期刊
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
卷 72, 期 12, 页码 2282-2286出版社
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.07.013
关键词
Desert; Gibber; Prey choice; Rodent; Small mammal
The letter-winged kite Elanus scriptus is unique in being the only truly nocturnal raptor (Falconiformes). An endemic of arid/semi-arid Australia, the kite is sympatric with the barn owl, Tyto alba, throughout most of its range. Although the letter-winged kite is nocturnal, it seems to possess intermediate degrees of adaptation for nocturnal hunting, whereas the barn owl is specialized for nocturnal activity. We studied sympatric populations of both species during a rodent population Outbreak in the north-west Simpson Desert to understand how their different nocturnal adaptations influenced diet and prey selection. The commonest rodents, in order of abundance, were Pseudomys australis (body mass: 40-75 g), P. hermannsburgensis (9-17 g), and Notomys alexis (27-45 g). Rodents dominated the diets of kites (96% of 225 prey items) and owls (98% of 303 prey items). Dietary niche breadth was relatively low for both kites (B-A = 0.16) and owls (B-A = 0.13), whereas niche overlap was extremely high (O = 0.98). Barn owls exhibited greater prey choice, specifically; they selected the larger P. australis and avoided the small P. hermannsburgensis, whereas kites captured Pseudomys species in proportion to their availability. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据