Habitat, breeding performance, diet and individual age in Swiss barn owls (Tyto alba)

Détails

Ressource 1Télécharger: BIB_1A851E8EC218.P001.pdf (342.58 [Ko])
Etat: Public
Version: Final published version
ID Serval
serval:BIB_1A851E8EC218
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Habitat, breeding performance, diet and individual age in Swiss barn owls (Tyto alba)
Périodique
Journal of Ornithology
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Frey C., Sonnay C., Dreiss A., Roulin A.
ISSN
0021-8375
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2011
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
152
Numéro
2
Pages
279-290
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Intensification of farming over the past 50 years has homogenised the landscape structure and contributed to the decline of bird populations in Europe. To better target the conservation of the Barn Owl Tyto alba, we assessed the influence of the landscape structure on breeding performance in western Switzerland. The analyses considered a 23-year data set of breeding parameters collected in an area dominated by intensive agriculture. Using a Geographic Information System approach, landscape characteristics were described around 194 nest sites. Our analyses showed that nest-box occupancy, laying date, clutch and brood size, egg volume and probability of producing a second annual clutch were not significantly associated with any of the eight principal landscape variables (agricultural land, woodland, urban area, hedgerows, cereals, sugar beet, maize and meadow). Nevertheless, the probability that a breeding pair occupied a nest-box decreased the more roads there were surrounding the nest-box. The absence of strong associations between habitat features and breeding parameters suggests that prey availability may be relatively similar between the different breeding sites. In our study area Barn Owls can always find suitable foraging habitats around most nest-boxes.
Mots-clé
Conservation biology, Landscape structure, Home range habitat, Habitat preference, GIS, Tyto alba
Web of science
Création de la notice
10/08/2010 9:16
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 12:51
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