<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>We investigated relationships among bustard presence data as response as well as properties of habitat patches such as shape, size, type of land use and landscape connectivity in 2015, employing bustard occurrence data in Körös-Maros National Park (KMNP hereafter). Additionally, we aimed to present a geometrical approach of habitat choice in animals, focusing on geometric properties rather than vegetation structure. Here we applied landscape metrics approach, providing landscape classification by analysing spatial patterns in potentially important landscape objects, disregarding linear constructions. Our findings show insignificant differences between shape metrics of selected and non-selected habitat patches, in line with previous studies concluding that bustards choose habitats based on habitat type classes rather than on geometric properties. Further, our results indicate that the original habitats of the study species, adapted to extensive, open steppes, became strongly fragmented, resulting in the absence of large contiguous areas. Within the study area, landscape connectivity values represent optimal habitat conditions, probably as a result of highly patchy structure of the landscape and relatively small nearest neighbour distances of habitat patches. Thus, our findings also indicate that Great Bustards adapted to modified landscape structures. Our landscape analytical approach provides a methodological framework which can be applied on habitat selection tactics in a number of species of key conservation importance.</p></abstract>

We investigated relationships among bustard presence data as response as well as properties of habitat patches such as shape, size, type of land use and landscape connectivity in 2015, employing bustard occurrence data in Körös-Maros National Park (KMNP hereafter). Additionally, we aimed to present a geometrical approach of habitat choice in animals, focusing on geometric properties rather than vegetation structure. Here we applied landscape metrics approach, providing landscape classification by analysing spatial patterns in potentially important landscape objects, disregarding linear constructions. Our findings show insignificant differences between shape metrics of selected and non-selected habitat patches, in line with previous studies concluding that bustards choose habitats based on habitat type classes rather than on geometric properties. Further, our results indicate that the original habitats of the study species, adapted to extensive, open steppes, became strongly fragmented, resulting in the absence of large contiguous areas. Within the study area, landscape connectivity values represent optimal habitat conditions, probably as a result of highly patchy structure of the landscape and relatively small nearest neighbour distances of habitat patches. Thus, our findings also indicate that Great Bustards adapted to modified landscape structures. Our landscape analytical approach provides a methodological framework which can be applied on habitat selection tactics in a number of species of key conservation importance.

Habitat selection of the Great Bustard <italic>(Otis tarda)</italic> in Körös-Maros National Park

Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Department of Landscape Protection and Landscape Ecology

Department of Conservation Zoology, Hortobágy National Park

Ornis Hungarica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Habitat selection of the Great Bustard  in Körös-Maros National Park

We investigated relationships among bustard presence data as response as well as properties of habitat patches such as shape, size, type of land use and...

Habitat selection of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) in Körös-Maros National Park

Published Online: Jul 25, 2018

Page range: 89 - 94

Received: Sep 03, 2017

Accepted: Jun 19, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2018-0006

Keywords
Great Bustard, landscape metrics, habitat patch, land cover, CORINE

© 2018 Zoltán Szenek et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Habitat selection of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) in Körös-Maros National Park

Published Online: Jul 25, 2018

Page range: 89 - 94

Received: Sep 03, 2017

Accepted: Jun 19, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2018-0006

KeywordsGreat Bustard, landscape metrics, habitat patch, land cover, CORINE

© 2018 Zoltán Szenek et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Great Bustard, landscape metrics, habitat patch, land cover, CORINE