ARSF project GB04/03: Influence of habitat structure and composition on energy expenditure and overall reproductive rate of woodland bird species. Led by: Shelly Hinsley. Location: Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK.

ARSF project GB04/03: Influence of habitat structure and composition on energy expenditure and overall reproductive rate of woodland bird species. Led by: Shelly Hinsley. Location: Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK. In lowland Britain, deforestation was extensive as long ago as the 14th century. Many woodland bird species have adapted to use secondary habitats such as tree and hedgerow networks in farmland and woody vegetation in urban parks and gardens. Various studies have documented reduced breeding success in birds living in such secondary habitats, but the costs to adults, in terms of time and energy, have been little studied. Adult birds attempting to feed young in habitats where food supplies are patchily distributed will waste time and energy moving between patches and suffer increased exposure to adverse weather. We were measuring energy expenditure in free-living tits breeding in a number of secondary habitats. We proposed to use LIDAR, ATM and CASI data to quantify habitat structure and composition to investigate how these features influence adult energy expenditure and overall reproductive success. Such remote-sensed data will be particularly valuable for these spatially complex habitats in which good foraging habitat is mixed with poor (e.g. exotic tree species) and nil (e.g. mown grass, open water) quality land uses. This work extends our current studies (published and on-going) using LIDAR, ATM and CASI data to quantify and model habitat quality for birds.