Volume 11 Issue 1
Apr.  2020
Turn off MathJax
Article Contents
Oscar Humberto Marín-Gómez, Michelle García-Arroyo, Camilo E. Sánchez-Sarria, J. Roberto Sosa-López, Diego Santiago-Alarcon, Ian MacGregor-Fors. 2020: Nightlife in the city: drivers of the occurrence and vocal activity of a tropical owl. Avian Research, 11(1): 9. doi: 10.1186/s40657-020-00197-7
Citation: Oscar Humberto Marín-Gómez, Michelle García-Arroyo, Camilo E. Sánchez-Sarria, J. Roberto Sosa-López, Diego Santiago-Alarcon, Ian MacGregor-Fors. 2020: Nightlife in the city: drivers of the occurrence and vocal activity of a tropical owl. Avian Research, 11(1): 9. doi: 10.1186/s40657-020-00197-7

Nightlife in the city: drivers of the occurrence and vocal activity of a tropical owl

doi: 10.1186/s40657-020-00197-7
Funds:

OHM-G and MG-A were supported by the graduate Grant provided by the National Council of Science and Technology CONACYT 417094

OHM-G and MG-A were supported by the graduate Grant provided by the National Council of Science and Technology 416452

as well as the Doctoral and Master Program of the Instituto de Ecología, A.C. INECOL, Xalapa

JRSL thanks CONACYT project Grant 251526

a chair fellowship at CIIDIR researcher number 1640

a chair fellowship at CIIDIR project number 1781

More Information
  • Background Cities differ from non-urban environments by the intensity, scale, and extent of anthropogenic pressures, which can drive the occurrence, physiology, and behavior of the organisms thriving in these settings. Traits as green cover often predict the occurrence patterns of bird species in urban areas. Yet, anthropogenic noise and artificial light at night (ALAN) could also limit the presence and disrupt the behavior of birds. However, there is still a dearth of knowledge about the influence of urbanization through noise and light pollution on nocturnal bird species ecology. In this study, we assessed the role of green cover, noise, and light pollution on the occurrence and vocal activity of the Mottled Owl (Ciccaba virgata) in the city of Xalapa (Mexico).
    Methods We obtained soundscape recordings in 61 independent sites scattered across the city of Xalapa using autonomous recording units. We performed a semi-automated acoustic analysis of the recordings, corroborating all Mottled Owl vocalizations. We calculated two measures of anthropogenic noise at each study site: daily noise (during 24 h) and masking noise (mean noise amplitude at night per site that could mask the owl's vocalizations). We further performed generalized linear models to relate green cover, ALAN, daily noise, and masking noise in relation to the owl's occurrence (i.e., detected, undetected). We also ran linear models to assess relationships among the beginning and ending of vocal activity with ALAN, and with the anthropogenic and masking noise levels at the moment of which vocalizations were emitted. Finally, we explored variations of the vocal activity of the Mottled Owl measured as vocalization rate across time.
    Results The presence of Mottled Owls increased with the size of green cover and decreased with increases in both artificial light at night and noise levels. At the temporal scale, green cover was positively related with the ending of the owl's vocal activity, while daily noise and ALAN levels were not related to the timing and vocal output (i.e., number of vocalizations). Furthermore, the Mottled Owl showed a marked peak of vocal activity before dawn than after dusk. Although anthropogenic noise levels varied significantly across the assessed time, we did not find an association between high vocal output during time periods with lower noise levels.
    Conclusions Spatially, green cover area was positively related with the presence of the Mottled Owl in Xalapa, while high noise and light pollution were related to its absence. At a temporal scale, daily noise and ALAN levels were not related with the timing and vocal output. This suggests that instead of environmental factors, behavioral contexts such as territoriality and mate interactions could drive the vocal activity of the Mottled Owl. Further studies need to incorporate a wider seasonal scale in order to explore the variation of different vocalizations of this species in relation to environmental and biological factors.

