scholarly journals Diet of sympatric Barn Owls Tyto alba and Short-eared Owls Asio flammeus in an agricultural landscape in south-east Spain

Ornis Svecica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 139-150
Author(s):  
Pablo Jiménez-Nájar ◽  
Jorge Garrido-Bautista ◽  
Rubén Tarifa ◽  
José Manuel Rivas ◽  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Mus Spretus ◽  
Asio Flammeus ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

The diets of the Barn Owl Tyto alba and the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus have been extensively studied worldwide over the past few years, especially on the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, very few studies have examined the diets and the trophic niche overlap in areas where these two raptor species occur in sympatry. As such, in this study we compared the diets of the Barn Owl and the Short-eared Owl inhabiting agricultural landscapes of the Vega de Granada, south-east Spain, based on pellet analysis. The diets were very similar, as both owls preyed mainly on small mammals, the Algerian Mouse Mus spretus being the prey most commonly found in pellets from both species. Although the diet of the Barn Owl was more diverse than that of the Short-eared Owl, the food niche overlap was very high, thus indicating a low interspecific trophic segregation. Despite the similarities between both diets, the frequency of the Mediterranean Pine Vole Microtus duodecimcostatus was much higher in pellets from the Barn Owl, thus suggesting that the Barn Owl may exert pest control in years when the Mediterranean Pine Vole occurs in high numbers.

scholarly journals Relationships between bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes) and flowers in the Bulgarian agricultural landscape

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Józef Banaszak ◽  
Piotr Szefer ◽  
Bojana Dochkova
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Pollinating Insects

Abstract The species composition and number of visitations of food plants by bees were studied in refuge sites in agricultural landscapes and in selected crops. The habitat fragments of interest are characterised in terms of pollinator diversity at genus level and the use of food plants by individual genera. Trophic and temporal niche overlap is described for individual genera and the honey bee Apis mellifera in different habitat types. Factors influencing the manner of use of individual plant species by pollinating insects are identified

Diets of native and introduced apex predators in Hawai'i

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Carolyn S. Mostello ◽  
Sheila Conant
Keyword(s):  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Arthropod Species ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Asio Flammeus ◽  
Barn Owls

We report here on the diets of four apex predators in Hawai‘i: the native pueo or Hawaiian short-eared owl (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) and three introduced species, the barn owl (Tyto alba pratincola), the feral cat (Felis catus) and the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus). To better understand dietary relationships between these predators, we studied diet, focusing on areas where they occur together. We collected disgorged owl pellets, and cat and mongoose faecal scats from eight areas located on five of the main Hawaiian Islands and identified prey items to the lowest possible taxonomic level. All species consumed rodents, birds, and arthropods, and the mammal species also included plants in their diets. The two owl species and the cat preyed primarily on rodents, whereas small cockroaches predominated in the diet of the mongoose. Diets of the owl species and the cat, but not the mongoose, varied significantly between areas. Dietary overlap was highest between the pueo and the barn owl and lowest between the owl species and the mongoose. Although barn owls took more rats than pueo, there was no evidence that the two owl species partitioned house mouse prey by size. On islands where there are no mongoose, both owls took a greater proportion of large arthropods in their diet, suggesting that mongoose reduced the abundance of the arthropod species that owls commonly took. There was no significant difference in pueo diets before and after introduction of the barn owl.

The Relationship between Weather and Reproduction of the Barn Owl Tyto Alba in a Semi-Arid Agricultural Landscape in Israel

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 253-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motti Charter ◽  
Ido Izhaki ◽  
Kobi Meyrom ◽  
Shauli Aviel ◽  
Yossi Leshem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Barn Owls ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Minimum Daily Temperature ◽  
Semi Arid

Even though the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba) is distributed worldwide, little information is available on how weather affects Barn Owl breeding outside of Europe and North America. For instance, if cold temperatures can negatively influence population dynamics in temperate regions, heat could have a similar negative effect in arid regions. We have studied a breeding population of Barn Owls in a semi-arid agricultural environment over 13 years in Israel in order to determine whether lack of rain and hot ambient temperatures impair Barn Owl reproductive success. The percentage of nest boxes occupied by Barn Owls was not related to any of the weather variables, whereas the number of nestlings per Barn Owl pair and the percentage of pairs that succeeded to fledge young was lower in years when it started to rain later in the season and when the minimum daily temperature was higher during the breeding season. In comparison to temperate regions, heat is detrimental to Barn Owl breeding and early precipitation is probably important in boosting vegetation and, in turn, the abundance of small mammals, the Barn Owl's staple food.

