The economics of territory selection

2020 ◽  
Vol 438 ◽  
pp. 109329
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Sells ◽  
Michael S. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Territory Selection

scholarly journals Prey, management and landscape requirements of an endangered population of the Woodlark Lullula arborea in Southwest Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verena Rösch ◽  
Pascal Aloisio ◽  
Martin H. Entling
Keyword(s):  
Food Resource ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Main Food ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Endangered Population ◽  
Rhine Valley ◽  
Territory Selection ◽  
Main Food Source ◽  
Upper Rhine

AbstractVineyards can be valuable habitats for biodiversity conservation. For example, in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) over a third of the state’s critically endangered Woodlark (Lullula arborea) population breeds in vineyards along the western margin of the Upper Rhine Valley. We here aim to elucidate how local ground cover management, food availability and the proximity to settlements affect territory selection by this bird species in the region. As climate, site conditions and management differ greatly from more continental or Mediterranean wine-growing areas, conditions for Woodlark conservation may differ as well.We compared 26 Woodlark territories in vineyards with 26 nearby reference areas from which Woodlarks were absent. We recorded vineyard ground cover in the inter-rows (% cover) as well as vegetation height and composition (forbs vs. grasses). Arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps, since they are the main food resource of Woodlarks during the breeding season. In addition, the distance to built-up areas was measured. The vegetation in Woodlark territories was shorter (mean 14.2 vs. 19.6 cm) and more dominated by forbs (39% vs. 27% cover) than in absence areas. The vegetation cover in the inter-rows had no effect on Woodlark territory presence or absence. Woodlarks also favoured areas with a higher abundance of arthropods (mean abundance 69.1 vs. 57.5) and a greater distance to built-up areas (mean distance 554 vs. 373 m). We conclude that to promote the Woodlark in wine-growing areas, short, forb-rich swards should be created, facilitating arthropod detectability. This is likely to require low levels of nitrogen fertilization since fertilizers favour tall-growing grasses that outcompete forbs. Pesticide applications should be kept at a minimum to enhance arthropods as the main food source for Woodlarks and their chicks. In addition, the expansion of settlements into breeding areas of Woodlarks should be avoided.

The ecology of female receptivity in the territorial butterfly Hypolimnas bolina (L.) (Nymphalidae): implications for mate location by males

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrell J. Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Refractory Period ◽  
Mate Location ◽  
Australian Population ◽  
Female Receptivity ◽  
Mating Period ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Territory Selection ◽  
General Explanation

Many male insects aggressively defend specific perching sites containing larval resources. There are three main explanations for how this behaviour could contribute to increased matings: perching males may aim to encounter (1) eclosing or freshly eclosed virgin females, (2) previously mated, ovipositing females, or (3) receptive females that visit these sites either specifically to mate or for other reasons. I evaluated these hypotheses by investigating the timing of post-eclosion female receptivity and the extent of polyandry within an Australian population of the butterfly Hypolimnas bolina (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). This species represents the group of butterflies in which males defend specific, geographically prominent, sites that overlap with the distribution of larval resources. Freshly emerged female H. bolina refrained from mating until their ovaries were close to maturation, resulting in a pre-mating period of 4–8 days. The presence of this substantial refractory period rules out the hypothesis that males defend pupation sites with the aim of mating with eclosing or freshly eclosed females. Secondly, almost 90% of females within the studied population carried only one spermatophore, a finding that mediates against the possibility that most perching males target (already mated) ovipositing females. The ‘rendezvous-site’ hypothesis is the most likely general explanation for territoriality in H. bolina; however, it remains unclear whether the distribution of larval hostplants per se has a primary influence on territory selection by males in this species.

Habitat Preferences for Territory Selection by the Endangered Eastern Iberian Reed BuntingEmberiza Schoeniclus witherbyi

Ardeola ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Vera ◽  
Eduardo J. Belda ◽  
Laura Kvist ◽  
S. Ignacio Encabo ◽  
Marcial Marín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Territory Selection

Territory selection by the Dartford warbler (Sylvia undata) in Dorset, England: the role of vegetation type, habitat fragmentation and population size

2001 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon J.L. van den Berg ◽  
James.M. Bullock ◽  
Ralph T. Clarke ◽  
Rowena H.W. Langston ◽  
Rob J. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Territory Selection

scholarly journals TERRITORY SELECTION BY UPLAND RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS IN EXPERIMENTAL RESTORATION PLOTS

