| Abstract | Habitat selection in animals is a fundamental ecological process with key conservation
implications. Assessing habitat selection in endangered species and populations
occupying the extreme edges of their distribution range, or living in highly anthropized
landscapes, may be of particular interest as it may provide hints to mechanisms
promoting potential range expansions.We assessed second- and third-order foraging
habitat selection in the northernmost European breeding population of the lesser
kestrel (Falco naumanni), a migratory falcon of European conservation priority, by
integrating results obtained from 411 direct observations with those gathered from
nine GPS tracked individuals. The study population breeds in the intensively cultivated
Po Plain (northern Italy). Direct observations and GPS data coincide in showing that
foraging lesser kestrels shifted their habitat preferences through the breeding cycle.
They positively selected alfalfa and other non-irrigated crops during the early breeding
season, while winter cereals were selected during the nestling-rearing phase. Maize was
selected during the early breeding season, after sowing, but significantly avoided later.
Overall, vegetation height emerged as the main predictor of foraging habitat selection,
with birds preferring short vegetation, which is likely to maximise prey accessibility.
Such a flexibility in foraging habitat selection according to spatio-temporal variation
in the agricultural landscape determined by local crop management practices may have
allowed the species to successfully thrive in one of the most intensively cultivated areas
of Europe. In the southeastern Po Plain, the broad extent of hay and non-irrigated crops
is possibly functioning as a surrogate habitat for the pseudo-steppe environment where
most of the European breeding population is settled, fostering the northward expansion
of the species in Europe. In intensive agricultural landscapes, the maintenance of alfalfa
and winter cereals crops and an overall high crop heterogeneity (deriving from crop rotation) is fundamental to accommodate the ecological requirements of the species in
different phases of its breeding cycle. |
| Authors | Sara Cioccarelli, Anna Terras, Giacomo Assandri4, Alessandro Berlusconi, Nunzio Grattini, Alessandro Mercogliano, Aliona Pazhera, Andrea Sbrilli, Jacopo G. Cecere, Diego Rubolini, and Michelangelo Morganti |
| Text | 471085 2022 10.7717/peerj.13979 Alfalfa Agroecosystems Biodiversity friendly cultivations GPS tracking Harvesting Habitat selection Winter cereals Vegetation height and structure drive foraging habitat selection of the lesser kestrel Falco naumanni in intensive agricultural landscapes Sara Cioccarelli, Anna Terras, Giacomo Assandri4, Alessandro Berlusconi, Nunzio Grattini, Alessandro Mercogliano, Aliona Pazhera, Andrea Sbrilli, Jacopo G. Cecere, Diego Rubolini, and Michelangelo Morganti Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, University of Milan, Milan, Italy 2 Ethology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy 3 Laboratoire Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Universite de Poitiers, Poitiers Cedex 9, France 4 Area Avifauna Migratrice, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale ISPRA , Ozzano Emilia BO , Italy 5 Environment Analysis and Management UnitGuido Tosi Research GroupDepartment of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Universita degli Studi dell Insubria, Varese VA , Italy 6 Consiglio Nazionale delle RicercheIstituto di Ricerca sulle Acque CNR IRSA , Brugherio MB and Montelibretti RM , Italy 7SOM Stazione Ornitologica Modenese ``Il Pettazzurro , Mirandola MO , Italy Habitat selection in animals is a fundamental ecological process with key conservation implications. Assessing habitat selection in endangered species and populations occupying the extreme edges of their distribution range, or living in highly anthropized landscapes, may be of particular interest as it may provide hints to mechanisms promoting potential range expansions.We assessed second and third order foraging habitat selection in the northernmost European breeding population of the lesser kestrel Falco naumanni , a migratory falcon of European conservation priority, by integrating results obtained from 411 direct observations with those gathered from nine GPS tracked individuals. The study population breeds in the intensively cultivated Po Plain northern Italy . Direct observations and GPS data coincide in showing that foraging lesser kestrels shifted their habitat preferences through the breeding cycle. They positively selected alfalfa and other non irrigated crops during the early breeding season, while winter cereals were selected during the nestling rearing phase. Maize was selected during the early breeding season, after sowing, but significantly avoided later. Overall, vegetation height emerged as the main predictor of foraging habitat selection, with birds preferring short vegetation, which is likely to maximise prey accessibility. Such a flexibility in foraging habitat selection according to spatio temporal variation in the agricultural landscape determined by local crop management practices may have allowed the species to successfully thrive in one of the most intensively cultivated areas of Europe. In the southeastern Po Plain, the broad extent of hay and non irrigated crops is possibly functioning as a surrogate habitat for the pseudo steppe environment where most of the European breeding population is settled, fostering the northward expansion of the species in Europe. In intensive agricultural landscapes, the maintenance of alfalfa and winter cereals crops and an overall high crop heterogeneity deriving from crop rotation is fundamental to accommodate the ecological requirements of the species in different phases of its breeding cycle. Preprint Articolo in rivista 2167 8359 PeerJ PeerJ BERLUSCONI ALESSANDRO RUBOLINI DIEGO andrea.sbrilli SBRILLI ANDREA michelangelo.morganti MORGANTI MICHELANGELO |
