scholarly journals New Data on Migration Time, Breeding Phenology, and Breeding Success of European Turtle Doves in Their Highest Breeding Habitats in North Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Ismail Mansouri ◽  
Driss Ousaaid ◽  
Wafae Squalli ◽  
Abdelbari El Agy ◽  
Abderahim EL-Hassani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Breeding Habitats ◽  
Bird Census ◽  
Turtle Dove ◽  
Nesting Activity

The migration dates, breeding phenology, and reproductive success of the European turtle doves were studied in the highest breeding habitats at Midelt (1400 to 1600 m), Morocco. Data were recorded from March to October between 2015 and 2018, using the Common Bird Census methodology. Results showed that, at high-altitude breeding sites (n = 20), turtle doves arrived on 28.25 ± 2.05 March, while departure dates were on 28.00 ± 1.47 September. On the other hand, nesting activity began on 26.5 ± 0.64 April, and laying dates were only two days after the nest construction date on 28.00 ± 0.7 April. First fledged chicks were 17.50 ± 2.72 May, and chicks started flying on 3.50 ± 2.33 June. In addition, breeding chronology, including nesting and chick’s flight, was influenced by altitude and rainfall and more particularly controlled by temperature. For breeding success, among the 467 monitored nests, 73.87% survived during the nesting period and 71.16% of eggs have survived during incubation. Chicks' survival rate was higher with 79.56%. Failure factors during breeding success were diverse. Predation caused the loss of 18.89% of eggs during incubation periods and 10.54% of chicks during the nestling phase. A few portions, including 4.41% of eggs and 4.39% of chicks, were deserted by their dove parents. Finally, our study highlights that the turtle dove breeds in high-altitude habitats with late and shorter breeding periods, which might allow this bird to avoid the vigorous climate conditions at mountains and their effect on reproductive success.

scholarly journals Migratory Dates, Breeding Phenology, and Reproductive Success of European Turtle Doves between Lowlands and Highest Breeding Habitats in North Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Ismail Mansouri ◽  
Mohamed Mounir ◽  
Wafae Squalli ◽  
Laila Elhanafi ◽  
Mohamed Dakki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Breeding Site ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Turtle Dove ◽  
Beni Mellal ◽  
Low Altitude

The migratory time, breeding chronology, and reproductive success of the European turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) were studied in Midelt as a high-altitude breeding habitat and Beni Mellal as a low-altitude breeding site from 2015 to 2018 in Morocco. Migration dates, breeding phenology, and breeding success were recorded from March to October for each season. As a result, during four years, arrival dates were earlier at the low breeding site, while departure dates were earlier at the high breeding site. Similarly, breeding phenology from nest building to fledging was early at low-altitude site. On the other hand, with four breeding seasons and 893 nests (467 at Midelt and 426 at Beni Mellal), average breeding success was 57% of chicks at Midelt compared to 60.15% at Beni Mellal. Moreover, at Midelt, 18.89% of eggs and 10.54% of chicks were predated, while at Beni Mellal 21.80% of eggs and 4.65% of chicks were deserted due to human disturbance. As a response, at Midelt breeding period was shorter and shifted to hot periods to ensure better reproductive success. Finally, our results highlight that the turtle dove breeding season is later and shorter at breeding highlands, which might allow this bird to avoid the vigorous climate conditions at mountains and their effect on reproductive success.

scholarly journals Breeding Biology, Chronology, and Reproductive Success of the European Serin (Serinus serinus) at Moulouya High Plain (Morocco)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Ismail Mansouri ◽  
Wafae Squalli ◽  
Mohamed Dakki ◽  
Amine Assouguem ◽  
Abdelbari El Agy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Breeding Biology ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Distribution Ranges ◽  
High Plain ◽  
Western Palaearctic ◽  
June July ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Serinus Serinus

