Territoriality in diurnal raptors: relative roles of recent evolution, diet and nest site

Autor: Lorenzo Pérez-Camacho, Gonzalo García-Salgado, Salvador Rebollo, Patricia L. Kennedy, Sara Martínez-Hesterkamp, Ignacio Morales-Castilla
Přispěvatelé: Universidad de Alcalá. Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
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Popis: Animal territoriality, defined here as defence of well-delimited breeding areas to exclude competitors, has beenwidely studied. However, the phylogenetic and ecological characteristics influencing the variation in the expressionof this behaviour are poorly understood. We evaluated the effect of phylogeny and key ecological factors on territorialbehaviour and territory size in diurnal raptors from the western Palearctic and New World. To our knowledge, ourwork is the first comparative analysis of raptor territorial behaviour and territory size that accounts for phylogeneticrelationships. One important finding is that territorial behaviour has not been strongly conserved across evolutionarytime, but differences in territoriality of diurnal raptors have been influenced by recent evolution, which has ledto variations of this behaviour in response to changes in climate and habitat. Raptor current ecology is also associatedwith the expression of these traits. Species that capture more agile prey and nest in more protected sites weremost likely to be territorial. Additionally, territorial species that are bigger and capture more agile and bigger preydefended larger territories than species feeding on more vulnerable and smaller prey. We discuss potential mechanismsfor these patterns and the implications of our findings for future research on avian territoriality.
Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología-CICYT
REMEDINAL
Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia
Databáze: OpenAIRE