Consequences of correlations between habitat modifications and negative impact of climate change for regional species survival

While several empirical and theoretical studies have clearly shown the negative effects of climate or landscape changes on population and species survival only few of them addressed combined and correlated consequences of these key environmental drivers. This also includes positive landscape changes such as active habitat management and restoration to buffer the negative effects of deteriorating climatic conditions. In this study, we apply a conceptual spatial modelling approach based on functional types to explore the effects of both positive and negative correlations between changes in habitat and climate conditions on the survival of spatially structured populations. We test the effect of different climate and landscape change scenarios on four different functional types that represent a broad spectrum of species characterised by their landscape level carrying capacity, the local population turnover rates at the patch level (K-strategies vs. r-strategies) and dispersal characterstics. As expected, simulation results show that correlated landscape and climatic changes can accelerate (in case of habitat loss or degradation) or slow down (in case of habitat gain or improvement) regional species extinction. However, the strength of the combined changes depends on local turnover at the patch level, the overall landscape capacity of the species, and its specific dispersal characteristics. Under all scenarios of correlated changes in habitat and climate conditions we found the highest sensitivity for functional types representing species with a low landscape capacity but a high population growth rate and a strong density regulation causing a high turnover at the local patch level.The relative importance of habitat loss or habitat degradation, in combination with climate deterioration, differed among the functional types. However, an increase in regional capacity revealed a similar response pattern: For all types, habitat improvement led to higher survival times than habitat gain, i.e. the establishment of new habitat patches. This suggests that improving local habitat quality at a regional scale is a more promising conservation strategy under climate change than implementing new habitat patches. This conceptual modelling study provides a general framework to better understand and support the management of populations prone to complex environmental changes.     

Habitat selection and home range size of red-legged partridges in Spain

To understand the factors contributing to the spatial behaviour of the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa), a radio-tracking study of free living partridges was carried out in Spain. During 2000–2002, 275 individuals were captured in four areas with different environmental and management characteristics. Sixty-nine adults and 23 juveniles were used to study space use distributions, including home range size, core area size and habitat selection. According to a generalized linear mixed model, 63% of the variability in home range size was explained by three landscape variables: edge index, average patch size and agricultural disturbance. Habitat selection was not influenced by age or sex because parents and juveniles remained together for most of the year, except during mating. The decline of the red-legged partridge in Spain was preceded by agricultural transformations related to land holding concentration and an increase in cultivated surface per property, which increased patch sizes and decreased edge and marginal areas across Spain.     

扎龙湿地丹顶鹤繁殖栖息地的选择及扩散

景观演变对野生动物栖息地质量和连接度造成的影响,一直是威胁全球生物多样性保护的关键问题,开展扎龙湿地丹顶鹤（Grus japonensis）繁殖栖息地选择及繁殖期生境间的扩散研究,对野生丹顶鹤的保护具有重要的意义。首先利用需要“出现点”的生态位MAXENT模型,进行适宜栖息地选择研究。从水源、食物、干扰、隐蔽物四个方面选择明水面距离、土壤湿度、NDVI、道路距离和居民地距离五个环境变量作为丹顶鹤繁殖栖息地选择的影响因子,预测扎龙保护区可供丹顶鹤进行营巢繁殖的栖息地分布,并分析各影响因子的反应曲线。结果显示：丹顶鹤易于选择远离道路和居民地干扰且靠近明水面的区域作为营巢栖息地,栖息地土壤湿度较高并且植被覆盖较多。从MAXENT模型中提取了38个适宜栖息地斑块,基于电路理论模拟丹顶鹤繁殖期失去飞行能力时的多路径扩散,最大电流密度图突出了可能的“夹点”,模拟出具有一定宽度范围的连接区域,可供丹顶鹤在繁殖期间进行扩散。累积电流密度图突出了在维持网络连通性方面起到积极作用的斑块,并进行面积加权来评估适宜栖息地斑块的综合重要性。结果表明,在MAXENT模型预测出的适宜栖息地斑块基础上,考虑丹顶鹤繁殖期的迁移扩散行为,利用累积电流密度面积加权来评估适宜栖息地斑块的综合重要性,得到的适宜性等级更符合丹顶鹤真实巢址的分布。研究成果可为保护区丹顶鹤栖息繁殖生境的恢复和保护提供科学依据。     

