The occurrence and density of three sympatric corvids in a Mediterranean agroecosystem explained by land use

Chiatante, Gianpasquale; Meriggi, Alberto

doi:10.1007/s10336-019-01679-2

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…Second, while we found a diversity of methods applied to study corvid species, certain species were studied by a limited set of methods. Our sample includes studies applying many different methods, such as: (i) experimental studies of corvid behavior to human presence or of responses of corvid populations to management efforts, such as removal experiments for predation impact studies, (ii) spatial methods, such as transect surveys and radio/satellite tracking methods, for home range and space use studies [ 14 , 178 , 179 ] and (iii) correlative studies to collect biological and ecological parameters using existing data over time and space (e.g., [ 180 , 181 ]), which can provide informative comparisons of urban and rural populations of corvid species to understand the factors facilitating the colonization and increase in corvids in urban environments. This methodological diversity was not independent of species; for example, the Eurasian Magpie was the most studied Corvidae, mostly because it is native to Europe, and was most often studied by correlative methods primarily to understand nest site selection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corvids in Urban Environments: A Systematic Global Literature Review

Benmazouz

Jokimäki

Lengyel

et al. 2021

Animals

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Urbanization is one of the most prevalent drivers of biodiversity loss, yet few taxonomic groups are remarkably successful at adapting to urban environments. We systematically surveyed the global literature on the effects of urbanization on species of family Corvidae (crows, choughs, jackdaws, jays, magpies, nutcrackers, ravens, rooks, treepies) to assess the occurrence of corvids in urban environments and the factors affecting their success. We found a total of 424 primary research articles, and the number of articles has increased exponentially since the 1970s. Most studies were carried out in cities of Europe and North America (45.5% and 31.4%, respectively) and were directed on a single species (75.2). We found that 30 corvid species (23% of 133 total) regularly occur in urban environments. The majority (72%) of the studies reported positive effects of urbanization on corvids, with 85% of studies detecting population increases and 64% of studies detecting higher breeding success with urbanization. Of the factors proposed to explain corvids’ success (availability of nesting sites and food sources, low predation and persecution), food availability coupled with diet shifts emerged as the most important factors promoting Corvidae to live in urban settings. The breeding of corvids in urban environments was further associated with earlier nesting, similar or larger clutches, lower hatching but higher fledging success, reduced home range size and limited territoriality, increased tolerance towards humans and increasing frequency of conflicts with humans. Despite geographic and taxonomic biases in our literature sample, our review indicates that corvids show both flexibility in resource use and behavioral plasticity that enable them to exploit novel resources for nesting and feeding. Corvids can thus be urban exploiters of the large-scale modifications of ecosystems caused by urbanization.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corvids in Urban Environments: A Systematic Global Literature Review

Benmazouz

Jokimäki

Lengyel

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Niche overlap among sympatric birds has been studied extensively in specialist species but neglected in generalist species with broader niches [ 40 ]. Some studies have addressed sympatry among corvids outside urban areas [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. However, studies assessing habitat overlap in corvids in urban areas have been lacking [ 40 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Overlap and Habitat Selection of Corvid Species in European Cities

Zeid

Morelli

Ibáñez‐Álamo

et al. 2023

Animals

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Understanding habitat and spatial overlap in sympatric species of urban areas would aid in predicting species and community modifications in response to global change. Habitat overlap has been widely investigated for specialist species but neglected for generalists living in urban settings. Many corvid species are generalists and are adapted to urban areas. This work aimed to determine the urban habitat requirements and spatial overlap of five corvid species in sixteen European cities during the breeding season. All five studied corvid species had high overlap in their habitat selection while still having particular tendencies. We found three species, the Carrion/Hooded Crow, Rook, and Eurasian Magpie, selected open habitats. The Western Jackdaw avoided areas with bare soil cover, and the Eurasian Jay chose more forested areas. The species with similar habitat selection also had congruent spatial distributions. Our results indicate that although the corvids had some tendencies regarding habitat selection, as generalists, they still tolerated a wide range of urban habitats, which resulted in high overlap in their habitat niches and spatial distributions.

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“…). However, in strongly deforested farmland of the Mediterranean landscapes where jays are very scarce or absent (Bossema , Pons and Pausas , Gianpasquale and Alberto ), recruitment of oak juveniles has often been observed at long distances (above several tens of meters) from remnant oak trees and small forest patches (Andivia et al. and authors’ observations).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Eurasian jay plays a central role in acorn dispersal dynamics of oak forests (Bossema 1979, G omez 2003, Pons and Pausas 2007b, Mor an-L opez et al 2015, Leverkus et al 2016. However, in strongly deforested farmland of the Mediterranean landscapes where jays are very scarce or absent (Bossema 1979, Pons and Pausas 2008, Gianpasquale and Alberto 2019, recruitment of oak juveniles has often been observed at long distances (above several tens of meters) from remnant oak trees and small forest patches (Andivia et al 2017 and authors' observations). Such recruitment cannot be attributed to dispersal by rodents as these disperse acorns at small distances Pausas 2007a, Mor an-L opez et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Massive and effective acorn dispersal into agroforestry systems by an overlooked vector, the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)

et al. 2019

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Oak regeneration and the expansion of forested sites in Eurasia rely on acorn dispersal by animals, especially the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius). However, in open agroforestry systems where jays are absent, such as old fields far from acorn sources, oak recruitment still occurs. We hypothesize that the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica), an abundant corvid in this system, substitutes the jay in its seed dispersal function. By ringing 169 magpies, video recording >7500 acorn removal events with trail cameras, and radio‐tagging 337 acorns, we quantified that (1) magpies cached 41–56% of the annual acorn production of Quercus ilex trees in single caches on the ground; (2) breeding pairs, and especially males, were the main acorn dispersers; (3) each breeding magpie cached 169–1372 acorns in 6 weeks; and (4) the effectiveness of dispersal (percentage of cached acorns resulting in seedlings) was 0.6–2.4%, which (5) yielded a high density of emerged seedlings (56–439 seedlings/ha). We evidence that magpie could be a key species in the regeneration of oak agroforestry mosaics because they massively and effectively dispersed acorns. However, in our particular study site, effectiveness was low probably due to herbivory and summer drought stress (i.e., a context limitation rather than an intrinsic limitation of the disperser). As the distributions of magpies and oaks overlap widely in Eurasia, effective acorn dispersal by magpies could have a significant role in large‐scale oak forest recovery in strongly fragmented landscapes.

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The occurrence and density of three sympatric corvids in a Mediterranean agroecosystem explained by land use

Cited by 11 publications

References 98 publications

Corvids in Urban Environments: A Systematic Global Literature Review

Corvids in Urban Environments: A Systematic Global Literature Review

Spatial Overlap and Habitat Selection of Corvid Species in European Cities

Massive and effective acorn dispersal into agroforestry systems by an overlooked vector, the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)

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