北京城区麻雀的逃逸距离及其影响因素

行为的改变促进野生动物与人类共存,其中逃逸距离的改变是鸟类适应城市生境的重要机制。本研究量化城市常见鸟类麻雀Passer montanus的逃逸距离,并分析其影响因素。2019年夏季对北京城区14个公园和15个高校的1 326只麻雀的观测发现,麻雀的警戒距离为5.67 m±1.13 m、惊飞距离为4.92 m±1.12 m、飞逃距离为6.51 m±1.75 m。麻雀的逃逸距离受到麻雀群体大小、捕食风险和生境特征的共同影响:警戒距离、惊飞距离和飞逃距离均随着危险稀释而减小;警戒距离随着生境中庇护场所的减少而增加;惊飞距离随着人类干扰的增多而减小;当生境中捕食者较多时,麻雀选择较近的飞逃距离。本研究有助于增进对逃逸距离在种内变异的了解,并可为探讨野生动物在城市生境的适应机制提供基础资料。     

鸟类交通致死原因的种间行为差异分析(英文)

鸟类和其他动物经常死于车撞, 每年因车撞而死亡的个体可达数百万只。为什么有的物种比其他物种更易于死于车撞的问题,迄今未研究过。该文推测物种本身所具有的冒险行为可能是这些物种的某些个体更常死于车撞的一个原因。此外,不同物种个体在公路上的行为、个体数量、栖息地偏好、繁殖社会性以及健康状况都可能是影响个体车撞风险的潜在因素。2001—2006 年,对丹麦一个农村地区进行定期统计取样, 得到该地区不同种鸟类个体被车撞死事件发生的频率,以及周边环境中 50 种鸟类的个体数量数据, 并利用这些数据来检验我们的预测。车撞频率随鸟类个体数量线性增加和位于道路上或者低空飞越道路的个体所占比例增加,这两个因素几乎无法解释鸟类车撞频率差异。在考虑到丰富度这个因素后,发现那些鸟类惊飞距离短、面对潜在危险而更具有冒险性的物种个体更易遭遇车撞而亡。另外, 独居的物种、疟原虫感染率高的物种及因体型大而拥有大法氏囊的物种个体死于车撞的频率更高。这些发现表明, 一系列反映冒险行为、视敏度和健康状况的因子导致某些鸟类物种易受到车撞影响。     

青藏高原两种雪雀惊飞距离的比较研究

在分析鸟类对人类干扰耐受程度的研究中,惊飞距离是常用的衡量指标之一,它是指人在鸟类惊飞之前能接近鸟类的距离,反映了鸟类对人为侵扰的适应程度。本文通过对青藏高原广泛分布的白腰雪雀Montifringilla taczanowskii和棕颈雪雀M.ruficollis惊飞距离的比较研究,旨在探讨2种鸟类对人类干扰适应性的差异。结果显示,体型较大的白腰雪雀的惊飞距离(12.50 m±0.36 m,n=46)显著大于棕颈雪雀的惊飞距离(11.03 m±0.43 m,n=33);觅食个体的惊飞距离显著小于观望个体(P0.001);随着入侵者起始距离的增加,2种雪雀惊飞距离逐渐增大(P0.001)。结果表明,鸟类初始状态和入侵者起始距离能够显著影响鸟类的惊飞距离,体型较大的鸟类对人类干扰的适应性较差。     

非致命性捕食风险对鸟类的影响

非致命性捕食风险是捕食者对猎物产生的间接的、非致命性的捕食压力,对维持捕食者-猎物种群数量的相对稳定具有重要意义。鸟类拥有较复杂的反捕食对策,是研究非致命性捕食风险的理想对象。本文综述了非致命性捕食风险对鸟类影响的研究进展。研究者通过多种方法模拟非致命性捕食风险,发现不同鸟类的耐受性不仅会影响个体适合度,也会影响其种群数量动态。鸟类对非致命性捕食压力的行为响应受诸多因素影响,包括鸟类自身状态,栖树高度,集群大小等。研究鸟类对非致命性捕食风险的响应,对完善捕食风险权衡理论,建立种群数量预测模型,以及探讨人类与鸟类共存机制具有重要意义,同时可为生态旅游中提出合理的接近距离、制定有效的保护管理措施提供科学指导。     

