Territory characteristics and coexistence with heterospecifics in the Dartford warbler Sylvia undata across a habitat gradient

Pons, Pere; Bas, Josep M.; Prodon, Roger; Roura‐Pascual, Núria; Clavero, Miguel

doi:10.1007/s00265-008-0550-3

Cited by 27 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Density-dependent effects on songbird territory size (Ridley et al 2004, Sillett et al 2004, Pons et al 2008 or small-mammal home range size (Abramsky et al 1979, Pusenius andSchmidt 2002) have been shown in many species. The absence of posttreatment crowding in this study suggests that subordinate males could not force territorial individuals to share resources, or that they found alternative territories elsewhere in the study area.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence for an ideal free distribution in a breeding population of a territorial songbird

Haché¹,

Villard²,

Bayne³

2013

Ecology

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Abstract. According to the ideal despotic distribution (IDD), dominant individuals gain a fitness advantage by acquiring territories that are of higher quality, thereby forcing other individuals into lower quality habitat. In contrast, the ideal free distribution (IFD) predicts that local density is a function of habitat quality, but that individuals achieve the same fitness in different habitat types as a result of density-dependent variation in territory size. Although the IFD represents an alternative, population dynamics of territorial species are generally expected to be driven by an IDD. We tested the predictions of IFD and IDD by monitoring the demographic response of the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) to selection harvesting (30-40% tree removal) during the first five years postharvest in five pairs of 25-ha study plots, each comprising a control (undisturbed) and a treatment (harvested plot). In the first year following harvesting, Ovenbird territory size increased in treatment plots relative to controls, whereas density, productivity per unit area, and the abundance of litter invertebrates decreased. Treatment effects declined consistently as stands regenerated, and most effects were no longer significant by the fifth year postharvest. However, there was no treatment effect on daily nest survival rate nor on per capita productivity. These results are consistent with the IFD, whereby similar per capita productivity is achieved across habitat types through density adjustments facilitated by changes in territory size. To our knowledge, this is the first study providing evidence for an IFD in a territorial bird species.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence for an ideal free distribution in a breeding population of a territorial songbird

Haché¹,

Villard²,

Bayne³

2013

Ecology

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“…The role of Mediterranean congeneric species in habitat preferences or in the occurrence of warbler species has not been assessed in this work. Recent studies have shown no competition effect of congenerics on the Dartford Warbler and a possible effect of Rüppell's Warbler (Sylvia rueppelli), an Eastern Mediterranean species, on the Sardinian Warbler (Martin and Thibault 1996;Pons et al 2008;Guillaumet and Prodon 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Up to 8 Sylvia species, from the 26 currently recognised, can breed sympatrically, although usually no more than 4 or 5 share the same habitat (Glutz von Blotzheim and Bauer 1991;Shirihai et al 2001). When Mediterranean species do occur syntopically, they segregate more by foraging microhabitat use than by territorial exclusion (Martin and Thibault 1996;Pons et al 2008). Two of these species, the Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) and the Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata), are often found in recently burned areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-window of occurrence and vegetation cover preferences of Dartford and Sardinian Warblers after fire

et al. 2012

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Wildfires are the most extensive and severe disturbance affecting the shrublands where Sardinian and Dartford Warblers (Sylvia melanocephala and S. undata) abound. Estimating the long-term use of burned habitats by these species (i.e. their time-window of occurrence) is fundamental to understanding their regional distribution and to plan possible conservation measures for the nearthreatened Dartford Warbler. In this study, we describe the post-fire time-window of occurrence and cover preferences of the two warblers using an abundance dataset, gathered by point counts over 22 consecutive years, and a density dataset, resulting from territory mapping of four different plots for up to 8 years. Both datasets span before and after fire. The two species colonized burned areas as soon as the second year after fire. The Dartford Warbler showed its highest abundance between 4 and 9 years after fire and disappeared after 16 years or more. The Sardinian Warbler had a peak of abundance at 9 years, but the study was not long enough to record its local extinction. Partial least squares regression showed that abundance at points and plot density of the Dartford Warbler were positively related to the plant cover between 0.25 and 1 m, whereas vegetation between 0.5 and 4 m was important for the Sardinian Warbler. The Dartford Warbler, therefore, depends on the existence of dense and low shrublands, that are often the result of past fires.

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“…when food is more abundant, more competitors will be attracted, making the area more costly to defend, hence the smaller territory sizes. While a number of studies support the third or "contender pressure hypothesis" (Dunk and Cooper, 1994;Myers et al, 1979;Pons et al, 2008), others provide differing results, i.e. territory sizes were determined directly by prey density (McFarland, 1986;Temeles, 1987) or indirectly by a habitat cue that correlates with prey abundance (Smith and Shugart, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…For the proximate mechanisms that cause this pattern, three hypotheses have been proposed (e.g. Pons et al, 2008): according to the first hypothesis, an animal assesses prey density directly and accordingly adjusts territory size to include resources sufficient for its energetic needs, while the second hypothesis postulates that an animal uses cues, usually a structure within the habitat that correlates with prey density. The third hypothesis assumes that territory size is constrained by intraspecific competition, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territory size of the Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens along an aridity gradient

Khoury

Boulad

2010

Journal of Arid Environments

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Territory characteristics and coexistence with heterospecifics in the Dartford warbler Sylvia undata across a habitat gradient

Cited by 27 publications

References 42 publications

Experimental evidence for an ideal free distribution in a breeding population of a territorial songbird

Experimental evidence for an ideal free distribution in a breeding population of a territorial songbird

Time-window of occurrence and vegetation cover preferences of Dartford and Sardinian Warblers after fire

Territory size of the Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens along an aridity gradient

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