Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100123
Zhijun Ma , Chi-Yeung Choi , Xiaojing Gan , Jing Li , Yang Liu , David S. Melville , Tong Mu , Theunis Piersma , Zhengwang Zhang
{"title":"Achievements, challenges, and recommendations for waterbird conservation in China's coastal wetlands","authors":"Zhijun Ma , Chi-Yeung Choi , Xiaojing Gan , Jing Li , Yang Liu , David S. Melville , Tong Mu , Theunis Piersma , Zhengwang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100123","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100123","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>China's coastal wetlands provide breeding, migration stopover, and wintering habitats for about 230 waterbird species, which is more than a quarter of all waterbirds in the world. Large-scale and high intensity human activities have resulted in serious loss and degradation of coastal wetlands over the past half century, causing population declines in many waterbirds. Through a literature review and expert surveys, this article reviews conservation measures taken in recent decades to protect waterbirds in China's coastal wetlands and provides recommendations for future conservation action from three aspects: policy and administration, habitat conservation and management, and multiparty participation. Over the past decades, many conservation legislation, regulations and action plans at the national level and more site-specific measures and interventions have been implemented, with notable improvement in the effectiveness in policy making and multi-stakeholder participation. Accordingly, some threats to waterbirds have been mitigated and many key sites for waterbirds have been designated as strictly protected nature reserves. However, some critical issues still remain, mostly related to habitat conservation and management, such as coastal wetland restoration, control of invasive <em>Spartina alterniflora</em>, control of environmental pollution, and improvement of artificial habitat quality. We highlight that protecting natural tidal wetlands and improving habitat quality are critical for the conservation of coastal waterbirds, especially those highly dependent on the intertidal wetlands. China has demonstrated strong commitment to ecological conservation and restoration for the future, in terms of both funding and policies for biodiversity and wetland ecosystems. It is important that this commitment to conserve coastal waterbirds is supported continuously by science- and evidence-based decisions and actions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43607822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100094
Michelle García-Arroyo , Miguel A. Gómez-Martínez , Ian MacGregor-Fors
{"title":"Litter buffet: On the use of trash bins by birds in six boreal urban settlements","authors":"Michelle García-Arroyo , Miguel A. Gómez-Martínez , Ian MacGregor-Fors","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100094","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Unintentional food resources in urban areas (street litter, food leftovers, overflowing trash bins) are dietary components of some urban-exploiter bird species. In this study, we report on 13 bird species in six southern Finnish cities using urban trash bins and describe differences in their activity when provided with food resources (i.e., bait) in different bin types. We used generalized linear models (GLM) and classification and regression trees (CART) to test for associations between environmental variables and bird activity at the binscapes. Bird activity at the binscapes significantly differed among all cities and among types of bins and was significantly higher after placing bait in all cases. Bins with the largest opening had more activity as opposed to those with smaller openings or lids. Corvids and gulls had the highest activity, with corvids usually being present before the bait was placed and gulls increasing their activity thereafter. These differences show that trash bin foraging is highly malleable and thus susceptible to management preventing its occurrence. Suitable waste management measures could aid in reducing the number of species close to bins and their surroundings, benefiting both bird and human health.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45156307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100097
Wenqing Zang , Zhiyong Jiang , Per G.P. Ericson , Gang Song , Sergei V. Drovetski , Takema Saitoh , Fumin Lei , Yanhua Qu
{"title":"Evolutionary relationships of mitogenomes in a recently radiated Old World avian family","authors":"Wenqing Zang , Zhiyong Jiang , Per G.P. Ericson , Gang Song , Sergei V. Drovetski , Takema Saitoh , Fumin Lei , Yanhua Qu","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100097","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100097","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Environmentally heterogeneous mountains provide opportunities for rapid diversification and speciation. The family Prunellidae (accentors) is a group of birds comprising primarily mountain specialists that have recently radiated across the Palearctic region. This rapid diversification poses challenges to resolving their phylogeny. Herein we sequenced the complete mitogenomes and estimated the phylogeny using all 12 (including 28 individuals) currently recognized species of Prunellidae. We reconstructed the mitochondrial genome phylogeny using 13 protein-coding genes of 12 species and 2 Eurasian Tree Sparrows (<em>Passer montanus</em>). Phylogenetic relationships were estimated using a suite of analyses: maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and