Abstract

The factors influencing the number of nightjars on 36 heathland sites (referred to as patches) in Dorset, England were examined using novel spatial integration of existing datasets. Surrogate measures of human density and settlement, including the amount of developed land at different distances from the heath (obtained from aerial photographs) and the actual number of buildings (obtained from Post Code databases) were all found to be highly correlated with each other and to show a strong negative relationship with the density of nightjars present on a patch, regardless of patch size. The amount of woodland (the preferred foraging habitat) surrounding each patch (within 500 m of the patch boundary) was also a significant predictor of nightjar numbers. When used together, the extent of woodland and developed land both gave significant improvements to predictions of nightjar density. The results indicate that the number of nightjars present on a heathland patch is influenced by the surrounding land-use and that the effect of urban development is more than just habitat loss. We suggest that trends identified are at least partly due to actual human presence on the heathlands and as such, human disturbance is potentially a problem for this species.