its height and no evidence for other biotic habitat variables such as vegetation composition or other abiotic habitat variables such as slope, soil penetrability, or disturbance level to influence Wood Snipe habitat associations. Our results suggest that the actual distribution range of the Wood Snipe during the breeding season may be smaller than expected from the extent of apparently suitable habitat. We advise caution in evaluating the potential habitat availability and distribution of the Wood Snipe, and call for further research to better understand the ecology of this rare species to inform its conservation.

Keywords

Hengduan MountainsResource selectionShorebirdThreatened species
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 33 , 2023 , e54
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International

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