Abstract Context The disruption of normal activities by humans (i.e. ‘anthropogenic disturbance’) can have important behavioural, physiological and population effects on coastal birds. These negative effects include increased vigilance, increased energy expenditure and reduced nesting success. To overcome this, separation distances (e.g. buffers and setbacks) are often used to separate threatening stimuli, such as humans, from wildlife. However, in most instances the determination of separation distances are based on little empirical information. This is particularly true for Africa, which supports huge populations of Palearctic migrant shorebirds. Aim To determine suitable separation distances that will reduce anthropogenic disturbance to the coastal bird community at West Coast National Park, South Africa. Methods The distance at which a behavioural response (i.e. flight initiation distance, FID) occurred among 15 common coastal bird species when presented with an approaching human was measured. Linear mixed-effects models were used to determine the relationship between FID and body size, migratory status, intraspecific flock size, flock species richness, foraging behaviour and several environmental covariates. Key results Body mass was significantly and positively correlated with FID, indicating that larger birds are more sensitive to the anthropogenic stimulus. Furthermore, it was shown that migratory birds had longer FIDs, suggesting that they are less risk tolerant compared with resident birds. The distance at which the approach was initiated (i.e. the start distance, SD) was also significantly and positively correlated with FID, supporting the hypothesis that birds will flush early to avoid the potential negative consequences of fleeing too late. Finally, there was a novel significant effect of increasing wind speed on increasing FID, suggesting a thermoregulatory trade-off. There was no effect of foraging behaviour, flock size or flock composition on FID. Conclusion Based on these data, buffer distances for tidal habitats at West Coast National Park should be set at ~170 m. Implications Improved understanding of FID, and the morphological and behavioural predictors thereof, will enable West Coast National Park and other protected areas to designate separation distances or buffer zones that reduce the negative effects of anthropogenic disturbance on shorebird communities.

中文翻译：

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在具有全球重要性的湿地定义沿海鸟类的隔离区

摘要背景人类对正常活动的破坏（即“人为干扰”）会对沿海鸟类产生重要的行为、生理和种群影响。这些负面影响包括提高警惕、增加能量消耗和降低筑巢成功率。为了克服这个问题，通常使用间隔距离（例如缓冲和挫折）来将威胁刺激物（例如人类）与野生动物分开。然而，在大多数情况下，间隔距离的确定几乎没有经验信息。非洲尤其如此，它支持大量古北迁徙滨鸟。目的 确定合适的间隔距离，以减少对南非西海岸国家公园沿海鸟类群落的人为干扰。方法 测量了 15 种常见沿海鸟类在接近人类时发生行为反应（即飞行起始距离，FID）的距离。线性混合效应模型用于确定 FID 与体型、迁徙状态、种内鸡群大小、鸡群物种丰富度、觅食行为和几个环境协变量之间的关系。主要结果 体重与 FID 呈显着正相关，表明较大的鸟类对人为刺激更敏感。此外，研究表明候鸟的 FID 更长，这表明与留鸟相比，它们的风险承受能力更差。开始进近的距离（即起始距离，SD）也与 FID 显着正相关，支持鸟类会提前冲洗以避免过晚逃离的潜在负面后果的假设。最后，增加风速对增加 FID 有一个新的显着影响，表明温度调节权衡。觅食行为、鸡群大小或鸡群组成对 FID 没有影响。结论 基于这些数据，西海岸国家公园潮汐栖息地的缓冲距离应设置为~170 m。影响 提高对 FID 及其形态和行为预测因子的理解，将使西海岸国家公园和其他保护区能够指定间隔距离或缓冲区，以减少人为干扰对滨鸟群落的负面影响。