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Nest site habitat selection and nesting performance of the Great Bustard Otis tarda in southern Portugal: implications for conservation
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Resumo(s)
We present results on breeding parameters, nesting performance and nest habitat selection of the
globally threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda, gathered during a 3-year study in Castro Verde
(southern Portugal). A total of 107 nests were located. The estimated average onset of laying was
22 April (SD 5 12 days, n 5 8). The incubation period ranged from 25 March to 15 June. Nearly
95% of females incubated between 1 April and 31 May. Mean clutch size was 2.12 (SD 5 0.69,
n 5 86), showing no significant inter-annual differences. There was no significant relationship
between clutch size and average nest finding date, although, on average, nests were found later
each year. Hatching occurred between 21 April and 26 June. The estimated proportion of eggs
hatched per nest (hatching percentage) was 87.5% in 2002 (n 5 8), 64.0% in 2003 (n 5 33) and
75.8% in 2004 (n 5 33). Overall nesting success for the three years was 71% (n 5 107).
The main causes of nesting failure were agricultural activities, mainly ploughing and harvesting,
followed by corvid predation. Nests were spatially aggregated up to 800–1,500 m. At larger scales,
the spatial distribution of nests can be considered random or uniform. Females showed a clear
preference for nesting in cereal fields, followed by young fallows, old fallows, ploughed fields and
then other habitats, although the intensity of selection of particular habitats varied between
years. Nests were associated with both cereals and fallows, thus aggregating where those habitat
types occurred within the study area. These results provide the first complete description of the
nesting process in a Great Bustard population, as well as important cues to the assessment of
conservation measures implemented in Castro Verde, an area holding around 80% of the
Portuguese population of this species (application of EU agri-environmental schemes, power line
signalling, water-point provision in dry years)
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Otis tarda habitat nesting Portugal
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Bird Conservation International (2013) 23:323–336
Editora
Bird Life International