Phantom of the forest or successful citizen? Analysing how Northern Goshawks ( Accipiter gentilis ) cope with the urban environment.

Autor: Merling de Chapa M; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany., Courtiol A; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany., Engler M; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany., Giese L; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany., Rutz C; Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK., Lakermann M; Independent Researcher, Germany., Müskens G; Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), Animal Ecology Team, PO Box 47, NL-6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands., van der Horst Y; Vogeltrekstation, Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography (NIOO-KNAW), Postbus 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands., Zollinger R; Natuurplaza, PO Box 1413, NL-6501 BK Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Wirth H; Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Schleswig-Holstein, Wiesengrund 11, 22967 Tremsbüttel, Germany., Kenntner N; Independent Researcher, Germany., Krüger O; Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Morgenbreede 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany., Chakarov N; Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Morgenbreede 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany., Müller AK; Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Morgenbreede 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany., Looft V; Landesnaturschutzverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V., Burgstraße 4, 24103 Kiel, Germany., Grünkorn T; BioConsult SH, Schobüller Straße 36, 25813 Husum, Germany., Hallau A; Independent Researcher, Germany., Altenkamp R; NABU Berlin, Wollankstraße 4, 13187 Berlin, Germany., Krone O; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Royal Society open science [R Soc Open Sci] 2020 Dec 23; Vol. 7 (12), pp. 201356. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Dec 23 (Print Publication: 2020).
DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201356
Abstrakt: By 2040, roughly two-thirds of humanity are expected to live in urban areas. As cities expand, humans irreversibly transform natural ecosystems, creating both opportunities and challenges for wildlife. Here, we investigate how the Northern Goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ) is adjusting to urban environments. We measured a variety of behavioural and ecological parameters in three urban and four rural study sites. City life appeared related to all parameters we measured. Urban female goshawks were overall 21.7 (CI 95% 5.13-130) times more likely to defend their nestlings from humans than rural females. Urban goshawks were 3.64 (CI 95% 2.05-6.66) times more likely to feed on pigeons and had diets exhibiting lower overall species richness and diversity. Urban females laid eggs 12.5 (CI 95% 7.12-17.4) days earlier than rural individuals and were 2.22 (CI 95% 0.984-4.73) times more likely to produce a brood of more than three nestlings. Nonetheless, urban goshawks suffered more from infections with the parasite Trichomonas gallinae , which was the second most common cause of mortality (14.6%), after collisions with windows (33.1%). In conclusion, although city life is associated with significant risks, goshawks appear to thrive in some urban environments, most likely as a result of high local availability of profitable pigeon prey. We conclude that the Northern Goshawk can be classified as an urban exploiter in parts of its distribution.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
(© 2020 The Authors.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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