Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia
Abstract Background The Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) is an endemic North African species. Available knowledge on this species is limited to historic descriptive data with no ecological information provided. Populations continue to dramatically decline in Tunisia, where only one relic population...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:277d5ccf58484739913dbd3dc717fc82 2023-05-15T18:05:40+02:00 Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia Aymen Nefla Ridha Ouni Slaheddine Selmi Saïd Nouira 2021-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 https://doaj.org/article/277d5ccf58484739913dbd3dc717fc82 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 https://doaj.org/toc/2053-7166 doi:10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 2053-7166 https://doaj.org/article/277d5ccf58484739913dbd3dc717fc82 Avian Research, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021) Clutch size Laying date Maghreb Magpie Nesting habitat Nest success Relic population Zoology QL1-991 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 2022-12-31T10:57:38Z Abstract Background The Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) is an endemic North African species. Available knowledge on this species is limited to historic descriptive data with no ecological information provided. Populations continue to dramatically decline in Tunisia, where only one relic population survives. Investigating the breeding biology of this species is essential for conservation purposes. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the Tunisian relic population and provide detailed data on breeding biology over two breeding seasons (2017 and 2018). Methods This study occurred on a private farm of 650 ha, located 10 km from Dhorbania village at Kairouan Governorate, in central Tunisia. Active nests were monitored weekly during egg laying period and twice a week during hatching period. The Ivlev’s electivity index was used to assess whether the frequency of use of nesting trees and bushes matched their availability in the study area. We recorded nest measurements and positions, and compared them using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Variations of breeding parameters as number of eggs laid, hatchlings, and fledglings over years were performed using Mann–Whitney U-test and χ 2 tests. We used a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) to investigate how egg volume varied with clutch size and laying date. Results We investigated clutch size, egg size, hatching and fledging success, and evaluated how these parameters varied according to laying date and nest characteristics. Clutch size averaged 5.00 ± 0.19 but was significantly greater in 2017. Hatching success was 2.78 ± 0.34 eggs hatched per nest and fledging success reached 1.69 ± 0.30 young/nest. Causes of nest failure included the depredation of nestlings by shrikes, cobras and rats (e.g. Lanius meridionalis, Naja haje and Rattus rattus), death of parents by the Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) and nest parasitism by the Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius). Clutch size, brood size and fledgling success were unaffected by laying ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Avian Research 12 1 |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Clutch size Laying date Maghreb Magpie Nesting habitat Nest success Relic population Zoology QL1-991 |
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Clutch size Laying date Maghreb Magpie Nesting habitat Nest success Relic population Zoology QL1-991 Aymen Nefla Ridha Ouni Slaheddine Selmi Saïd Nouira Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |
topic_facet |
Clutch size Laying date Maghreb Magpie Nesting habitat Nest success Relic population Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Abstract Background The Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) is an endemic North African species. Available knowledge on this species is limited to historic descriptive data with no ecological information provided. Populations continue to dramatically decline in Tunisia, where only one relic population survives. Investigating the breeding biology of this species is essential for conservation purposes. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the Tunisian relic population and provide detailed data on breeding biology over two breeding seasons (2017 and 2018). Methods This study occurred on a private farm of 650 ha, located 10 km from Dhorbania village at Kairouan Governorate, in central Tunisia. Active nests were monitored weekly during egg laying period and twice a week during hatching period. The Ivlev’s electivity index was used to assess whether the frequency of use of nesting trees and bushes matched their availability in the study area. We recorded nest measurements and positions, and compared them using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Variations of breeding parameters as number of eggs laid, hatchlings, and fledglings over years were performed using Mann–Whitney U-test and χ 2 tests. We used a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) to investigate how egg volume varied with clutch size and laying date. Results We investigated clutch size, egg size, hatching and fledging success, and evaluated how these parameters varied according to laying date and nest characteristics. Clutch size averaged 5.00 ± 0.19 but was significantly greater in 2017. Hatching success was 2.78 ± 0.34 eggs hatched per nest and fledging success reached 1.69 ± 0.30 young/nest. Causes of nest failure included the depredation of nestlings by shrikes, cobras and rats (e.g. Lanius meridionalis, Naja haje and Rattus rattus), death of parents by the Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) and nest parasitism by the Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius). Clutch size, brood size and fledgling success were unaffected by laying ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aymen Nefla Ridha Ouni Slaheddine Selmi Saïd Nouira |
author_facet |
Aymen Nefla Ridha Ouni Slaheddine Selmi Saïd Nouira |
author_sort |
Aymen Nefla |
title |
Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |
title_short |
Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |
title_full |
Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |
title_fullStr |
Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |
title_sort |
breeding biology of a relictual maghreb magpie (pica mauritanica) population in tunisia |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 https://doaj.org/article/277d5ccf58484739913dbd3dc717fc82 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Avian Research, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 https://doaj.org/toc/2053-7166 doi:10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 2053-7166 https://doaj.org/article/277d5ccf58484739913dbd3dc717fc82 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 |
container_title |
Avian Research |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766177173192835072 |