Volume 13 Issue 1
Mar.  2022
Turn off MathJax
Article Contents
Article Navigation >  Avian Research  > 2022  >  13: 100030.
Dimitar Demerdzhiev, Dobromir Dobrev, Georgi Popgeorgiev, Stoycho Stoychev. 2022: Landscape alteration affects the demography of an endangered avian predator by reducing the habitat quality. Avian Research, 13(1): 100030. doi: 10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100030
Citation: Dimitar Demerdzhiev, Dobromir Dobrev, Georgi Popgeorgiev, Stoycho Stoychev. 2022: Landscape alteration affects the demography of an endangered avian predator by reducing the habitat quality. Avian Research, 13(1): 100030. doi: 10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100030
shu

Landscape alteration affects the demography of an endangered avian predator by reducing the habitat quality

doi: 10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100030
  • a.

    Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds/Birdlife Bulgaria, 5 Leonardo Da Vinci Str., Plovdiv, 4000, Bulgaria

  • b.

    National Museum of Natural History, Department of Zoology, Sofia, Bulgaria

More Information
  • Corresponding author: E-mail address: dimitar.demerdzhiev@gmail.com (D. Demerdzhiev)
  • Received Date: 21 Sep 2021
  • Accepted Date: 23 Mar 2022
    • Available Online: 07 Jul 2022
  • Publish Date: 09 Apr 2022
    Abstract
  • Habitat transformation is identified as major threat to biodiversity loss globally, affecting threatened raptors. Changes in land use can alter the abundance and distribution of birds of prey by affecting habitat availability and quality. In this study, we used multivariate analyses to investigate the effect of habitat alteration on the demography of a declining Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca), making assumptions for future population trajectories. We used the Generalized Linear Mixed Models with Poisson distribution and Log link function, searching a relationship between the demographic parameters and the landscape structure and possible effects of fragmentation. In our study area, habitat change affected dramatically permanent grasslands, shrinking their availability. As we expected, the share of grasslands in eagles' territories significantly affected occupancy rate, but not productivity and breeding frequency. We found that occupancy rate decreased significantly, while productivity and breeding frequency showed no trend. Modeling the effect of habitat alteration on Eastern Imperial Eagle demography, we found out that territory quality was a more powerful factor driving the response of a top predator to the alteration of favorite foraging habitats. Only the habitat quality in source territories had a significant positive effect on eagle productivity. We found that simple rules to predict adverse agricultural impact on territory abandonment or breeding productivity of a top predator were not reliable. Our results could be used for planning conservation of other large territorial raptors, facing the same type of threat.

     

