Habitat use by houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii) in arid shrubland in the United Arab Emirates

Launay, Frédéric; Roshier, David A.; Loughland, Ronald A.; Aspinall, S.J.

doi:10.1006/jare.1995.0136

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Apparently, other site physiographic features like lush vegetation, phenology, and closeness to wadis play an important role in habitat selection [18] which is contrary to [14,40] findings where they negated the influence of vegetation phenology. Black Jabal and White Jabal slopes form gentle banks for wadis where large areas exist for nesting.…”

Section: Tribulus Arabicuscontrasting

confidence: 54%

Assembly of Optimum Habitats for Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) in the Arabian Peninsula: The Vegetation Aspects

Asadalla

Abido

Abahussain

et al. 2015

International Journal of Biodiversity

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This research was conducted in four sites at Mahazat as-Sayd reserve in Saudi Arabia to determine the optimum habitats' constituents for Asian houbara bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii via assessing abiotic and biotic factors with special reference to vegetation aspects. Vegetative parameters were quantified using combinations of distance and line intercept methods. Acquired data were analyzed using cluster analysis and analysis of variance tests. Results indicated that three of the four plant communities of the study sites were dominated by Acacia tortilis with underground cover composed of lesser species. On the other hand, White Jabal was dominated by scrubs composed mainly of Fagonia indica with sparse Acacia trees. Rumrumiyya site recorded the highest species abundance and vegetative coverage (133%) among the sites. It is concluded that Black Jabal and White Jabal sites are used as nesting and foraging habitats for houbaras, whereas Jabal Khurse is specifically a males' display site. Nevertheless, Rumrumiyya site was used for foraging and shelter. The study confirmed that density and vegetation cover are of prime importance for houbara site selection. However, other factors affecting feeding and behavior of the species must be considered in further studies.

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Section: Tribulus Arabicuscontrasting

confidence: 54%

Assembly of Optimum Habitats for Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) in the Arabian Peninsula: The Vegetation Aspects

Asadalla

Abido

Abahussain

et al. 2015

International Journal of Biodiversity

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“…To support conservation action plans on the houbara bustard Seddon et al 1995), several studies have been undertaken in the last decade on houbara biology and ecology. However, all studies of habitat use and selection refer to the migratory Asian species, Macqueen's bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) (Seddon and Van Heezik 1996;Combreau and Smith 1997;Launay et al 1997;Osborne et al 1997;van Heezik and Seddon 1999;Combreau et al 2000;van Heezik and Seddon 2002;Yang et al 2003) and to the Canarian houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata fuerteventurae), which has adapted to cultivated land (Collins 1984;Martín et al 1996;Medina 1999), but none concerned the African houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) which occupies semi-desert habitats in North Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat use and mating system of the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) in a semi-desertic area of North Africa: implications for conservation

et al. 2007

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Studies of the movements and home-ranges of houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) showed sexual and seasonal differences in the use of space, with a polygynous mating system similar to an 'exploded-lek' or a 'resource-defence-polygyny', that remains undefined. We used the arthropod biomass as an index of the trophic quality of six defined habitats and we radio-tracked 7 females and 13 males to test whether sexual and seasonal variations in habitat use were related to resource availability, and to verify if critical resources for breeding females were monopolised by males. We analysed habitat selection in both sexes separately. We used the habitat type composition of buffer zones around radio-locations to study annual and seasonal habitat selection and to identify preferred habitats, using the chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Habitat use between sexes and between seasons were compared using MANOVA based on log-ratios of habitat proportions. During the year, and in each season, both sexes appeared to be significantly selective for habitats in comparison to their availability. But males avoided esparto grass, while females used all habitats. Habitat use differed between sexes in the breeding season, but not in the non-breeding season. In spring, when food resources were abundant and uniformly distributed in space, males preferred 'temporarily flooded areas' and females preferred 'reg with tall perennials' that offered both food and cover for brooding. Critical resources were not monopolised by males and the mating system fulfilled the definition of the 'exploded-lek'. Leks are key sites for reproduction and should be considered as priority areas in further conservation plans.

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“…Most studies assessing habitat use by wild houbara of both species have operated at the micro-scale: the immediate vicinity of male display sites (10 m 9 10 m, Yang et al 2002b), nests (10 m 9 10 m, in both Yang et al 2002b;Aghanajafizadeh et al 2012), tracks (2.5-m width, Launay et al 1997b) or telemetry locations (50 m 9 3 m, Combreau and Smith 1997;100-m radius, Hingrat et al 2007). However, heterogeneity of topography, vegetation and soil, and a need for conservation planning on a regional extent, necessitate the study of how density varies at landscape scales rather than at micro-site scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat and land use on breeding season density of male Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii

et al. 2016

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Landscape-scale habitat and land use influences on Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii (IUCN Vulnerable) remain unstudied, while estimating numbers of this cryptic, low-density, over-hunted species is challenging. In spring 2013, male houbara were recorded at 231 point counts, conducted twice, across a gradient of sheep density and shrub assemblages within 14,300 km 2 of the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. Four sets of models related male abundance to: (1) vegetation structure (shrub height and substrate); (2) shrub assemblage; (3) shrub species composition (multidimensional scaling); (4) remote-sensed derived land cover (GLOBCOVER, 4 variables). Each set also incorporated measures of landscape rugosity and sheep density. For each set, multi-model inference was applied to generalised linear mixed models of visit-specific counts that included important detectability covariates and point ID as random effects. Vegetation structure received strongest support, followed by shrub species composition and shrub assemblage, with weakest support for the GLOBCOVER model set. Male houbara numbers were greater with lower mean shrub height, more gravel and flatter surfaces, but were unaffected by sheep density. Male density (mean 0.14 km -2 ) estimated by distance analysis differed substantially among shrub assemblages, being highest in vegetation dominated by Salsola rigida, high in areas of S. arbuscula and Astragalus, respectively, lower in Artemisia and lowest in Calligonum. The study area was estimated to hold 1824 males (CI 1645(CI -2030. The spatial distribution of relative male houbara abundance, predicted from vegetation structure models, had the strongest correspondence with observed numbers in both model calibration and the subsequent year's data. We found no effect of pastoralism on male distribution, but potential effects on nesting females are unknown. Density differences among shrub communities suggest extrapolation to estimate country-or range-wide population size must take into account vegetation composition.

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Habitat use by houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii) in arid shrubland in the United Arab Emirates

Cited by 31 publications

References 4 publications

Assembly of Optimum Habitats for Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) in the Arabian Peninsula: The Vegetation Aspects

Assembly of Optimum Habitats for Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) in the Arabian Peninsula: The Vegetation Aspects

Habitat use and mating system of the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) in a semi-desertic area of North Africa: implications for conservation

Effects of habitat and land use on breeding season density of male Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii

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