2006 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-398
Author(s):  
MARIA A. FUREY ◽  
DIRK E. BURHANS
Keyword(s):  
Territory Selection

Consequences of forest fragmentation on territory quality of male Ovenbirds breeding in western boreal forests

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 1841-1848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel F Mazerolle ◽  
Keith A Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fragmentation ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Seiurus Aurocapillus ◽  
Prey Biomass ◽  
Prey Composition ◽  
Territory Selection

We evaluated the effects of forest fragmentation caused by agriculture on arthropod prey biomass and vegetation structure found in territories of male Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) breeding in the southern boreal mixed woods of Saskatchewan, Canada. The objective of this study was to determine if previously documented differences in pairing success of male Ovenbirds in contiguous forests and forest fragments in our study area were associated with differences in arthropod prey biomass and vegetation structure between contiguous and fragmented forests. A secondary objective was to examine the correspondence between vegetation and arthropods to evaluate whether vegetation cues could be useful for birds attempting to predict future arthropod biomass during territory selection. Our results indicate that both vegetation structure and arthropod prey composition in Ovenbird territories differed between fragmented and contiguous forests, whereas total arthropod biomass did not. Furthermore, the correspondence of vegetation with arthropod prey composition and total prey biomass was weak, a result that questions the use of vegetation structure by male Ovenbirds for predicting future prey availability during territory selection. Overall, the current extent of forest fragmentation in our study area is not likely reducing pairing success of territorial male Ovenbirds by lowering the biomass of arthropod prey. However, landscape differences in vegetation structure could influence pairing success of male Ovenbirds in forest fragments by reducing suitable microhabitats for nesting or by increasing habitat suitability for nest predators and Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasites.

scholarly journals Differentiation between Carex arenaria L. populations at the eastern range margin based on female and male glumes variation

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lech Urbaniak ◽  
Izabella Maik ◽  
Daromiła Urbaniak
Keyword(s):  
Migration Routes ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Carex Arenaria ◽  
Individual Character ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
Territory Selection ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Lower Silesia ◽  
Experimental Garden ◽  
Sea Coast

480 spikes from 16 populations of <em>Carex arenaria</em> L. planted in an experimental garden were collected and analysed for 4 female and 4 male glumes each. The characteristic of the interpopulational differentiation on the area of Poland was based on multivariate analysis, Student t-test and the coefficients of variation. The separateness of three populations from the isolated inland stations - 3(Góra), 11 (Tuczno), 15 (Poznań) and individual character of - 2 (Wisełka), 6 (Sobieszewo) from the coast and 9 (Ołobok) from Lower Silesia is shown. The lowest level of variation and in consequence a particular usefulness for taxonomic considerations have two characters - a and a' (length of female and male glumes). The obtained pattern of interpopulational differentiation may be caused by various factors - migration routes on the Polish territory; selection pressures associated with different ecological conditions present in fixed dunes along the Baltic Sea coast and in isolated inland stations, occupied by <em>C. arenaria</em>; reduction of an extensive primary populations to markedly smaller isolated subpopulations.

scholarly journals Do Golden-cheeked Warblers Select Nest Locations on the Basis of Patch Vegetation?

The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 1052-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Dearborn ◽  
Laura L. Sanchez ◽  
F. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
High Power ◽  
Significant Variation ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
The Other ◽  
Canopy Closure ◽  
Patch Selection ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Territory Selection ◽  
Paired Design

Abstract Proper management of endangered species requires an understanding of habitat use at a variety of spatial scales, and information on nesting habitat is especially important in that regard. We examined vegetation features associated with nest patches of the Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia), a federally endangered migrant songbird that breeds only in central Texas. We used a spatially paired design to measure 13 vegetation variables at 43 nests and at an equal number of randomly chosen nonuse patches, one located near each nest. Canopy closure was greater at nest patches than at nonuse patches. However, none of the other vegetation variables differed between a nest patch and its paired non-use patch on the same territory, despite high power to detect such differences. In contrast, 8 of the 13 variables exhibited significant variation among territories. For all 13 variables, effect size was substantially greater for variation between territories than for variation between nest patches and their paired nonuse patches. Lack of within-territory variation may reflect the scale at which vegetation varies in that habitat. Such a result suggests that territory selection may be more important than nest-patch selection in this species.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document