Occupancy of Mountain Plover and Burrowing Owl in Colorado

Abstract: Concern over the decline of grassland birds has spurred efforts to increase understanding of grassland bird-habitat relationships. Previous studies have suggested that black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) provide important habitat for shortgrass prairie avifauna, such as mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) and western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea), although such studies are lacking in Colorado (USA). We used methods to estimate occupancy (ψ) of mountain plover and burrowing owl on prairie dog colonies and other shortgrass prairie habitats in eastern Colorado. Mountain plover occupancy was higher on prairie dog colonies (ψ = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.36–0.64) than on grassland (ψ = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.03–0.15) and dryland agriculture (ψ = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.07–0.23). Burrowing owl occupancy was higher on active prairie dog colonies (ψ = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.66–0.89) compared with inactive colonies (ψ = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.07–0.53), which in turn was much higher than on grassland (ψ = 0.01, 95% CI = 0.00–0.07) and dryland agriculture (ψ = 0.00, 95% CI ψ 0.00–0.00). Mountain plover occupancy also was positively correlated with increasing amounts of prairie dog colony in the landscape. Burrowing owl occupancy was negatively correlated with increasing amounts of prairie dog colony in the surrounding landscape. Our results suggest that actions to conserve mountain plovers and burrowing owls should incorporate land management to benefit prairie dogs. Because managing for specific colony attributes is difficult, alternative management that promotes heterogeneity may ensure that suitable habitat is available for the guild of grassland inhabitants.     

Taphonomy of Small Predators multi-taxa accumulations: palaeoecological implications

Abstract

Most small terrestrial vertebrate accumulations in archaeological and palaeontological sites result from predation but we are far from having an exhaustive knowledge of modern predators’ diet, ecological niches and bone modification patterns especially in North African sites. The few neotaphonomic referentials available result from taxon-specialized palaeontologists’ initiatives. A survey of the literature on North Africa predators shows that their prey diversity is high and not only include rodent and shrews but also amphibians, squamates, bats and insects. We performed here a pilot taphonomic study of a Moroccan Tyto alba nest pellets including the whole taxa consumed (birds, rodents, shrews, amphibians, insects). We analyzed bone representation, fragmentation and digestion for each taxa and then compared the results. We observe differences between the taxa but on the whole find higher modification levels for this assemblage compared to roost sites of barn owls from other sites. We used for the comparisons homologous bones like the femur and the humerus and also found differences between the taxa. For example, digestion was lower on amphibians and birds than on micromammals. We discuss here some methodological issues as well as archaeological and palaeoenviromental ones by comparison with the Pleisto-Holocene site of El Harhoura II (Morocco).     

Coloration signals the ability to cope with elevated stress hormones: effects of corticosterone on growth of barn owls are associated with melanism

Stressful situations during development can shape the phenotype for life by provoking a trade-off between development and survival. Stress hormones, mainly glucocorticoids, play an important orchestrating role in this trade-off. Hence, how stress sensitive an animal is critically determines the phenotype and ultimately fitness. In several species, darker eumelanic individuals are less sensitive to stressful conditions than less eumelanic conspecifics, which may be due to the pleiotropic effects of genes affecting both coloration and physiological traits. We experimentally tested whether the degree of melanin-based coloration is associated with the sensitivity to an endocrine response to stressful situations in the barn owl. We artificially administered the mediator of a hormonal stress response, corticosterone, to nestlings to examine the prediction that corticosterone-induced reduction in growth rate is more pronounced in light eumelanic nestlings than in darker nest mates. To examine whether such an effect may be genetically determined, we swapped hatchlings between randomly chosen pairs of nests. We first showed that corticosterone affects growth and, thus, shapes the phenotype. Second, we found that under corticosterone administration, nestlings with large black spots grew better than nestlings with small black spots. As in the barn owl the expression of eumelanin-based coloration is heritable and not sensitive to environmental conditions, it is therefore a reliable, genetically based sign of the ability to cope with an increase in blood corticosterone level.     