风险对两种南非蜥蜴逃跑启始距离和逃避策略的影响

逃避理论预测,不逃跑若增大适合度代价则导致逃跑启始距离加长,逃跑若增大代价则导致逃跑启始距离缩短。逃跑路径和去向等受生境结构影响。作者通过模拟捕食者逼近研究喀拉哈里树石龙子(Trachylepis sparsa)和黑环蜥(Cordylus niger)逃避策略和风险因子对逃跑启始距离的影响。与迂回逼近相比较,直接逼近不仅提高蜥蜴逃跑几率还能缩短其逃跑启始距离。喀拉哈里树石龙子在两种逼近方式下的逃跑启始距离有显著差异,这种差异对黑环蜥而言是边缘性的。喀拉哈里树石龙子以树为避所,树上个体可逼近的距离短于地面个体;快速逼近地面个体的逃跑启始距离比慢速逼近更长。习惯于有人环境的黑环蜥逃跑启始距离比人迹罕至环境中的个体更短。地面喀拉哈里树石龙子多遁至树上而很少逃入倒木或倒伏编巢中。树上喀拉哈里树石龙子通常奔逃至远侧和高处,有时遁入树洞或编巢中;黑环蜥则逃入石缝中。所有发现都证实逃避理论中有关逃跑启始距离的预测。逃跑策略的种间差异表明每一种蜥蜴都利用其生境中逃跑路径和避所的有利条件。在风险不同的生境中,生境结构可影响逃跑启始距离,似乎对逃跑策略亦有重要影响。     

鹞落坪保护区四种不同生境的夏季鸟类多样性差异

研究不同生境中鸟类群落的差异可以为其管理与保护提供科学依据。于2017年7—8月在鹞落坪国家级自然保护区的不同海拔区域内开展夏季森林鸟类群落调查, 并分析鸟类群落在森林、公路、村村通和村庄等生境之间的差异。结果共调查到78种4225只鸟, 隶属于9目30科。由于较高的郁闭度和较单一的植被类型, 森林生境中的鸟类物种数、个体数和多样性指数均较低, 与穿越森林的公路无显著差异。尽管村村通和公路生境的鸟类个体数与多样性指数没有显著差异, 但村村通生境中鸟类物种数显著高于公路生境, 仅次于村庄, 这可能与其较高的开阔度和较低的干扰有关。村庄鸟类物种数、个体数和香农威纳多样性指数均显著高于其他生境, 这可能与村庄比较开阔的生境和丰富的食物资源有关。研究结果表明, 在森林景观中, 村落等干扰较大的生境中夏季鸟类群落物种多样性较高。     

麻雀幼鸟和成鸟逃逸距离的比较

逃逸是鸟类常用的反捕食手段。自然选择会优化鸟类的逃逸距离,以便在躲避被捕食风险和保持能量之间做出权衡。理论模型预测动物个体可依据期望寿命来调整自身的行为：期望寿命短的个体倾向于风险偏好,即逃逸距离短;而期望寿命长的个体倾向于风险回避,即逃逸距离长。同时,逃逸距离还受到外部因素（如人为干扰强度、鸟类群体大小）的影响。本研究在北京城区收集了麻雀（Passer montanus）145只成鸟和75只幼鸟的逃逸距离数据,发现麻雀成鸟比幼鸟有着更长的逃逸距离,且成鸟更可能是群体中首先逃逸的个体。此外,研究发现麻雀的逃逸距离随着人为干扰强度的增加而降低,随着群体大小增加而增加。本研究结果符合理论预期：存活率高的类群（成鸟）有着更长的逃逸距离。     