The European serin (Serinus serinus) is one of the best examples of a species in the western Palaearctic that has expanded its distribution ranges in current periods. However, the breeding features of serin are not well known and were restricted for some localities, as well as there have not been any deep and comparable studies on its mortality and menacing factors. This study investigates breeding biology, including breeding chronology, nesting strategies, and reproductive success of the European serin in farmland and woodland habitats at Moulouya high plain (Morocco), during 2016. Results showed that, at high-altitude breeding habitats, the European serin started breeding activity lately by 25 April (construction of the first nest) and continued until 19 July (last fledging date). Moreover, most nests (96.42%) were found in farmlands, mainly in apple orchards. Two broods were recorded between April-May and June-July, and the clutch size was an average of 3.04 ± 0.13 eggs/nest. For reproductive success, among the 65 examined nests, 73.84% were active during the nest construction phase and 87.42% of eggs have succeeded during the incubation phase. Reproductive success was higher (93.83%) during fledging. Clutches were failed due to predation (15.9%), nest desertion (14.35%), and destruction of nests (8.88%). Finally, our study highlights that the European serin breeds in high-altitude zones with late and shorter breeding seasons, which might allow this bird to avoid high lands’ vigorous climate conditions and their effect on breeding success.

scholarly journals Temporal changes in reproductive success and optimal breeding decisions in a long-distance migratory bird

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Reséndiz-Infante ◽  
Gilles Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Seasonal Decline

AbstractMany avian migrants have not adjusted breeding phenology to climate warming resulting in negative consequences for their offspring. We studied seasonal changes in reproductive success of the greater snow goose (Anser caerulescens atlantica), a long-distance migrant. As the climate warms and plant phenology advances, the mismatch between the timing of gosling hatch and peak nutritive quality of plants will increase. We predicted that optimal laying date yielding highest reproductive success occurred earlier over time and that the seasonal decline in reproductive success increased. Over 25 years, reproductive success of early breeders increased by 42%, producing a steeper seasonal decline in reproductive success. The difference between the laying date producing highest reproductive success and the median laying date of the population increased, which suggests an increase in the selection pressure for that trait. Observed clutch size was lower than clutch size yielding the highest reproductive success for most laying dates. However, at the individual level, clutch size could still be optimal if the additional time required to acquire nutrients to lay extra eggs is compensated by a reduction in reproductive success due to a delayed laying date. Nonetheless, breeding phenology may not respond sufficiently to meet future environmental changes induced by warming temperatures.

scholarly journals A high-altitude peatland record of environmental changes in the NW Argentine Andes (24 ° S) over the last 2100 years

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1165-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Schittek ◽  
Sebastian T. Kock ◽  
Andreas Lücke ◽  
Jonathan Hense ◽  
Christian Ohlendorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Central Andes ◽  
High Accumulation ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Climate Anomalies ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
The 19Th Century

Abstract. High-altitude cushion peatlands are versatile archives for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental studies, due to their high accumulation rates, range of proxies, and sensitivity to climatic and/or human-induced changes. Especially within the Central Andes, the knowledge about climate conditions during the Holocene is limited. In this study, we present the environmental and climatic history for the last 2100 years of Cerro Tuzgle peatland (CTP), located in the dry Puna of NW Argentina, based on a multi-proxy approach. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), stable isotope and element content analyses (δ13C, δ15N, TN and TOC) were conducted to analyse the inorganic geochemistry throughout the sequence, revealing changes in the peatlands' past redox conditions. Pollen assemblages give an insight into substantial environmental changes on a regional scale. The palaeoclimate varied significantly during the last 2100 years. The results reflect prominent late Holocene climate anomalies and provide evidence that in situ moisture changes were coupled to the migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). A period of sustained dry conditions prevailed from around 150 BC to around AD 150. A more humid phase dominated between AD 200 and AD 550. Afterwards, the climate was characterised by changes between drier and wetter conditions, with droughts at around AD 650–800 and AD  1000–1100. Volcanic forcing at the beginning of the 19th century (1815 Tambora eruption) seems to have had an impact on climatic settings in the Central Andes. In the past, the peatland recovered from climatic perturbations. Today, CTP is heavily degraded by human interventions, and the peat deposit is becoming increasingly susceptible to erosion and incision.