Sources of variability in spotted owl population growth rate: testing predictions using long-term mark–recapture data

For long-lived iteroparous vertebrates that annually produce few young, life history theory predicts that reproductive output (R) and juvenile survival should influence temporal variation in population growth rate (λ) more than adult survival does. We examined this general prediction using 15 years of mark–recapture data from a population of California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis). We found that survival of individuals ≥1 year old (ϕ) exhibited much less temporal variability , where CV is coefficient of variation, than R and that R was strongly influenced by environmental stochasticity. Although λ was most sensitive ( ; log-transformed sensitivity) to ϕ and much less sensitive to either R or juvenile survival (survival rate of owls from fledging to 1 year old; ), we estimated that R contributed as much as ϕ to the observed annual variability in λ. The contribution of juvenile survival to variability in λ was proportional to its These results are consistent with the hypothesis that natural selection may have favored the evolution of longevity in spotted owls as a strategy to increase the probability of experiencing favorable years for reproduction. Our finding that annual weather patterns that most affected R (temperature and precipitation during incubation) and ϕ (conditions during winter related to the Southern Oscillation Index) were equally good at explaining temporal variability in λ supports the conclusion that R and ϕ were equally responsible for variability in λ. Although currently accepted conservation measures for spotted owl populations attempt to enhance survival, our results indicated that conservation measures that target R may be as successful, as long as actions do not reduce ϕ.     

Development and characterization of microsatellite DNA primers for ferruginous pygmy‐owls (Glaucidium brasilianum)

Ten polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized for the ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum). Observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.07–0.85 and 0.1–0.88, respectively. Allele numbers ranged from five to 16 per locus.     

Parental investment and its sensitivity to corticosterone is linked to melanin-based coloration in barn owls

Behavioral and physiological responses to unpredictable changes in environmental conditions are, in part, mediated by glucocorticoids (corticosterone in birds). In polymorphic species, individuals of the same sex and age display different heritable melanin-based color morphs, associated with physiological and reproductive parameters and possibly alternative strategies to cope with variation in environmental conditions. We examined whether the role of corticosterone in resolving the trade-off between self-maintenance and reproductive activities covaries with the size of melanin-based spots displayed on the ventral body side of male barn owls. Administration of corticosterone to simulate physiological stress in males revealed pronounced changes in their food-provisioning rates to nestlings compared to control males. Corticosterone-treated males with small eumelanic spots reduced nestling provisioning rates as compared to controls, and also to a greater degree than did corticosterone-treated males with large spots. Large-spotted males generally exhibited lower parental provisioning and appear insensitive to exogenous corticosterone suggesting that the size of the black spots on the breast feathers predicts the ability to cope with stressful situations. The reduced provisioning rate of corticosterone-treated males caused a temporary reduction in nestling growth rates but, did not affect fledgling success. This suggests that moderately elevated corticosterone levels are not inhibitory to current reproduction but rather trigger behavioral responses to maximize lifetime reproductive success.     

Intraguild predation in raptor assemblages: a review

Intraguild predation, the killing of species that use similar resources, has been largely overlooked in raptor investigations. To help fill this gap in knowledge, we conducted a literature review, focusing on studies that tested the behavioural and demographic impact of intraguild predation on individuals, populations, and assemblages of diurnal and nocturnal raptorial species. Overall, data were available for 39 empirical and experimental studies on 63 populations belonging to 11 killer species and 15 victim species. An overview of these studies suggested that intraguild predation was a widespread, size-based phenomenon. Results from multiple studies on the same species at different locations were usually consistent across wide geographical areas. Individual-level demographic impacts included reduced site-occupancy, breeding success and survival. Individuals of the prey species responded to predation pressure through direct spatial avoidance, risk-sensitive habitat selection, short-term behavioural avoidance (e.g. reduced vocal activity and escape to refugia after predator detection) and, possibly, temporal segregation. Population-level effects were common but mainly examined as spatio-temporal correlations between the abundance of killer and victim species. Correlative evidence also suggested that intraguild predation may have the potential to structure whole raptor assemblages. More studies on other species and different geographic areas are needed to increase our understanding of the causes and consequences of this widespread interaction. From a conservation point of view, intraguild predation may limit the success of raptor preservation programmes and could be used as a management tool through its effect on mesopredator release and its potentially positive, indirect effects on game species.     

Estimating the long-term repeatability of food-hoarding behaviours in an avian predator

Food-hoarding behaviour is widespread in the animal kingdom and enables predictable access to food resources in unpredictable environments. Within species, consistent variation among individuals in food-hoarding behaviours may indicate the existence of individual strategies, as it likely captures intrinsic differences in how individuals cope with risks (e.g. starvation, pilferage). Using 17 years of data, we estimated the long-term repeatability of 10 food-hoarding behaviours in a population of Eurasian pygmy owls (Glaucidium passerinum), a small avian predator subject to high temporal fluctuations in its main prey abundance. We found low repeatability in the proportion of shrews and the average prey mass stored for both sexes, while females were moderately repeatable in the mass and the number of prey items stored. These two pairs of behaviours were tightly correlated among individuals and might represent two different sets of individual strategies to buffer against starvation risks.