    • FullText(HTML)
  • loading
    • References(75)
  • Agrostatistics, 2011. BANAEC: final results on the occupancy and land use for the territory of Bulgaria in 2011. Bull. Minist. Agr. Food 182, 1-20. (in Bulgarian).
    Arroyo, B., Garcia, J.T., Bretagnolle, V., 2002. Conservation of the Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) in agricultural areas. Anim. Conserv. 5, 283-290. doi: 10.1017/S1367943002004031
    Balbontin, J., Penteriani, V., Ferrer, M., 2003. Variation in the age of mates as an early warning signal of changes in population trends? The case of Bonelli's Eagle in Andalusia. Biol. Conserv. 109, 417-423. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00168-4
    Battin, J., 2004. When good animals love bad habitats: ecological traps and the conservation of animal populations. Conserv. Biol. 18, 1482-1491. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.00417.x
    Bender, D.J., Contreras, T.A., Fahrig, L., 1998. Habitat loss and population decline: a meta-analysis of the patch size effect. Ecology 79, 517-533. doi: 10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[0517:HLAPDA]2.0.CO;2
    BirdLife International, 2020. Species factsheet: Aquila heliaca. http://www.birdlife.org. (Accessed 12 May 2020).
    Bondev, Z., 1991. Flora in Bulgaria. Publishing House "Kliment Ohridsky", Sofia. (in Bulgarian).
    Bragin, E., 2000. On the demography of the Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca in Kazakhstan. In: Chancellor, R.D., Meyburg, B. -U. (Eds. ), Raptors at Risk. WWGBP/Hancock House, pp. 409-413.
    Burnham, K.P., Anderson, D.R., 2002. Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-theoretic Approach. second ed. Springer, New York.
    Cardador, L., Carrete, M., Manosa, S., 2011. Can intensive agricultural landscapes favour some raptor species? The Marsh Harrier in north-eastern Spain. Anim. Conserv. 14, 382-390. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00449.x
    Coates, P.S., Howe, K.B., Casazza, M.L., Delehanty, D.J., 2014. Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: implications for transmission line development. Condor 116, 341-356. doi: 10.1650/CONDOR-13-126.1
    del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
    Demerdzhiev, D., Boev, Z., Dobrev, D., Terziev, N., Nedyalkov, N., Stoychev, S., et al., 2022. Diet of Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Bulgaria: composition, distribution and variation. Biodivers. J. 10, e77746. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e77746.
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., 2011. Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca heliaca Savigny, 1809) (ACCIPITRIDAE-AVES) in Bulgaria - distribution, biology, ecology, numbers, and conservation measures. Ph. D. thesis. BAS-NMNH, Sofia. (in Bulgarian with English summary).
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., Dobrev, D.D., Stoychev, S.A., Levent, I.E., Petrov, Ts. H., Boev, Z.N., 2018. Long-term population survey of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in the Thracian Eco-region (Bulgaria and Turkey). Raptor. Conserv. Suppl. 1, 111-112.
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., Popgeorgiev, G.S., Dobrev, D.D., Arkumarev, V.S., Terziev, N.G., 2019. Habitat requirements of the Lesser Spotted Eagle Clanga pomarina Brehm, 1831 (Aves: Accipitridae) at the southern periphery of the distribution range (southeast Bulgaria). Acta Zool. Bulg. Suppl. 14, 35-65.
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., Horvath, M., Kovacs, A., Stoychev, S.A., Karyakin, I.V., 2011. Status and population trend of the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Europe in the period 2000-2010. Acta Zool. Bulg. Suppl. 3, 5-14.
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., Stoychev, S.A., Dobrev, D.D., Spasov, S.D., Terziev, N.G., 2014b. Conservation measures undertaken to improve the population status of Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Bulgaria. Slovak Raptor J. 8, 27-39. doi: 10.2478/srj-2014-0007
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., Stoychev, S.S., Dobrev, D.D., Spasov S.D., Oppel, S., 2015. Studying the demographic drivers of an increasing Imperial Eagle population to inform conservation management. Biod. Conserv. 24: 627-639. doi: 10.1007/s10531-014-0841-0
    Demerdzhiev, D.A., Dobrev, V.D., Popgeorgiev, G.S., 2014a. Effects of habitat change on territory occupancy, breeding density and breeding success of Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus, Cretzschmar, 1927) in Besaparski Riodove Special Protection Area (Natura 2000), southern Bulgaria. Acta Zool. Bulg. Suppl. 5, 191-200.
    Dobrev, V.D., Popgeorgiev, G.S., Plachiyski, D.G., 2014. Effects of the Common Agricultural Policy on the coverage of grassland habitats in Besaparski Ridove Special Protection Area (Natura 2000), southern Bulgaria. Acta Zool. Bulg. Suppl. 5, 147-155.
    Donald, P.F., Collar, N.J., Marsden, S.J., Pain, D., 2013. Facing Extinction. The World's Rarest Birds and the Race to Save Them. Christopher Helm, London.
    ESRI, 2016. ArcGIS Desktop: Release 10.4.1. Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands.
    Ferguson-Lees, J., Christie, D.A., 2001. Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London.
    Fernandez, M., Oria, J., Sanchez, R., Gonzalez, L.M., Margalida, T. 2009. Space use of adult Spanish Imperial Eagles Aquila adalberti. Acta Ornithol. 44, 17-26. doi: 10.3161/000164509X464849
