Territory settlement and site fidelity in Reed Buntings<i>Emberiza schoeniclus</i>

Musilová, Zuzana; Musil, Petr; Fuchs, Roman; Poláková, Simona

doi:10.1080/00063657.2010.524915

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(87 reference statements)

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“…The reed bunting is often reported from miscanthus fields in both summer and winter (Bellamy et al 2009; Sage et al 2010; Bright et al 2013). Our results suggest that miscanthus fields attract numerous reed buntings in the pre-breeding season, when birds roost in optimal habitats before establishing territories (Musilová et al 2011). Therefore, there is a risk that late harvesting of miscanthus could lead to nesting losses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Energy crops affecting farmland birds in Central Europe: insights from a miscanthus-dominated landscape

2018

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The expansion of energy crops such as miscanthus Miscanthus x giganteus has changed the habitat of European farmland birds. However, most studies on the subject are based in Western Europe. We surveyed the avian community in a sample bioenergy landscape in Poland to investigate the pattern of use of the crop by birds in Central Europe. During a year-long survey, 80 species were noted, with 32 sighted in miscanthus. The number of bird sightings was negatively correlated with the area covered by miscanthus in study plots. In contrast to results from Western Europe, most woodland-generalist bird species tended to avoid miscanthus. Farmland species (e.g. the corn bunting Miliaria calandra; the tree sparrow Passer montanus; the starling Sturnus vulgaris; the yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella) were less frequently sighted in the crop than in other habitats. Only a few species were sighted more often in miscanthus than in other habitats, e.g. the marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris; the reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus; the whinchat Saxicola rubetra. The potential impact of expanded miscanthus cropping on bird communities in Central and Eastern Europe may diverge from predictions derived from studies based in Western Europe due to differing habitat preferences and bird densities between the regions. For a majority of farmland species, the crop may constitute only a suboptimal, supplementary habitat, with only a few birds potentially adapting to the exploitation of bioenergy plantations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.2478/s11756-018-0143-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Energy crops affecting farmland birds in Central Europe: insights from a miscanthus-dominated landscape

2018

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“…Our sex ratio estimates of the resident Eastern Iberian Reed Bunting subspecies revealed the lack of any sex bias, consistently with data obtained during the breeding season in England (male:female ratio 1.15:1; Fennell & Stone, 1976). This may result from territory fidelity of Reed Bunting breeding populations (Musilová et al ., 2011), as opposed to other bunting species with long-distance breeding dispersal events and male-biased populations (Steifetten & Dale, 2006). Different sex ratio estimates for resident and wintering Spanish populations could arise from a latitudinal sex segregation due to differential migration, as northern females migrate longer distances than males to reach their wintering grounds in southern Europe (Schmitz & Steiner, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Discrepancies could be related to our small sample size or demographic factors such as higher male mortality (Martín et al ., 2007). Sex ratio variations among populations may result from local-scale sex differences in survival and dispersal (Musilová et al, 2011), so comparative studies including samples from different geographical areas may provide a helpful tool for monitoring demographic changes and their connection with environmental factors (Wood et al ., 2021). Sex determination of previously unsexed samples, such as those used here and obtained from Kvist et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Primers for Sexing Juvenile Buntings and to Assist Ex-Situ Conservation of Endangered Eastern Iberian Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi Populations

Alambiaga,

Monrós,

Palero

2023

Ardeola

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SummaryAccurate sex determination of an individual is essential for understanding the ecology of a species and to implement effective conservation measures. Molecular sexing is proving to be an effective tool to determine the sex ratio of difficult-to-sex species as well as for establishing breeding pairs in ex situ conservation programmes. In the last few decades, a putatively universal set of primers, based on the so-called intron A of the CHD1 gene, has been used to sex birds through PCR. Nevertheless, several issues have been reported in several taxa for which more specific alternative protocols are needed. In this paper we present a new pair of markers based on the so-called intron E of the CHD1 gene and designed for sexing difficult-to-sex Old World bunting Emberiza spp. individuals. This method was then used for supporting an ongoing Eastern Iberian Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi breeding programme and to estimate, for the first time, the sex ratio of this critically endangered passerine. Newly designed primers allowed for more rapid and accurate sex determination compared to other previously developed markers tested here, thanks to larger size differences between CHD1W and CHD1Z PCR products and lower allelic drop-out frequency. Our results suggest no significant sex bias in the Eastern Iberian Reed Bunting resident population (male:female ratio 0.8:1), as opposed to strongly female-biased estimates (up to male:female ratio 0.33:1) previously recorded in Spain for wintering populations. Differences in sex ratio estimates between resident and wintering populations could arise from a latitudinal sex segregation in Reed Buntings due to differential migration, and highlight the importance of using resident populations to obtain key demographic parameters. Future work should focus on sampling resident populations to better characterise local variations in sex ratio, to obtain relevant data for the management of threatened subspecies.—Alambiaga, I., Monrós, J.S. & Palero, F. (2024). New primers for sexing juvenile buntings and to assist ex-situ conservation of endangered Eastern Iberian Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi populations. Ardeola, 71: 119-130.

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“…In the study area, there is a lack of suitable breeding habitats and therefore territory settlement is associated with the previous experience in males (Musilová et al 2011). Individuals of higher quality are expected to occupy optimal nest sites (Bennett & Owens 2005) and the high fidelity of old experienced males, could indicate the importance of these breeding localities for Reed Buntings (Musilová et al 2011). Moreover, it was shown experimentally that this species is likely capable of choosing their territories according to the actual predation risk (Trnka et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest survival in the Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus in fragmented wetland habitats: the effect of nest-site selection

Musilová,

Musil,

Zouhar

et al. 2014

Ornis Fenn

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Nest survival in fragmented wetlands is usually affected by micro-habitat variables. The main aim of the study was to investigate the factors affecting Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus nest survival in wetland habitats within a mosaic Central European land-scape. In total, we monitored 95 nests on five separate fishponds in South Bohemia, Czech Republic during a six-year study between 2002 and 2007. In order to determine the effects on nest survival of nest site characteristic, the first egg laying date and nest age, we estimated daily survival rate (DSR) and built models using program MARK. DSR was significantly higher in nests located in Reed Canary Grass Phalaris arundinacea and tall vegetation Cattail Typha latifolia and Common Reed Phragmites australis than in sedges Carex spp. Surprisingly, expanding Reed Canary Grass was occupied later in the breeding season and likely less preferred vegetation type than sedges. Structure of sedge tussocks changed due to eutrophication and likely lost its suitability as quality microhabitat of the nest site. Furthermore, we found mild support that DSR increased with the distance from the nearest tree and that the lowest DSR was between 19th and 20th day of the nesting cycle, close after the hatching of the nestlings which can attract potential predators. These findings could indicate the importance of birds as predators on Reed Bunting nests. Nest site selection appears to be a display of anti-predator strategy in the Reed Bunting.

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Territory settlement and site fidelity in Reed BuntingsEmberiza schoeniclus

Cited by 7 publications

References 51 publications

Energy crops affecting farmland birds in Central Europe: insights from a miscanthus-dominated landscape

Energy crops affecting farmland birds in Central Europe: insights from a miscanthus-dominated landscape

New Primers for Sexing Juvenile Buntings and to Assist Ex-Situ Conservation of Endangered Eastern Iberian Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi Populations

Nest survival in the Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus in fragmented wetland habitats: the effect of nest-site selection

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