La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Management-Related Traffic as a Stressor Eliciting Parental Care in a Roadside-Nesting Bird: The European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster
Auteurs :	Julio Blas, Auteur ; Teresa Abaurrea, Auteur ; Marcello D'Amico, Auteur ; Francesca Barcellona, Auteur ; Eloy Revilla, Auteur ; Jacinto Roman, Auteur ; Martina Carrete, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	PLOS ONE (11(10) OCT 5 2016)
Article en page(s) :	e0164371-Article No.: e0164371
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	Traffic is often acknowledged as a threat to biodiversity, but its effects have been mostly studied on roads subjected to high traffic intensity. The impact of lower traffic intensity such as those affecting protected areas is generally neglected, but conservation-oriented activities entailing motorized traffic could paradoxically transform suitable habitats into ecological traps. Here we questioned whether roadside-nesting bee-eaters Merops apiaster perceived low traffic intensity as a stressor eliciting risk-avoidance behaviors (alarm calls and flock flushes) and reducing parental care. Comparisons were established within Donana National Park (Spain), between birds exposed to either negligible traffic (ca. 0-10 vehicles per day) or low traffic intensity (ca. 10-90 vehicles per day) associated to management and research activities. The frequencies of alarm calls and flock flushes were greater in areas of higher traffic intensity, which resulted in direct mortality at moderate vehicle speeds (

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