Abstract
Faunal community composition, as well as densities and activity patterns of individual species, may change clinally with proximity of breeding habitat to ecotones. In this chapter the term edge effects refers generally to any such spatial gradients. (A glossary of terms and symbols is provided as an appendix. All terms included in the appendix were italicized on first mention in the text.) Edge effects may involve increases in avian breeding density near edges, as well as increases in the abundance and activity patterns of nest predators and brood parasites (Wilcove, 1985; Ambuel and Temple, 1983; Brittingham and Temple, 1983; Chasko and Gates, 1982; Whitcomb et al.,1981; Gates and Gysel, 1978). Over the past two decades ornithologists have conducted a great number of field studies to investigate edge effects on avian productivity, but there has been relatively little discussion of the mechanisms that may cause such effects.
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Winslow, D.E. (1999). Mechanistic Approaches to the Investigation of Edge Effects on Avian Productivity. In: Nolan, V., Ketterson, E.D., Thompson, C.F. (eds) Current Ornithology. Current Ornithology, vol 15. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4901-4_6
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