Food composition of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in a farmland area of Central Hungary, with particular attention to arthropod diversity

Abstract The feeding of Little Owl (Athene noctua) was studied in a farmland area of Kiskunság, Central Hungary. For the analyses, a total of 661 Little Owl pellets were collected between February and September 2005 from three locations, corresponding known Little Owl territories situated nearby the settlements Apaj, Kunpeszér and Ladánybene. The aim of the present study was to explore the diet composition of Little Owl and to give a detailed evaluation of the arthropod diversity based on the pellet analysis. The identified prey items represented 15 vertebrate and 39 invertebrate species/taxa. In terms of prey number, dominance of small mammals was observed in two sites (Apaj – 55%, Kunpeszér – 68%), while birds and mammals shared almost equal dominance (~25%) in Ladánybene. The most numerous mammal species was the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis), while the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) played key role among the birds. Contribution of amphibian Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) was considerable, while share of reptiles was marginal. Vertebrates also played a predominant role by contributing over 99% of the overall prey biomass in all study sites. Invertebrate prey dominance ranged from 24.8–30.0% while their contribution to the overall biomass was very low (0.14–0.34%). Large sized beetles (Pentodon idiota, Melolontha hippocastani) and orthopterans (Tettigonia viridissima, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) were preferred. Arthropod species richness and diversity were the highest in Kunpeszér, supposedly owing to the rich mosaic habitat structure.

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Little Owl’s (Athene noctua) vertebrate food composition during breeding season with high frog dominance in grasslands

Ornis Hungarica ◽

10.2478/orhu-2019-0003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 44-61

Author(s):

Dániel Hámori ◽

Dániel Winkler ◽

Tamás Cserkész

Keyword(s):

Average Rate ◽

Common Vole ◽

Bird Species ◽

Single Species ◽

Food Composition ◽

Breeding Period ◽

The Common ◽

Athene Noctua ◽

Little Owl ◽

Owl Pellets

Abstract The aim of our study was to investigate the feeding of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) during the breeding period in three protected sites (Upper Kiskunság Puszta, Upper Kiskunság Lakes, Peszéradacs Meadows) in an extensively managed lowland plain area (Upper Kiskunság) of the Carpathian Basin. A further objective was to provide a detailed assessment of the vertebrate prey spectrum and dominance structure based on the analyses of pellets. Little Owl pellets were collected in September 2015 and 2016 from 20 artificial nest boxes in which successful breeding occurred in both years. Mean pellet number was calculated per individuals. Distribution of individual number and biomass of vertebrate prey taxa were also examined. The number of collected and dissected owl pellets was 2,094 in 2015 and 2,024 in 2016, respectively. The average rate of pellet regurgitation was 25.57 pellets/ind. in 2015, and 27.74 pellets/ind. in 2016. From the 40 samples (4,118 owl pellets) a total of 2,017 vertebrate preys were determined. Cumulative species richness was 21, including 12 mammalian, 1 amphibian, 4 reptile and 4 bird species. Mammals were dominant in the food (average 50.83%), and the consumption of amphibians was similar (48.06%). The consumption of birds and reptiles was not significant. Amphibians were represented by a single species, the Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) in remarkably high proportions among the prey items, followed by the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) by approx. 37% proportion. The high proportion of the latter two species was also clearly reflected in the biomass amounts. Among the birds, the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) proved to be the most commonly predated species apart from other species closely related to farmland habitats (Motacilla alba, M. flava, Passer montanus).

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Diet of the little Athene noctua (Scopoli, 1769) on the territory of Berehovo district (Transcarpathian region)

Studia Biologica ◽

10.30970/sbi.1504.670 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 71-86

Author(s):

