Influence of habitat on breeding performance of Hen Harriers <i>Circus cyaneus</i> in Orkney

Amar, Arjun; Arroyo, Beatriz; Meek, Eric; Redpath, Stephen M.; Riley, Helen

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2007.00765.x

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…The importance of foraging areas is highlighted in studies that have shown that availability of good foraging areas around nest sites can influence breeding success (e.g. Tella et al, 1998;Rodriguez, Johst & Bustamante, 2006;Amar et al, 2008;Hinam & Clair, 2008), and in many cases, habitats selected for foraging may differ from those selected for breeding (Sergio, Pedrini & Marchesi, 2003). Nevertheless, although the number of studies dealing with foraging habitat selection in birds is increasing recently, they are still relatively scarce, as compared with studies on nesting habitat selection (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Appropriateness of Special Protection Areas for wide‐ranging species: the importance of scale and protecting foraging, not just nesting habitats

Guixé

Arroyo

2011

Animal Conservation

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Effective conservation plans and design of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for protected species should take into account ranging behaviour and foraging habitats, and this is particularly important for wide-ranging species. Montagu's harriers Circus pygargus are ground-nesting semi-colonial raptors typical of agricultural habitats. We studied the foraging behaviour of 14 radio-tracked male Montagu's harriers, in order to investigate the distance from nests of foraging birds, the extent to which foraging range overlapped with SPAs designated for this species, and foraging habitat selection within foraging ranges. Average foraging range size, estimated from either minimum convex polygon or kernel 90%, was larger than 100 km 2 . Only 19 AE 11% of the foraging ranges were within SPA limits. Cereal (the main habitat used for nesting) was slightly counterselected for foraging, and most prey (64%, n= 117) captured in that habitat were insects. Hunting attempts occurred significantly more frequently than expected in alfalfa, where most prey captured were small mammals (70%, n = 102). Use of this habitat for foraging increased throughout the season. Most prey captured in other habitats (mainly tree crops, shrubs or uncultivated land) were birds (83%, n = 43). SPAs included a higher proportion of cereal, but a lower proportion of alfalfa than areas outside SPAs. Overall, our results show that breeding Montagu's harriers use an area for foraging much larger than current sizes of most SPAs for the species, that habitats selected for foraging differ from those used for nesting and that preferred foraging habitats were less common inside SPAs than outside. Conservation management for this species should aim to protect foraging habitats within a large radius of the colonies, probably requiring measures to be applied outside protected areas. More generally, SPAs designed without including information of ranging behaviour and foraging habitats may be ineffective.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Appropriateness of Special Protection Areas for wide‐ranging species: the importance of scale and protecting foraging, not just nesting habitats

Guixé

Arroyo

2011

Animal Conservation

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“…Identifying these associations may contribute to our understanding of why some populations are more or less successful under certain circumstances and conditions than others. This may be particularly important when dealing with endangered species, as it may allow prioritizing conservation efforts of target species in space or time (Green et al 2006, Amar et al 2008, Gangoso et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does timing of breeding matter less where the grass is greener? Seasonal declines in breeding performance differ between regions in an endangered endemic raptor

García-Heras¹,

Arroyo²,

Mougeot³

et al. 2016

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The timing of breeding can strongly influence individual breeding performance and fitness. Seasonal declines in breeding parameters have been often documented in birds, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Fewer studies have investigated whether seasonal declines in productivity vary in space, which would have implications for a species' population dynamics across its distributional range. We report here on variation in the timing of breeding in the Black Harrier (Circus maurus), an endangered and endemic raptor to Southern Africa. We investigated how key breeding parameters (clutch size, nesting success and productivity) varied with the timing of breeding, weather conditions (rainfall and temperature) and between contrasted regions (coastal vs. interior-mountain). Black Harrier onset of breeding extended over an 8-month period, with a peak of laying between mid-August and end of September. We show a marked seasonal decline in all breeding parameters. Importantly, for clutch size and productivity these seasonal declines differed regionally, being more pronounced in interior-mountain than in coastal regions, where the breeding season was overall shorter. Timing of breeding, clutch size and productivity were also partly explained by weather conditions. In coastal regions, where environmental conditions, in particular rainfall, appear to be less variable, the timing of breeding matters less for breeding output than in interiormountain regions, and breeding attempts thus occurred over a longer period. The former areas may act as RESEARCH ARTICLE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalMarie-Sophie Garcia-Heras et al. / Nature Conservation 15: 23-45 (2016) 24 population sources and be key in protecting the long-term population viability of this threatened endemic raptor. This study provides unique evidence for a regionally variable seasonal decline in breeding performance with implications for population biology and conservation.

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“…Fielding et al (2011) estimated that in the absence of illegal persecution the Hen Harrier population in the UK could be as high as 2514-2653 pairs, more than three times the 2004 level. Changes in habitat (Amar et al 2008), prey abundance (Redpath & Thirgood 1997, Amar et al 2003 and climate (Whitfield et al 2008, Amar et al 2011a have also been demonstrated to influence Hen Harrier numbers and distribution. In Northern Ireland, distribution is considered to reflect habitat dissimilarities with other parts of the UK, particularly because moorland habitats in this region are in poor condition (Ruddock et al 2008) and more recently because of the impact of moorland wildfires.…”

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confidence: 99%

The status of the Hen Harrier,Circus cyaneus, in the UK and Isle of Man in 2010

Hayhow

Eaton

Bladwell³

et al. 2013

Bird Study

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Influence of habitat on breeding performance of Hen Harriers Circus cyaneus in Orkney

Cited by 25 publications

References 19 publications

Appropriateness of Special Protection Areas for wide‐ranging species: the importance of scale and protecting foraging, not just nesting habitats

Appropriateness of Special Protection Areas for wide‐ranging species: the importance of scale and protecting foraging, not just nesting habitats

Does timing of breeding matter less where the grass is greener? Seasonal declines in breeding performance differ between regions in an endangered endemic raptor

The status of the Hen Harrier,Circus cyaneus, in the UK and Isle of Man in 2010

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