scholarly journals Dietary comparison of coexisting barn owl (Tyto alba) and eagle owl (Bubo bubo) during consecutive breeding seasons

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boyan Milchev
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Food Competition ◽  
Lepus Europaeus ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
European Hare ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Bubo Bubo ◽  
Barn Owls ◽  
Eagle Owl

Coexistence of predator species often depends on behaviours or preferences that result in spatio-temporal reduction of competition. In this study, the diets of coexisting barn owls (Tyto alba) and eagle owls (Bubo bubo) in an agricultural landscape of SE Bulgaria were compared. White-toothed shrews (Crociduraspp.), voles (Microtusspp.) and mice (Musspp.) were the main prey of barn owl (86.3% by number, 81.2% by biomass) with significantly different frequencies in annual diets. The principle biomass (64.8 ± 6.2%) of the significantly different eagle owl annual diets comprised much heavier prey such as white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus), European hare (Lepus europaeus) and non-passerine birds of wetlands and open habitats. The two owl species preferred and hunted on different prey size groups in the same territory, and this difference explained the low level of food competition (6.0 ± 3.6% diet overlap according to prey biomass). Voles were the only prey of the two owls with significantly different frequencies for the annual diets in intraspecies comparisons. The proportions of voles in both diets showed similar trends during the study. Eagle owl predation on barn owls was slightly affected by their coexisting breeding despite the high levels of food stress of eagle owl. These findings provide insight into how preying habits can predict successful coexistence of potentially competing predator species.

scholarly journals Recent and subrecent diet of the barn owl (Tyto alba) in Slovakia

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ján Obuch ◽  
Štefan Danko ◽  
Michal Noga
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Common Vole ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Recent Period ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Church

Abstract We completed data on the diet of the barn owl (Tyto alba) predominately from pellets for the period of the last 50 years from Slovakia. We analyzed material from 251 locations and 16 territorial units. The aggregate represents 119,231 pieces of prey from 47 species of mammals (Mammalia, 95.7%) and 58 species of birds (Aves, 3.9%), with a small representation of amphibians, reptiles (Amphibia and Reptilia, 0.2%) and invertebrates (Invertebrata, 0.2%). The obtaining of food among the owls is limited to synanthropic environments and the surrounding agricultural landscape, and the centre of its distribution in the recent period (i.e. the past 50 years: 1965-201 5) has been concentrated mainly on the southern parts of Slovakia. In this environment the common vole (Microtus arvalis, 59.6%) is the primary prey. Additional prey are rodents of the family Muridae: Mus musculus (5.6%), Micromys minutus (2.2%), Apodemus microps (2.2%), A. flavicollis (2.0%), A. sylvaticus (1 .6%) and A. agrarius (1 .5%); insectivores of the family Soricidae: Sorex araneus (6.2%), S. minutus (2.4%), Crocidura leucodon (4.8%) and C. suaveolens (2.8%); and the house sparrow Passer domesticus (2.9%). In the higher situated Turcianska kotlina Basin the species M. arvalis (74.3%) has higher domination, and instead of the white-toothed shrews the water shrews Neomys anomalus (2.8%) and N. fodiens (1 .3%) are more abundantly represented. In 3 localities owls focused on hunting bats; for example, in the church in Ratková the order Chiroptera made up 35.2% of prey. From the subrecent period (i.e. from before more than 50 years ago) we evaluate 4 samples from the territory of Slovakia with 15,601 pieces of prey ofT. alba. Before more than 50 years ago owls were also more abundantly represented at higher elevations in Slovakia, evidence of which is Weisz’s collection of pellets from 1 6 localities in the Ondavská vrchovina Upland in the years 1945 to 1963, but also a registry of data from the 19th and 20th centuries from higher located basins. In 4 samples of food from the subrecent period diversity in the representation of owl prey is higher, accompanied by low domination ofM. arvalis and a more abundant representation of murids from the genera Mus and Apodemus. The oldest sample, dated to the 16th century, is from a church in Žilina-Rudiny