    Ferrer, M., Donazar, J.A., 1996. Density-dependent fecundity by habitat heterogeneity in an increasing population of Spanish Imperial Eagles. Ecology 77, 69-74. doi: 10.2307/2265655
    Ferrer, M., Morandini, V., 2017. Better nutritional condition changes the distribution of juvenile dispersal distances: an experiment with Spanish Imperial Eagles. J. Avian Biol. 48, 1342-1347. doi: 10.1111/jav.01468
    Ferrer, M., Newton, I., Casado, E., 2006. How to test different density-dependent fecundity hypotheses in an increasing or stable population. J. Anim. Ecol. 75, 111-117. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.01026.x
    Foley, J.A., DeFries, R., Asner, G.P., Barford, C., Bonan, G., Carpenter, S.R., et al., 2005. Global consequences of land use. Science 309, 570-574. doi: 10.1126/science.1111772
    Galabov, Z., 1982. Physiographic regions. In: Galabov, Z. (Ed. ), Geography of Bulgaria, 3. Physiography. BAS, Sofia, pp. 315. (in Bulgarian).
    Gill, F.B., Wolf, L.L., 1975. Economics of feeding territoriality in the Golden-winged Sunbird. Ecology 56, 333-345. doi: 10.2307/1934964
    Gonzalez, L.M., Bustamante, J., Hiraldo, F., 1990. Factors influencing the present distribution of the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti). Biol. Conserv. 51, 311-319. doi: 10.1016/0006-3207(90)90116-7
    Gonzalez, L.M., Bustamante, J., Hiraldo, F., 1992. Nesting habitat selection by the Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti. Biol. Conserv. 59, 45-50. doi: 10.1016/0006-3207(92)90712-V
    Green, R., 1979. Sampling Design and Statistical Methods for Environmental Biologists. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
    Hammer, S., Harper, D.A.T., Ryan, P.D., 2001. PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol. Electron. 4, 9.
    Horvath, M., Szitta, T., Firmanszky, G., Solti, B., Kovacs, A., Moskat, C., 2010. Spatial variation in prey composition and its possible effect on reproductive success in an expanding Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) population. Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. H. 56, 187-200.
    Horvath, M., Szitta, T., Bagyura, J., Fater, I., Firmanszky, G., Moskat, C., 2014. Simultaneous effect of habitat and age on reproductive success of Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) in Hungary. Ornis Hung. 22, 57-68. doi: 10.2478/orhu-2014-0011
    Jaeger, J.A.G., Bertiller, R., Schwick, C., Muller, K., Steinmeier, C., Ewald, K.C., et al., 2008. Implementing landscape fragmentation as an indicator in the Swiss Monitoring System of Sustainable Development (Monet). J. Environ. Manage. 88, 737-751. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.03.043
    Jongman, R.H.G., 2002. Homogenisation and fragmentation of the European landscape: ecological consequences and solutions. Landscape Urban Plan. 58, 211-221. doi: 10.1016/S0169-2046(01)00222-5
    Karyakin, I.V., 2018. Distribution, population number and status of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in Russia and Kazakhstan. Raptor. Conserv. Suppl. 1, 115-117.
    Katzner, T., Bragin, E., Knick, S., Smith, A., 2005. Relationship between demographics and diet specificity of Imperial Eagles Aquila heliaca in Kazakhstan. Ibis 147, 576-586. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2005.00443.x
    Krebs, J.R., 1971. Territory and breeding density in the Great Tit, Parus major L. Ecology 52, 2-22. doi: 10.2307/1934734
    Liberatori, F., Penteriani, V., 2001. A long term analysis of the declining population of the Egyptian Vulture in the Italian peninsula: distribution, habitat preference, productivity and conservation implications. Biol. Conserv. 101, 381-389. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00086-6
    Margalida, A., Manosa, S., Gonzalez, L.M., Ortega, E., Sanchez, R., Oria, J., 2008. Breeding of non-adults and effect of age on productivity in the Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti. Ardea 96, 173-180. doi: 10.5253/078.096.0203
    McClure, C.J.W., Westrip, J.R.S., Johnson, J.A., Schulwitz, S.E., Virani, M.Z., Davies, R., et al., 2018. State of the world's raptors: distributions, threats, and conservation recommendations. Biol. Conserv. 227, 390-402. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.08.012
    Meshinev, T., Apostolova, I., Georgiev, G., Dimitrov, V., Petrova, A., Veen, P., 2005. Grasslands of Bulgaria. Final report on the National Grasslands Inventory Project, Bulgaria, 2001-2004. (PINMATRA/2001/020). Dragon 2003 Publishers, Sofia.
    Murgatroyd, M., Underhill, G.L., Rodrigues, L., Amar, A., 2016. The influence of agricultural transformation on the breeding performance of a top predator: Verreaux's Eagles in contrasting land use areas. Condor 118, 238-252. doi: 10.1650/CONDOR-15-142.1
    Newbold, T., Hudson, L.N., Hill, S.L.L., Contu, S., Lysenko I., Senior, R.A., et al., 2015. Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity. Nature 520, 45-50. doi: 10.1038/nature14324
    Newton, I., 1979. Population Ecology of Raptors. T. and A.D. Poyser, Berkhamsted.
    Newton, I., 1991. Habitat variation and population regulation in sparrowhawks. Ibis 133, 76-88.
    Patterson, I.J., 1980. Territorial behaviour and the limitation of population density. Ardea 68, 53-62.
    Pedrini, P., Sergio, F., 2001. Density, productivity, diet and human persecution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the central-eastern Italian Alps. J. Raptor Res. 35, 40-48.
    Penteriani, V., Balbontin, J., Ferrer, M., 2003. Simultaneous effects of age and territory quality on fecundity in Bonelli's Eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus). Ibis 145, 77-82. doi: 10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00159.x
