Distribution dynamics of a great bustard metapopulation throughout a decade: influence of conspecific attraction and recruitment

Alonso, Juan Carlos; Martín, Carlos A.; Alonso, Javier; Palacı́n, Carlos; Magaña, Marina; Lane, Simon I. R.

doi:10.1023/b:bioc.0000029329.44373.47

Cited by 56 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…We discuss these patterns and their likely implications for conservation in more detail below. The different Spanish regions have been subjected to various degrees of habitat deterioration mainly due to agricultural transformations within the last decades (Alonso et al 2003(Alonso et al , 2004. The results of our genetic study reveal that the existing genetic inventory of the Spanish population may be threatened if habitat deterioration proceeds.…”

Section: Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Moreover, management actions should focus on the protection of local populations to promote conservation of the current genetic diversity and persistence of the metapopulation structure. The distribution of great bustards in Spain is highly fragmented, and vacant habitat patches may occur for a variety of reasons, including the size and quality of habitat areas as well as the species' very strong fidelity to traditional lek sites and conspecific attraction Alonso et al 2003Alonso et al , 2004. According to present knowledge, maintaining a dense network of suitable patches and maximizing local habitat conditions in order to improve reproductive output, and thus the number of potential dispersers, is the key to secure the persistence of the great bustard metapopulation in Spain and in other similarly fragmented landscapes.…”

Section: Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Iberian peninsula is home to~27,500-30,000 great bustards, approximately 60% of the world population of this species (Palacín and Alonso 2008). For great bustards in Spain, metapopulation structure has recently been shown based on ecological surveys (Alonso and Alonso 1996;Alonso et al 2003Alonso et al , 2004 and genetic analyses (Martín et al 2002;Alonso et al 2009). The birds occupy patches of open, steppe-like landscapes with cerealfallow rotations, a habitat that is particularly under threat because of agriculture intensification and land abandonment linked to the European agricultural policy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, peripheral populations are also found to be more susceptible to decline and extinction than populations at the core of their range Alonso et al 2005). These are reasons why the great bustard population in Spain, although now thought to be stable, is apparently concentrating at high-quality areas, disappearing from poor-quality ones (Alonso et al 2004; see also Pinto et al 2005 for the Portuguese population).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linking habitat quality with genetic diversity: a lesson from great bustards in Spain

et al. 2010

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The effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the genetic structure and variability of wild populations have received wide empirical support and theoretical formalization. By contrast, the effects of habitat quality seem largely underinvestigated, partly due to technical difficulties in properly assessing habitat quality. In this study, we combine geographic information system (GIS)-based habitat-quality modelling with a landscape genetics approach based on mitochondrial DNA markers to evaluate the possible influence of habitat quality on the levels and distribution of genetic diversity in a range of natural populations (n = 15) of Otis tarda throughout Spain. Ninety-three percent of the population represented by our countrywide sample lives in good-quality habitats, while 4.5% and 2.5% occur respectively in intermediate and poor habitats. Habitat quality was highly correlated with patch size, population size and population density, indicating the reliability and predictive power of the habitat suitability model. Genetic diversity was significantly correlated with habitat quality, size and density of the population, but not with patch size. Three of a total of 20 existing matrilineages from the species' current genetic pool are restricted to poorquality habitats. This study therefore highlights the importance of considering both population genetics and habitat quality in a species of high conservation priority.

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Section: Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Linking habitat quality with genetic diversity: a lesson from great bustards in Spain

et al. 2010

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“…According to our own unpublished data, such increases are not possible with the low reproductive rates typical of this species, and the best explanation is therefore a higher accuracy in the most recent censuses. Nevertheless, we know that some Spanish Thus, the overall trend in Spain and Portugal might be best qualified as generally stable, with a slight tendency to increase at some high quality areas, and to decrease in marginal or worse conserved sites (Alonso et al, 2003(Alonso et al, , 2004Pinto et al, 2005;Pinto and Rocha, 2006;Palacín and Alonso, 2008). Longer and more precise series of censuses are still necessary in both countries in order to determine whether there is still an intrinsic demographic increase, or the species is mostly stable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The world status and population trends of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda): 2010 update

Alonso¹,

Palacı́n²

2010

Chinese Birds

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The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) world population is estimated to be 44100-57000 individuals in 2010, of which about 57-70% occur in Spain, 15-25% in European Russia, 4-10% in China, Mongolia and south-eastern Russia, 3-4% in Portugal, 3% in Hungary, 1-2% in Turkey, and smaller numbers in ten other countries. The reliability of current censuses and estimates may be described as high for a large fraction of the world population (67-75%), and low for the remaining 25-33% (including Russia, Mongolia, China, Turkey, Ukraine, Iran and Kazakhstan). In spite of continued declines reported for some countries (e.g., Turkey, Iran, China), the present survey suggests that total numbers have not significantly decreased worldwide during the last decade, as opposed to the globally declining trend currently assumed. This is due to a large fraction of the world total living in countries whose overall surveys are apparently stable (e.g., Spain, Portugal), after a noticeable recovery during the last few decades once the hunting ban was established. Only 6-10% of the world total is apparently still decreasing, mostly due to agricultural intensification, other causes of habitat degradation, and locally, also illegal hunting and collision with power lines. A small fraction of the world population (3-4%), is clearly (Germany, Austria) or apparently (Hungary) increasing, due to management and conservation measures. Finally, 19-22% of the world total has an uncertain status, due to inaccurate current or past censuses which prevent establishing reliable population trends. We recommend 1) keeping conservation efforts and the species' protection status worldwide, and 2) carrying out urgently nation-wide surveys in countries with low quality estimates, in order to confirm world numbers and trends.

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Intraspecific and interspecific competition induces density‐dependent habitat niche shifts in an endangered steppe bird

Tarjuelo

Morales

Arroyo

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Interspecific competition is a dominant force in animal communities that induces niche shifts in ecological and evolutionary time. If competition occurs, niche expansion can be expected when the competitor disappears because resources previously inaccessible due to competitive constraints can then be exploited (i.e., ecological release). Here, we aimed to determine the potential effects of interspecific competition between the little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) and the great bustard (Otis tarda) using a multidimensional niche approach with habitat distribution data. We explored whether the degree of niche overlap between the species was a density‐dependent function of interspecific competition. We then looked for evidences of ecological release by comparing measures of niche breadth and position of the little bustard between allopatric and sympatric situations. Furthermore, we evaluated whether niche shifts could depend not only on the presence of great bustard but also on the density of little and great bustards. The habitat niches of these bustard species partially overlapped when co‐occurring, but we found no relationship between degree of overlap and great bustard density. In the presence of the competitor, little bustard's niche was displaced toward increased use of the species' primary habitat. Little bustard's niche breadth decreased proportionally with great bustard density in sympatric sites, in consistence with theory. Overall, our results suggest that density‐dependent variation in little bustard's niche is the outcome of interspecific competition with the great bustard. The use of computational tools like kernel density estimators to obtain multidimensional niches should bring novel insights on how species' ecological niches behave under the effects of interspecific competition in ecological communities.

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Distribution dynamics of a great bustard metapopulation throughout a decade: influence of conspecific attraction and recruitment

Cited by 56 publications

References 35 publications

Linking habitat quality with genetic diversity: a lesson from great bustards in Spain

Linking habitat quality with genetic diversity: a lesson from great bustards in Spain

The world status and population trends of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda): 2010 update

Intraspecific and interspecific competition induces density‐dependent habitat niche shifts in an endangered steppe bird

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