Assessing habitat and resource availability for an endangered desert bird species in eastern Morocco: the Houbara Bustard

Abstract

In Morocco we tested the consistency between an a priori habitat classification based on topography, hydrology, vegetation structure and composition, and an a posteriori classification based on arthropod assemblages, in a plain supporting wild endangered Houbara Bustards. According to vegetation structure, we defined seven a priori habitats that differed significantly in perennial cover and height. A multivariate multiple regression analysis showed a significant relationship between arthropod assemblages and vegetation structure. Canonical Analyses of Principal Coordinates, conducted simultaneously on direct searches of arthropods and trapping data, showed significant differences between assemblages in both cases, and produced two similar constrained ordinations of six a posteriori habitats: esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima), temporarily flooded areas, fields, ''reg'' with short perennials, ''reg'' with tall perennials and wadis. The two sampling methods reflected a dominance of ants and beetles. Arthropod biomasses increased significantly in spring and then decreased significantly in summer for beetles, and in autumn for ants. No strong differences appeared between habitats within seasons, especially in spring, indicating a uniform distribution of food resources during the Houbara breeding season. The ''reg'' with short perennials had the highest ant biomass in summer. This ''reg'' and fields also supported the highest arthropod biomass in autumn. Variation in arthropod biomass was a pertinent factor that should be integrated into Houbara habitat selection studies. The definition of habitat availability based on easily identifiable landscape units, combined with empirical tests on arthropod communities provided an accurate classification for habitat selection studies and conservation planning.Abbreviations: DL -drainage lines; Esparto grass -Hills covered by the Esparto grass; Fieldscultivated fields within temporarily flooded areas; IDSA -index of direct-search activity-abundance per hour; ITA -index of trapping activity-abundance; ITB -index of trapping activity-biomass; RSP -''reg'' with short perennials; RTP -''reg'' with tall perennials; RTUs -recognized taxonomic units; TFA -temporarily flooded areas Biodiversity and Conservation (2007) 16:597-620 Ó Springer

Consistent nest-site selection across habitats increases fitness in Asian Houbara

“…In addition to vegetation structure, factors that have been suggested to affect houbara nest-site suitability or nest survival include the abundance of arthropods (Hingrat et al 2007, Aghanajafizadeh et al 2012, presence and abundance of key predators (Yang et al 2003), and density of edible or succulent plants, specifically Salsola spp. (Alekseev 1985, Yang et al 2003.…”

Dynamic modelling of the potential habitat loss of endangered species: the case of the Canarian houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata fuerteventurae)

“…In addition, new roads and unpaved tracks have spread all over the island, fragmenting the houbara habitat and causing disturbances to the populations of houbara (Palacios and Tella 2003;Carrascal et al 2008), mainly during the reproductive season. These factors have been previously found to be negative in Fuerteventura, as well as in other places sheltering populations of other houbara subspecies, like North Africa (Hingrat et al 2007).…”

“…For the soil grain criterion, only soils that ranged from compact sandy soils to loose dunes were selected (Carrascal et al 2008) using the lithology map (GRAFCAN). Regarding agricultural uses, while a sporadic source of food resources, active gavias are also a source of human interference (Lavee 1985;Hingrat et al 2007) and do not constitute potential habitat of the houbara. However, abandoned gavias may shelter low densities of houbaras, also referred to as secondary habitat (Martín et al 1996;Seddon and van Heezik 1996), and were selected as potential habitat of the houbara, whereas the other, more intensive agricultural uses were excluded, using the land use map of 2002 (GRAFCAN).…”

Diet of released captive-bred North-African houbara bustards

“…They show the same diet variation between regions and years, reflecting the fluctuations of food resources availability in space and time (Hingrat et al 2007b). As wild birds (Bourass et al 2012a), CBH are omnivorous and opportunistic.…”