首页|The influence of surrounding habitat, behaviour and interspecific competition on nestbox use by endangered Glossy Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus)
The influence of surrounding habitat, behaviour and interspecific competition on nestbox use by endangered Glossy Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus)
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NSTL
Wiley
Nestboxes have been deployed for parrots and cockatoos (Psittaciformes) worldwide, but there is limited evidence of their efficacy for these species. We examined the use of nestboxes by endangered South Australian Glossy Black Cockatoos Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus, a habitat specialist that feeds almost solely on the seeds of Drooping Sheoak Allocasuarina verticillata trees, and investigated the factors that influenced nestbox use. Between 1998 and 2017, the mean annual proportion of nesting attempts that successfully fledged a chick was similar in nestboxes (52%, n = 547) and natural hollows (53%, n = 627). Nestbox use increased over time, which may reflect changes in the size and extent of the Glossy Black Cockatoo population over the study period. Nestboxes were more likely to be used by Glossy Black Cockatoos if they were close to the nest of another breeding pair and were not occupied by Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos Zanda funerea early in the breeding season. Nestboxes were also more likely to be used if they had been used in the previous breeding season, indicating nest-site fidelity. The amount of A. verticillata feeding habitat in a 1-km and 5-km radius did not significantly influence nestbox use. Our study provides further evidence of the value of nestboxes to cockatoo conservation programmes, but also suggests that multiple factors other than local food availability influence uptake by a target species. Given that Glossy Black Cockatoos prefer to aggregate their nests, nestboxes for this species are most likely to be beneficial when they are used to expand the capacity of existing breeding areas or are clustered in the landscape. Our study demonstrates that well-designed nestbox deployments should consider the preferred social groupings of cockatoos during the breeding season, and the location of competitor species, in order to maximize nestbox uptake.
NSTL
Wiley
