Seasonal population fluctuation and spatial distribution of Orthoptera in two grassland areas of Attica – Greece

Antonatos, Spiros; Εμμανουήλ, Ν. Γ.; Fantinou, Argyro A.; Tsagkarakis, Antonios E.; Anagnostopoulos, Anastasios; Ntampakis, Dionysios

doi:10.1080/00222933.2013.839844

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…We hypothesise that this peak in the consumption of Acrididae reflects foraging movements of birds towards high altitude areas (>800 m; Figure 1) in the surroundings of the roosting site. Such areas still maintain a high abundance of grasshoppers in late August while during the same period they can be found only in low numbers in the lowlands (Antonatos et al, 2014). Such movements of birds in mountainous areas before migration have been recorded in the study area (Bounas et al, 2016) and they are not uncommon in the region.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Change of Feeding Strategy Prior to Migration: A Comparative Diet Analysis in the Lesser Kestrel (Falco Naumanni)

Bounas

Sotiropoulos

2017

Avian Biology Research

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Assessing the variation in diet composition of a species, over different years and between periods, offers insights to comprehend its ecological niche as well as to define different feeding strategies. We studied the diet of the Lesser Kestrel ( Falco naumanni) by analysing 1040 regurgitated pellets collected in the city of Ioannina (northwestern Greece). We compared diet composition between the breeding period (data from years 2010–2015) and the pre-migration period (data from 2013–2015) at the study site. A total of 8920 prey items were identified and classified into 13 different prey families. The Lesser Kestrel shows a consistent pattern of diet composition throughout years, displaying significant differences between breeding and pre-migration periods. The diet is rather diverse during the breeding season (Levins' diet breadth, B = 4.12) and is composed mainly of Orthoptera and Coleoptera, while during pre-migration, the species shows a more narrow diet breadth ( B = 1.98) and feeds more often and on larger amounts of Orthoptera. These results indicate a specialised feeding strategy during pre-migration. In addition, the examination of the Orthoptera consumption during this period indicates a peak in the abundance of grasshoppers (Acrididae) in the second half of August. We suggest that at this time birds exploit high elevation open grasslands around the roosting site where grasshopper abundance is high. Thus, such areas are of high conservation importance as Lesser Kestrels depend on this localised abundance of Orthoptera in order to fuel up before their trans-Saharan migration.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Change of Feeding Strategy Prior to Migration: A Comparative Diet Analysis in the Lesser Kestrel (Falco Naumanni)

Bounas

Sotiropoulos

2017

Avian Biology Research

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“…The flower head abundance improves the habitat's suitability for grasshoppers, since it provides shelter from predators [50] and is a potential feeding resource for some bush cricket juveniles [51], such as Isophya mavromoustakisi and Eupholidoptera cypria cypria. Furthermore, the soil humidity was found to be an important factor influencing the orthopteran community composition; it is considered a key factor defining vascular plant communities and has a regulatory effect on grasshopper hatching and the seasonality of their life cycle [52][53][54]. As expected, the species richness, as well as the community composition, was negatively affected by the altitude [46,51], given the harsher microclimatic conditions and reduced food resources.…”

Section: Effects Of Environmental Parameters On Orthoptera Community ...mentioning

confidence: 56%

Conservation Prioritization of Orthoptera Assemblages on a Mediterranean Island

Tzirkalli,

Zografou,

Willemse

et al. 2024

Diversity

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In response to the ongoing global extinction, conservationists must prioritize future conservation investments to ensure that such measures are biologically effective and economically viable. To propose an effective conservation plan for Orthoptera assemblages on Cyprus Island, we introduce the Standardized Conservation Index (StCI), a biodiversity index accounting for the conservation value (ci), presence, dispersal ability, endemism and conservation status of a species. We evaluated the effect of eleven environmental variables on StCI, ci, species richness and the Shannon–Wiener diversity index, using linear and generalized linear models. Species and environmental data were collected in 60 localities that were placed along four elevational zones and included seven habitat types. Our results revealed the importance of rural mosaics and forests for the conservation of Orthoptera. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index failed to show the importance of high-altitude forests. The Orthoptera species diversity was favored by flower heads and the soil humidity, while rock cover and high shrubs had a positive and negative effect, respectively, on the StCI and ci values. Our results underline the value of StCI in complementing traditional diversity indices, as a scale-independent index that can be used for different taxa to prioritize sites of conservation concern.

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“…Such long-distance or even northward movements identified in this study could be considered an unnecessary or sub-optimal detour for migrating birds 56 . However, food availability, and specifically grasshopper abundance, is higher in mountainous areas during the summer 38 , 39 , 57 and can subsequently act as a determinant of pre-migratory movements in the region. Meanwhile, before ending up in the roosts, birds could also exploit habitats on the move thus accounting for such transport costs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using genetic markers to unravel the origin of birds converging towards pre-migratory sites

Bounas

Tsaparis

Gustin

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Identifying patterns of individual movements in spatial and temporal scales can provide valuable insight into the structure of populations and the dynamics of communities and ecosystems. Especially for migrating birds, that can face a variety of unfavorable conditions along their journey, resolving movements of individuals across their annual cycle is necessary in order to design better targeted conservation strategies. Here, we studied the movements of a small migratory falcon, the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), by genetically assigning feathers from individuals of unknown origin that concentrate in large roosts during the pre-migratory period. Our findings suggest that birds from multiple breeding populations in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region move towards two pre-migratory sites in the Balkans, some of them detouring greatly from their expected flyways, travelling more than 500 km to reach these sites and prepare for the post-nuptial migration. By identifying the origin of individuals using the pre-migratory sites, not only we provide a better understanding of the possible impact of local threats at these sites on multiple breeding populations but also inform the design of effective conservation actions for the species.

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Seasonal population fluctuation and spatial distribution of Orthoptera in two grassland areas of Attica – Greece

Cited by 10 publications

References 38 publications

Change of Feeding Strategy Prior to Migration: A Comparative Diet Analysis in the Lesser Kestrel (Falco Naumanni)

Change of Feeding Strategy Prior to Migration: A Comparative Diet Analysis in the Lesser Kestrel (Falco Naumanni)

Conservation Prioritization of Orthoptera Assemblages on a Mediterranean Island

Using genetic markers to unravel the origin of birds converging towards pre-migratory sites

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