     

  • loading
  • Aronson MFJ, La Sorte FA, Nilon CH, Katti M, Goddard MA, Lepczyk CA, et al. A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers. Proc R Soc B. 2014;281:20133330. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.3330
    Canário F, Leitão AH, Tomé R. Predation attempts by Short-eared and Long-eared Owls on migrating songbirds attracted to artificial lights. J Raptor Res. 2012;46:232-4. doi: 10.3356/JRR-11-15.1
    Chace JF, Walsh JJ. Urban effects on native avifauna: a review. Landsc Urban Plan. 2006;74:46-69. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.08.007
    Clarke JA. Moonlight's influence on predator/prey interactions between Short-eared Owls (Asio tlammeus) and deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 1983;13:205-9. doi: 10.1007/BF00299924
    Crawley MJ. The R Book. Chichester: Wiley; 2012.
    Da Silva A, Valcu M, Kempenaers B. Light pollution alters the phenology of dawn and dusk singing in common European songbirds. P Roy Soc B. 2015;370:20140126. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0126
    Debrot AO. Nocturnal foraging by artificial light in three Caribbean bird species. J Caribb Ornithol. 2014;27:40-1. http://cn.bing.com/academic/profile?id=8c1372259af89855e346d4983142336d&encoded=0&v=paper_preview&mkt=zh-cn
    Dice LR. Minimum intensities of illumination under which owls can find dead prey by sight. Amer Naturalist. 1945;79:385-416. doi: 10.1086/281276
    Dominoni DM, Greif S, Nemeth E, Brumm H. Airport noise predicts song timing of European birds. Ecol Evol. 2016;6:6151-9. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2357
    Dykstra C, Simon M, Daniel F, Hays J. Habitats of suburban barred Owls (Strix varia) and red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) in Southwestern Ohio. J Raptor Res. 2012;46:190-200. doi: 10.3356/JRR-11-05.1
    Enríquez PL. Los búhos neotropicales: Diversidad y conservación. México: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur; 2015.
    Falfán I, MacGregor-Fors I. Woody neotropical streetscapes: a case study of tree and shrub species richness and composition in Xalapa. Madera bosques. 2016;22:95-110. http://cn.bing.com/academic/profile?id=2783853ff4964d1a8883ba556faa340b&encoded=0&v=paper_preview&mkt=zh-cn
    Falfán I, Muñoz-Robles CA, Bonilla-Moheno M, MacGregor-Fors I. Can you really see 'green'? Assessing physical and self-reported measurements of urban greenery. Urban For Urban Gree. 2018;36:13-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ufug.2018.08.016
    Fischer JD, Schneider SC, Ahlers AA, Miller JR. Categorizing wildlife responses to urbanization and conservation implications of terminology. Conserv Biol. 2015;29:1246-8. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12451
    Francis CD, Ortega CP, Cruz A. Noise pollution changes avian communities and species interactions. Curr Biol. 2009;19:1415-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.052
    Fröhlich A, Ciach M. Noise shapes the distribution pattern of an acoustic predator. Curr Zool. 2017;64:575-83. http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn/details/detail.do?_type=perio&id=dwxb201805003
    Fröhlich A, Ciach M. Noise pollution and decreased size of wooded areas reduces the probability of occurrence of Tawny Owl Strix aluco. Ibis. 2018;160:634-46. doi: 10.1111/ibi.12554
    Fröhlich A, Ciach M. Nocturnal noise and habitat homogeneity limit species richness of owls in an urban environment. Environ Sci Pollut R. 2019;26:1-8. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-3003-1
    Fuller RA, Warren PH, Gaston KJ. Daytime noise predicts nocturnal singing in urban robins. Biol Lett. 2007;3:368-70. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0134
    Galeotti P. Territorial behaviour and habitat selection in an urban population of the tawny owl Strix aluco L. Boll Zool. 1990;57:59-66. doi: 10.1080/11250009009355675
    Gaston KJ, Bennie J. Demographic effects of artificial nighttime lighting on animal populations. Environ Rev. 2014;22:323-30. doi: 10.1139/er-2014-0005
    Gaston KJ, Bennie J, Davies TW, Hopkins J. The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal. Biol Rev. 2013;88:912-27. doi: 10.1111/brv.12036
