Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues

Simulated social facilitation techniques (e.g. decoys and call playbacks) are commonly used to attract seabirds to restored and artificially created nesting habitats. However, a lack of social stimuli and conspecific cueing at these habitats may limit the use of these sites, at least in the short te...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: CN Greenwell, KS Born, R Admiraal, A Hodgson, JN Dunlop, NR Loneragan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Inter-Research 2021-06-01
Series:Endangered Species Research
Online Access:https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v45/p147-157/
id doaj-13d2047fcf8b407d9213288a1c6f6ca4
record_format Article
spelling doaj-13d2047fcf8b407d9213288a1c6f6ca42021-09-14T08:12:54ZengInter-ResearchEndangered Species Research1863-54071613-47962021-06-014514715710.3354/esr01127Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cuesCN Greenwell0KS Born1R Admiraal2A Hodgson3JN Dunlop4NR Loneragan5Conservation and Environmental Sciences, College of SHEE, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, AustraliaConservation Council of Western Australia, Lotteries West House, 2 Delhi Street, West Perth, Western Australia 6150, AustraliaVictoria University of Wellington, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Kelburn Parade, Wellington 6012, New ZealandConservation and Environmental Sciences, College of SHEE, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, AustraliaConservation and Environmental Sciences, College of SHEE, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, AustraliaConservation and Environmental Sciences, College of SHEE, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, AustraliaSimulated social facilitation techniques (e.g. decoys and call playbacks) are commonly used to attract seabirds to restored and artificially created nesting habitats. However, a lack of social stimuli and conspecific cueing at these habitats may limit the use of these sites, at least in the short term. Therefore, testing the effectiveness of simulated audio-visual cues for attracting gregarious birds is important for conservation planning. In this study, we (1) assessed whether call playback and decoys were associated with an increased likelihood of Australian fairy terns Sternula nereis nereis visiting potentially suitable nesting habitats; (2) tested their behavioral response to different cues; and (3) documented whether social facilitation had the potential to encourage colony establishment. A full cross-over study design consisting of all possible pairings of decoy and call playback treatments (control [no attractants], decoys, call playback, both decoys and playback), allocated as part of a random block design, was undertaken at 2 sites. Linear modeling suggested that call playback was important in explaining the time spent aerial prospecting as well as the maximum number of fairy terns aerial prospecting, although this only appeared to be the case for 1 of the 2 sites. Decoys, on the other hand, did not appear to have any effect on time spent aerial prospecting. The results from this study suggest that audio cues have the potential to encourage site selection by increasing social stimuli, but attractants may be required over several breeding seasons before colonies are established.https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v45/p147-157/
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author CN Greenwell
KS Born
R Admiraal
A Hodgson
JN Dunlop
NR Loneragan
spellingShingle CN Greenwell
KS Born
R Admiraal
A Hodgson
JN Dunlop
NR Loneragan
Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
Endangered Species Research
author_facet CN Greenwell
KS Born
R Admiraal
A Hodgson
JN Dunlop
NR Loneragan
author_sort CN Greenwell
title Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
title_short Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
title_full Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
title_fullStr Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
title_full_unstemmed Social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
title_sort social facilitation for conservation planning: understanding fairy tern behavior and site selection in response to conspecific audio-visual cues
publisher Inter-Research
series Endangered Species Research
issn 1863-5407
1613-4796
publishDate 2021-06-01
description Simulated social facilitation techniques (e.g. decoys and call playbacks) are commonly used to attract seabirds to restored and artificially created nesting habitats. However, a lack of social stimuli and conspecific cueing at these habitats may limit the use of these sites, at least in the short term. Therefore, testing the effectiveness of simulated audio-visual cues for attracting gregarious birds is important for conservation planning. In this study, we (1) assessed whether call playback and decoys were associated with an increased likelihood of Australian fairy terns Sternula nereis nereis visiting potentially suitable nesting habitats; (2) tested their behavioral response to different cues; and (3) documented whether social facilitation had the potential to encourage colony establishment. A full cross-over study design consisting of all possible pairings of decoy and call playback treatments (control [no attractants], decoys, call playback, both decoys and playback), allocated as part of a random block design, was undertaken at 2 sites. Linear modeling suggested that call playback was important in explaining the time spent aerial prospecting as well as the maximum number of fairy terns aerial prospecting, although this only appeared to be the case for 1 of the 2 sites. Decoys, on the other hand, did not appear to have any effect on time spent aerial prospecting. The results from this study suggest that audio cues have the potential to encourage site selection by increasing social stimuli, but attractants may be required over several breeding seasons before colonies are established.
url https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v45/p147-157/
work_keys_str_mv AT cngreenwell socialfacilitationforconservationplanningunderstandingfairyternbehaviorandsiteselectioninresponsetoconspecificaudiovisualcues
AT ksborn socialfacilitationforconservationplanningunderstandingfairyternbehaviorandsiteselectioninresponsetoconspecificaudiovisualcues
AT radmiraal socialfacilitationforconservationplanningunderstandingfairyternbehaviorandsiteselectioninresponsetoconspecificaudiovisualcues
AT ahodgson socialfacilitationforconservationplanningunderstandingfairyternbehaviorandsiteselectioninresponsetoconspecificaudiovisualcues
AT jndunlop socialfacilitationforconservationplanningunderstandingfairyternbehaviorandsiteselectioninresponsetoconspecificaudiovisualcues
AT nrloneragan socialfacilitationforconservationplanningunderstandingfairyternbehaviorandsiteselectioninresponsetoconspecificaudiovisualcues
_version_ 1717379783458816000