I. Zahorodnyi ◽

◽

L. Romaniuk ◽

O. Hnatyna ◽

L. Pokrytiuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Local Level ◽

Common Vole ◽

Prey Biomass ◽

Western Palearctic ◽

Wide Range ◽

Environmental Transformation ◽

Athene Noctua ◽

Different Levels ◽

Prey Items ◽

Little Owl

Objectives. The Little Owl is the most common owl in the Western Palearctic and its population is declining significantly in Europe. Therefore, conservation and study of this owl is an important issue in most European countries. Analysis of trophic patterns at the local level provides interesting and valuable information about the predator’s eating habits. The owl’s diet investigation allows us to analyze their potential adaptations to habitats with different levels of environmental transformation. Materials and Methods. We studied nutrition of the Little Owl Athene noctua, in agricultural lands of Berehove district of Transcarpathian region in Ukraine. In total, 1446 pellets were collected at 15 pellet stations in 2002–2020 and 2506 prey items were identified. The prey items represented 18 vertebrate species (16 species of small mammals of three orders Rodentia, Soricomorpha, Carnivora, as well as reptiles of the family Lacertidae and birds of the order Passeriformes and arthropods. Results. Vertebrates play a major role in feeding the Little Owl (over 99 % of total prey biomass in all of the studied sites). The common vole is the most common prey in the owl’s diet (52.1 % of the total prey number and 67.5 % of the biomass of the prey caught), as well as a high proportion of mice of the genus Apodemus and Sylvaemus. The contribution of invertebrates to total prey biomass is insignificant (0.3 %). A large number of invertebrates were observed in the diet of the Owl in summer and were almost completely absent in winter. Conclusions. According to our data, the Little Owl is a typical predator generalist in Transcarpathia. The 28 taxa found in the pellets show a wide range of food objects in a relatively small area, and high level adaptations to habitats with different levels of environmental transformation (agrosystems and anthropogenic areas).

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Metabarcoding Malaise traps and soil eDNA reveals seasonal and local arthropod diversity shifts

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-89950-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ameli Kirse ◽

Sarah J. Bourlat ◽

Kathrin Langen ◽

Vera G. Fonseca

Keyword(s):

Habitat Preferences ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Turnover Rates ◽

Arthropod Diversity ◽

Arthropod Species ◽

Species Overlap ◽

Below Ground ◽

Phenological Shifts ◽

Malaise Traps

AbstractForest habitats host enormous diversity, but little is known about the seasonal turnover of arthropod species between the above- and below ground forest layers. In this study, we used metabarcoding approaches to uncover arthropod diversity in different forest types and seasons. Our study shows that metabarcoding soil eDNA and Malaise trap bulk samples can provide valuable insights into the phenology and life cycles of arthropods. We found major differences in arthropod species diversity between soil samples and Malaise traps, with only 11.8% species overlap. Higher diversity levels were found in Malaise traps in summer whereas soil samples showed a diversity peak in winter, highlighting the seasonal habitat preferences and life strategies of arthropods. We conclude that collecting time series of bulk arthropod samples and eDNA in the same locations provides a more complete picture of local arthropod diversity and turnover rates and may provide valuable information on climate induced phenological shifts for long-term monitoring.

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An ecosystem-scale perspective of the net land methanol flux: synthesis of micrometeorological flux measurements

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-15-7413-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (13) ◽

pp. 7413-7427 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

G. Wohlfahrt ◽

C. Amelynck ◽

C. Ammann ◽

A. Arneth ◽

I. Bamberger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Chemistry ◽

Dominant Role ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Surface Wetness ◽

Flux Synthesis ◽

Leaf Level ◽

Flux Measurements ◽

The Rich ◽

Study Sites ◽

Source Sink

Abstract. Methanol is the second most abundant volatile organic compound in the troposphere and plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry. While there is consensus about the dominant role of living plants as the major source and the reaction with OH as the major sink of methanol, global methanol budgets diverge considerably in terms of source/sink estimates, reflecting uncertainties in the approaches used to model and the empirical data used to separately constrain these terms. Here we compiled micrometeorological methanol flux data from eight different study sites and reviewed the corresponding literature in order to provide a first cross-site synthesis of the terrestrial ecosystem-scale methanol exchange and present an independent data-driven view of the land–atmosphere methanol exchange. Our study shows that the controls of plant growth on production, and thus the methanol emission magnitude, as well as stomatal conductance on the hourly methanol emission variability, established at the leaf level, hold across sites at the ecosystem level. Unequivocal evidence for bi-directional methanol exchange at the ecosystem scale is presented. Deposition, which at some sites even exceeds methanol emissions, represents an emerging feature of ecosystem-scale measurements and is likely related to environmental factors favouring the formation of surface wetness. Methanol may adsorb to or dissolve in this surface water and eventually be chemically or biologically removed from it. Management activities in agriculture and forestry are shown to increase local methanol emission by orders of magnitude; however, they are neglected at present in global budgets. While contemporary net land methanol budgets are overall consistent with the grand mean of the micrometeorological methanol flux measurements, we caution that the present approach of simulating methanol emission and deposition separately is prone to opposing systematic errors and does not allow for full advantage to be taken of the rich information content of micrometeorological flux measurements.

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