Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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van der Winden J., Beintema A.J. & Heemskerk L. (2004) Habitat-related Black Tern Chlidonias niger breeding success in The Netherlands. ARDEA 92 (1): 53-61
The Dutch Black Tern Chlidonias niger population showed a decrease of more than 90% over the past 50 years. In some landscape types this decline has continued until recently, but Black Terns in other landscapes have shown a recovery. These trends correlate with differences in breeding success. Relatively high breeding Success was found in riverine landscapes, intermediate success in lowland peat marshes and low success in grasslands and moors. Clutch survival was low in habitats dominated by rhizomes of nymphaeids, where clutches were (partly) lost because of the unstable nest substrate. Most clutches hatched when laid on Water Soldier Stratiotes aloides or anchored rafts. Chick survival is poor in moors, heathland and grassland, intermediate in lowland peat marshes and high in riverine landscapes, but this could not be attributed to differences in nest substrate. Provisioning anchored rafts is useful in habitats where unstable nest substrates, such as floating nymphaeids, cause poor breeding success


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