Project description

The COAST research project is dedicated to investigating the influence of terrestrial predators on ground-nesting bird species in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park. Species such as the black-tailed godwit, redshank, lapwing, curlew and oystercatcher are showing a significant population decline across Europe, which is largely due to predation by the red fox and the invasive raccoon dog. The aim of the project is to develop sustainable and non-lethal conservation measures to ensure the long-term protection of waders and the restoration of ecological functions. The main study area Leybucht-Krummhörn, a foreshore and coastal area of over 2000 hectares in the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea, serves as a model region that should enable the transferability of the findings to supra-regional and international structurally comparable areas.

Methods of re-identification (Re-ID), species ID and bioacoustics will be used to record individual disturbance events and population-based spatial utilisation patterns. By analysing habitat use using telemetry data and drone flights in both extensively and intensively farmed areas, the influence of land use on the availability of food sources and the predators' use of space will be assessed. These findings should help to identify suitable landscape elements that can serve as buffer zones between agricultural and semi-natural areas in order to reduce predation on nests. In parallel, the method of conditioned food aversion will be tested to reduce nest predation.

Head

Prof. Dr Ingo Mose; Dr Peter Schaal

Collaborators

Hana Tebelmann

Duration

Pilot phase - 2024 - 2025 (telemetry, Re-ID, drone flights), core phase - 2025 - 2028 (applied for)

Project partners

Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park Authority, Friedrich-Alexander University Nuremberg-Erlangen

Financing

Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Wetlands Foundation