The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year
Apex predators, such as raptors, are used as surrogates to attain conservation objectives; however, their presence in a particular area does not necessarily mean long-term occurrence. Here we used data on long-lasting (20–40 years) territories of two generalist raptors: the diurnal Northern goshawk...
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2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 |
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1999-4907/13/12/2128/ 2023-08-20T03:59:02+02:00 The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year Łukasz Kajtoch Bartłomiej Kusal agris 2022-12-12 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Forest Biodiversity https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Forests; Volume 13; Issue 12; Pages: 2128 northern goshawk Ural owl Accipiter gentilis Strix uralensis surrogates flagship species biodiversity hotspots forest management Text 2022 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 2023-08-01T07:45:16Z Apex predators, such as raptors, are used as surrogates to attain conservation objectives; however, their presence in a particular area does not necessarily mean long-term occurrence. Here we used data on long-lasting (20–40 years) territories of two generalist raptors: the diurnal Northern goshawk and the nocturnal Ural owl in deciduous and coniferous forests of southern Poland to assess their role as hotspots of bird diversity. Species richness and abundance of birds were much higher in the long-lasting territories of both apex predators than in random never-occupied sites and this pattern was common for breeding and wintering periods. These differences were more pronounced in deciduous than coniferous stands. Rare bird species (e.g., annexed in the Bird Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds such as some woodpeckers and flycatchers) were found to be particularly associated with long-lasting territories of raptors. Long-lasting territories were also characterized by greater forest habitat quality (e.g., higher number of old trees and deadwood) with lower management intensity. These results strongly point to the role of long-lasting territories of raptors as surrogates of biodiversity. Such territories, if known in forests, could be excellent for the designation of protected areas or logging there should at least be reduced to allow for the continuous breeding of apex predators and associated bird assemblages. Text Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk Strix uralensis Ural Owl MDPI Open Access Publishing Deadwood ENVELOPE(-117.453,-117.453,56.733,56.733) Forests 13 12 2128 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
northern goshawk Ural owl Accipiter gentilis Strix uralensis surrogates flagship species biodiversity hotspots forest management |
spellingShingle |
northern goshawk Ural owl Accipiter gentilis Strix uralensis surrogates flagship species biodiversity hotspots forest management Łukasz Kajtoch Bartłomiej Kusal The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year |
topic_facet |
northern goshawk Ural owl Accipiter gentilis Strix uralensis surrogates flagship species biodiversity hotspots forest management |
description |
Apex predators, such as raptors, are used as surrogates to attain conservation objectives; however, their presence in a particular area does not necessarily mean long-term occurrence. Here we used data on long-lasting (20–40 years) territories of two generalist raptors: the diurnal Northern goshawk and the nocturnal Ural owl in deciduous and coniferous forests of southern Poland to assess their role as hotspots of bird diversity. Species richness and abundance of birds were much higher in the long-lasting territories of both apex predators than in random never-occupied sites and this pattern was common for breeding and wintering periods. These differences were more pronounced in deciduous than coniferous stands. Rare bird species (e.g., annexed in the Bird Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds such as some woodpeckers and flycatchers) were found to be particularly associated with long-lasting territories of raptors. Long-lasting territories were also characterized by greater forest habitat quality (e.g., higher number of old trees and deadwood) with lower management intensity. These results strongly point to the role of long-lasting territories of raptors as surrogates of biodiversity. Such territories, if known in forests, could be excellent for the designation of protected areas or logging there should at least be reduced to allow for the continuous breeding of apex predators and associated bird assemblages. |
format |
Text |
author |
Łukasz Kajtoch Bartłomiej Kusal |
author_facet |
Łukasz Kajtoch Bartłomiej Kusal |
author_sort |
Łukasz Kajtoch |
title |
The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year |
title_short |
The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year |
title_full |
The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year |
title_fullStr |
The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Long-Lasting Territories of Forest Apex Predators Sustain Diverse Bird Communities throughout the Year |
title_sort |
long-lasting territories of forest apex predators sustain diverse bird communities throughout the year |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-117.453,-117.453,56.733,56.733) |
geographic |
Deadwood |
geographic_facet |
Deadwood |
genre |
Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk Strix uralensis Ural Owl |
genre_facet |
Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk Strix uralensis Ural Owl |
op_source |
Forests; Volume 13; Issue 12; Pages: 2128 |
op_relation |
Forest Biodiversity https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122128 |
container_title |
Forests |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2128 |
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1774724688918872064 |