the coalescent-based SVDquartets. Divergence times were estimated by implementing a Bayesian relaxed clock model in BEAST2. Based on the BEAST time-calibrated tree, we implemented an ancestral area reconstruction using RASP v.4.3. Our phylogenies based on the maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and SVDquartets approaches support a clade of large-sized accentors (subgenus <em>Laiscopus</em>) to be sister to all other accentors with small size (subgenus <em>Prunella</em>). In addition, the trees also support the sister relationship of <em>P. immaculata</em> and <em>P. rubeculoides</em> + <em>P.atrogularis</em> with 100% bootstrap support, but the relationships among the remaining eight species in the <em>Prunella</em> clade are poorly resolved. These species cluster in different positions in the three phylogenetic trees and the nodes are often poorly supported. The five nodes separating the seven species diverged simultaneously within less than half million years (i.e., between 2.71 and 3.15 million years ago), suggesting that the recent radiation is likely responsible for rampant incomplete lineage sorting and gene tree conflicts. Ancestral area reconstruction indicates a central Palearctic region origin for Prunellidae. Our study highlights that whole mitochondrial genome phylogeny can resolve major lineages within Prunellidae but is not sufficient to fully resolve the relationship among the species in the <em>Prunella</em> clade that almost simultaneously diversify during a short time period. Our results emphasize the challenge to reconstruct reliable phylogenetic relationship in a group of recently radiated species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41256960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100116
Shaobin Li, Xiaoman Liu, Guopan Li, Xiaolong Du
{"title":"Large-brained birds lay smaller but heavier clutches","authors":"Shaobin Li, Xiaoman Liu, Guopan Li, Xiaolong Du","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100116","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The brain is among the most energetically costly organs in vertebrates, and thus trade-offs have been hypothesized to exert constraints on brain size evolution. The energy trade-off hypothesis (ETH) predicts that reducing the energy consumption of reproduction or other costly tissues should compensate for the cost of a large brain. Egg production in birds requires a large proportion of the total energy budget, and a clutch mass in some bird species can outweigh the body mass of the female. To date, this hypothesis has mainly been tested in mammals and ectothermic animals such as anurans and fishes. We collated data on adult brain size, body mass and egg-production traits such as clutch size, egg mass and annual broods from published studies, and conducted a phylogenetic comparative test of the interplay between egg-production investment and brain size evolution across bird species. After controlling for phylogenetic relationships and body size, we find a negative correlation between brain size and clutch size across 1395 species, which favored ETH. However, when egg mass was integrated in models, positive associations were detected between brain size and mass of eggs (via egg mass, clutch mass and annual total egg mass). Our results suggest that brain size trades off against egg-production only via certain aspects (e.g., clutch size). By contrast, a positive relationship between brain size and total egg reproduction (e.g., clutch mass and annual total egg mass) implied increased total energy budget outweighing energy allocation across bird species. Our study shows that there is no general energy trade-off between brain size and egg-reproduction investment, and suggests that brain size evolution follows mixed strategies across bird species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49774715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100088
Lei Cheng , Lizhi Zhou , Chao Yu , Zhenhua Wei , Chunhua Li
{"title":"Flexible nest site selection of the endangered Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana): Trade-off from adaptive strategies","authors":"Lei Cheng , Lizhi Zhou , Chao Yu , Zhenhua Wei , Chunhua Li","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100088","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nest site selection is a vital component of bird reproduction success, and an adaptive behavior conducted to decrease nest predation risk with avoiding external disturbances. Understanding patterns of nest site selection can provide insights into how species adapt to changes in their habitat and has important conservation implications. In this study, we used microhabitat variables and multi-scale data with a field survey of nest occurrence to determine nest site selection patterns and adaptive strategies of the breeding Oriental Storks (<em>Ciconia boyciana</em>) in different nest areas. Results demonstrate that the nest site microhabitat characteristics of the breeding Oriental Storks significantly differed among the three nesting areas, and nest height was higher in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain than in the Northeast China and Bohai Bay nest areas. The food resources and intensity of human disturbance had the greatest effects on the nest site selection of the breeding Oriental Storks. The intensity of human disturbance was positively correlated with the nest height of the breeding Oriental Storks in Bohai Bay and the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain; however, nest height decreased with the abundance of food resources in the Northeast China nest area. Our findings indicate that the nest site selection patterns of Oriental Storks showed flexible adaptive strategies. In safer environments, nests were lower and closer to food resources, which allows parent storks to invest more in the nestlings. However, in areas where human activity was intense, nests were higher to ensure the safety of their offspring. Some measures that could be taken to improve the breeding habitat of Oriental Storks include increasing the percentage of wetland areas in nesting areas to enhance food resources availability and setting artificial nests at suitable heights in potential nesting grounds to encourage nesting. Finally, the establishment of soft barriers around the nesting areas could increase the safety of nests.