Diet of the Little Owl (<i>Athene noctua</i>) during the pre-reproductive period in a semi-arid Mediterranean region

Chenchouni, Haroun

doi:10.1080/21658005.2014.965919

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…; and (vii) the SRI/S ratio, which varies between 0 and 1. Some diversity parameters (N, S, RF) were expressed at the level of taxonomic orders to facilitate comparisons with previous studies (Chenchouni 2014(Chenchouni , 2017.…”

Section: Data Analysis: Diversity Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of insects associated with olive (Oleaceae) groves across a dryland climate gradient in Algeria

2019

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This study investigated insect diversity of olive (Olea europaea Linnaeus (Oleaceae)) groves grown in arid and semiarid climates in northeastern Algeria. Using several sampling techniques, a total of 1326 insect specimens were collected and identified into 151 species, 124 genera, 65 families, and 10 orders. Hymenoptera and Coleoptera were quantitatively the most abundant, whereas the dominant functional feeding groups were phytophages then predators. The entomofauna included several olive pests such as Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), Parlatoria oleae (Colvée) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera: Liviidae), and Liothrips oleae Costa (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Although insect diversity parameters recorded for both observed and expected species richness were higher in olive groves grown under semiarid compared with arid climate, the completeness rate of species richness obtained using the nonparametric incidence estimators was higher in arid olive groves. Generalised linear models showed that the number of individuals and species richness varied significantly between climates (P < 0.01), whereas the variation of the rest of diversity parameters was not significant. Diversity traits of insect assemblage of each climatic region were positively correlated. Besides, the Mantel permutation test revealed similar patterns (r = 0.91, P < 0.0001) between correlation matrices of the two climates. When increasing the number of samples, species richness extrapolation revealed that diversity is expected to increase by 130% in olive groves grown under arid climate and 93% in semiarid climate. These increases are related to continuous appearance of rare and scarce insects as demonstrated by species rarefaction curves. Even with high evenness values of insect communities, similarity was low between climate indicating the rarity and scarcity of populations.

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Section: Data Analysis: Diversity Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of insects associated with olive (Oleaceae) groves across a dryland climate gradient in Algeria

2019

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“…Remnants of Mus species, often representing a significant source of food (Chenchouni 2014), were found in all of the sampling sites, where livestock farms located within the territory of the owl. However, unlike in other studies carried out in Hungary (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Little Owl’s (Athene noctua) vertebrate food composition during breeding season with high frog dominance in grasslands

2019

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The aim of our study was to investigate the feeding of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) during the breeding period in three protected sites (Upper Kiskunság Puszta, Upper Kiskunság Lakes, Peszéradacs Meadows) in an extensively managed lowland plain area (Upper Kiskunság) of the Carpathian Basin. A further objective was to provide a detailed assessment of the vertebrate prey spectrum and dominance structure based on the analyses of pellets. Little Owl pellets were collected in September 2015 and 2016 from 20 artificial nest boxes in which successful breeding occurred in both years. Mean pellet number was calculated per individuals. Distribution of individual number and biomass of vertebrate prey taxa were also examined. The number of collected and dissected owl pellets was 2,094 in 2015 and 2,024 in 2016, respectively. The average rate of pellet regurgitation was 25.57 pellets/ind. in 2015, and 27.74 pellets/ind. in 2016. From the 40 samples (4,118 owl pellets) a total of 2,017 vertebrate preys were determined. Cumulative species richness was 21, including 12 mammalian, 1 amphibian, 4 reptile and 4 bird species. Mammals were dominant in the food (average 50.83%), and the consumption of amphibians was similar (48.06%). The consumption of birds and reptiles was not significant. Amphibians were represented by a single species, the Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) in remarkably high proportions among the prey items, followed by the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) by approx. 37% proportion. The high proportion of the latter two species was also clearly reflected in the biomass amounts. Among the birds, the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) proved to be the most commonly predated species apart from other species closely related to farmland habitats (Motacilla alba, M. flava, Passer montanus).

