Further evidence of large-scale population decline and range contraction of the little owl<i>Athene noctua</i>in Central Europe

Chrenková, Monika; Dobrý, Martin; Šálek, Martin

doi:10.25225/fozo.v66.i2.a5.2017

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…), may also provide a high diversity of breeding places for many bird species (e.g. Chrenková, Dobrý, & Šálek, 2017;Šálek et al, 2016) especially in farmsteads with old buildings (Rosin et al, 2016). Several species of conservation concern, like barn owl, little owl, house sparrow, barn swallow, house martin and white stork are strictly dependent on farm buildings.…”

Section: The Difference Between Farmsteads and Farmlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds

Šálek

Bažant

Żmihorski

2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Farmland birds have experienced substantial declines over recent decades and various conservation measures have been designed to halt their massive decrease. The effectiveness of these measures is however limited, due to inappropriate identification of crucial breeding and wintering habitats. Identification of appropriate habitats, like farmsteads, and understanding seasonal changes in species richness and abundance of farmland birds within these habitats may therefore be key for farmland bird conservation. We investigated the effect of variation in farmstead management on alpha and gamma diversity of all farmland birds and red‐listed farmland birds in the Czech Republic. In particular, we evaluated the diversity of wintering and breeding birds at over 200 sites to explore: (1) differences in bird communities in three types of farmsteads and open farmland; (2) changes in species‐specific habitat preferences between winter and spring; and (3) effect of landscape composition, ruderal vegetation and altitude on bird assemblages. Farmsteads with animal production harboured the highest, whereas open farmland areas had the lowest, species richness and abundance of all farmland birds and red‐listed farmland birds. The decline of species richness in winter was more pronounced in farmland and abandoned farmsteads compared to farmsteads with plant and animal production. Single bird species showed different habitat preferences but the majority of species including red‐listed farmland birds changed preferences towards animal farmsteads during winter. Bird species richness was negatively correlated with altitude and positively with representation of ruderal vegetation. Rarefied gamma diversity confirmed local patterns for both all species and red‐listed species: the highest total species richness was observed in active animal farmsteads but differences among types were significant only during winter. Synthesis and applications. Active farmsteads are local bird diversity hotspots in agricultural landscapes, and host species of conservation concern. Our results highlight the importance of farmsteads during winter, which is a critical period for several wintering farmland species. Our research thus indicates that recent conservation measures for farmland birds should also focus on conservation within non‐farmed habitats, such as actively used farmsteads.

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Section: The Difference Between Farmsteads and Farmlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds

Šálek

Bažant

Żmihorski

2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…5 newly hatched poultry chicks per day. The Czech study areas were located in northern Bohemia (50.460° Lat, 13.560° Lon and 50.287° Lat, 14.154° Lon; Fig 1 ), the current core area of the little owl distribution in the Czech Republic [ 38 , 39 ]. Czech little owls were not food-supplemented.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale movement patterns and habitat selection of little owls (Athene noctua) from two declining populations

et al. 2021

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Advances in bio-logging technology for wildlife monitoring have expanded our ability to study space use and behavior of many animal species at increasingly detailed scales. However, such data can be challenging to analyze due to autocorrelation of GPS positions. As a case study, we investigated spatiotemporal movements and habitat selection in the little owl (Athene noctua), a bird species that is declining in central Europe and verges on extinction in Denmark. We equipped 6 Danish food-supplemented little owls and 6 non-supplemented owls in the Czech Republic with high-resolution GPS loggers that recorded one position per minute. Nightly space use, measured as 95% kernel density estimates, of Danish male owls were on average 62 ha (± 64 SD, larger than any found in previous studies) compared to 2 ha (± 1) in females, and to 3 ± 1 ha (males) versus 3 ± 5 ha (females) in the Czech Republic. Foraging Danish male owls moved on average 4-fold further from their nest and at almost double the distance per hour than Czech males. To create availability data for the habitat selection analysis, we accounted for high spatiotemporal autocorrelation of the GPS data by simulating correlated random walks with the same autocorrelation structure as the actual little owl movement trajectories. We found that habitat selection was similar between Danish and Czech owls, with individuals selecting for short vegetation and areas with high structural diversity. Our limited sample size did not allow us to infer patterns on a population level, but nevertheless demonstrates how high-resolution GPS data can help to identify critical habitat requirements to better formulate conservation actions on a local scale.

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“…This knowledge is necessary to understand wider habitat-related population trends of this species. In Central and Eastern Europe, this species is stable in urban environments [45,46], while in rural areas, the occurrence of the species decreases both in site occupancy and abundance [26,28,[51][52][53].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Little Owl Aggression and Territory in Urban and Rural Landscapes

Grzywaczewski,

Morelli,

Skórka

2024

Animals

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Urbanization is a major land use change across the globe with vast effects on wildlife. In this paper, we studied (1) the territorial displays of Little Owls in urban and rural landscapes, analyzing also (2) the size and habitat composition of the territories, and (3) the factors affecting territory size in both landscapes. To do that, we used t-tests, Principal Components Analysis, and General Linear mixed model procedures. The territory size was smaller in urban than in rural landscapes. Urban territories of Little Owls are characterized by a lower cover of grassland, tall crops, short crops, gardens, and orchards, as well as a higher cover of built-up areas than territories in rural landscapes. Territory size in rural landscapes was negatively correlated with seasonal progress and positively correlated with altitude. The rate of territorial displays was similar between urban and rural territories; however, birds differentially utilized various structures. In urban territories, birds mostly used buildings, whereas in rural territories, birds used electric pylons and trees. The compositional differences between territories in the two landscapes may have important consequences for other behavior types and possibly reproductive output in this species.

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Further evidence of large-scale population decline and range contraction of the little owlAthene noctuain Central Europe

Cited by 11 publications

References 30 publications

Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds

Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds

Fine-scale movement patterns and habitat selection of little owls (Athene noctua) from two declining populations

Little Owl Aggression and Territory in Urban and Rural Landscapes

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