Journal
IBIS
Volume 156, Issue 2, Pages 433-441Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12148
Keywords
Apodemus; food condition; reproduction; winter; wood mice
Categories
Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation [PPOA-102913, 31003A_120517]
- Foundation De Giacomi
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) [31003A_120517] Funding Source: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
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In the temperate zone, food availability and winter weather place serious constraints on European Barn Owl Tyto alba populations. Using data collected over 22years in a Swiss population, we analysed the influence of early pre-breeding food conditions and winter severity on between-year variations in population size and reproductive performance. To estimate pre-breeding food conditions, we attempted a novel approach based on an index that combines Tawny Owl Strix aluco reproductive parameters and the occurrence of wood mice Apodemus sp. in their diet. Tawny Owls breed earlier in the season than Barn Owls and are strongly dependent on the abundance of wood mice for breeding. This index was strongly positively associated with the number of breeding pairs and early breeding in the Barn Owl. Winter severity, measured by snow cover and low temperatures, had a pronounced negative influence on the size of the breeding population and clutch size. Food conditions early in the breeding season and winter severity differentially affect the Barn Owl life cycle. We were able to use aspects of the ecology and demography of the Tawny Owl as an indicator of the quality of the environment for a related species of similar ecology, in this case the Barn Owl.
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