scholarly journals Awifauna wodno-błotna środkowej Wisły w okresie lęgowym: wpływ działalności człowieka na rozmieszczenie, liczebność i bogactwo gatunkowe

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Bukaciński ◽  
Monika Bukacińska ◽  
Arkadiusz Buczyński
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
River Channel ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
Breeding Habitats ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
River Bottom

The inventory of birds was conducted in the years 2005-2010 on the Vistula River section between Dęblin (388 km of the river) and Podwierzbie (435 km of the river). The study area includes a southern section of the European Ecological Natura 2000 Site in Poland PLB140004 „Middle Vistula River Valley” (IBA, PL083). In most areas the Vistula flows here within unregulated or relatively little modified riverbed, having features of natural, lowland, braided river. Sandy islands and braid bars within the main channel, steep banks, and old riparian afforestation create the unique breeding habitats of the Vistula River Valley. Especially the river channel habitats provide suitable breeding sites for many rare bird species, constituting some of them the key-breeding sites. There are, however, fragments of several kilometers, where people transformed the Vistula River in a more visible way (Table 1). These are, among others: an urban section within Dęblin boundaries (km 388-393 of the river), a fragment adjacent to Kozienice Power Plant (km 421-426), and the area, where since 2007 gravel for the industry has been mining from the river bottom (km 426-431). The aim of this inventory was the comparison of richness and abundance of breeding bird species associated directly with the river channel on fragments mentioned above. It will allow us to estimate soberly how very the intensity of human utilization of the river affects the distribution of avifauna of the Vistula, determining the richness and abundance of valuable and/or endangered species breeding in a given area.

scholarly journals Multispecies integrated population model reveals bottom-up dynamics in a seabird predator-prey system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud Quéroué ◽  
Christophe Barbraud ◽  
Frédéric Barraquand ◽  
Daniel Turek ◽  
Karine Delord ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Demographic Parameters ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Prey System

AbstractAssessing the effects of climate and interspecific relationships on communities is challenging because of the complex interplay between species population dynamics, their interactions, and the need to integrate information across several biological levels (individuals – populations – communities). Usually used to quantify species interactions, integrated population models (IPMs) have recently been extended to communities. These models allow fitting multispecies matrix models to data from multiple sources while simultaneously accounting for various sources of uncertainty in each data source. We used multispecies IPMs accommodating climate conditions to quantify the relative contribution of climate vs. interspecific interactions on demographic parameters, such as survival and breeding success, in the dynamics of a predator-prey system. We considered a stage-structured predator–prey system combining 22 years of capture–recapture data and population counts of two seabirds, the Brown Skua (Catharacta lönnbergi) and its main prey the Blue Petrel (Halobaena caerulea) both breeding on the Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Ocean. Our results showed that climate and predator-prey interactions drive the demography of skuas and petrels in different ways. The breeding success of skuas appeared to be largely driven by the number of petrels and to a lesser extent by intraspecific density-dependence. In contrast, there was no evidence of predation effects on the demographic parameters of petrels, which were affected by oceanographic factors (chlorophyll a and sea surface temperature anomalies). We conclude that bottom-up mechanisms are the main drivers of this skua-petrel system. We discuss the mechanisms by which climate variability and predator-prey relationships may affect the demographic parameters of these seabirds. Taking into account both species interactions and environmental covariates in the same analysis improved our understanding of species dynamics.

