Title: The oystercatcher : from individuals to populations /
Authors: Goss-Custard, John.
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 1996
Subjects: Eurasian oystercatcher Behavior.; Eurasian oystercatcher Ecology.; Bird populations.
Abstract: This book reviews what is known about the behavior and population ecology of a popular shorebird, from a scientific conservation perspective. The plight of this bird highlights the many conflicts of interest in coastal zones, between human activities such as shellfishing, land reclamation, barrage construction, and industrial pollution, and the needs of wildlife for food and suitable habitats. As well as detailing Oystercatcher natural history - including the well-known specialization in feeding technique shown by individuals - the authors use their field studies of individual variations in behaviour to produce population models. This novel approach provides tools for predicting how populations will respond to the many environmental changes to which the coastal zone is subject. It thus can play a role in coastal management schemes that seek to balance the needs of people and wildlife, and suggests that the same methods can be applied in other situations. The volume contains fifteen well-integrated chapters by an international team of contributors, and is fully referenced.
Contents: Introduction / John D. Goss-Custard -- 1. Food and feeding behaviour / Jan B. Hulscher -- 2. Prey size selection and intake rate / Leo Zwarts, John T. Cayford, Jan B. Hulscher, Marcel Kersten, Patrick M. Meire and Patrick Triplet -- 3. Specialization / William J. Sutherland, Bruno J. Ens, John D. Goss-Custard and Jan B. Hulscher -- 4. Feeding with other Oystercatchers / Bruno J. Ens and John T. Cayford -- 5. Where to feed / John D. Goss-Custard, Andrew D. West and William J. Sutherland -- 6. How Oystercatchers survive the winter / John D. Goss-Custard, Sarah E. A. le V. dit Durell, Cameron P. Goater, Jan B. Hulscher, Rob H. D. Lambeck, Peter L. Meininger and Jamil Urfi -- 7. Why do Oystercatchers migrate? / Jan B. Hulscher, Klaus-Michael Exo and Nigel A. Clark -- 8. Life history decisions during the breeding season / Bruno J. Ens, Kevin B. Briggs, Uriel N. Safriel and Cor J. Smit -- 9. Rearing to independence / Uriel N. Safriel, Bruno J. Ens and Alan Kaiser -- 10. Haematopus ostralegus in perspective: comparisons with other Oystercatchers / Philip A. R. Hockey -- 11. Oystercatchers and man in the coastal zone / Rob H. D. Lambeck, John D. Goss-Custard and Patrick Triplet -- 12. The carrying capacity of coastal habitats for Oystercatchers / John D. Goss-Custard, Andrew D. West, Ralph T. Clarke, Richard W. G. Caldow and Sarah E. A. le V. dit Durell -- 13. Population dynamics: predicting the consequences of habitat change at the continental scale / John D. Goss-Custard, Sarah E. A. le V. dit Durell, Ralph T. Clarke, Albert J. Beintema, Richard W. G. Caldow, Peter L. Meininger and Cor J. Smit -- Conclusions: From individuals to populations: progress in Oystercatchers / John D. Goss-Custard -- Appendix 1. The Exe estuary Oystercatcher-mussel model / Ralph T. Clarke and John D. Goss-Custard.