    Penteriani, V., Gallardo, M., Roche, P., Cazassus, H., 2001. Effects of landscape spatial structure and composition on the settlement of the Eagle Owl Bubo bubo in a Mediterranean habitat. Ardea 89, 331-340.
    Pongracz, A., Szitta, T., 2015. Current situation and population trend of the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina) in Hungary. Raptor J. 9, 65-69. doi: 10.1515/srj-2015-0005
    Pulliam, H.R., 1988. Sources, sinks, and population regulation. Am. Nat. 132, 652-661. doi: 10.1086/284880
    R Core Team, 2012. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna.
    Real, J., Manosa, S., 1997. Demography and conservation of western European Bonelli's eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus populations. Biol. Conserv. 79, 59-66. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207(96)00100-0
    Reynolds, R.T., Lambert, J. S, Kay, S.L., Sanderlin, J.S., Bird, B.J., 2019. Factors affecting lifetime reproduction, long-term territory-specific reproduction, and estimation of habitat quality in northern goshawks. PLoS ONE 14, e0215841. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215841
    Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Rhodes, O.E., Dewoody, J.A., 2005. Using naturally shed feathers for individual identification, genetic parentage analyses, and population monitoring in an endangered Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca population from Kazakhstan. Mol. Ecol. 14, 2959-2967. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02641.x
    Sara, M., Di Vittorio, M., 2003. Factors influencing the distribution, abundance and nest-site selection of an endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) population in Sicily. Anim. Conserv. 6, 317-328. doi: 10.1017/S1367943003003391
    Schlaepfer, M.A., Runge, M.C., Sherman, P.W., 2002. Ecological and evolutionary traps. Trend. Ecol. Evol. 17, 474-480. doi: 10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02580-6
    Sergio, F., Newton, I., 2003. Occupancy as a measure of territory quality. J. Anim. Ecol. 72, 857-865. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2656.2003.00758.x
    Sergio, F., Blas, J., Baos, R., Forero, M.G., Donazar, J.A., Hiraldo, F., 2009. Short- and long-term consequences of individual and territory quality in a long-lived bird. Oecologia 160, 507-514. doi: 10.1007/s00442-009-1314-0
    Shannon, C.E., Weaver, W., 1949. The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
    StatSoft Inc., 2011. STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 10. http://www.statsoft.com.
    Steenhof, K., Kochert, M.N., Doremus, J.H., 1983. Nesting of subadult golden eagles in Southwestern Idaho. Auk 100, 743-747. doi: 10.1093/auk/100.3.743
    Sternalski, A., Mougeot, F., Bretagnolle, V., 2012a. Carotenoid limitation and allocation priorities in asynchronous raptor nestlings. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 105, 13-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01773.x
    Sternalski, A., Mougeot, F., Eraud, C., Gangloff, B., Villers, A., Bretagnolle, V., 2010. Carotenoids in nestling Montagu's Harriers: variations according to age, sex, body condition and evidence for diet-related limitations. J. Comp. Physiol. 180, 33-43. doi: 10.1007/s00360-009-0384-y
    Sternalski, A., Mougeot, F., Perez-Rodriguez, L., Bretagnolle, V., 2012b. Carotenoid-based coloration, condition, and immune responsiveness in the nestlings of a sexually dimorphic bird of prey. Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 85, 364-375. doi: 10.1086/665981
    Sternalski, A., Blanc, J.F., Augiron, S., Rocheteau, V., Bretagnolle, V., 2013. Comparative breeding performance of Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus along a gradient of land use intensification and implications for population management. Ibis 155, 55-67. doi: 10.1111/ibi.12003
    Tittler, R., Fahrig, L., Villard, M.A., 2006. Evidence of large-scale source-sink dynamics and long-distance dispersal among wood thrush populations. Ecology 87, 3029-3036. doi: 10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[3029:EOLSDA]2.0.CO;2
    Vali, U., Tuvi, J., Sein, G., 2017. Agricultural land use shapes habitat selection, foraging and reproductive success of the Lesser Spotted Eagle Clanga pomarina. J. Ornithol. 158, 841-850. doi: 10.1007/s10336-017-1443-x
    Vili, N., Szabo, K., Kovacs, S., Kabai, P., Kalmar, L., Horvath, M., 2013. High turnover rate revealed by noninvasive genetic analyses in an expanding Eastern Imperial Eagle population. Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. H. 59, 279-295.
    Whitfield, D.P., Fielding, A.H., Gregory, M.J.P., Gordon, A.G., McLeod, D.R.A., Haworth, P.F., 2007. Complex effects of habitat loss on Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos. Ibis 149, 26-3.
    • Relative Articles
    • Supplements(0)
    • Cited By
  • 加载中

Catalog

    通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
    • 1. 

      沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

    1. 本站搜索
    2. 百度学术搜索
    3. 万方数据库搜索
    4. CNKI搜索

    Figures(4)

    Get Citation
    PDF
    XML

    Article Metrics

    Article views (160) PDF downloads(2) Cited by()
    Proportional views
    Supported by: Beijing Renhe Information Technology Co. Ltd   Technical support: info@rhhz.net

    /

    DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
    Return
    Return