Assessing the short-term effects of an extreme storm on Mediterranean forest raptors

Martínez, José Antonio; Jiménez‐Franco, María V.; Zuberogoitia, Íñigo; León‐Ortega, Mario; Calvo, José F.

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2013.01.017

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Adult breeding birds can employ several parental care behaviours that may allow them to buffer the effects of inclement weather on their offspring: (1) brooding behaviour may be important to reduce thermoregulatory stress on nestlings during storms with high winds, rain, and cool temperatures (Redpath et al 2002;Jovani and Tella 2004;Anctil et al 2014); (2) increased foraging effort may be required before or after a storm to compensate for reduced foraging efficiency or prey availability during a storm (Michener and Koeppl 1985;Dawson and Bortolotti 2000); and (3) nest maintenance or repair behaviours may be required if a storm increases, or has the potential to increase, the mechanical stress on a nest structure (Reese 1970;Martinez et al 2013). Observing how birds behave before, during, and after storms will provide insight into how inclement weather can affect these parental care behaviours.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ferruginous Hawks Buteo regalis alter parental behaviours in response to approaching storms

et al. 2015

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Heavy and frequent rain, low temperatures, and strong winds may decrease adult foraging time, cause thermoregulatory stress on nestlings, and lead to nest damage or destruction, all of which can negatively affect breeding success. However, certain parental behaviours can mitigate these potentially negative effects of inclement weather. We examined how parents could mitigate these negative weather effects by adjusting three behavioursnest attendance, prey deliveries, and nest maintenancebefore, during, and after storms at 11 nests of the at-risk Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) in Canada. Female adults spent an increasing amount of time on the nest as wind speed increased. Similar numbers of prey were delivered before and after storms, suggesting that Ferruginous Hawks do not compensate for lost foraging time. They appeared to demonstrate an ability to detect approaching storms, possibly by responding to falling barometric pressure cues, and may have mitigated the risk of nest damage by increasing their nest maintenance behaviours. Our study is among the first to observe storm preparation behaviour, and indicates that some raptorial birds have the ability to alter nesting behaviour in response to approaching inclement weather. Zusammenfassung Königsbussarde (Buteo regalis) verändern das elterliche Verhalten bei heraufziehenden Stü rmenStarke und andauernde Regenfälle, niedrige Temperaturen und starke Winde können die Zeit der Nahrungssuche von Adulten verringern. Dies verursacht thermoregulatorischen Stress bei den Nestlingen und kann zu Schaden oder Vernichtung der Brut führen, was insgesamt den Bruterfolg negativ beeinflussen kann. Dennoch können bestimmte elterliche Verhaltensweisen diese potentiell negativen Schlecht-Wetter-Effekte abmildern. Wir untersuchten, wie Eltern diese negativen Wettereinflüsse durch die Anpassung von drei Verhaltensweisen abschwächen konnten: Anwesenheit am Nest, Beuteübergaben und Brutpflege vor, während und nach Stürmen an 11 Nestern des gefährdeten Königsbussard (Buteo regalis) in Kanada. Adulte Weibchen verbrachten mehr Zeit auf dem Nest mit zunehmender Windgeschwindigkeit und stärker werdenden Regenfällen. Vor und nach den Stürmen wurden ähnliche Anzahlen an Beuteobjekten eingetragen, was darauf hindeutet, dass Königsbussarde verlorene Zeiten zur Nahrungssuche nicht kompensieren. Königsbussarde scheinen die Fähigkeit zu haben, heraufziehende Stürme zu erkennen, in dem sie auf fallenden Luftdruck reagieren und das Risiko eines Brutverlustes durch zunehmende Brutpflege minimieren. Unsere Studie gehört zu den ersten, die sturmvorbereitendes Verhalten beobachten konnte und zeigt, dass Greifvögel in der Lage sind, ihr Brutverhalten als Antwort auf raue Witterungsbedingungen anzupassen.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ferruginous Hawks Buteo regalis alter parental behaviours in response to approaching storms

et al. 2015

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“…The small number of old nests found in the present study on Madeira may indicate that some nesting territories were not consistently occupied for many years, although it is also possible we missed some old nests located farther from the nest in use, due to the steep terrain. On Madeira, the destruction of forest patches by fires and the timber industry may be an important factor in influencing changes in nest site, but other factors such as adverse climatic conditions could also be significant (Martínez et al 2013). Accurate indices of fidelity to nesting territories would help us understand temporal variation in occupancy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Eurasian Sparrowhawk of Macaronesia (Accipiter nisus granti): Nesting Territories, Phenology, and Breeding Success On Madeira Island, Portugal