Holocene palaeoenvironmental records from the high-altitude Wular Lake, Western Himalayas

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayees Ahmad Shah ◽  
Hema Achyuthan ◽  
Aasif Mohmad Lone ◽  
Sanjeev Kumar ◽  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sedimentation Rate ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Western Himalayas ◽  
Kashmir Valley ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Wular Lake ◽  
Wet Climate ◽  
Lake Margin

We present a comprehensive record of Holocene (11,590–628 cal. yr BP) climate and hydrographic changes around the Wular Lake located in Kashmir Valley, India. Based on the multi-proxy investigations, we have identified three phases of wet climate conditions that prevailed from the commencement of the Holocene Epoch – 9000 cal. yr BP, 8100–6650 cal. yr BP and 6350–5000 cal. yr BP, whereas periods of dry climate were observed during 9000–8100 cal. yr BP, 6650–6350 cal. yr BP and ~5000 to 4000 cal. yr BP. The results also suggested that the lake widened and deepened significantly around 6350–5000 cal. yr BP. The results indicated desiccation and the exposure of the lake margin around 5000–4500 cal. yr BP. The sedimentation rate since 4500–628 cal. yr BP was quite low for detailed paleoclimate interpretations. Oscillations in lake extension and deepening appear to be due to changing intensity of westerly moisture in the region, and we correlate several of the low lake-level phases to the Bond events caused by North Atlantic ice rafting events.

Rainfall and nest site competition delay Mountain Bluebird and Tree Swallow breeding but do not impact productivity

The Auk ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Drake ◽  
Kathy Martin
Keyword(s):  
Daily Rainfall ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Productivity Cost ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Tree Cavities ◽  
Mountain Bluebird ◽  
Mountain Bluebirds ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Optimizing breeding phenology, an important aspect of fitness, is complex for migratory species as they must make key timing decisions early, and remotely, from breeding sites. We examined the role of weather (locally and cross-seasonally), cavity availability, and competitive exclusion in determining among-year variation in breeding phenology over 17 yr for 2 migratory, cavity-nesting birds: Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides; n = 462 nests) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor; n = 572) using natural tree cavities in British Columbia, Canada. We assessed weather effects within the winter and migratory range and at our study sites. We quantified competition as the proportion of cavities occupied by European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) (for both species) and Mountain Bluebirds (for Tree Swallow only) in each year. For 229 bluebird and 177 swallow nests with known fates, we tested whether late years resulted in reduced productivity. Although the effects were small, heavy rainfall and strong diurnal westerly winds during migration were associated with breeding delays for Mountain Bluebirds. However, cavity availability (earlier breeding with increases) had a 5–8 × greater effect on timing than migratory conditions. There was no evidence that starling competition delayed bluebirds. In Tree Swallows, greater local daily rainfall was associated with delayed breeding, as was starling abundance (the effect of starlings was 1.4 × smaller than that of rainfall). Neither bluebird abundance nor cavity availability changed swallow phenology. Neither species showed reduced productivity in late breeding years. In both species, individuals that bred late relative to conspecifics within-year had smaller clutches and greater probability of nest failure. We conclude that breeding ground conditions, particularly cavity limitation and local rainfall (for swallows), are important drivers of breeding phenology for our focal species, but that the productivity cost of late years, at least for Tree Swallows, is minimal.

scholarly journals In-situ severe breeding habitat intervention only achieves temporary success in reducing Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Fernández-Loras ◽  
Luz Boyero ◽  
Jaime Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Habitat Manipulation ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Breeding Habitats ◽  
The Common ◽  
Natural Breeding ◽  
Midwife Toad

Abstract Chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is causing sharp declines in amphibian populations around the globe. A substantial research effort has been made to study the disease, including treatments against Bd, but most treatments have been applied to captive amphibians only. We report a study aimed at clearing wild populations of the Common Midwife toad Alytes obstetricans. We removed all larvae from natural breeding sites (cattle troughs) and conducted two types of severe breeding habitat manipulation (complete drying and fencing for the whole breeding season). While larval removal followed by drying was a successful method of Bd elimination, the effect was only temporary. Since terrestrial habits of adult A. obstetricans prevent them from infection, our findings suggest that, even in simple breeding habitats where all aquatic amphibian stages can be handled and extreme habitat intervention is possible, Bd cannot be eliminated without controlling other potential Bd reservoirs in the surroundings of breeding sites.

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