Consistency and overlap of the diet of seven passerine trans‐saharian migrants during spring stopover at two mediterranean sites

Prey size was evaluated for seven passerine trans‐Saharan migrant species at two spring stopover sites in Sardinia, Italy. The species considered were Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata, Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus, Garden Warbler Sylvia borin, Whitethroat Sylvia communis, Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus and Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix. The analysis was made for three prominent prey types: beetles (Coleoptera), ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and “flying prey” (wasps and bees [Hymenoptera, excluding ants] and flies, Diptera, pooled), The prey size distribution in the diets of some species was very similar to that caught in our insect traps, showing that our estimates of availability are, at least partially, relevant. On the whole, diets deviated from food available in a species consistent way. The size distributions of “flying prey” differed between the two sites but were almost constant in the birds' diets. In contrast, size distributions of available beetles and ants at the sites were similar but were different in the birds' diets. Different feeding behaviour of the birds, in terms of physiological constraints during migratory stopovers, is discussed. Paired species comparisons show that the diets of most species differ significantly in the distribution of the size classes of at least some prey types. The conclusions drawn from the comparisons of the size distributions of all prey items collected from a bird species in one season are very similar to the conclusions drawn from comparisons based on the presence/absence of a size class per faecal sample. We compared the similarities of diet with and without using information on prey size. With the exception of the Pied Flycatcher and the Redstart at one of the study sites, size information did not add to diet segregation. Certain size classes within prey types tended to be common in the diet of these migrant passerines. However, specialization on certain size classes within broad taxonomic categories was not evident.

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“…We found that similar species have diets that overlap in composition (Marchetti et al 1996). M A R C H E T T I E T A L .…”

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confidence: 64%

“…However, other groups, such as aphids, vary in importance in the birds' diets and add to differentiation (Marchetti et al 1996). However, other groups, such as aphids, vary in importance in the birds' diets and add to differentiation (Marchetti et al 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of prey size on diet differentiation of seven passerine species at two spring stopover sites

Marchetti¹,

Locatelli

Noordwijk

et al. 1998

Ibis

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“…The younger the nestlings are, the softer food they are given (Pruska, 1980), and thus aphids are likely suitable prey items for young nestlings. Adult pied flycatchers may also eat aphids (Marchetti et al, 1996). Older nestlings are also given harder food items, such as ants (Meidell, 1961).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult birds and older nestlings consume larger and harder arthropods than younger nestlings (Silverin and Andersson, 1984). Ants, beetles and aphids were the most common food sources of adult pied flycatchers in a study by Marchetti et al (1996). Silverin and Andersson (1984) found that ants (and other Hymenoptera) were the most common prey species delivered to the nestlings.…”

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confidence: 99%

An experimental test of whether pied flycatchers choose the best territory for rearing the young

et al. 2015

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It is often assumed that birds are able to choose a breeding territory that will later on have the most food for nestlings. Studies on this essential question are, however, few. We studied territory choice of a long-distance migrant, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in southwestern Finland. In one study area, we monitored the territory choice of males via the order of territory settlement. Female territory choice was studied experimentally in another study area where the correlation between male and territory quality was removed by not allowing males a free choice of territory. We defined several habitat characteristics and estimated the abundances of invertebrate prey from air, ground and trees with appropriate traps from the surroundings of the nest sites in both study areas. Against the expectation that parent birds would choose an arthropod-rich territory, neither males nor females seemed to choose those territories that later had the most food for nestlings. There was, however, some evidence that more eggs were laid in territories with more aphids and that more fledglings were produced in territories with high ant abundance. Our findings thus suggest that while it would be beneficial for birds to be able to choose food-rich territories, they may not be able to detect the right cues for doing so early in the breeding season. The possibility and importance of detecting the territories with the best prospects of rearing young may, however, vary among and within seasons and more studies on this topic are clearly needed [Current Zoology 61 (4): 604-613, 2015].

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“…Bibby and Green 1981, Berthold 1988, Alerstam and Hedenströ m 1998, Weber et al 1998. This is a time when selection pressures have almost certainly been strong, and the demands of migration are well reflected in species' morphology (Leisler and Winkler 1991, Winkler and Leisler 1992, Mö nkkö nen 1995, Marchetti et al 1996a, fattening strategies (Biebach 1992, Jenni-Eiermann andJenni 1994), food use Simons 1995, Bairlein 1998), energetics (Klaassen and Biebach 1994), physiology (Hume andBiebach 1996, Jenni andJenni-Eiermann 1998), moult strategies (Kaiser 1996), flight speed, routes (Fransson 1995) and other characteristics that may well be genetically determined (Berthold 1991, Berthold and Terrill 1991, Helbig 1996. But is it realistic to view the optimisation of migratory strategies only from these autecological perspectives?…”

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Migration strategies of sylviid warblers: chance patterns or community dynamics?

Howlett¹,

Jüttner²,

Ormerod³

2000

Journal of Avian Biology

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The effects of community dynamics in birds on the optimisation of their migratory strategies is a neglected area. For three years, we captured migrating warblers on autumn passage at a coastal site in western Britain. We used canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to assess spatio‐temporal patterns of occurrence, and principal components analysis (PCA) to assess morphological variation. We calculated Euclidean distance in ordination and morphological space to assess separation between species pairs, and used Monte‐Carlo simulations to assess the probability of pattern occurring by chance.  Ordination revealed five species‐groups separated by habitat type and time of passage. Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Sedge Warbler A. schoenobaenus (Group 1) occurred in wet habitats and peaked simultaneously. In drier habitats with scrub, a first wave of Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla (Group 2) significantly preceded Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia, Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, Whitethroat Sylvia communis and Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca (Group 3), which in all but one case (Lesser Whitethroat) significantly preceded Garden Warbler Sylvia borin (Group 4); peak numbers of Chiffchaffs Phylloscopus collybita and a second wave of Blackcaps (Group 5) occurred later still. Age effects were found only in Acrocephalus, with adults peaking before juveniles.  For seven out of eight pairings within genera, separation in time of passage increased significantly in species that were morphologically similar. The only exception was Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat which differed substantially in both passage time and morphology. Monte‐Carlo simulations showed that chance was unlikely to be responsible for ordination patterns, nor for inter‐specific variation in passage time and its relationship with species morphology.  These data provide annually consistent evidence that migrating sylviid warblers are separated ecologically by habitat use, time of passage and morphology: we cannot refute the hypothesis that community dynamics have influenced niche use and autumn migratory strategy. We call for further tests of the ‘migrant interaction’ hypothesis in other geographical locations and taxa, particularly where migrants are allopatric and interact ecologically only on migration.

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Consistency and overlap of the diet of seven passerine trans‐saharian migrants during spring stopover at two mediterranean sites

Cited by 9 publications

References 20 publications

The effects of prey size on diet differentiation of seven passerine species at two spring stopover sites

The effects of prey size on diet differentiation of seven passerine species at two spring stopover sites

An experimental test of whether pied flycatchers choose the best territory for rearing the young

Migration strategies of sylviid warblers: chance patterns or community dynamics?

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