Role of protected areas for a colonial-breeding waterbird in a fragmented landscape throughout its annual cycle.

Context: Throughout their annual cycle and life stages, animals depend on a variety of habitats to meet their vital needs. However, habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are making it increasingly difficult for mobile species such as birds to find suitable habitats. Wetlands are highly productive systems of great importance to many animals, but their continued degradation threatens their capacity to support different species, including waterbirds. In this context, waterbirds are likely to benefit not only from the creation and management of protected wetlands, but also from the existence of anthropogenic wetlands, managed for economic or recreational activities. Objectives: We investigated the habitat use of Eurasian spoonbills within an extensive and heterogeneous area in Southern France, and how it varies across the annual cycle and for different age classes. Methods: We tracked 91 spoonbills of different ages throughout their annual cycle and tested for overall differences in the use of strongly protected areas in Camargue between periods and age classes. Additionally, we identified the main sites used and their management practices. Results: Our study shows that privately managed wetland areas play a complementary role to strongly protected areas: they may provide spoonbills (and other waterbirds) with suitable foraging habitat at certain periods of the year when these are less available in strongly protected areas. Conclusions: This study illustrates how the spoonbill, a moderately specialized species, is benefiting from current global changes due to its ability to use suitable habitats, natural and artificial, in fragmented landscapes. Nevertheless, reliance on privately managed wetland areas may have serious consequences for species that are highly dependent on them, and thus, habitat management promoting natural conditions may be crucial to maintain species resilience. It is therefore essential to understand how specific management actions may affect waterbird presence and habitat use, not only to enhance the effectiveness of conservation efforts, but also to promote wetland connectivity and species resilience, particularly in fragmented landscapes. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-024-02017-5.