    Gerhardt RP, Gerhardt DM, Flatten CJ, González NB. The food habits of sympatric Ciccaba Owls in Northern Guatemala. J Field Ornithol. 1994;65:258-64.
    González-Oreja JA. Relationships of area and noise with the distribution and abundance of songbirds in urban greenspaces. Landsc Urban Plan. 2017;158:177-84. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.05.032
    Gorenzel WP, Salmon TP. Characteristics of American Crow urban roosts in California. J Wildl Manag. 1995;59:638-45. doi: 10.2307/3801939
    Grimm NB, Faeth SH, Golubiewski NE, Redman CL, Wu J, Bai X, et al. Global change and the ecology of cities. Science. 2008;319:756-60. doi: 10.1126/science.1150195
    Gryz J, Krauze-Gryz D. Changes in the tawny owl Strix aluco diet along an urbanisation gradient. Biologia. 2019;74:279-85. doi: 10.2478/s11756-018-00171-1
    Hardouin LA, Robert D, Bretagnolle V. A dusk chorus effect in a nocturnal bird: support for mate and rival assessment functions. Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 2008;62:1909. doi: 10.1007/s00265-008-0621-5
    Himsworth CG, Jardine CM, Parsons KL, Feng AYT, Patrick DM. The characteristics of wild rat (Rattus spp.) populations from an inner-city neighborhood with a focus on factors critical to the understanding of rat-associated zoonoses. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e91654. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091654
    Hindmarch S, Elliott JE. A specialist in the city: the diet of barn owls along a rural to urban gradient. Urban Ecosyst. 2015;18:477-88. doi: 10.1007/s11252-014-0411-y
    Hölker F, Wolter C, Perkin EK, Tockner K. Light pollution as a biodiversity threat. Trends Ecol Evol. 2010;25:681-2. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2010.09.007
    Holt DW, Berkley R, Deppe C, Enríquez-Rocha P, Petersen JL, Rangel-Salazar JL, et al. Mottled Owl (Ciccaba virgata). In: del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J, Christie DA, de Juana E, editors. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions; 2019.
    Howell S, Webb S. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1995.
    INEGI. Prontuario de la información geográfica municipal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Xalapa, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave. Clave geoestadística. 2009:30087.
    Isaac B, White J, Ierodiaconou D, Cooke R. Response of a cryptic apex predator to a complete urban to forest gradient. Wildlife Res. 2013;40:427-36. doi: 10.1071/WR13087
    Isaksson C, Rodewald AD, Gil D. Behavioral and ecological consequences of urban life in birds. Front Ecol Evol. 2018;6:50. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00050
    Kettel EF, Gentle LK, Quinn JL, Yarnell RW. The breeding performance of raptors in urban landscapes: a review and meta-analysis. J Ornithol. 2018;159:1-18. doi: 10.1007/s10336-017-1497-9
    Knight E, Hannah K, Foley G, Scott C, Brigham R, Bayne E. Recommendations for acoustic recognizer performance assessment with application to five common automated signal recognition programs. Avian Conserv Ecol. 2017;12:14. http://cn.bing.com/academic/profile?id=1cfb49f45f132ee6bea5f00db1e7ce82&encoded=0&v=paper_preview&mkt=zh-cn
    Kotler BP, Brown JS, Hasson O. Factors affecting gerbil foraging behavior and rates of owl predation. Ecology. 1991;72:2249-60. doi: 10.2307/1941575
    Liu Z, He C, Zhou Y, Wu J. How much of the world's land has been urbanized, really? A hierarchical framework for avoiding confusion. Landsc Ecol. 2014;29:763-71. doi: 10.1007/s10980-014-0034-y
    Lloyd H. Population densities of some nocturnal raptor species (Strigidae) in southeastern Peru. J Field Ornithol. 2013;74:376-80. http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn/details/detail.do?_type=perio&id=1643ca4a375afbcd83e5f5a63dda5cc1
    Longcore T, Rich C. Ecological light pollution. Front Ecol Environ. 2004;2:191-8. doi: 10.1890/1540-9295(2004)002[0191:ELP]2.0.CO;2
    Lövy M, Riegert J. Home range and land use of urban Long-eared Owls. Condor. 2013;115:551-7. doi: 10.1525/cond.2013.120017
    Luther D, Gentry K. Sources of background noise and their influence on vertebrate acoustic communication. Behaviour. 2013;150:1045-68. doi: 10.1163/1568539X-00003054