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49774730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100101
Luchang Zhang , Xingjian Ma , Zhiyu Chen , Chunying Wang , Zicheng Liu , Xiang Li , Xiaoying Xing
{"title":"Negative effects of artificial nest boxes on birds: A review","authors":"Luchang Zhang , Xingjian Ma , Zhiyu Chen , Chunying Wang , Zicheng Liu , Xiang Li , Xiaoying Xing","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100101","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100101","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Artificial nest boxes are placed to attract birds to nest and breed in a specific location, and they are widely used in avian ecology research and in the attraction of insectivorous birds. There is evidence that artificial nest boxes can adversely affect breeding fitness but no great focus has been placed on this issue by researchers. Therefore, we retrieved 321 research papers regarding artificial nest boxes published from 2003 to 2022 and used the ‘Biblioshiny’ program to extract and integrate keywords; we then summarized the adverse effects of artificial nest boxes on avian breeding success. The studies highlighted many drawbacks and misuses in the designing and placement of nest boxes; furthermore, bird attraction was decreased by their inappropriate selection, thus reducing breeding success. Regarding nest box production, there were shortcomings in the construction material, color, smell, and structural design of the boxes used. Nest boxes were also placed at inappropriate densities, locations, orientations, heights, and managed incorrectly. Finally, we propose suggestions for more efficient and safer artificial nest boxes for future use in avian ecology research and bird conservation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48803855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100098
Ricardo S. Ceia , Pedro B. Lopes , Luís P. da Silva
{"title":"Factors determining the occupancy of nest-boxes by Great Tits (Parus major) in eucalypt plantations","authors":"Ricardo S. Ceia , Pedro B. Lopes , Luís P. da Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100098","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100098","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Providing nest-boxes as surrogate tree cavities can be of great importance to increase the breeding populations of cavity-nesting birds in managed forests. However, the exact placement of nest-boxes should be taken into consideration to enhance their occupancy according to species-specific preferences. In this study, we investigated which factors can better predict nest-box occupancy by the Great Tit (<em>Parus major</em>) in eucalypt plantations. We used generalised linear mixed-effects models to analyse the influence of topography, nest-box positioning, vegetation cover and landscape variables on three-year occupancy records from 80 newly provided nest-boxes. Non-random patterns of nest-box occupancy were found with respect to all categories except topography. Results suggest that Great Tits prefer to occupy high-placed nest-boxes, close to areas that can provide them with supplementary resources either within or in the vicinity of the stand (i.e., trees other than eucalypts, riparian vegetation, and large patches of adjacent habitats). Overall, this study provides important recommendations for nest-box placement and spatial distribution in managed forests and enhances the potential of nest-box interventions as a biodiversity offset and management tool.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43359839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100099
Ranxing Cao , Waner Liang , Jia Guo , Hongyan Yang , Lili Sun , Qing Chen , Tao Yu , Sicheng Ren , Cai Lu , Guangchun Lei , Yifei Jia
{"title":"Global population estimate and conservation gap analysis for the Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer)","authors":"Ranxing Cao , Waner Liang , Jia Guo , Hongyan Yang , Lili Sun , Qing Chen , Tao Yu , Sicheng Ren , Cai Lu , Guangchun Lei , Yifei Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nordmann's Greenshank (<em>Tringa guttifer</em>) is a globally endangered species that has received little research attention. It is threatened by rapid habitat loss, an incomplete network of protected sites, and lack of long-term data on population dynamics. Citizen science data can be combined with survey data to support population estimation and conservation gap analysis. From 2020 to 2021, Nordmann's Greenshank was surveyed in Tiaozini, Xiaoyangkou, and Dongling on the southern coast of Jiangsu Province, China, and the global population of the species was re-evaluated using the data obtained. We integrated citizen science data from eBird and the China Bird Report from 2000 to 2020 with the survey results to identify important habitats harboring over 1% of its total