惊飞距离--杭州常见鸟类对人为侵扰的适应性

惊飞距离是指人在鸟类惊飞之前能接近鸟类的距离,反映了鸟类对人为侵扰的适应程度。2002年9月至2003年1月,在杭州6个区的调查中共见到42种鸟类,以其中的9种优势种兼广布种为研究对象分析了鸟类沿侵扰梯度惊飞距离的变化及影响惊飞距离的主要因子。根据植被类型、建筑比例、干扰因素等差异,将栖息地分为5类：建筑区,城市园林,西部山区,水荡,农田。选取体重、活动高度、观测点可视度、引人注目程度、迁徙状态作为探讨惊飞距离的5个变量。研究结果表明：①不同栖息地的人为侵扰程度有极显著差异：建筑区的人为侵扰程度与城市园林有显著差异,西部山区、农田和水荡之间无显著差异。②在不同栖息地中,惊飞距离具有显著差异;随着人为侵扰程度的提高,同种鸟类在不同栖息地中的惊飞距离呈减小趋势。③鸟类对人为侵扰的惊飞距离与选取变量问的关系显著：体形大小、观测点可视度与惊飞距离呈显著正相关,活动高度与惊飞距离呈显著负相关,而引人注目性与惊飞距离不相关。说明多数鸟类对人为侵扰已有了一定的适应性;体形较大、在植被稀疏的栖息地中以及靠近地面活动的鸟类惊飞距离较大,对人为侵扰的适应性较差。     

自然保护区生态旅游对野生动物的影响

目前中国的很多自然保护区开展了生态旅游,但这类活动对野生动物的影响研究却十分薄弱,因此十分有必要在介绍欧美、澳洲学者的研究进展基础上,针对我国的研究现状,提出该领域的研究方向、监测和管理策略.自然保护区的生态旅游活动主要有野生动物观赏、徒步行走、摄影、野外宿营、山地车或雪地车、电动或机动艇游湖、溪涧漂流、环境教育、社区访问等,旅游活动类型、范围、强度、时空分布等是影响对野生动物干扰大小的主要因素.生态旅游对野生动物的影响包括直接影响(个体的行为反应和生理指标改变、繁殖力降低、种群分布和物种组成的改变等)和间接影响(生境破坏、外来种散布和环境污染等).国外生态旅游对鸟类的影响研究较多,主要集中鸟类的惊飞反应、取食、能量消耗、繁殖等方面;对兽类影响的研究主要集中在行为、生理指标改变、种群数量等方面.我国未来的研究应注重收集基础性研究数据和深入探讨一些理论与应用问题,要运用多种技术手段对自然保护区野生动物的行为、生理、种群动态、物种多样性、生境质量、游客的时空分布、态度和行为等进行长期监测,而后将其结果应用到野生动物、生境以及游客的管理决策中去.另外,研究中应重视自然科学和社会科学的多学科交叉融合.     

遥感与GIS支持下的崇明东滩迁徙鸟类生境适宜性分析

崇明东滩鸟类自然保护区位于长江入海口,是国际迁徙鸟类重要的栖息地.受自然和社会因素影响,该地区鸟类栖息环境正处于快速变化.研究采用面向对象的图像分割方法提取鸟类生境适宜性多边形评价单元,根据近年来野外调查数据分析了影响迁徙鸟类生存的地类、植被、潮沟、底栖生物等关键环境因素,建立了鸟类与关键环境影响因素的定性定量关系.在此基础上利用GIS空间分析方法和技术,进行了崇明东滩鸟类保护区内主要四大鸟类种群雁鸭类、鸻鹬类、鹭类以及鸥类的生境适宜性分析.结果表明:(1)崇明东滩迁徙鸟类生境较适宜的面积占保护区总面积40%左右;(2)光滩区域、与光滩邻近的海三棱藨草带以及潮沟地带是鸟类生境适宜性较好的地理区域;(3)基于面向对象的遥感分析技术和GIS空间分析技术,能有效且简便地对生态环境处于快速动态变化中的物种生境适宜性进行快速、客观准确的分析评价,其结果可为崇明东滩鸟类种群及其生存环境规划、保护和管理提供基础科学依据.     