Seasonal changes in food composition of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the northern part of the "Záhorie" region

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Latková
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Microtus Arvalis ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Mean

Seasonal changes in food composition of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the northern part of the "Záhorie" region 33 prey species (10 296 individuals) were recovered from pellets of the Barn Owl in northern part of the "Záhorie" region (Western Slovakia) during period 2002-2006. The family Arvicolidae constituted 65.68 % of recoveries, Soricidae 17.86 %, Muridae 16.64 %, Talpidae 0.04 %, Gliridae 0.02 %, Mustelidae 0.02 %, Vespertilionidae 0.04 % and Aves 4.7 %. Microtus arvalis was predominantly represented by 65.2 %. For evaluation of diet data "The marked differences from the mean method" was used. The results of pellet analyses provide, besides information about owl diet, also new data about occurrence and geographical distribution of small mammalian species and importance of predators in agricultural landscape.

Infestation parameters for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) infesting owls (Aves: Strigidae, Tytonidae) in Manitoba, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (5) ◽  
pp. 608-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry D. Galloway ◽  
Robert J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Bubo Virginianus ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Aegolius Funereus ◽  
Chewing Lice ◽  
Strix Varia ◽  
Asio Flammeus ◽  
Louse Species ◽  
Boreal Owl

AbstractEleven of the 12 species of owls (Aves: Strigidae, Tytonidae) known to occur in Manitoba, Canada, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) from 1976 to 2015: barn owl (Tyto alba (Scopoli); Aves: Tytonidae) (n = 2), snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 77), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus (Gmelin); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 262), great grey owl (Strix nebulosa Förster; Aves: Strigidae) (n = 142), barred owl (Strix varia Barton; Aves: Strigidae) (n = 10), northern hawk owl (Surnia ulula (Linnaeus); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 18), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus (Pontoppidan); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 74), long-eared owl (Asio otus (Linnaeus); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 67), eastern screech owl (Megascops aslo (Linnaeus); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 59), boreal owl (Aegolius funereus (Linnaeus); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 47), and northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus (Gmelin); Aves: Strigidae) (n = 44), a total of 802 owls. No lice were found infesting barn owl (Tyto alba (Scopoli); Aves: Tytonidae) or eastern screech owl (Megascops asio (Linnaeus); Aves: Strigidae). We collected a total of 113 810 lice of 12 species: Kurodaia Uchida (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) – three species; and Strigiphilus Mjöberg (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) – nine species. Overall prevalence of infestation ranged from 10.0% to 88.9%. Mean intensity for total lice ranged from 22.4 to 506.5. Infestation parameters for each louse–host combination are provided; prevalence and mean intensity were not related for louse–host species combinations. Distribution of louse infestations was highly aggregated. In all louse–host combinations but one, either females were more prevalent than males or there was no significant deviation from 50:50. Male Strigiphilus ceblebrachys Denny significantly outnumbered females in snowy owls. There was a tendency for louse species to co-occur on the same host specimen. Where sample sizes for owls were large enough, no seasonal patterns in abundance of lice were detected.

scholarly journals Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Diet Composition on Intensively Used Agricultural Land in the Danube Lowland

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-233
Author(s):  
Tomáš Veselovský ◽  
Kristián Bacsa ◽  
Filip Tulis
Keyword(s):  
Diet Composition ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Common Vole ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
The Common

Based on pellets analysis from five localities in south western Slovakia (Malá Mužla, Malé Ripňany, Obid, Opatovský Sokolec and Tešedíkovo), we studied the diet composition of Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in intensively cultivated agricultural lands. A total of 6218 specimens of prey, 17 mammalian and 7 bird species were identified. The main prey species found in all food samples was the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis), varying between 56 % and 67 %. The proportion of synanthropic species (Rattus norvegicus, Passer domesticus) and species inhabiting agricultural landscapes (Crocidura leucodon, Crocidura suaveolens, Mus sp.) increases in localities with a lower ratio of the Common Vole. The results suggest land use affects the diet of Barn Owls, confirming conclusions which have been drawn in previous studies. From faunistic point of view, discovering the Pannonian Root Vole (Microtus oeconomus mehelyi) in the diet from Malá Mužla was important.

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