Laying date and polygyny as determinants of annual reproductive success in male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis): a long-term study

Annual reproductive success (ARS) is one of the main components of lifetime reproductive success, a reliable measure of individual fitness. Previous studies often dealt with ARS and variables potentially affecting it. Among them, long-term studies that consider multiple factors at the same time are particularly important in understanding the adaptive value of different phenotypes. Here, we used an 18-year dataset to quantify the ARS of male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) on the basis of recruited offspring. We simultaneously assessed the effect of start of breeding, age, polygyny, body size and the expression of forehead patch (a sexually selected trait). The success of early breeding individuals was appreciably higher than late birds; however, breeding too early was also disadvantaged, and males that bred around the yearly median breeding date had the highest ARS. Polygynous males were more successful in years with good food supply, while in years with low food availability, they did not produce more recruits than monogamous males. The age of males, their forehead patch size and body size did not affect the number of recruits. Our findings support the importance of breeding date and suggest stabilizing selection on it in the long term. We also show that polygyny is not always advantageous for males, and its fitness pay-off may depend on environmental quality.     

Nest platforms increase aggressive behavior in common loons

Artificial manipulations of habitat, such as those that incorporate adding nesting boxes or platforms for birds, often enhance the breeding success of threatened animals. However, such alterations are likely to have unintended behavioral and ecological effects that might negatively impact the target species or others in its community. We conducted a controlled study to investigate the effect of artificial nesting platforms on aggressive behavior and reproductive success of male common loons (Gavia immer). Males residing on territories to which platforms were added produced longer territorial "yodels" (reflecting willingness to escalate a contest), experienced increased levels of confrontation and aggression with territorial intruders, and experienced increased rates of territorial displacement by intruders. Surprisingly, males of treatment territories also experienced lower productivity. Therefore, in addition to providing novel empirical support of sequential assessment models of animal contests that predict contest escalation with increasing resource quality, this study is one of a few to show that tools used to mitigate habitat loss can negatively impact reproductive fitness in a threatened species.     

Experimental evidence for species-specific habitat preferences in two flycatcher species in their hybrid zone

Hybrid zones are often found in areas where the environmental characteristics of native habitat of both parental species meet. One of the plausible mechanisms that maintain species distinctiveness, or limit hybridization, is the existence of local species-specific preferences for the natal habitat type. We evaluated this hypothesis for two passerine bird species, the pied Ficedula hypoleuca and collared flycatcher F. albicollis, in their narrow hybrid zone in Central Europe. Both species have quite distinct habitat distributions, and they have also been reported to differ in their foraging niches. In a series of aviary experiments, we demonstrated that both species show distinct preferences for trees from their native area. The pied flycatcher preferred coniferous vegetation, while the collared flycatcher favored deciduous vegetation. In addition, both species differed in foraging substrate preferences. The pied flycatcher preferred to forage in the lower strata on the ground than the canopy, whereas the collared flycatcher foraged more at the canopy level. Both males and females of each species were highly consistent in their preference patterns. Due to the widespread nature of hybrid zones as places with transitional habitat features and the well-known habitat tight associations of various animal taxa with particular habitat types, we propose that habitat preferences might be an important and common mechanism that enhances the formation of conspecific pairs.     

Breeding skylarks (Alauda arvensis) on organic and conventional arable farms in The Netherlands

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of differences in cropping pattern between organic and conventional arable farms on the breeding activity of skylarks and to assess the effects of arable crop management on skylark nest survival. Skylark nest density was seven times higher on organic farms than on conventional farms (0.63 vs. 0.09 nest per 10 ha). Skylarks showed a strong preference for spring cereals, lucerne and grass leys, all of which were mainly or exclusively grown on organic farms. On organic farms nests were initiated during the entire breeding season, but on conventional farms no nesting activity was found during the peak of the season (early May to early June). On organic farms 27% of all nests was successful. Increasing the availability of suitable breeding habitat during the peak of the breeding season on conventional farms might provide one means of enhancing breeding skylark populations. On organic farms, crop management should focus on reducing nest loss due to farming operations.     