Contagious fear: Escape behavior increases with flock size in European gregarious birds

Flight initiation distance (FID), the distance at which individuals take flight when approached by a potential (human) predator, is a tool for understanding predator–prey interactions. Among the factors affecting FID, tests of effects of group size (i.e., number of potential prey) on FID have yielded contrasting results. Group size or flock size could either affect FID negatively (i.e., the dilution effect caused by the presence of many individuals) or positively (i.e., increased vigilance due to more eyes scanning for predators). These effects may be associated with gregarious species, because such species should be better adapted to exploiting information from other individuals in the group than nongregarious species. Sociality may explain why earlier findings on group size versus FID have yielded different conclusions. Here, we analyzed how flock size affected bird FID in eight European countries. A phylogenetic generalized least square regression model was used to investigate changes in escape behavior of bird species in relation to number of individuals in the flock, starting distance, diet, latitude, and type of habitat. Flock size of different bird species influenced how species responded to perceived threats. We found that gregarious birds reacted to a potential predator earlier (longer FID) when aggregated in large flocks. These results support a higher vigilance arising from many eyes scanning in birds, suggesting that sociality may be a key factor in the evolution of antipredator behavior both in urban and rural areas. Finally, future studies comparing FID must pay explicit attention to the number of individuals in flocks of gregarious species.     

Does Locomotor Ability Influence Flight Initiation Distance in Yellow‐Bellied Marmots?

Flight initiation distance (FID) is the distance between a potential threat and the point at which a potential prey flees. Animals may modify their FID to compensate for increased risk generated by external/extrinsic factors such as habitat type, visibility, group size, time of year, predator‐approach velocity, and distance to burrow, as well as internal/intrinsic factors such as physical condition, body temperature, crypsis, and morphological antipredator defenses. The intrinsic speed at which an animal can escape a predator is a factor that should influence FID. We studied the relationship between an individual's intrinsic escape speed and FID in yellow‐bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to determine whether marmots compensated for slower escape speeds by fleeing at greater distances. We found no evidence of risk compensation. Rather, we found that slower marmots tolerated closer approaches. This behavioral syndrome may be explained by a coevolution of FID and escape speed in determining an individual's antipredator behavior, an idea upon which we expand.     

American Exceptionalism: Population Trends and Flight Initiation Distances in Birds from Three Continents

Background

All organisms may be affected by humans'' increasing impact on Earth, but there are many potential drivers of population trends and the relative importance of each remains largely unknown. The causes of spatial patterns in population trends and their relationship with animal responses to human proximity are even less known.

Methodology/Principal Finding

We investigated the relationship between population trends of 193 species of bird in North America, Australia and Europe and flight initiation distance (FID); the distance at which birds take flight when approached by a human. While there is an expected negative relationship between population trend and FID in Australia and Europe, we found the inverse relationship for North American birds; thus FID cannot be used as a universal predictor of vulnerability of birds. However, the analysis of the joint explanatory ability of multiple drivers (farmland breeding habitat, pole-most breeding latitude, migratory habit, FID) effects on population status replicated previously reported strong effects of farmland breeding habitat (an effect apparently driven mostly by European birds), as well as strong effects of FID, body size, migratory habit and continent. Farmland birds are generally declining.

Conclusions/Significance

Flight initiation distance is related to population trends in a way that differs among continents opening new research possibilities concerning the causes of geographic differences in patterns of anti-predator behavior.     