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“…House Mouse proved to be also numerous in sites where farm buildings are redundant (Apaj and Kunpeszér). In such environments, synanthropic small mammals can have a considerable contribution in the diet (Marián & Schmidt 1968, Romanowski et al 2013, Chenchouni 2014. It has also been observed that Little Owls hunt for these preys inside the buildings (Genot & Van Nieuwenhuyse 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amphibian presence in the diet of Little Owl is usually scarce (Lanszki 2006, Romanowski et al 2013, Chenchouni 2014 or completely absent , Hounsome et al 2010, Šálek et al 2010 depending their availability and the habitat. Although occasional reports on presumed higher proportions of amphibian prey are available (Uttendörfer 1939, Festetics 1955, this phenomenon has rarely been observed.…”

Section: Hámori Gy Szél and D Winklermentioning

confidence: 99%

Food composition of the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in a farmland area of Central Hungary, with particular attention to arthropod diversity

2017

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The feeding of Little Owl (Athene noctua) was studied in a farmland area of Kiskunság, Central Hungary. For the analyses, a total of 661 Little Owl pellets were collected between February and September 2005 from three locations, corresponding known Little Owl territories situated nearby the settlements Apaj, Kunpeszér and Ladány-bene. The aim of the present study was to explore the diet composition of Little Owl and to give a detailed evaluation of the arthropod diversity based on the pellet analysis. The identified prey items represented 15 vertebrate and 39 invertebrate species/taxa. In terms of prey number, dominance of small mammals was observed in two sites (Apaj -55%, Kunpeszér -68%), while birds and mammals shared almost equal dominance (~25%) in Ladánybene. The most numerous mammal species was the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis), while the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) played key role among the birds. Contribution of amphibian Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) was considerable, while share of reptiles was marginal. Vertebrates also played a predominant role by contributing over 99% of the overall prey biomass in all study sites. Invertebrate prey dominance ranged from 24.8-30.0% while their contribution to the overall biomass was very low (0.14-0.34%). Large sized beetles (Pentodon idiota, Melolontha hippocastani) and orthopterans (Tettigonia viridissima, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) were preferred. Arthropod species richness and diversity were the highest in Kunpeszér, supposedly owing to the rich mosaic habitat structure.Keywords: feeding ecology, diet, pellet analysis, Strigiformes, Coleoptera, farmland Összefoglalás A kuvik (Athene noctua) táplálkozását Közép-Magyarország (Kiskunság) alföldi tanyavilágában vizsgáltuk. Az elemzésekhez 2005. február és szeptember között, összesen 661 köpetet gyűjtöttünk Apaj, Kunpeszér és Ladánybene települések közelében, amely területek egyben három aktuális kuvik revírnek feleltek meg. A kutatás fő célja a faj táplálékspektrumának feltárása, valamint a köpetelemzések alapján a vizsgált területek ízeltlábú-diverzitásának összehasonlító vizsgálata volt. A köpetekből azonosított zsákmányállatok 15 gerinces és 39 gerinctelen taxont képviseltek. Az egyedszámot tekintve két helyszínen a kisemlősök domináltak (Apaj -55%, Kunpeszér -68%), míg a harmadik helyszínen (Ladánybene) a kisemlősök és a madarak közel azonos arányban (~25%) voltak jelen. A leggyakoribb kisemlős zsákmánynak a mezei pocok (Microtus arvalis) bizonyult, míg a madarak közül a seregély (Sturnus vulgaris) fogyasztása volt jelentős. A barna ásóbéka (Pelobates fuscus) jelenléte a köpetanyagban figyelemre méltó, míg a hüllők részaránya nagyrészt elhanyagolható volt a vizsgált helyszíneken. A gerinces zsákmányállatok jelentőségét a magas, 99% feletti tömeg szerinti részarányuk is bizonyítja. A gerinctelenek egyedszám szerinti rész-aránya 24,8-30,0% volt, tömeg szerinti részesedésük azonban rendkívül csekély (0,14-0,34%). A kuvik a területen nagyrészt a nagyobb méretű bogarakat (Pentodon idiota, Melolontha hip...

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Diet of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) during the pre-reproductive period in a semi-arid Mediterranean region

Cited by 22 publications

References 26 publications

Diversity of insects associated with olive (Oleaceae) groves across a dryland climate gradient in Algeria

Diversity of insects associated with olive (Oleaceae) groves across a dryland climate gradient in Algeria

Little Owl’s (Athene noctua) vertebrate food composition during breeding season with high frog dominance in grasslands

Food composition of the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in a farmland area of Central Hungary, with particular attention to arthropod diversity

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