Chemically mediated burrow recognition in the Mexican tarantula <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachypelma vagans</Emphasis> female

Chemically mediated communication is common in spiders but has been poorly studied in burrowing tarantulas. This study aimed to determine whether chemical cues influence the behaviour of females of Brachypelma vagans, a Mexican species of tarantula, during encounters with previously inhabited burrows or with extracts from the silk of conspecific females. In laboratory choice tests, female tarantulas entered a burrow that had previously been inhabited by a conspecific female significantly more frequently than a burrow that had never been inhabited. The identity of the previous inhabitant also affected the number of spiders that chose to enter a burrow. Spiders were quicker to choose and enter a burrow previously inhabited by themselves than a burrow previously inhabited by a conspecific or a burrow that had not been previously inhabited. Hexane, methanol and dichloromethane extracts of conspecific silk elicited different responses from female tarantulas when extracts were placed on filter paper disks at one end of an experimental arena with a control filter paper disk, on to which the corresponding solvent alone had been pipetted, placed on the other end of the arena. Spiders showed the strongest responses to hexane extracts of silk, with a significant preference to move towards the hexane extract and a significantly greater period of time spent in proximity to the hexane extract compared to the control disk. Overall and in contrast to expectations, tarantulas were most strongly attracted to the cues left by other conspecific females. As encounters between B. vagans females usually lead to aggression and mortality of one of the participants, we conclude that chemical cues are not signals that are deliberately released by burrow-inhabiting females but may inadvertently escape and cannot be easily suppressed.     

Social Rank, Stress, Fitness, and Life Expectancy in Wild Rabbits

 Wild rabbits of the two sexes have separate linear rank orders, which are established and maintained by intensive fights. The social rank of individuals strongly influence their fitness: males and females that gain a high social rank, at least at the outset of their second breeding season, have a much higher lifetime fitness than subordinate individuals. This is because of two separate factors: a much higher fecundity and annual reproductive success and a 50% longer reproductive life span. These results are in contrast to the view in evolutionary biology that current reproduction can be increased only at the expense of future survival and/or fecundity. These concepts entail higher physiological costs in high-ranking mammals, which is not supported by our data: In wild rabbits the physiological costs of social positions are caused predominantly by differential psychosocial stress responses that are much lower in high-ranking than in low-ranking individuals. Received: 23 February 1999 / Accepted: 17 March 1999     

Habitat patch size and isolation as predictors of occupancy and number of argyrodine spider kleptoparasites in Nephila webs

How fully a suitable habitat patch is utilized by organisms depends crucially on patch size and isolation. Testing this interplay is made difficult in many systems by the arbitrariness of defining a "habitat patch", measuring its boarders, and relatively low detection probability of the inhabitants. Spider webs as habitat patches for obligate web kleptoparasites are free from these problems. Each individual web is a highly discrete and readily measured habitat patch, and the detection probability of argyrodine spider kleptoparasites is very nearly 1. Hence, spider webs emerge as simple systems for ecological models such as patch occupancy and metapopulation biology. Recently, I showed that the distribution of kleptoparasites among host webs relates both to web (patch) size as well as patch connectivity. Here, I test the relative importance of patch size versus isolation in explaining patch occupancy and abundance of inhabitants. I find that (1) web size is the better predictor of patch occupancy and abundance. (2) Web size is overall positively correlated with abundance, but predicts it most precisely among interconnected webs and not at all among the most isolated webs. Hence, patch occupancy and inhabitant abundance is explained by a rather complex interplay between patch size and isolation.     

Male tawny dragons use throat patterns to recognize rivals

The ability to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics is important for many animals, especially territorial species since it allows them to avoid unnecessary interactions with individuals that pose little threat. There are very few studies, however, that identify the proximate cues that facilitate such recognition in visual systems. Here, we show that in tawny dragons (Ctenophorus decresii), males can recognize familiar and unfamiliar conspecific males based on morphological features alone, without the aid of chemical or behavioural cues. We further show that it is the colour pattern of the throat patches (gular) that facilitates this recognition.     

