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Résumé :
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Human activity on a river significantly influenced the behaviour of urban Eurasian Coots outside the breeding season, as the birds spent more time swimming in response to boat traffic. Urbanization is associated with a range of environmental changes that influence animal behaviour. Urban animals respond to anthropogenic disturbances in various ways; however, their first visible response is typically behavioural, resembling antipredator reactions such as fleeing. I assessed the effects of human activities and environmental variables on multiple behavioural traits in Eurasian Coots wintering in the centre of a densely populated city (Belgrade, Serbia). Using multivariate models, I examined the effects of anthropogenic disturbance, air temperature, wind speed, time of day and flock size on several categories of Eurasian Coot behaviour simultaneously. Focal birds devoted different proportions of time to different activities, depending on anthropogenic disturbance, air temperature, wind speed, time of day and flock size. Exposure to boat traffic increased the time that Eurasian Coots spent swimming. Feeding activity declined around midday and was negatively associated with wind speed; self-maintenance behaviour increased with rising air temperature, while swimming activity decreased with flock size. This study provides evidence that anthropogenic disturbance negatively affected the behaviour of urban Eurasian Coots, which spent more time swimming at the expense of fitness-enhancing activities, such as feeding and preening.
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