Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia
Strong numerical and functional responses of owls to voles in cyclic environments are well known. However, there is insufficient knowledge from the boreonemoral region in particular, with depleted populations of small mammals. In this study, we describe the dynamics of the small mammal population in...
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MDPI AG
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 https://doaj.org/article/661e321a0b7d4eee831f5e8e6b8495b1 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:661e321a0b7d4eee831f5e8e6b8495b1 2023-05-15T16:12:04+02:00 Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia Andris Avotins Viesturs Ķerus Ainars Aunins 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 https://doaj.org/article/661e321a0b7d4eee831f5e8e6b8495b1 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/13/2/572 https://doaj.org/toc/2075-1729 doi:10.3390/life13020572 2075-1729 https://doaj.org/article/661e321a0b7d4eee831f5e8e6b8495b1 Life, Vol 13, Iss 572, p 572 (2023) diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 2023-02-26T01:29:29Z Strong numerical and functional responses of owls to voles in cyclic environments are well known. However, there is insufficient knowledge from the boreonemoral region in particular, with depleted populations of small mammals. In this study, we describe the dynamics of the small mammal population in Latvia from 1991 to 2016 and link them to owl population characteristics. We used food niche breadth, number of fledglings, and population trends to lay out the numerical response of six owl species to dampened small mammal population cycles. We found temporarily increasing food niche breadth in tawny and Ural owls. There were no other responses in the tawny owl, whereas the breeding performance of three forest specialist species—pygmy, Tengmalm’s, and Ural owls—corresponded to the vole crash years in Fennoscandia. Moreover, the populations of forest specialist owls decreased, and the change in the Ural owl population can be attributed to the depletion of small mammal populations. We found evidence of a carry-over effect in the eagle owl arising from a strong correlation of declining breeding performance with the small mammal abundance indices in the previous autumn. We conclude that dampening of the small mammal population cycles is an important covariate of the likely effects of habitat destruction that needs to be investigated further, with stronger responses in more specialized (to prey or habitat) species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia Ural Owl Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Life 13 2 572 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Science Q |
spellingShingle |
diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Science Q Andris Avotins Viesturs Ķerus Ainars Aunins Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia |
topic_facet |
diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Science Q |
description |
Strong numerical and functional responses of owls to voles in cyclic environments are well known. However, there is insufficient knowledge from the boreonemoral region in particular, with depleted populations of small mammals. In this study, we describe the dynamics of the small mammal population in Latvia from 1991 to 2016 and link them to owl population characteristics. We used food niche breadth, number of fledglings, and population trends to lay out the numerical response of six owl species to dampened small mammal population cycles. We found temporarily increasing food niche breadth in tawny and Ural owls. There were no other responses in the tawny owl, whereas the breeding performance of three forest specialist species—pygmy, Tengmalm’s, and Ural owls—corresponded to the vole crash years in Fennoscandia. Moreover, the populations of forest specialist owls decreased, and the change in the Ural owl population can be attributed to the depletion of small mammal populations. We found evidence of a carry-over effect in the eagle owl arising from a strong correlation of declining breeding performance with the small mammal abundance indices in the previous autumn. We conclude that dampening of the small mammal population cycles is an important covariate of the likely effects of habitat destruction that needs to be investigated further, with stronger responses in more specialized (to prey or habitat) species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andris Avotins Viesturs Ķerus Ainars Aunins |
author_facet |
Andris Avotins Viesturs Ķerus Ainars Aunins |
author_sort |
Andris Avotins |
title |
Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia |
title_short |
Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia |
title_full |
Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia |
title_fullStr |
Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia |
title_sort |
numerical response of owls to the dampening of small mammal population cycles in latvia |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 https://doaj.org/article/661e321a0b7d4eee831f5e8e6b8495b1 |
genre |
Fennoscandia Ural Owl |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia Ural Owl |
op_source |
Life, Vol 13, Iss 572, p 572 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/13/2/572 https://doaj.org/toc/2075-1729 doi:10.3390/life13020572 2075-1729 https://doaj.org/article/661e321a0b7d4eee831f5e8e6b8495b1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 |
container_title |
Life |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
572 |
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1765997299121520640 |