Abstract (eng)
Eurasian Curlews (Numenius arquata) breed in various landscapes in Austria. In 2017, their vigilance behavior was studied in breeding territories in Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Burgenland. Considering habitat preferences of breeding Curlews, following questions were addressed: (I) Which habitat parameters affect vigilance behavior (scan rate), with a special focus on the impact of the distance to woody structures and the vegetation height on the scan rate? (II) Do potential predators influence vigilance behavior? (III) Is there a relationship between breeding success and vigilance? (IV) Are there any regional differences in territory size? A model selection approach was used to determine the most important predictors for the number of scans per minute. The average territory size in Eastern Austria of 12.52 ha was ~24% higher compared to Western Austria, indicating that the openness of landscapes in Eastern Austria is facilitating larger territories. Vegetation height, distance to woody structures and territory size emerged as most important predictors for variation in scan rates. Increasing vegetation heights and consequent visual obstructions lead to an increasing scan rate. Distances between 100-150 m to woody structures emerged as important predictors for the scan rate with lower scan rates closer to woody structures. Vigilance behavior of Eurasian Curlews seems to be more dependent on territory size, geographical differences and vegetational structures than on potential predators. The occurrence of potential avian predators did not prove affecting recorded scan rates. Nevertheless, effects of potential, mostly nocturnal mammalian predators could not be quantified and need to be further investigated.