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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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2075-1729/13/2/572/ 2023-08-20T04:06:25+02:00 Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia Andris Avotins Viesturs Ķerus Ainars Aunins agris 2023-02-17 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Diversity and Ecology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Life; Volume 13; Issue 2; Pages: 572 diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Strix uralensis Bubo bubo Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 2023-08-01T08:52:18Z 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. Text Fennoscandia Strix uralensis Ural Owl MDPI Open Access Publishing Life 13 2 572 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Strix uralensis Bubo bubo |
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diet breeding performance population trends Aegolius funereus Asio otus Strix aluco Strix uralensis Bubo bubo 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 Strix uralensis Bubo bubo |
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 |
Text |
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 |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Fennoscandia Strix uralensis Ural Owl |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia Strix uralensis Ural Owl |
op_source |
Life; Volume 13; Issue 2; Pages: 572 |
op_relation |
Diversity and Ecology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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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1774717464778637312 |