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Reliable estimates of life history parameters and their functional role in animal population trajectories are critical, yet often missing, components in conservation and management. We developed seasonal matrix population models of the Red‐tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis jamaicensis in the upper and lower forests of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico, to describe the influence of early life stages...
We analysed 25 conspecific egg ejection events from a large sample of nests (n = 762) of three passerine species. In two species, most of the events could not be explained by intraspecific brood parasitism or nest sanitation behaviour. At least some of these cases were behavioural responses to unfavourable weather conditions in the spring of 2017. We conclude that clutch size adjustment through egg...
Understanding the determinants of species’ distributions is a fundamental aim in ecology and a prerequisite for conservation but is particularly challenging in the marine environment. Advances in bio‐logging technology have resulted in a rapid increase in studies of seabird movement and distribution in recent years. Multi‐colony studies examining the effects of intra‐ and inter‐colony competition...
Reduced vocal diversity in founder populations of songbirds is particularly well described in congeners and conspecifics introduced to remote islands but has rarely been examined in species that have been introduced to both island and mainland systems across an expansive geographical range. We examined male between‐ and within‐song complexity variations between founder and native populations of the...
The best documented method to decrease predation of breeding seabirds by gulls are culling regimes; however, studies on the effectiveness of this method show ambiguous results. Here we tested an alternative method, using bamboo canes erected in four breeding sites of Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea as a gull‐deterrent. Although we found fewer predation attempts in the caned areas than in the control...
Although temperature‐correlated shifts in the timing of egg‐laying have been documented in numerous bird species, the vast majority of species examined to date have been those that breed in Europe and have an animal‐based diet during breeding. However, given that the timing of breeding can be driven, either in the proximate or in the ultimate sense, by seasonal fluctuations in food availability, the...
Agricultural intensification over the past decades has led to a generalized decline in farmland biodiversity. Farmland birds are particularly exposed to rapid changes in habitat and reduced food resources or availability. Understanding how farmland specialists can be preserved and their populations enhanced are major challenges for this century. Based on a long‐term (19‐year) study of a Eurasian Stone‐curlew...
For federally listed species such as Least Tern Sternula antillarum and Piping Plover Charadrius melodus, correct determination of nest fates and causes of nest failure is crucial for understanding population dynamics and improving monitoring programmes. We used video cameras to evaluate nest fate misclassification rate and to identify factors that may cause researchers monitoring nests at different...
Many migratory bird species are undergoing population declines as a result of potentially multiple, interacting mechanisms. Understanding the environmental associations of spatial variation in population change can help tease out the likely mechanisms involved. Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus populations have declined by 69% in England but increased by 33% in Scotland. The declines have mainly occurred...
To determine whether ground‐disturbance increased Woodlark Lullula arborea abundance, we examined responses over 3 years to four treatments varying in establishment method (shallow‐ or deep‐cultivated) and complexity (homogeneous or ‘complex‐mosaics’ comprising fallow and recently cultivated subplots), plus controls, replicated across the largest lowland grass‐heath in the UK. Abundance increased...
The Painted Bunting Passerina ciris is a Neotropical songbird which breeds primarily in the USA during the summer and migrates to Mexico, Central America, southern Florida and the Caribbean over the winter. Male Painted Buntings are brightly coloured, which makes them highly sought after as pets, particularly in Mexico, Central America and Europe. We used short sequence repeats (microsatellite DNA)...
The migratory Rufous‐thighed Kite Harpagus diodon is widely distributed in South America, and a recent spatiotemporal analysis of its distribution that was largely based on citizen science data concluded that it breeds (almost) exclusively in the Atlantic Forest, constituting a ‘hidden endemism’, and that it is a complete migrant, overwintering in the eastern Amazonian lowlands. However, that study...
Sexual segregation is common and can occur when sexes occupy different habitats, and/or when sexes aggregate assortatively within the same habitats. However, it is rarely studied in birds, with most previous work concentrating on differential settlement by the sexes in discrete habitats, often separated by large distances. Little attention has been paid to patterns of segregation within the same site...
Conservation measures often rely on habitat management, so knowledge about a species’ habitat use is a prerequisite for effective conservation planning. The Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, a medium‐sized bird native to the Palaearctic steppes and today found in extensively farmed habitats, is a threatened species. Its population experienced a 94% decline in farmland habitats in France between 1982 and...
Diet studies are crucial for understanding the ecology and evolution of species, as well as for establishing appropriate conservation and management strategies. However, they remain methodologically challenging due to variation between seasons, sites, sexes or age groups and even variation between individuals. Due to method‐specific characteristics and biases, a combination of existing techniques...
Song dialects, as a special case of geographical variation in vocalization, are useful tools in the study of a number of topics ranging from cultural evolution to the emergence of reproductive barriers, and thus continue to be the focus of many bird‐song studies. The Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella is a common Palaearctic bird with a long breeding season and song period, whose distinctive song exhibits...
Avian species respond to ecological variability at a range of spatial scales and according to life history stage. Beaver dams create wetland systems for waterbirds that are utilized throughout different stages of the breeding season. We studied how beaver‐induced variability affected mobile pairs and more sedentary broods along with the production of Common Teal Anas crecca at the patch and landscape...
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