Climate, isolation and intraspecific competition affect morphological traits in an endangered steppe bird, the Dupont’s Lark<i>Chersophilus duponti</i>

Antón, Alexander García; Garza, Vicente; Traba, Juán

doi:10.1080/00063657.2018.1504875

Cited by 9 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Isolation of populations is one of the major concerns for Dupont’s larks in Spain ( Garza, Suárez & Tella, 2004 ; Íñigo et al, 2008 ; Méndez, Tella & Godoy, 2011 ). Its fragmented distribution may function as a metapopulation ( Gómez-Catasús et al, 2018 ; García-Antón et al, 2019 ; Traba et al, 2019 ), with different fragments or group of fragments having their own demographic parameters ( Pérez-Granados, López-Iborra & Garza, 2017 ), with individual movements connecting them ( García-Antón, Garza & Traba, 2015 ) and recolonization events of extinct patches ( Bota, Giralt & Guixé, 2016 ). The sample bias toward adult males associated with the capture method ( Garza, Traba & Suárez, 2003 ; Suárez, 2010 ) provides little information regarding other age and sex classes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sample bias toward adult males associated with the capture method ( Garza, Traba & Suárez, 2003 ; Suárez, 2010 ) provides little information regarding other age and sex classes. Adults are sedentary ( Cramp & Simmons, 1980 ; Suárez et al, 2006 ) and juveniles may disperse ( García-Antón, Garza & Traba, 2015 ). The persistence of small and isolated subpopulations, however, suggests that medium to longer distance movements may often occur, from 4 to 300 km: ~5 km ( Pérez-Granados & López-Iborra, 2015 ); 8 km (V. Garza, 2008–2019, unpublished data); 33 km ( García-Antón, Garza & Traba, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adults are sedentary ( Cramp & Simmons, 1980 ; Suárez et al, 2006 ) and juveniles may disperse ( García-Antón, Garza & Traba, 2015 ). The persistence of small and isolated subpopulations, however, suggests that medium to longer distance movements may often occur, from 4 to 300 km: ~5 km ( Pérez-Granados & López-Iborra, 2015 ); 8 km (V. Garza, 2008–2019, unpublished data); 33 km ( García-Antón, Garza & Traba, 2015 ). Some recent records reveal the existence of longer movements: 37 km (recolonization of Timoneda de Alfés, Lérida; Bota, Giralt & Guixé, 2016 ), 80 km (Salinas de Marchamalo, Murcia; García & Requena, 2015 ) and 99 km (Albufera de Valencia; Dies et al, 2010 ; Balfagón & Carrion Piquer, 2021 ), these being the minimum distance to the nearest occupied locality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Connectivity in Spanish metapopulation of Dupont’s lark may be maintained by dispersal over medium-distance range and stepping stones

García-Antón

Garza

Traba

2021

PeerJ

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Background Dupont’s Lark is an endangered bird, whose fragmented distribution in Europe is entirely restricted to Spain. This lark, suffering pronounced population decline and range contraction, inhabits steppes that have long been used for grazing sheep and are now threatened by rural abandonment and land use changes. Thus, for conservation of the lark, increasing knowledge about the connectivity of the Spanish metapopulation and identifying the most important connectivity nodes are crucial. Methods The study was carried out in Spain, using over 16,000 Dupont’s Lark georeferenced observations. We used distance buffers to define populations and subpopulations, based on the available scientific information. We identified potential stepping stones using a MaxEnt probability of presence model. Connectivity was assessed using Conefor software, using the centroid of each subpopulation and stepping stone as nodes. Each node was assigned a quantitative attribute based on total habitat area, within-node habitat quality and internal fragmentation. We evaluated different connectivity scenarios by potential movement thresholds (5–20–100 km) and presence or absence of stepping stones in the network. Results Dupont’s Lark Iberian metapopulation comprises 24 populations and 100 subpopulations, plus 294 potential stepping stones. Movement thresholds and stepping stones had a strong influence in the potential network connectivity. The most important nodes are located in the core of the metapopulation, which shows connectivity among subpopulations in the different indices and scenarios evaluated. Peripheral populations are more isolated and require stepping stones or medium (20 km) or long (100 km) potential movement thresholds to join the network. Discussion Metapopulation connectivity may be greater than expected, thanks to stepping stones and potential medium-distance movements. Connectivity is crucial for conservation and can be increased by preserving or improving adequate habitat in the most important nodes. Given the current species decline, steppe habitat should be urgently protected from land use changes and agriculture intensification, at least in the critical subpopulations and stepping stones. Long-term conservation of steppe lands and Dupont’s Lark in Spain requires the recovery of traditional grazing and more research on juvenile dispersion. Meanwhile, the conservation of potentially critical stepping stones should be incorporated to management plans.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Connectivity in Spanish metapopulation of Dupont’s lark may be maintained by dispersal over medium-distance range and stepping stones

García-Antón

Garza

Traba

2021

PeerJ

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“…The methodology explored here has the principal advantages that it enables access to data from a great number of species and individuals and that it is simple to measure. At the time when the present data were extracted, the two databases used contained respectively feather images of 1513 species (Featherbase, 2020) and 422 species (USFS, 2020), with approximately 19% of species in common. Together, these numbers are greater even than those used in wing area compilations (e.g., n = 450 species in Taylor &Thomas, 2014, andn = 150 in Vágási et al, 2016), though they are still a small fraction of all bird species (Hoyo & Sargatal, 1992;Pigot et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Internet images offer an alternative source of avian morphometric data (Featherbase, 2020;USFWS, 2020). These archive highdefinition photographs of feathers alongside a linear scale, allowing precise measurement of each feather (Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Web databases of feather photographs are useful tools for avian morphometry studies

Malo

Mata

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Leukocyte profile variation in Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti) in Spain and Morocco

et al. 2021

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Stress in birds has been widely studied through the measurement of heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio). In this study we aimed to assess for the first time the potential variation of stress, measured as H/L ratio, associated to geography (between-country variation) and seasonality (between seasons and within the breeding season), as well as the leukocyte profiles, in the threatened Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti), using samples from Spain and Morocco. Furthermore, we tested whether variation in H/L ratio was associated with variables such as population density, presence of blood parasites and individual body condition. We found that H/L ratio did not vary between countries, but individuals captured during the breeding season showed higher values of H/L compared to non-breeding ones. Neither male density, nor date within the breeding season had an effect on the H/L ratio. In Spain, individuals with higher body condition showed lower H/L ratio regardless of whether they were malaria-infected. In Morocco, malaria-infected individuals showed higher values of H/L ratio than the non-infected birds. Moreover, we found that our average values of H/L ratio in Morocco were within the ranges of other passerines, but not in Spain. Individuals with higher H/L ratios may be more stressed or present higher capability to face stressful situations. Although H/L ratio is a useful and relatively easy way to obtain measure of stress, the impact that the environment might have on stress and the way it is explained by H/L ratio must be addressed carefully. This study provides new insight for this species’ biology and provides useful reference information to test the status and survival of other populations.

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Climate, isolation and intraspecific competition affect morphological traits in an endangered steppe bird, the Dupont’s LarkChersophilus duponti

Cited by 9 publications

References 41 publications

Connectivity in Spanish metapopulation of Dupont’s lark may be maintained by dispersal over medium-distance range and stepping stones

Connectivity in Spanish metapopulation of Dupont’s lark may be maintained by dispersal over medium-distance range and stepping stones

Web databases of feather photographs are useful tools for avian morphometry studies

Leukocyte profile variation in Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti) in Spain and Morocco

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