    Manzanares Mena L, Macías Garcia C. Songbird community structure changes with noise in an urban reserve. J Urban Ecol. 2018;4:1-8. http://cn.bing.com/academic/profile?id=31e92213f1bb7fbc6b35b62112d38a5d&encoded=0&v=paper_preview&mkt=zh-cn
    Marín-Gómez OH, MacGregor-Fors I. How early do birds start chirping? Dawn chorus onset and peak times in a Neotropical city. Ardeola. 2019;66:327-41. doi: 10.13157/arla.66.2.2019.ra5
    Marín-Gómez OH, Toro Y, López-García MM, Garzón-Zuluaga JI, Santa-Aristizabal DM. First records of the Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata) in urban areas, with notes on reproduction. North-West J Zool. 2017;13:368-71.
    Marín-Gómez OH, Santiago-Alarcon D, Dátillo W, MacGregor-Fors I. Where has the city choir gone? Loss of the temporal structure of bird dawn choruses in urban areas. Landsc Urban Plan. 2020;194:103665. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103665
    Mason JT, McClure CJW, Barber JR. Anthropogenic noise impairs owl hunting behavior. Biol Conserv. 2016;199:29-32. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.009
    Maxwell SL, Fuller RA, Brooks TM, Watson JEM. Biodiversity: the ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers. Nature. 2016;536:143-5. doi: 10.1038/536143a
    Menq W, Anjos L. Habitat selection by owls in a seasonal semi-deciduous forest in southern Brazil. Braz J Biol. 2015;75:143-9. doi: 10.1590/1519-6984.07614
    Merchant ND, Fristrup KM, Johnson MP, Tyack PL, Witt MJ, Blondel P, et al. Measuring acoustic habitats. Methods Ecol Evol. 2015;6:257-65. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.12330
    Mori E, Bertolino S. Feeding ecology of long-eared owls in winter: an urban perspective. Bird Study. 2015;62:257-61. doi: 10.1080/00063657.2015.1013522
    Mori E, Menchetti M, Ferretti F. Seasonal and environmental influences on the calling behaviour of Eurasian Scops Owls. Bird Study. 2014;61:277-81. doi: 10.1080/00063657.2014.897303
    Odom KJ, Mennill DJ. Vocal duets in a nonpasserine: an examination of territory defence and neighbour-stranger discrimination in a neighbourhood of barred owls. Behaviour. 2010;147:619-39. doi: 10.1163/000579510X12632972452424
    Patón D, Romero F, Cuenca J, Escudero JC. Tolerance to noise in 91 bird species from 27 urban gardens of Iberian Peninsula. Landsc Urban Plan. 2012;104:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.09.002
    Penteriani V, Delgado M. The dusk chorus from an owl perspective: eagle owls vocalize when their white throat badge contrasts most. PLoS ONE. 2009;4:e4960. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004960
    Penteriani V, Delgado MD, Stigliano M, Campioni L, Sánchez M. Owl dusk chorus is related to the quality of individuals and nest-sites. Ibis. 2014;156:892-5. doi: 10.1111/ibi.12178
    Poppleton M. Urban raptors: owl and hawk adaptation to urban centers. JUST. 2016;4:49-60. http://cn.bing.com/academic/profile?id=ee88364dde546cf8d78ae96b499ed2a6&encoded=0&v=paper_preview&mkt=zh-cn
    Priyadarshani N, Marsland S, Castro I. Automated birdsong recognition in complex acoustic environments: a review. J Avian Biol. 2018;49:e01447. doi: 10.1111/jav.01447
    R Core Team. R: A language and environment for statistical computing[Internet]. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2018. http://www.R-project.org/.
    Ralph CJ, Geupel GR, Pyle P, Martin TE, DeSante DF. Handbook of field methods for monitoring landbirds. Albany: U.S.D.A., Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-144; 1996. https://www.ntc.blm.gov/krc/uploads/269/Handbook%20of%20Field%20Methods%20for%20Monitoring%20Landbirds.pdf
    Ranazzi L, Manganaro A, Ranazzi R, Salvati L. Woodland cover and Tawny Owl Strix aluco density in a Mediterranean urban area. Biota. 2000;1:27-34. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289170475_Strix_aluco_Tawny_Owl
    Rebolo-Ifrán N, Tella JL, Carrete M. Urban conservation hotspots: predation release allows the grassland-specialist burrowing owl to perform better in the city. Sci Rep. 2017;7:3527. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-03853-z
