Landscape context and little bustard abundance in a fragmented steppe: implications for reserve management in mosaic landscapes

In mosaic landscapes, patch use by animals may depend on features associated with neighbouring patches, e.g. resources or predators. This is of concern for species living in fragmented remnants of natural habitats surrounded by man-modified habitats. We studied how landscape context influenced habitat use by a lekking grassland bird, the little bustard, in a landscape where protected patches of natural steppe were interspersed with improved pastures suitable to bustards, and other unsuitable habitats. At a scale equivalent to a lekking site (30-70 ha), the abundance of displaying males and nesting females on steppe plots increased with increasing availability of improved pastures within I km of plots. This concentration of breeding bustards on steppe habitat around modified pastures may partly result from the species' lekking system. We emphasize that increasing the suitability of managed habitats around protected natural areas may help in maintaining viable populations of native species by providing additional resources or breeding sites. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.