Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring
We studied size preferences of Tawny (Strix aluco) and Long-eared (Asio otus) Owls preying on common voles (Microtus arvalis) in the winter and spring seasons in Central Lithuania. Regression equations were used for body mass estimations. We found that both A. otus and S. aluco preferred larger M. a...
Published in: | TURKISH JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES |
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Language: | Turkish |
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TÜBİTAK
2014
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Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tbtkzoology/issue/12604/152928 https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-1302-92 |
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ftdergipark2ojs:oai:dergipark.org.tr:article/152928 2023-05-15T17:12:32+02:00 Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring BALCIAUSKAS, Linas BALCIAUSKIENE, Laima 2014-05-18T21:15:22Z application/pdf https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tbtkzoology/issue/12604/152928 https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-1302-92 tr tur TÜBİTAK TUBITAK https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/134336 https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tbtkzoology/issue/12604/152928 doi:10.3906/sag-1302-92 Volume: 38, Issue: 2 242-249 1300-0179 1303-6114 Turkish Journal of Zoology Key words: Owl diet,prey size,diet selectivity,body mass prediction info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2014 ftdergipark2ojs https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-1302-92 2020-08-27T17:50:27Z We studied size preferences of Tawny (Strix aluco) and Long-eared (Asio otus) Owls preying on common voles (Microtus arvalis) in the winter and spring seasons in Central Lithuania. Regression equations were used for body mass estimations. We found that both A. otus and S. aluco preferred larger M. arvalis than the average available in the population (the average body mass of predated individuals was 21.45 ± 0.12 g compared to 16.42 ± 0.16 g of snap-trapped individuals). Irrespective of the owl species, most of the predated Microtus voles were adults. In S. aluco prey, the winter proportion of young voles was significantly higher than in the prey of A. otus, 33.3% versus 5.2%. By contrast, the proportion of subadult and adult voles with a body mass in the range between 19 and 23 g was significantly higher in the prey of A. otus. Our results may indicate that the selection of the differently sized prey allows the 2 species of owls to coexist sympatrically. We studied size preferences of Tawny (Strix aluco) and Long-eared (Asio otus) Owls preying on common voles (Microtus arvalis) in the winter and spring seasons in Central Lithuania. Regression equations were used for body mass estimations. We found that both A. otus and S. aluco preferred larger M. arvalis than the average available in the population (the average body mass of predated individuals was 21.45 ± 0.12 g compared to 16.42 ± 0.16 g of snap-trapped individuals). Irrespective of the owl species, most of the predated Microtus voles were adults. In S. aluco prey, the winter proportion of young voles was significantly higher than in the prey of A. otus, 33.3% versus 5.2%. By contrast, the proportion of subadult and adult voles with a body mass in the range between 19 and 23 g was significantly higher in the prey of A. otus. Our results may indicate that the selection of the differently sized prey allows the 2 species of owls to coexist sympatrically. Article in Journal/Newspaper Microtus arvalis DergiPark Akademik (E-Journals) TURKISH JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES 44 288 294 |
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DergiPark Akademik (E-Journals) |
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ftdergipark2ojs |
language |
Turkish |
topic |
Key words: Owl diet,prey size,diet selectivity,body mass prediction |
spellingShingle |
Key words: Owl diet,prey size,diet selectivity,body mass prediction BALCIAUSKAS, Linas BALCIAUSKIENE, Laima Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring |
topic_facet |
Key words: Owl diet,prey size,diet selectivity,body mass prediction |
description |
We studied size preferences of Tawny (Strix aluco) and Long-eared (Asio otus) Owls preying on common voles (Microtus arvalis) in the winter and spring seasons in Central Lithuania. Regression equations were used for body mass estimations. We found that both A. otus and S. aluco preferred larger M. arvalis than the average available in the population (the average body mass of predated individuals was 21.45 ± 0.12 g compared to 16.42 ± 0.16 g of snap-trapped individuals). Irrespective of the owl species, most of the predated Microtus voles were adults. In S. aluco prey, the winter proportion of young voles was significantly higher than in the prey of A. otus, 33.3% versus 5.2%. By contrast, the proportion of subadult and adult voles with a body mass in the range between 19 and 23 g was significantly higher in the prey of A. otus. Our results may indicate that the selection of the differently sized prey allows the 2 species of owls to coexist sympatrically. We studied size preferences of Tawny (Strix aluco) and Long-eared (Asio otus) Owls preying on common voles (Microtus arvalis) in the winter and spring seasons in Central Lithuania. Regression equations were used for body mass estimations. We found that both A. otus and S. aluco preferred larger M. arvalis than the average available in the population (the average body mass of predated individuals was 21.45 ± 0.12 g compared to 16.42 ± 0.16 g of snap-trapped individuals). Irrespective of the owl species, most of the predated Microtus voles were adults. In S. aluco prey, the winter proportion of young voles was significantly higher than in the prey of A. otus, 33.3% versus 5.2%. By contrast, the proportion of subadult and adult voles with a body mass in the range between 19 and 23 g was significantly higher in the prey of A. otus. Our results may indicate that the selection of the differently sized prey allows the 2 species of owls to coexist sympatrically. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
BALCIAUSKAS, Linas BALCIAUSKIENE, Laima |
author_facet |
BALCIAUSKAS, Linas BALCIAUSKIENE, Laima |
author_sort |
BALCIAUSKAS, Linas |
title |
Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring |
title_short |
Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring |
title_full |
Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring |
title_fullStr |
Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring |
title_full_unstemmed |
Selective predation on common voles by Tawny Owls and Long-eared Owls in winter and spring |
title_sort |
selective predation on common voles by tawny owls and long-eared owls in winter and spring |
publisher |
TÜBİTAK |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tbtkzoology/issue/12604/152928 https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-1302-92 |
genre |
Microtus arvalis |
genre_facet |
Microtus arvalis |
op_source |
Volume: 38, Issue: 2 242-249 1300-0179 1303-6114 Turkish Journal of Zoology |
op_relation |
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/134336 https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tbtkzoology/issue/12604/152928 doi:10.3906/sag-1302-92 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-1302-92 |
container_title |
TURKISH JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES |
container_volume |
44 |
container_start_page |
288 |
op_container_end_page |
294 |
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1766069330624118784 |