Seasonal observations and machine-learning-based spatial model predictions for the common raven (Corvus corax) in the urban, sub-arctic environment of Fairbanks, Alaska

Baltensperger, Andrew P.; Mullet, Timothy C.; Schmid, Moritz S.; Humphries, Grant R. W.; Kövér, L.; Huettmann, Falk

doi:10.1007/s00300-013-1376-7

Cited by 31 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Large numbers of ravens are attracted by ephemeral food sources such as carcasses or road kill (Heinrich 1989;Marzluff et al 1996;Stahler et al 2002) and even more by anthropogenic point subsidies such as farms, landfills, and game parks (Huber 1991;Drack and Kotrschal 1995;Boarman et al 2006;Webb et al 2011;Baltensperger et al 2013;Bijlsma and Seldam 2013). Nonbreeders sometime use permanent food sources on a regular basis, which may cause a ''stop'' stage during dispersal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared space, individually used: spatial behaviour of non-breeding ravens (Corvus corax) close to a permanent anthropogenic food source

et al. 2015

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Natal dispersal is a well-studied phenomenon that can be divided into three stages: (1) starting from an area, (2) wandering to another area and (3) either settling in that area to breed or merely temporarily stopping there before continuing to wander. During the third phase, we can distinguish breeders from non-breeders, which may show similar or different patterns of space use. Breeding Common Ravens are territorial year-round; non-breeders are highly vagrant but may gather at food sources and night roosts for varying lengths of time. In contrast to the wandering phase, little is known about the space use of ravens at such ''stop'' sites. Here, we used radio telemetry to investigate the space use of 21 non-breeding ravens in the Austrian Alps during a stop stage at an anthropogenic food source. The tagged ravens were present in 69.2 % of the relocation attempts. They used only 27.0 ha (range 6.7-59.7 ha, 95 % utilisation distribution) of the study area, and their activity ranges strongly overlapped with each other. However, within this shared space, sub/adult non-breeders could be found at individually distinct locations, while juveniles showed similar spatial distributions. These results, combined with reported long-distance movements, underline the high behavioural flexibility of non-breeding ravens, which may be a reason for their success in very different habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared space, individually used: spatial behaviour of non-breeding ravens (Corvus corax) close to a permanent anthropogenic food source

et al. 2015

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“…It is well known that crows use a wide variety of artificial food resources (zoos, dumps, garbage bins, park restaurants etc. ; Baltensperger et al, 2013). The first centers of nesting in Debrecen occurred in on near the zoo in the northern part of the city, where crows started to use food given to the captive animals.…”

Section: Nesting Area and Density: Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent colonization and nest site selection of the Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix L.) in an urban environment

Kövér

Gyüre

Balogh

et al. 2015

Landscape and Urban Planning

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“…In Debrecen, some zoo animals in wide open‐air enclosures are fed usually in the afternoon, and crows regularly appear in high numbers at this time, especially in the winter. Afternoons are probably important feeding times in the winter for crows because they need to collect energy to survive the cold nights at this time (Baltensperger et al, ). In Edinburgh, zoo birds and primates are fed twice a day (morning and afternoon), resulting in food potentially being available to crows all day, which may be related to the absence of a time‐of‐day effect here.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do zoos attract crows? A comparative study from Europe and Asia

Kövér

Lengyel

Takenaka

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Crows have successfully colonized many cities, and urban zoos have been important in this process. To evaluate why zoos attract crows, we quantified crow numbers and behavior in three zoos in Europe (Debrecen, Edinburgh, Vienna) and one in Asia (Sapporo). Data were collected in 445 surveys over 297 days in summer 2014 and winter 2014–2015. We found that crow numbers were highest in Vienna, intermediate in Debrecen and Edinburgh and lowest in Sapporo, increased significantly from summer to winter (Debrecen, Edinburgh, Vienna), and from mornings to afternoons (Debrecen, Sapporo, Vienna), and were higher in sunny weather than in cloudy weather with precipitation and when visitor numbers were low (Debrecen, Vienna). The crows' use of natural food was highest in Vienna, intermediate in Edinburgh and Sapporo, and low in Debrecen. The use of anthropogenic food was high in Debrecen and Sapporo, where the availability of open grassy areas typically used by crows for natural foraging was low. In Sapporo, food availability was more limited than in other zoos, resulting in strong territoriality and few crows in summer, which decreased further in winter. Our study indicates that crows are primarily attracted to zoos by food availability and secondarily by breeding opportunities and that the relative importance of natural versus anthropogenic food sources may vary with zoo habitat structure. Our study draws attention to a previously overlooked role of zoos in urban biodiversity conservation. It may also provide useful information for the management of crow populations, if necessary, and for the planning of urban areas.

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Seasonal observations and machine-learning-based spatial model predictions for the common raven (Corvus corax) in the urban, sub-arctic environment of Fairbanks, Alaska

Cited by 31 publications

References 31 publications

Shared space, individually used: spatial behaviour of non-breeding ravens (Corvus corax) close to a permanent anthropogenic food source

Shared space, individually used: spatial behaviour of non-breeding ravens (Corvus corax) close to a permanent anthropogenic food source

Recent colonization and nest site selection of the Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix L.) in an urban environment

Why do zoos attract crows? A comparative study from Europe and Asia

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