Central-place foraging in an urban landscape: body mass of common voles (Microtus arvalis Pall.) caught by breeding Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus L.) is positively correlated with availability of hunting sites

• Autorzy: Kubacka J. , Zmihorski M. , Mirski P. , Rejt L.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

In the reproduction period a male Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a centralplace forager, i.e. it transports food from hunting grounds to a central location – the nest. A centralplace forager is predicted to take larger or more prey when distance to a foraging site is longer. We studied kestrels breeding in a large Central European city (population 1.7 million), whose main prey are common voles (Microtus arvalis). Kestrel nests are located in the centre and the outskirts, although common voles are scarce in the former. The aim of our study was to analyse the body mass of common voles found in pellets under kestrel nests and relate it to the availability of common vole habitats within 1 km from the nests, controlled for vole frequency in the pellets. We assumed that the greater availability of common vole habitats, the shorter the distance to a foraging site. We found that the body mass of common voles found in pellets was significantly positively correlated with the availability of their habitats, but was not affected by their frequency in pellets. Our results may indicate that, contrary to the central-place foraging rule, and irrespectively of the amount of other prey taken, the kestrels hunted smaller voles when foraging grounds were further away. This might stem from decreased selectivity caused by competition, either in the native territory (due to the high density of kestrels in the centre) or in territories of outskirt kestrels, invaded by city centre kestrels. On the other hand, due to lack of data on the body size of common voles in our study area, the results may suggest that common voles were on average smaller in the centre than in the outskirts. Although the published data do not support the second explanation, more research is needed to verify this.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Falco tinnunculus; Kestrel; Microtus arvalis; bird; body mass; breeding; breeding season; common vole; competition; hunting; nest; pellet; prey size selection; urban environment; urban landscape

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2010
• Tom: 58
• Numer: 2
• Opis fizyczny: p.387-392,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Kubacka J.

• Institute of Environmental Studies, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow, Poland

autor

Zmihorski M.

autor

Mirski P.

autor

Rejt L.

Bibliografia

• Adamczewska-Andrzejewska K. A., Nabagło L. 1977 – Demographic Parameters and Variations in Numbers of the Common Vole – Acta Theriol. 22: 431–457.
• Andrzejewski R., Babińska-Werka J., Gliwicz J., Goszczyński J. 1978 – Synurbization process in population of Apodemus agrarius. I. Characteristics of populations in an urbanization gradient – Acta Theriol. 23: 341–358.
• Balčiauskienė L. 2006 – Feeding ecology of Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) and Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) based on craniometry of prey – Ph.D. thesis, Institute of Ecology, Vilnius University.
• Balčiauskienė L. 2007 – Cranial growth of captive bred Common Voles Microtus arvalis – Acta Zool. Lith. 17: 220–227.
• Białożej M. 2003 – Wpływ struktury przestrzennej terenów kolejowych na populację małych ssaków [Influence of spatial structure of railway areas on the small mammal community] – MSc thesis, Department of Ecology, University of Warsaw (in Polish).
• Chitty D. 1952 – Mortality among voles (Microtus agrestis) at Lake Vymwy, Montgomeryshire in 1936-9 – Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B, 36:505–552.
• Gil J.M., Pleguezuelos J. M. 2001 – Prey and prey-size selection by the short-toad eagle (Circaetus gallicus) during the breeding season in Granada (South-Eastern Spain) – J. Zool. 255: 131–137.
• Giraldeau L.A., Kramer D.L., Deslandes I., Lair H. 1994 – The effect of competitors and distance on central place foraging in Eastern Chipmunks, Tamias striatus – Anim. Behav. 47: 621–632.
• Gryz J., Krauze D., Goszczyński J. 2008 – The small mammals of Warsaw as inferred from Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) pellet analyses – Ann. Zool. Fenn. 45: 281–285.
• Jacob J. 2003 – Body weight dynamics of common voles in agro-ecosystems – Mammalia, 67: 559–566.
• Kacelnik A. 1984 – Central place foraging in Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). I. Patch residence time – J. Anim. Ecol. 53: 283–99.
• Korpimäki E. 1985 – Diet of the Kestrel Falco tinnunculus in the breeding season – Ornis Fennica, 62: 130–137.
• Krebs J.R., Avery M.I. 1985 – Central place foraging in the European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster) – J. Avian Ecol. 54: 459–472.
• Luniak M., Kozłowski P., Nowicki W., Plit J. 2001 – Ptaki Warszawy 1962–2000 [Birds of Warsaw 1962–2000] - Atlas Warszawy 8 – IGP i P PAN.
• Mackin-Rogalska R., Nabagło L. 1990 – Geographical variation in cyclic periodicity and synchrony in the Common Vole, Microtus arvalis – Oikos, 59: 343–348.
• Orians G.H., Pearson N.E. 1979 – On the theory of central place foraging (In: Analysis of Ecological Systems, Ed: D.J. Horn) – Ohio State University Press: Columbus, pp.154–177.
• Palokangas P., Alatalo R.V., Korpimäki E. 1992 – Female choice in the Kestrel under different availability of mating options – Anim. Behav. 43: 659–665.
• Pucek Z. 1984 – Klucz do oznaczania ssaków Polski [Key to identification of mammals of Poland] – PWN, Warszawa.
• Quinn G.P., Keough M.J. 2002 – Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists – Cambridge University Press.
• Raczyński J., Ruprecht A.L. 1974 – The effect of digestion on the osteological composition of owl pellets – Acta Ornithol. 14: 25–38.
• Rejt Ł. 2001 – Peregrine falcon and Kestrel in urban environment - the case study of Warsaw (In: Naturschutz und Verhalten, Eds: E. Gottschalk, A. Barkow, M. Muehlenberg, J. Settele) – UFZ-Bericht 2: 81–85.
• Riddle G.S. 1993 – A 20 year study of the Kestrels in Ayrshire – Scottish Birds, 17: 9–13.
• Riegert J., Fainová D., Mikeš V., Fuchs R. 2007 – How urban Kestrels Falco tinnunculus divide their hunting grounds: partitioning or cohabitation? – Acta Ornithol. 42: 69–76.
• Romanowski J. 1996 – On the diet of urban Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) in Warsaw – Buteo, 8: 123–130.
• Stein G.H.W. 1958 – Die Feldmaus (Microtus arvalis Pallas) (In: Die Neue Brehm-bücherei) H. 225 – Wittenberg-Lutherstadt, A. Ziemsen-Verl.
• Śliwa P., Rejt Ł. 2006 – Pustułka [The Kestrel] – Monografie przyrodnicze, vol. 15, Klub Przyrodników Press, Świebodzin (in Polish with English and German summary).
• Village A. 1983 – Seasonal changes in the hunting behaviour of Kestrel – Ardea, 71: 117–123.
• Village A. 1990 – The Kestrel – T and A D Poyser, London.
• Yalden D.W. 1980 – Notes on the diet of urban Kestrels – Bird Study, 27: 235–238.
• Ydenberg R.C. 2007 – Provisioning (In: Foraging – Behavior and Ecology, Eds: D.W. Stephens, J. Brown, R. Ydenberg) – The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, pp. 273–304.
• Żmihorski M., Rejt Ł. 2007 – Weather-dependent variation in the cold-season diet of urban Kestrels Falco tinnunculus – Acta Ornithol. 42: 107–113.