Colour change in a structural ornament is related to individual quality,parasites and mating patterns in the blue tit

Carry-over effects refer to processes that occur in one season and influence fitness in the following. In birds, two costly activities, namely reproduction and moult, are restricted to a small time window, and sometimes overlap. Thus, colour in newly moulted feathers is likely to be affected by the costs of reproduction. Using models of bird vision we investigated male colour change in a free-living population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in three sampling occasions: spring 1, winter and spring 2. We related crown, tail, breast and cheek feather colouration after the moult (winter) to the intensity of infections by blood parasites during reproduction (spring 1). In the following spring (spring 2), we explored mating patterns with respect to changes in feather colour (springs 1 vs. 2). Males that were less intensely infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium while breeding showed purer white cheek feathers in winter, which may indicate higher feather quality. Increased brightness in the white cheek was associated with better body condition during reproduction. In the following season, males with brighter cheeks paired with females that had noticeably brighter cheek patches compared to the male’s previous mate. These results suggest that the conditions experienced during reproduction are likely to affect moult and thus feather colouration, at least in the white patch. High quality individuals may allocate resources efficiently during reproduction increasing future reproductive success through variation in mating patterns. Carry-over effects from reproduction might extend not only to the non-breeding phase, but also to the following breeding season.     

Differential sex- and age-related migration of Bluethroats Luscinia svecica at Eilat, Israel

This paper examines the phenology and biometrics of Bluethroats staging in the Eilat region. This is of special interest because of the extreme conditions with which this temperate zone breeding species has to contend because Eilat is a desert habitat and is the last green area before the crossing of the deserts in autumn or after it in spring. Data were collected during 20 spring and 18 autumn migration seasons in the years 1984–2003, and a total of 7,464 Bluethroat were recorded. The number of trapped birds was much higher in autumn than in spring. The majority of Bluethroats caught in both the autumn and spring migrations were juveniles. We found differences in sex ratio in the individual age classes only in the autumn wherein among both adults and juveniles, males were in greater numbers. We also found significant differences in the dates of ringed birds from different sex–age classes in the spring and in autumn migrations. In spring, males from both age classes were caught earlier than females. In autumn, adult birds arrived earlier than juveniles. We think that it is important to identify and conserve the high quality stopover habitats such as Eilat wherein not only Bluethroats have been shown to stopover but also several hundred other species.     

Chemically mediated group formation in soil-dwelling larvae and pupae of the beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus

Many insects form groups through interactions among individuals, and these are often mediated by chemical, acoustic, or visual cues and signals. In spite of the diversity of soil-dwelling insects, their aggregation behaviour has not been examined as extensively as that of aboveground species. We investigated the aggregation mechanisms of larvae of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus, which live in groups in humus soil. In two-choice laboratory tests, 2nd- and 3rd-instar larvae gathered at conspecific larvae irrespective of the kinship. The ablation of maxillae, which bear chemosensilla, abolished aggregation behaviour. Intact larvae also exhibited aggregation behaviour towards a larval homogenate. These results suggest that larval aggregation is mediated by chemical cues. We also demonstrated that the mature larvae of T. dichotomus built their pupal cells close to a mesh bag containing a conspecific pupal cell, which indicated that larvae utilize chemical cues emanating from these cells to select the pupation site. Thus, the larvae of T. dichotomus may use chemical cues from the conspecifics in two different contexts, i.e. larval aggregation and pupation site selection. Using conspecific cues, larvae may be able to choose suitable locations for foraging or building pupal cells. The results of the present study highlight the importance of chemical information in belowground ecology.     

Melanin-based coloration covaries with ovary size in an age-specific manner in the barn owl

While the adaptive function of black eumelanin-based coloration is relatively well known, the function of reddish-brown pheomelanin-based coloration is still unclear. Only a few studies have shown or suggested that the degree of reddish-brownness is associated with predator–prey relationships, reproductive parameters, growth rate and immunity. To gain insight into the physiological correlates of melanin-based coloration, I collected barn owl (Tyto alba) cadavers and examined the covariation between this colour trait and ovary size, an organ that increases in size before reproduction. A relationship is expected because melanin-based coloration often covaries with sexual activity. The results showed that reddish-brown juveniles had larger ovaries than whiter juveniles particularly in individuals in poor condition and outside the breeding season, while in birds older than 2 years lightly coloured females had larger ovaries than reddish-brown conspecifics. As barn owls become less reddish-brown between the first and second year of age, the present study suggests that reddish-brown pheomelanic and whitish colorations are associated with juvenile- and adult-specific adaptations, respectively.     