Managing human disturbance: factors influencing flight-initiation distance of birds in a West African nature reserve

Escape behaviour in response to perceived predators can be employed as a guide when designating protected areas around sensitive bird species to minimise the impact of human disturbance. A key measure of escape response is flight-initiation distance (FID), the distance at which a prey animal initiates its escape when approached by a potential predator. We tested the predictions of optimal escape theory by determining the factors that influence FID of bird species in a Nigerian reserved area and its surrounding habitats, and so the potential utility of FID in managing human disturbance on birds, for the first time within a West African context. We tested how FID varied with group size, proximity to vegetation acting as protective cover, levels of human use, and survival rate, and whether these relationships varied by species. We collected 504 FIDs for seven bird species in Amurum Forest Reserve and its surrounding habitats (Jos, Nigeria). The FID was lower in larger groups and when species were closer to protective cover. The FID was lower outside of the protected area because animals in sites with higher levels of human presence and use may become habituated. The FID was higher for species with higher survival, being consistent with predictions from life history theory. Overall, birds perceived humans as a potential threat and responded in accordance to the predictions of optimal escape theory, with FID increasing with increased cost of staying. Reserve managers in Africa could use species- and context-specific FIDs to designate buffer distances for the protection of wildlife from human disturbance.     

Flight initiation distance and escape behavior in the black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)

There are many anti‐predatory escape strategies in animals. A well‐established method to assess escape behavior is the flight initiation distance (FID), which is the distance between prey and predator at which an animal flees. Previous studies in various species throughout the animal kingdom have shown that group size, urbanization, and distance to refuge and body mass affect FID. In most species, FID increases if body mass, group size or distance to refuge decreases. However, how age and sexual dimorphism affect FID is rather unknown. Here, we assess the escape behavior and FID of the black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), a small turdid passerine. When approached by a human, males initiated flights later, that is allowing a closer approach than females. Males of this species are more conspicuous, and therefore, may exhibit aposematism to deter potential predators or are less fearful than females. Additionally, juveniles fled at shorter distances and fled to lower heights than adults. Lastly, concerning escape strategy, black redstarts, unless other passerine birds, fled less often into cover, but rather onto open or elevated spots. Black redstarts are especially prone to predation by ambushing predators that might hide in cover. Hence, this species most likely has a higher chance of escaping by fleeing to an open spot rather than to a potentially risky cover.     

Avian Risk Assessment: Effects of Perching Height and Detectability

We studied two components of predator risk assessment in birds. While many species are limited to seeking safety under cover or under ground, some birds can fly away from their predators and escape to trees. If birds in fact ‘feel’ safer (e.g. perceive less risk) in trees, we would expect them to tolerate closer approach by a potential terrestrial predator. Another component of safety is at which point the animal detects an approaching threat, which we expected to increase with eye size, assuming eye size is a surrogate for visual acuity. We used the distance birds moved away from an approaching human [flight initiation distance (FID)] as a metric to determine whether birds associated a lower risk of predation by being in trees, and we used the distance at which birds first displayed alert behaviors from an approaching human (alert distance) to determine if birds with larger eyes had higher detection distances. Although some species were affected by tree height, we found no clear pattern that birds assessed themselves to be at a lower risk of predation when they were ≥3 m above the ground compared with being <3 m above ground. In the 10 species for which height had any significant effect on FID, birds ≥3 m off the ground had greater FIDs in six species, but the remaining three species had the opposite response. While we found a significant positive relationship between eye size and alert distance in 23 species, the relationship was not present in a phylogenetic analysis using independent contrasts, which suggests that the apparent relationship was influenced strongly by the association between the studied species. Together, these results suggest that birds do not obviously associate being in a tree with safety, and that variations in visual acuity, per se, cannot be used as a general indicator of differences in alert distances, as previously suggested in the literature.     

