Nest Features and Nesting Niche Segregation in Five Iberian Steppe Passerines

• Published in: Ardeola
• Main Authors: Barrero, Adrián, Cortés Caballero, Beatriz, Reverter, Margarita, Gómez-Catasús, Julia, Bustillo-de la Rosa, Daniel, Zurdo, Julia, Pérez-Granados, Cristian, Traba, Juan
• Other Authors: Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ecología, Ecología y Conservación de Poblaciones y Comunidades Animales (ECPCA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Spanish Society of Ornithology 2023
• Subjects: Coexistence; Nesting microhabitat; Nesting site; Shrub steppe; Coexistencia; Estepa arbustiva; Lugar de nidificación; Microhábitat de nidificación; Alauda arvensis; Eurasian Skylark
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/135237; https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.70.2.2023.ra4

The co-occurrence of morphologically similar species may be enabled by differences in resource use that limit the effects of interspecific competition, allowing coexistence. This study aimed to evaluate differences in nest structure and to characterise nesting microhabitats to test for nesting niche segregation among sympatric steppe passerines. From 2016 to 2019, we monitored and characterised the nest structure and nesting habitat of 71 nests from five sympatric passerines in shrub steppes in Central Spain: the Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis, the Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla, Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti, the Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris and the Western Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica. Nest structure was characterised by eight morphometric variables, while principal component analyses (PCA), MANOVA and univariate ANOVA were performed to characterise and evaluate differences in nesting microhabitat between species in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. All species built their nests under short vegetation (< 20cm) and with a similar nest depth. However, there were significant differences among species for some of the considered variables. For example, the three monitored lark species built their nests in areas with lower plant cover compared to the two non-lark species. GLM on PCA axes showed that some species differed in some aspect of nesting niche. In general, the Eurasian Skylark built its nests in areas with higher grassland cover, while the Greater Short-toed Lark selected more open areas, with a higher bare ground cover. Dupont's Lark, the Tawny Pipit and the Western Black-eared Wheatear nested mainly in shrubby areas dominated by chamaephytes. Overall, our results suggest the existence of nesting microhabitat segregation, mainly of the Eurasian Skylark with the rest of the species, which may contribute to explaining the coexistence between species that could potentially compete for nesting sites. This work contributes to understanding how differences in ...