Salzburger Geographische Materialien, Heft 25. The relationship between the distribution of birds over an intertidal area and abiotic parameters was studied by estimating densities of birds on 32 study plots. With the help of a multiple regression analysis a model was build, which allowed the calculation of the distribution over the entire study area on the basis of maps of the parameters elevation, sediment composition, and distance to the high-tide roost. Inhalt Introduction Coastal areas, especially intertidal flats, are often sites of conflict between nature conservation and human utilization. For example, for many bird populations the European Wadden Sea is the only stepping-stone on their ca.
Birds utilising tidal flats often face vast areas of seemingly uniform feeding grounds.
Therefore, spatial utilization patterns of birds have to be known in detail to assess the impact of human activities. Unfortunately, direct mapping of the bird's distribution is not applicable, since a temperate intertidal area changes continuously in a 12.5 hour rhythm and areas are so large, that it is impossible to check them completely. Since most birds species can only forage on flats that are not covered by deep water, availability of tidal flats for shorebirds is directly related to exposure time. As a measurement of exposure time elevation was used. On the basis of this grid all other maps were produced.