Alternative foraging strategies in the white stork Ciconia ciconia: The effect of mowing meadows

Goławski, Artur; Kasprzykowski, Zbigniew

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2021.107563

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…We also found that the FID of storks was shorter on mown meadows with cut grass. This could be explained by the greater attractiveness of this type of meadow resulting from the more numerous opportunities to catch energy-rich prey like voles (Golawski and Kasprzykowski 2021). The main reason why storks were attracted to forage on meadows being mown is that their hunting success was greater there than in meadows cleared of hay.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do agricultural practices on meadows reduce or increase flight initiation distance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia?

Kasprzykowski,

Golawski

2024

Preprint

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Human activities often negatively affect the time birds spend on activities such as parental care, foraging and resting. Forms of antipredator behaviour among birds such as vigilance can be an adaptation to human disturbances which can enhance their fitness in human‐managed habitats. We studied the flight initiation distance (FID) of White Storks Ciconia ciconia foraging on hay meadows during their breeding season. Our study showed that farm work, the type of meadows and starting distance (the distance between the bird’s position and the observer at the start of his walk) all had an influence on FID. Conversely, the numbers of storks in a particular foraging flock had no effect on an individual bird’s FID. The lower FID could have been due to the presence of machinery operating in the meadows, because storks then have opportunities to catch energy-rich prey that has been scared off by the machines. Unlike meadows cleared of hay, mown meadows with cut grass are more attractive to storks, and the FID there is shorter. The starting distance positively affected stork responses. These findings suggest that the FID of White Storks, treated as a measure of the risk of predation, depends largely on the degree of attractiveness of the feeding grounds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do agricultural practices on meadows reduce or increase flight initiation distance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia?

Kasprzykowski,

Golawski

2024

Preprint

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“…This alternative, abundant and predictable anthropogenic resource guarantees food availability in other species of storks and vultures, mitigating the percentage and quality of foraging habitats required in the close vicinity of the nest during the breeding season (Evans & Gawlik, 2020; Oro et al., 2013; Tauler‐Ametlller et al., 2019). Although arable areas are suboptimal foraging areas, human activities, such as mowing or ploughing, enhance their value for storks (Golawski & Kasprzykowski, 2021; Wikelski et al., 2021). Furthermore, breeders with a wider nest‐site selection seem to be the best candidates to explore new food sources (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of landfill use on nest‐site selection and breeding success in white storks

2023

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Landscape transformation by humans through habitat degradation, agriculture intensification and urbanization results in the loss of natural feeding areas. However, populations of certain species have adapted to these changes and benefit from some anthropogenic food sources as well as an absence of predators and milder environmental conditions in urban landscapes. Although breeding near landfills secures food availability and saves energy and time spent on foraging activities, the poor food quality and risks associated with these facilities imply some fitness costs. Our study shows the effects of landfills on nest‐site selection and breeding success in white storks (Ciconia ciconia). Birds breeding near landfills occupy more urban areas where many structures are available to nest, while breeding pairs 20–30 km from landfills select nest sites with high‐quality food sources in the vicinity such as pastures, meadows and agro‐forestry areas. Furthermore, we demonstrate that habitat quality in the surrounding area is more relevant than landfills for breeding outcomes, but both of these are crucial for brood size. The number of fledglings was higher at a medium distance to the landfill than at 20–30 km from the landfill, but not near the landfill (0–10 km). This suggests that the best strategy includes food from landfills as a complementary or alternative food source. Future studies should further investigate if these shifts in habitat preference are permanent, and the potential impact of habitat degradation and landfill closures at a population level, for this species.

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“…Sexual dimorphism may also be related to food specialization, with a higher degree of specialization occurring in more dimorphic species [26,27]. However, there is also growing evidence that in species with little or no sexual dimorphism, males and females may differ in several aspects of foraging ecology, such as diet composition, selection of foraging areas and parental feeding [2,28,29,30,31]. Thus, studying monomorphic species may shed light on the mechanisms leading to food-niche differences between sexes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large bird’s digestive tract has an opposite intersexual pattern than body size

Kwieciński,

Tryjanowski,

Zduniak

2023

Preprint

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The appropriate structure of the digestive tract is crucial for individual adaptation to ecological conditions. In birds, the length of the small intestine, responsible for food absorption, is generally believed to be positively correlated with body size. In this study, we investigated the variation in small intestine length in the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), a monomorphic species without visible sexual dimorphism, but characterized by differing parental efforts, which can be reflected by the small intestine lengths between the sexes. Then, we examined the relationship between small intestine length, body size and condition within the sexes. Our findings show that male White Storks have significantly shorter small intestines than females, despite having larger body sizes than the latter. Furthermore, we found a strong relationship between body condition and small intestine length, but it was of a different nature in the two sexes. Males exhibited a previously unreported phenomenon, whereby improving body condition was associated with shortening small intestines, whereas females exhibited the opposite pattern. Moreover, in contrast to females, increasing body size in males resulted in significant small intestine shortening. These novel findings shed light on the anatomical adaptations of the digestive tract in birds.

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Alternative foraging strategies in the white stork Ciconia ciconia: The effect of mowing meadows

Cited by 9 publications

References 48 publications

Do agricultural practices on meadows reduce or increase flight initiation distance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia?

Do agricultural practices on meadows reduce or increase flight initiation distance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia?

Influence of landfill use on nest‐site selection and breeding success in white storks

A large bird’s digestive tract has an opposite intersexual pattern than body size

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