Hervías¹,

González²,

Pereira³

et al. 2017

Journal of Raptor Research

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The little-known Eurasian Sparrowhawk of Macaronesia (Accipiter nisus granti), also named as the Macaronesian sparrowhawk, is endemic to Madeira Island and the Canary Islands (North Atlantic Ocean) and has the smallest area of distribution of the sparrowhawk subspecies. We studied the breeding biology of the Macaronesian sparrowhawk for the first time on Madeira Island, Portugal. Specifically, we described nests, tree nests, nest sites, and nesting territories, and we estimated incubation, hatching and fledging dates. Moreover, we evaluated the influence of altitude on the date of the initiation of breeding and measured the number of fledglings and the factors influencing this parameter. Most nesting territories (88.6%) were located in forest patches where valleys with watercourses were present. Breeding success (73.2% 6 0.1 SE, n ¼ 18) and the mean number of young fledged per nest with eggs (2.27 6 0.04) are lower than the values for the Canary Islands. Altitude influenced the date of the initiation of breeding, with pairs in lowlands (,700 masl) initiating breeding earlier. However, pairs breeding earlier did not have higher reproductive rate than those breeding later. The number of fledglings per nest with eggs in mixed habitats was higher than in exotic and Laurel forests. The main cause of breeding failure was forest cutting. We believe that if the forestry industry does not consider the nesting areas, as well as the breeding phenology of this subspecies, and forest fires are not prevented, then its population in Madeira may be reduced in the near future.

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“…Authorization for the study was provided by the Consejería de Agricultura y Agua of the Region of Murcia, which regulates the conservation and management of wildlife and endangered species. Our study, which forms part of a larger investigation into forest raptor populations [ 4 , 15 , 39 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ], was observational and did not require invasive techniques. The presence of booted eagle is one of the reasons for which the study areas ‘‘Sierras de Burete, Lavia y Cambrón” and “Sierra Espuña” are designated as Special Protection Areas under Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mountainous landscape is characterized by a forested ecosystem dominated by one tree species, the Aleppo pine ( Pinus halepensis ), a conifer that may reach up to 22 m in Mediterranean areas [ 52 ]. Although the study area contains traditional agroecosystems in the valleys (mostly dry-land crops of vine, olive, almond and cereals), the forested areas (13,569 ha) were not substantially disturbed by human activities (such as timber harvesting) during the study period, so most of the forest (about 10,000 ha) can be considered mature [ 50 ]. Although this forest suffered a heavy snowfall and strong winds in 2007, where the study species exhibited great tolerance [ 50 ], this forest has not suffered any wildfire or relevant diseases, making it a suitable area to study nest dynamics over a period of time.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest sites as a key resource for population persistence: A case study modelling nest occupancy under forestry practices

et al. 2018

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Natural nest sites are important breeding resource in terms of population dynamics, especially in forest systems where nest trees limit populations or timber harvesting destroys nests. Nest structures usually have a long life and can be reused by breeding pairs across multiple breeding seasons, so studying their dynamics is of relevance for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we develop a dynamic model to evaluate nest site availability and its influence on the breeding settlement of a forest raptor community composed of booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) in a Mediterranean forest ecosystem in southeast Spain. This model approach is also applied to analyse the influence of forestry practices on the dynamics of occupied nests for a simulated period (2010–2050). The simulated scenarios include unmanaged forest and timber harvesting practices of clearcuttings every ten years considering two factors: the age class of trees for clearcutting (40, 50, 60 and 70 years old) and the type of forest management (with or without nest protection). Our simulated results show that the number of breeding pairs is constant during the period without timber harvest, whereas breeding pairs gradually decrease in the scenario of clearcutting trees aged from 70 to 50-years without nest protection, and populations become extinct with the clearcutting of 40-year old trees. Considering the practice of clearcutting and nest protection, nest occupancy can reach the maximum number of occupied nests for the scenarios of cutting 70 and 60-year old trees, and maintain populations without extinction for the scenarios of cutting 40-year old trees. We conclude that nest sites (whether occupied or not) are key resources for increasing the occupancy of the forest raptor community and that nest protection measures buffer the effects of clearcuttings, thus preventing population extinction.

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Assessing the short-term effects of an extreme storm on Mediterranean forest raptors

Cited by 14 publications

References 33 publications

Ferruginous Hawks Buteo regalis alter parental behaviours in response to approaching storms

Ferruginous Hawks Buteo regalis alter parental behaviours in response to approaching storms

The Eurasian Sparrowhawk of Macaronesia (Accipiter nisus granti): Nesting Territories, Phenology, and Breeding Success On Madeira Island, Portugal

Nest sites as a key resource for population persistence: A case study modelling nest occupancy under forestry practices

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