Population status, habitat preference and distribution of Bristled Grassbird Chaetornis striata in Bangladesh

作者：Sayam U. Chowdhury, Mohammod Foysal, Nazim Uddin Khan, Sakib Ahmed, M. Abdullah Abu Diyan · 发表于：Bird Conservation International · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1017/s0959270922000223 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Wildlife Ecology and Conservation、Species Distribution and Climate Change、Avian ecology and behavior

Summary The little-known Bristled Grassbird Chaetornis striata is thought to be declining due to the loss of grassland habitats throughout its range, and is currently classified as globally ‘Vulnerable’. In order to investigate the current status and possible causes of the presumed decline, we assessed population density of Bristled Grassbird in Padma and Jamuna river systems of Bangladesh. The study was conducted during the breeding seasons of the Bristled Grassbird in April and May in 2016–2019, using distance sampling and habitat suitability modelling. We also examined habitat preferences and responses to environmental changes based on vegetation structure and habitat modifications at point count locations. We detected a total of 39 birds with a mean group size of 1.44 individuals. We estimated 4.52 (95% CI: 2.65–7.73) individuals per km 2 with an encounter rate of 1.48 detections per point count station and 341.15 birds within the study area. Our habitat suitability model projected a total of 167.41 km 2 of suitable habitat and a total of 756.7 birds in floodplain grasslands of Padma and Jamuna river systems. The Bristled Grassbird was positively associated with grass height and grass density with 92.31% of 39 detections at Saccharum spontaneum dominated grasslands. We did not find a significant effect on Bristled Grassbird detections with increasing human activities, although the detection rate decreased linearly with increasing agricultural intervention and grass harves...