Winter diet composition of urban long-eared owls (Asio otus) in Rzeszów (SE Poland)

Dziemian, Sylwia; Piłacińska, Barbara; Pitucha, Grzegorz

doi:10.2478/v10120-012-0010-7

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In both cities the Microtus voles are the most important prey item in the winter diet of Long-eared owl, as previously registered in open land ecosystems thorough Europe (1,2,3,5,7,9,10,39,40,41,42), as well as in urban areas (17,21,22,24,25,29,43,44). Apodemus species constitute an important trophic source for long-eared owl in urban area.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Comparative analysis of long-eared owl (Asio otus) winter diet from two european cities – Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) and Bacau (Romania)

Nistreanu¹,

Paraschiv²,

Larion³

2020

OH&RM

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Introduction. Many rodent species are important pests for agriculture and for urban areas. The long-eared owl is a predator that exerts constant pressure on rodent density. Material and methods. The studies were performed in winters of 2011-2013 in the cities of Chisinau and Bacau, where 599 and 82 pellets of Asio otus were collected, respectively. The prey items were identified from cranial bones extracted from pellets. Results. Long-eared owl's diet in both sites consists of mammals and birds, with rodents being the dominant trophic component. The Microtus species were the main prey with the abundance ≥70% in both sites. In Chisinau a high proportion of Mus species was registered in the diet. The total biomass of prey constituted 43 953 g in Chisinau and 7 038 in Bacau. The highest biomass belongs to Microtus species, with 31 710 g and 5 220 g, respectively. The trophic niche width in Chisinau constituted 0.089 and varied monthly from 0.058 to 0.28. In Bacau the WTNs was of 0.134 and varied slightly among the study months. Conclusions. The rodents were the main trophic source and constituted ≥96% in both sites. The prey diversity was higher in Chisinau, that was due to a larger city territory and to a higher number of wintering long-eared owls. The close values of trophic niche width in Chisinau and Bacau confirmed the high hunting specialization of the long-eared owl.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Comparative analysis of long-eared owl (Asio otus) winter diet from two european cities – Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) and Bacau (Romania)

Nistreanu¹,

Paraschiv²,

Larion³

2020

OH&RM

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“…The original habitats of this species are forest steppes ( Mikkola 1983 ; Barashkova et al 2013 ), from which population expanded into farming landscapes, sparse woodlands, and human-dominated habitats ( Henrioux 2000 , 2002 ; Martínez and Zuberogoitia 2004 ; Aschwanden et al 2005 ), including towns, cities, and their suburbs ( Zhang et al 2009 ; Göçer 2016 ; Milchev and Ivanov 2016 ). In Poland, first records of long-eared owl nesting in towns and cities come from the 19th century and presently it is a widespread breeding and wintering bird in urban environments of the country ( Tomiałojć and Stawarczyk 2003 ; Dziemian et al 2012 ; Turzanska and Turowicz 2014 ). Long-eared owl is considered as a food-specialist, feeding mainly on voles ( Mikkola 1983 ; Korpimaki and Norrdahl 1991 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Noise shapes the distribution pattern of an acoustic predator

Fröhlich

Ciach

2017

Current Zoology

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Noise, an obvious effect of urbanization, has a negative impact on animal vocalizations and the hunting efficiency of acoustic predators. However, the influence of noise pollution on the spatial distribution of populations remains understudied. The aim was to assess the factors shaping the distribution pattern of an acoustic predator (long-eared owl Asio otus) in an urban–farmland matrix. We hypothesized that the probability of an acoustic predator occurring decreases with growing nocturnal noise emission. This owl survey was conducted in Kraków (S Poland) on 79 randomly selected sample plots (1 km × 1 km). Six habitat variables (area of parks, woodlands, grassland, arable land, habitat diversity index, and noise pollution) were identified and correlated with the probability of the species’ occurrence. Proximity to pedestrian routes and roads, habitat fragmentation, and noise intensity was also defined at nest sites and random sites. Long-eared owls occurred on 37% of the sample plots. Occupied plots had a greater area of grassland and arable land as well as a lower level of noise pollution than the unoccupied ones. A multivariate model revealed that area of grassland and nocturnal noise emission was significantly correlated with the probability of long-eared owls occurring and that the high probability of occurrence recorded on plots with large areas of grassland was reduced by noise pollution. The noise intensity recorded at nest sites was also significantly lower than at random sites. This study suggests that apart from habitat factors, the distribution of acoustic predators in an urban matrix is driven by noise pollution. This highlights the importance of proper landscape management, that is, maintaining large grassland areas and preventing noise from increasing within them.

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“…1). The first group included diets very similar one to another (mean ± SD niche overlap with pairwise comparisons: 0.73 ± 0.10) and dominated by small Cricetidae, mainly Microtus arvalis (Romanowski 1998;Laiu et al 2002;Dziemian et al 2012); the second one was more heterogeneous (mean niche overlap: 0.49 ± 0.24), with a prevalence of rats (Rattus spp. : 23.5%-65.1%).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Thus, Microtus may represent the main prey both in suburbs (Romanowski 1988) and in city centers (Laiu et al 2002;Dziemian et al 2012), where they can live in urban green areas, as well as rats. Only Martelli & Fastelli (2013) found other Murids (Apodemus sylvaticus and Mus musculus) as the main prey category.…”

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confidence: 99%

Feeding ecology of Long-eared Owls in winter: an urban perspective

Mori

Bertolino

2015

Bird Study

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Suggested short title: Diet of urban Long-eared OwlCapsule. Although considered as a specialist predator of Microtus voles, the Long-eared Owl Asio otus may adapt its diet according to the local prey availability. We reviewed the diet of this nocturnal raptor in urban environments during the winter, using studies which reported the ingested biomass relating to different prey categories and so energy intake could be considered. The species was confirmed to feed mainly on Microtus, but in some area rats dominated the ingested biomass.

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Winter diet composition of urban long-eared owls (Asio otus) in Rzeszów (SE Poland)

Cited by 13 publications

References 13 publications

Comparative analysis of long-eared owl (Asio otus) winter diet from two european cities – Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) and Bacau (Romania)

Comparative analysis of long-eared owl (Asio otus) winter diet from two european cities – Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) and Bacau (Romania)

Noise shapes the distribution pattern of an acoustic predator

Feeding ecology of Long-eared Owls in winter: an urban perspective

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