Bibliothèque Tour du Valat

Se connecter

Mot de passe oublié ?
Pas encore inscrit ?

La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Détail

Ajouter au panier

Ajouter au panier

Lien vers la notice

Titre :	Little Owl Athene noctua density and habitat preferences in urban Rome, Italy.
Auteurs :	Luca Salvati, Auteur ; Alberto Manganaro, Auteur ; Lamberto Ranazzi, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Vogelwelt (Die) (123(3) 2002)
Article en page(s) :	155-160
Résumé :	The Little Owl, a territorial owl widespread in Mediterranean Europe but declining in central Europe, occurs mainly in lowland areas, provided that a quantity of suitable nest sites is available in quarries, towers or farm houses. In urban areas Little Owls benefit from the abundance of nest sites and prey. However, the expansion of built-up areas causes a considerable reduction of the hunting grounds bordering city centres and the green corridors between suitable patches. Urban habitats may represent a model to study the effect of fragmentation, loss of original habitats, and human disturbance on breeding populations of this vulnerable owl. We studied the density of Little Owls breeding in inner Rome, Italy. The composition of 19 breeding territories is characterised and contrasted with 15 randomly selected sites from the same area. Breeding density of Little Owls ranged between 2.0 territories/km2 in the suburbs to 5.0 territories/km2 in the inner city likely following the increase of suitable nest sites found in the city centre. Strictly built-up areas covered on average 74% and 83% of the total surface in occupied territories and random plots, respectively. Ruderal areas covered at average 5% and 0.1% of the total surface in occupied and random plots. Green areas covered an average 19% of the surface of occupied territories and 15% in random plots. Stepwise discriminant function analysis carried out on habitat proportion variables in occupied and random plots provided a model based on the proportions of ruderal areas and street trees. Habitat diversity, proportion of green areas, and vegetation structure are also important variables which discriminate between territories and random plots. Both modern and ancient built-up areas are tolerated provided that nest sites are available, which is the case in the historic centre of Rome. Areas with interspersion of ruderal, built-up, and green areas seem to constitute the optimal habitat configuration for the Little Owl. Overall, habitat fragmentation did not affect territory occupation. Effective protection measures in cities should concern both nest site conservation in old buildings and protection of relict open lands bordering city centres.

FAQ

Infos pratiques

Heures d'ouverture et contact

Lundi , mardi et jeudi de 9h à 12h et de 13h à 17h00 : ouverture au public ...

Liens utiles

A-
A
A+