    Restrepo-Cardona JS, Betancur López A, Cano Castaño N. Abundancia y nuevos registros de búhos simpátricos en Manizales y Villamaría (Caldas, Colombia). Bol Cient Mus His Nat. 2015;19:220-9.
    Rivera-Rivera E, Enríquez PL, Flamenco-Sandoval A, Rangel-Salazar JL. Ocupación y abundancia de aves rapaces nocturnas (Strigidae) en la Reserva de la Biosfera Selva El Ocote, Chiapas. México. Rev Mex Biodiv. 2012;83:742-52.
    Rullman S, Marzluff JM. Raptor presence along an urban-wildland gradient: influences of prey abundance and land cover. J Raptor Res. 2014;48:257-72. doi: 10.3356/JRR-13-32.1
    Santiago-Alarcon D, Delgado VC. Warning! Urban threats for birds in Latin America. In: MacGregor-Fors I, Escobar-Ibáñez JF, editors. Avian ecology in Latin American Cityscapes. Cham: Springer; 2017. p. 125-42.
    Saufi S, Ravindran S, Hamid NH, Abidin CMRZ, Ahmad H, Ahmad AH, et al. Diet composition of introduced Barn Owls (Tyto alba javanica) in urban area in comparison with agriculture settings. J Urban Ecol. 2020;6:1-8.
    Scobie CA, Bayne EM, Wellicome TI. Influence of human footprint and sensory disturbances on night-time space use of an owl. Endanger Species Res. 2016;31:75-87. doi: 10.3354/esr00756
    Senzaki M, Yamaura Y, Francis CD, Nakamura F. Traffic noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild owls. Sci Rep. 2016;6:30602. doi: 10.1038/srep30602
    Serieys LE, Bishop J, Okes N, Broadfield J, Winterton DJ, Poppenga RH, et al. Widespread anticoagulant poison exposure in predators in a rapidly growing South African city. Sci Total Environ. 2019;666:581-90. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.122
    Seto KC, Fragkias M, Güneralp B, Reilly MK. A Meta-analysis of global urban land expansion. PLoS ONE. 2011;6:e23777. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023777
    Ševčík R, Riegert J, Šindelář J, Zárybnická M. Vocal activity of the Central European Boreal Owl population in relation to varying environmental conditions. Ornis Fennica. 2019;96:1-12. http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn/details/detail.do?_type=perio&id=26b8cd1b140e8901e70bc1b48006254b
    Shonfield J, Bayne EM. The effect of industrial noise on owl occupancy in the boreal forest at multiple spatial scales. Avian Conserv Ecol. 2017;12:13. http://cn.bing.com/academic/profile?id=cbc50225d28d2173153ef22200ef83d9&encoded=0&v=paper_preview&mkt=zh-cn
    Shonfield J, Heemskerk S, Bayne EM. Utility of automated species recognition for acoustic monitoring of Owls. J Raptor Res. 2018;52:42-55. doi: 10.3356/JRR-17-52.1
    Sierro J, Schloesing E, Pavón I, Gil D. European blackbirds exposed to aircraft noise advance their chorus, modify their song and spend more time singing. Front Ecol Evol. 2017;5:68. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00068
    Slabbekoorn H. Songs of the city: noise-dependent spectral plasticity in the acoustic phenotype of urban birds. Anim Behav. 2013;85:1089-99. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.01.021
    Sol D, Lapiedra O, González-Lagos C. Behavioural adjustments for a life in the city. Anim Behav. 2013;85:1101-12. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.01.023
    Vázquez-Pérez JR, Enríquez PL. Factores temporales y ambientales asociados a los llamados de los búhos en la Reserva Selva El Ocote, Chiapas, México. Hornero. 2016;31:83-8.
    Weaving MJ, White JG, Isaac B, Cooke R. The distribution of three nocturnal bird species across a suburban-forest gradient. Emu. 2011;111:52-8. doi: 10.1071/MU09117
    Wildlife Acoustics. https://www.wildlifeacoustics.com/products/kaleidoscope-pro/tutorial-videos. Accessed 20 May 2019.
    Williams-Linera G. Vegetación de bordes de un bosque nublado en el Parque Ecológico Clavijero, Xalapa, Veracruz, México. Rev Biol Trop. 1993;41:443-53.
    Zuur AF, Leno EN, Elphick CS. A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods Ecol Evol. 2010;1:3-14. doi: 10.1111/j.2041-210X.2009.00001.x
  • 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(6)  / Tables(3)

    Article Metrics

    Article views (1542) PDF downloads(6) Cited by()
    Proportional views

    /

    DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
    Return
    Return