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Habitat selection and consequences for American woodcock in urban landscapes
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Farley, Kathleen Elizabeth. Habitat selection and consequences for American woodcock in urban landscapes. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-n223-pn60

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TitleHabitat selection and consequences for American woodcock in urban landscapes
NameFarley, Kathleen Elizabeth (author); Holzapfel, Claus (chair); Soares, Daphne J (member); Moloney, Kirk A (member); Russell, Gareth J (member); Rutgers University; Graduate School - Newark
Date Created2022
Other Date2022-05 (degree)
SubjectEcology, Wildlife management, American woodcock, Ecological trap, Post-industrial habitat, Urbanization
Extent150 pages : illustrations
DescriptionAnimals within urban landscapes encounter novel and modified environments that come with the potential for increased risk of various forms including predation and disease. Post-industrial describes land that has been developed, then abandoned, allowing succession to resume albeit on a modified trajectory. Wildlife seek out these refuges particularly when the surrounding area may contain less hospitable options. However, ecological traps form when environmental conditions diminish or mask the quality of habitat. Ecological traps occur when individuals erroneously prefer lower quality habitat. The consequences for this selection occur at the population level through lower reproductive levels or greater mortality. Post-industrial habitats potentially create an ecological trap for early successional wildlife which here are evaluated through quantifying collective choices of courting male woodcock. I investigate whether post-industrial habitat is potentially quality habitat or trap habitat American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) that inhabit early successional habitat. My first chapter consists of a review exploring recent advances in ecological trap theory and makes recommendations for further improvements including specifically defining traps by the spring, or the mechanism, which creates the traps. For chapters two and three, I consider the framework of ecological traps as I compare woodcock selection of post-industrial habitat (Liberty State Park) during the courtship period (chapter 2) and the breeding season (chapter 3) to non-industrial sites on an urban to rural gradient across New Jersey. Collectively, chapters 2 and 3 document that woodcock use suburban and urban sites in New Jersey for migration, courtship and throughout the breeding period until fall migration Food availability across the natural suburban and altered urban site are comparable, and predation risk greater at the suburban site. Taken together, there is no immediate indication Liberty State Park is an ecological trap for woodcock, but further study in terms of the impact the park has on female and fledgling woodcock as well as long-term study about impacts of biomagnification from ingesting contaminated soils would provide necessary information to make a determination about traps.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-n223-pn60
LanguageEnglish
CollectionGraduate School - Newark Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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