title: Evidence for the buffer effect operating in multiple species at a national scale.
abstract: A long-standing aim of ecologists is to understand the processes involved in regulating populations. One such mechanism is the buffer effect, where lower quality habitats are increasingly used as a species reaches higher population densities, with a resultant average reduction in fecundity and survival limiting population growth. Although the buffer effect has been demonstrated in populations of a number of species, a test of its importance in influencing population growth rates of multiple species across large spatial scales is lacking. Here, we use habitat-specific population trends for 85 bird species from long-term national monitoring data (the UK Breeding Bird Survey) to examine its generality. We find that both patterns of population change and changes in habitat preference are consistent with the predictions of the buffer effect, providing support for its widespread operation.
authors.affiliation: British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK.
authors.forename: Martin J P
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5955-0483
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK stuart.newson@bto.org.
authors.forename: Stuart E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Newson
authors.affiliation: British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Pearce-Higgins
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Breeding Bird Survey; density-dependence; habitat selection; population regulation; population trend