水位对鄱阳湖湿地越冬候鸟生境景观格局的影响研究

鄱阳湖湿地是国际重要湿地之一,是世界上最富有生物多样性的生态系统之一,也是东亚地区最大的水禽越冬地。论文根据多年越冬候鸟野外调查资料,在分析主要越冬候鸟习性和生境偏好的基础上,通过对具有不同水位的鄱阳湖湿地卫星遥感影像进行生境类型分类,利用景观指数定量分析不同水位下鄱阳湖湿地越冬候鸟的生境类型和空间分布结构,得到以下结论：①鄱阳湖主要越冬候鸟以退水后形成的浅碟形子湖范围内的浅水、草滩和软泥为主要取食、休憩和栖息场所;②水位是影响鄱阳湖湿地越冬候鸟生境的主要因素,随水位的增加,越冬候鸟生境范围萎缩,同时越冬候鸟生境的组成结构也不同;③随水位的增加,越冬候鸟生境景观的破碎度增加,连通性和多样性降低,因此,秋冬季维持较高水位不利于越冬候鸟的保护。     

Bird community responses to cattle stocking rates in a Pacific Northwest bunchgrass prairie

In 2006-2010, effects of four different cattle stocking rates (0, 14.4, 28.8, and 43.2 animal unit months) were compared, representing 0%, 20%, 32%, and 46% utilization of vegetation by domestic livestock, on vegetation structure (as indexed by visual obstruction), and songbird population and apparent nest density, community composition, and diversity in a Pacific Northwest bunchgrass prairie in northeastern Oregon, USA. Overall paddock-level visual obstruction decreased and structural heterogeneity increased with increasing stocking rates, and those effects carried over 1 year after grazing had ceased. Most species were able to locate nesting sites regardless of differences in visual obstruction, except western meadowlark and vesper sparrow, for which obstruction was lower in paddocks with higher stocking rates. Apparent nest density for grasshopper sparrows was negatively affected by higher stocking rates. Grazing effects on absolute songbird population density were restricted to negative effects of higher stocking rates on savannah sparrows, but this relationship was not observed until 1 year after grazing had ceased. Songbird community composition differed between control and heavily-grazed paddocks, driven by an increase in the proportion of horned larks and a decrease in the proportion of savannah sparrows in heavily-grazed paddocks from pre-treatment to post-treatment years. Bird diversity indices were unaffected by stocking rate. Negative effects of high stocking rates on densities of two species and the absence of any clear positive effect for the other three species suggest high stocking rates as applied in this experiment may not provide suitable habitat for all grassland songbirds. The absence of negative responses of density to low and moderate stocking rates suggests these grazing regimes generally provided suitable habitat for all species.     

近40年盐城海岸带湿地景观结构动态研究

基于地理信息和遥感技术,应用景观格局指数法,以1980年盐城海岸带植被图和4期（1991年,2000年,2008年,2018年）遥感影像为数据源,提取了5个时期的湿地景观信息,通过计算能够准确反映景观结构变化的景观多样性指数、优势度指数、均匀度指数、分形维数、破碎化指数和廊道密度指数等,分析了研究区近40年的湿地景观结...     

Do native brown trout and non-native brook trout interact reproductively?

Reproductive interactions between native and non-native species of fish have received little attention compared to other types of interactions such as predation or competition for food and habitat. We studied the reproductive interactions between non-native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and native brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a Pyrenees Mountain stream (SW France). We found evidence of significant interspecific interactions owing to consistent spatial and temporal overlap in redd localizations and spawning periods. We observed mixed spawning groups composed of the two species, interspecific subordinate males, and presence of natural hybrids (tiger trout). These reproductive interactions could be detrimental to the reproduction success of both species. Our study shows that non-native species might have detrimental effects on native species via subtle hybridization behavior.     

Mate replacement entails a fitness cost for a socially monogamous seabird

Studies of the selective advantages of divorce in socially monogamous bird species have unravelled extensive variation among different lineages with diverse ecologies. We quantified the reproductive correlates of mate retention, mate loss and divorce in a highly philopatric, colonially breeding biparental seabird, the Australasian gannet Morus serrator. Estimates of annual divorce rates varied between 40–43% for M. serrator and were high in comparison with both the closely related Morus bassanus and the range of divorce rates reported across monogamous avian breeding systems. Mate retention across seasons was related to consistently higher reproductive success compared with mate replacement, while divorce per se contributed significantly to lower reproductive output only in one of two breeding seasons. Prior reproductive success was not predictive of mate replacement overall or divorce in particular. These patterns are in accordance with the musical chairs hypothesis of adaptive divorce theory, which operates in systems characterised by asynchronous territorial establishment.