engleski

Influence of visitor numbers on breeding birds in the Paklenica National Park, Croatia

The Paklenica National Park was closed to visitors during the war in Croatia from 1991-1995. When the war ended the Park was reopened to the public and the numbers of visitors increased during the research period until the end of 2001. We investigated the impact of the increase in the numbers of two categories of visitors (walkers and climbers) on the bird species community. Fifty-six species of breeding birds were recorded in the most frequently visited part of the Park, the Velika Paklenica Canyon, between 1996 and 2001. Redundancy Analysis established that more species were positively correlated with the number of visitors than were negatively correlated. The positively correlated species were: Rock Dove (Columba livia), Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), House Martin (Delichon urbica), Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius), Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumayer), Marsh Tit (Parus palustris), Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala), Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus), Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Picoides minor), Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), and Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). The negatively correated species were: Chifchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca), Eurasian Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis), Great Tit (Parus major), Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia), Long tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus), Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo), Black- eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica), and Black Bird (Turdus merula). The impact of climbers and walkers could not be differentiated due to the intercorrelation between them. We discuss the influence of visitor flows, climbing and other recreational activites on the breeding bird community.

nature conservation; climbing; Mediterranean; redundancy analysis

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