Complex Relationships amongst Parasite Load and Escape Behaviour in an Insular Lizard

Economic escape models predict escape decisions of prey which are approached by predators. Flight initiation distance (FID, predator–prey distance when prey begins to flee) and distance fled (DF) are major variables used to characterize escape responses. In optimal escape theory, FID increases as cost of not fleeing also increases. Moreover, FID decreases as cost of fleeing increases, due to lost opportunities to perform activities that may increase fitness. Finally, FID further increases as the prey's fitness increases. Some factors, including parasitism, may affect more than one of these predictors of FID. Initially, parasitized prey may have lower fitness as well as impaired locomotor ability, which would avoid predation and/or reduce their foraging ability, further decreasing the opportunity of fleeing. For example, if parasites decrease body condition, prey fitness is reduced and escape ability may be impaired. Hence, the overall influence of parasitism on FID is difficult to predict. We examined relationships between escape decisions and different traits: parasite load, body size and body condition in the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi. Lizards that showed higher haemogregarines load had longer FID and shorter DF. Although results did not confirm our initial predictions made on the basis of optimal escape theory, our findings suggest that parasites can alter several aspects of escape behaviour in a complex way.     

Brains and bravery: Little evidence of a relationship between brain size and flightiness in shorebirds

The ability of birds to perceive, assess and appropriately respond to the presence of relatively novel threats is important to their survival. We hypothesized that the cognitive capacity of birds will influence their ability for accurate response to novelty. We used brain volume as a surrogate for cognitive capacity and postulated that larger brained birds would moderate their responses when presented with a benign, frequently occurring stimulus, such as a person, because they would habituate more readily. We conducted phylogenetic generalized least square regression to investigate the relationship between brain volume and flight initiation distance (FID; the distance to which a bird can be approached before initiating escape behaviour), while controlling for confounding factors including body size (body mass and wing length) and migration status. We compared seven different models using combinations of these parameters using Akaike's information criterion to determine the best approximating model(s) explaining FID. The two best‐supported models included only wing length and only body mass with Akaike weights of 0.396 and 0.311 respectively. No model including brain volume had an Akaike weight greater than 0.083 and brain volume was poorly correlated with FID in models after controlling for body mass. Thus, brain volume does not appear to strongly relate to bravery among these shorebirds.     

Consistency in the flight and visual orientation distances of habituated chacma baboons after an observed leopard predation. Do flight initiation distance methods always measure perceived predation risk?

Flight initiation distance (FID) procedures are used to assess the risk perception animals have for threats (e.g., natural predators, hunters), but it is unclear whether these assessments remain meaningful if animals have habituated to certain human stimuli (e.g., researchers, tourists). Our previous work showed that habituated baboons displayed individually distinct and consistent responses to human approaches, a tolerance trait, but it is unknown if the trait is resilient to life‐threatening scenarios. If it were consistent, it would imply FIDs might measure specific human threat perception only and not generalize to other threats such as predators when animals have experienced habituation processes. We used FID procedures to compare baseline responses to the visual orientation distance, FID, and individual tolerance estimates assessed after a leopard predation on an adult male baboon (group member). All variables were consistent despite the predation event, suggesting tolerance to observers was largely unaffected by the predation and FID procedures are unlikely to be generalizable to other threats when habituation has occurred. FID approaches could be an important tool for assessing how humans influence animal behavior across a range of contexts, but careful planning is required to understand the type of stimuli presented.     

Fifty years of chasing lizards: new insights advance optimal escape theory

Systematic reviews and meta‐analyses often examine data from diverse taxa to identify general patterns of effect sizes. Meta‐analyses that focus on identifying generalisations in a single taxon are also valuable because species in a taxon are more likely to share similar unique constraints. We conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic meta‐analysis of flight initiation distance in lizards. Flight initiation distance (FID) is a common metric used to quantify risk‐taking and has previously been shown to reflect adaptive decision‐making. The past decade has seen an explosion of studies focused on quantifying FID in lizards, and, because lizards occur in a wide range of habitats, are ecologically diverse, and are typically smaller and differ physiologically from the better studied mammals and birds, they are worthy of detailed examination. We found that variables that reflect the costs or benefits of flight (being engaged in social interactions, having food available) as well as certain predator effects (predator size and approach speed) had large effects on FID in the directions predicted by optimal escape theory. Variables that were associated with morphology (with the exception of crypsis) and physiology had relatively small effects, whereas habitat selection factors typically had moderate to large effect sizes. Lizards, like other taxa, are very sensitive to the costs of flight.