population, and compared this data with existing protected areas to identify gaps in its global conservation. Our survey found that Tiaozini supported at least 1194 individuals. Consequently, its global population was re-estimated to be 1500-2000. Moreover, 45 important habitats were identified based on citizen data and survey results. Although 44.4% and 50.0% of the priority sites in the world and China, respectively, are located outside protected areas, the Conservation Effectiveness Index (<em>C</em>) is 68.4% and 71.1%, respectively, showing that the current coverage of protected areas for this part of its range is reasonable. This study presents the most complete and recent population data to date. Tiaozini is the most important migration stopover site for Nordmann's Greenshanks. The species is under threat in terms of breeding, wintering, and stopover sites. Therefore, we suggest improving monitoring, establishing new protected sites to complete the habitat protection network, and improving the effectiveness of existing habitat protection strategies, including further developing high tide roosting sites.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47417958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avian ResearchPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100078
Pengcheng Wang , Ping Hu , Jinping Zhang , Lixia Zhang , Jing Zhang , Zhengwang Zhang
{"title":"Using non-destructive sampling to evaluate the population genomic status of captive Brown Eared Pheasants","authors":"Pengcheng Wang , Ping Hu , Jinping Zhang , Lixia Zhang , Jing Zhang , Zhengwang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Evaluating the genetic status of threatened species is an essential task in conservation genetics. However, the genetic status of threatened species has been mostly evaluated through techniques that fail to estimate genetic diversity at the whole genomic level. Next generation sequencing can meet this demand, but high quality samples such as blood or muscle tissues are required. However, it is difficult to collect such samples from threatened species because sampling work may impact their health. Therefore, it is essential to design a workflow to evaluate the whole genomic status of threatened species using non-destructive sampling. Even though non-destructive sampling has been used in traditional barcoding technique, the barcoding technique cannot evaluate the whole genomic status. Brown Eared Pheasant (<em>Crossoptilon mantchuricum</em>) is an endangered species, with captive populations maintained in Taiyuan Zoo, China, and Europe. However, the genetic diversity, inbreeding pattern, and mutation load of these two populations are unclear. To uncover the genetic status of these two captive populations, we applied 2b-RAD technology to evaluate the genomic status of these populations using feathers as samples. The feathers could be collected by non-destructive sampling. The results indicate that the Taiyuan Zoo population has a lower genetic diversity and higher inbreeding coefficient than the European population. The Taiyuan Zoo population has lethal mutations when homozygous. The current project uses a non-destructive sampling technique to evaluate the whole genomic status of the two captive populations, providing a paradigm for conservation genetics, which will facilitate the development of conservation biology.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46391346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Structure and heterogeneity of habitat determine diet of predators despite prey abundance: Similar response in Long-eared, Short-eared Owls and Common Kestrels","authors":"Tatyana Kovinka , Alexander Sharikov , Tatyana Massalskaya , Sergey Volkov","doi":"10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>According to one of the theses of optimal foraging theory, main prey species abundance in the hunting area is the main factor determining the diet and habitat choices of birds of prey. However other factors can also be important. The habitat structure influences the predators' diets as well. In this study we examined the influence of habitat structure on diet compositions of three species of birds: Long-eared Owl (<em>Asio otus</em>), Short-eared Owl (<em>A. flammeus</em>) and Common Kestrel (<em>Falco tinnunculus</em>). The study was carried out from 2007 to 2019 in a 48 km<sup>2</sup> area of the Crane's Homeland Reserve, Moscow Region, Russia. The habitat structures of model species' hunting territories (ratio of different types of landscape elements) were classified in module “Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin” based on the QGIS. A boosted regression tree analysis identified that the share of the main prey species in the diet is primarily determined by the landscape structure of hunting territories. The largest share of Common Vole (<em>Microtus arvalis</em>) in birds' diet was determined by the shrubs area (15% of hunting area), the meadow area (75%), the habitat heterogeneity (70%) and the arable land area (5%). The same predictors determined the largest share of Root Vole (<em>Microtus oeconomus</em>): the shrubs area 25%, the meadow area 70%, and the arable land area 3%. The annual mean abundance of prey species did not determine their importance in the diet of birds of prey. Thus, the main prey abundance in the hunting area is not a determining factor for the formation of diet composition of birds of prey.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51311,"journal":{"name":"Avian Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46051406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}