Selection for Overhead Concealment Improves Nest Survival of a Ground Nesting Bird in Argentinian Rangelands

IF 2.4 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY
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Abstract

Grassland ecosystems have suffered intense modification worldwide, resulting in a loss of biodiversity. Birds that breed in grasslands have experienced steep population declines over recent decades. When modifications of grasslands reduce the available breeding habitat, birds may select habitat features that do not favor their breeding success. However, the relationship between selected nesting habitat and nest survival is not well established for many grassland birds. We studied the nest site selection and nest survival of a common grassland bird, the Grassland Yellow-Finch Sicalis luteola, in the Flooding Pampa of Argentina, a region comprised mostly of large natural rangelands. We searched for nests over three breeding seasons (2017–2020) and used linear models to analyze whether finches selected nest sites according to distance from grassland edges, type of grassland community, vegetation density, visual concealment, and grass height. We modeled daily nest survival rates (DSR) to assess whether these variables influenced breeding success. We confirmed the fate of 133 nests, of which 93 (70%) failed, predation being the principal cause (84% of failures). Our models showed that finches selected shrubby grasslands over other types available, and sites with high overhead visual concealment. Only overhead concealment was positively correlated with DSR. This may indicate that their nests are affected by avian predators that search for prey from above and that they benefit from tall and dense vegetation that provides good overhead cover. We believe that preserving areas of heterogeneous and dense shrubby grasslands within grazing plots is a good starting point that could benefit this bird species and others with similar nesting strategies.

选择高空隐蔽提高阿根廷牧场地栖鸟类的巢存活率
草地生态系统在全球范围内遭受了严重破坏,导致生物多样性丧失。近几十年来,在草原上繁殖的鸟类数量急剧下降。当草原的改造导致可用的繁殖栖息地减少时,鸟类可能会选择不利于其繁殖成功的栖息地特征。然而,对于许多草原鸟类来说,所选择的筑巢栖息地与筑巢存活率之间的关系并不明确。我们研究了一种常见草原鸟类--草原黄雀(Sicalis luteola)在阿根廷洪泛潘帕地区的筑巢地点选择和筑巢存活率。我们在三个繁殖季节(2017-2020年)中搜寻了巢,并使用线性模型分析了黄雀是否根据与草原边缘的距离、草原群落类型、植被密度、视觉隐蔽性和草高选择巢址。我们对每日巢存活率(DSR)进行了建模,以评估这些变量是否会影响繁殖成功率。我们确认了133个巢的命运,其中93个(70%)失败,捕食是主要原因(84%的失败)。我们的模型显示,雀类选择灌木草地而非其他类型的草地,并选择高空视觉隐蔽性高的地点。只有高空隐蔽性与 DSR 呈正相关。这可能表明,它们的巢受到了从高空搜寻猎物的鸟类捕食者的影响,而高大茂密的植被则为它们提供了良好的高空隐蔽性。我们认为,在放牧地块内保护异质性和茂密的灌木草地是一个良好的开端,可以使这种鸟类和其他具有类似筑巢策略的鸟类受益。
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来源期刊
Rangeland Ecology & Management
Rangeland Ecology & Management 农林科学-环境科学
CiteScore
4.60
自引率
13.00%
发文量
87
审稿时长
12-24 weeks
期刊介绍: Rangeland Ecology & Management publishes all topics-including ecology, management, socioeconomic and policy-pertaining to global rangelands. The journal''s mission is to inform academics, ecosystem managers and policy makers of science-based information to promote sound rangeland stewardship. Author submissions are published in five manuscript categories: original research papers, high-profile forum topics, concept syntheses, as well as research and technical notes. Rangelands represent approximately 50% of the Earth''s land area and provision multiple ecosystem services for large human populations. This expansive and diverse land area functions as coupled human-ecological systems. Knowledge of both social and biophysical system components and their interactions represent the foundation for informed rangeland stewardship. Rangeland Ecology & Management uniquely integrates information from multiple system components to address current and pending challenges confronting global rangelands.
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