The relationship between weather and reproduction of the Barn Owl Tyto alba in a semi-arid agricultural landscape in Israel

Détails

ID Serval
serval:BIB_71851DBE838B
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
The relationship between weather and reproduction of the Barn Owl Tyto alba in a semi-arid agricultural landscape in Israel
Périodique
Avian Biology Research
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Charter M., Izhaki I., Meyrom K., Aviel S., Leshem Y., Roulin A.
ISSN
1758-1559
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2017
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
10
Numéro
4
Pages
253-258
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Even though the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is distributed worldwide, little information is available on how weather affects Barn Owl breeding outside of Europe and North America. For instance, if cold temperatures can negatively influence population dynamics in temperate regions, heat could have a similar negative effect in arid regions. We have studied a breeding population of Barn Owls in a semi-arid agricultural environment over 13 years in Israel in order to determine whether lack of rain and hot ambient temperatures impair Barn Owl reproductive success. The percentage of nest boxes occupied by Barn Owls was not related to any of the weather variables, whereas the number of nestlings per Barn Owl pair and the percentage of pairs that succeeded to fledge young was lower in years when it started to rain later in the season and when the minimum daily temperature was higher during the breeding season. In comparison to temperate regions, heat is detrimental to Barn Owl breeding and early precipitation is probably important in boosting vegetation and, in turn, the abundance of small mammals, the Barn Owl's staple food.
Mots-clé
breeding biology, agriculture, rain, temperature, biological pest control, Israel, weather
Web of science
Création de la notice
19/02/2018 8:55
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 14:30
Données d'usage