Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Differing nest-defence behaviour in urban and rural populations of breeding Burrowing Owls

Matilde Cavalli A B , Juan Pablo Isacch A , Alejandro V. Baladrón A , Laura M. Biondi A and María Susana Bó A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Laboratorio de Vertebrados, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), CONICET – Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3350 – Mar del Plata B7602AYJ, Argentina.

B Corresponding author. Email: mcavalli@mdp.edu.ar

Emu 116(4) 428-434 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU16009
Submitted: 9 June 2015  Accepted: 17 March 2016   Published: 13 July 2016

Abstract

The behaviour of birds in urban habitats often differs from that of birds in surrounding natural and rural habitats, with the attenuation of fear responses to humans a primary behavioural adaptation to urban life. In breeding birds, fear responses and nest-defence have been linked to reproductive success. We studied the nest-defence behaviour of male Burrowing Owls in rural and urban habitats by measuring flight-initiation distance (FID), time to return to the nest following disturbance and aggressiveness of nest-defence in response to a person walking towards them during three stages of their breeding period: during incubation and during two nestling stages. Male Burrowing Owls breeding in rural habitat had longer FID than Owls breeding in urban habitat, but FID did not decrease over the breeding season whereas it did decrease over the breeding season in urban habitat. Male Owls in rural habitat were less likely to return to their nests within 10 min of disturbance than Owls in urban habitat. Lastly, aggressiveness of nest-defence of Owls breeding in rural and urban habitats was similar and increased throughout the breeding season in both habitats. Our results highlight the role of behaviour in explaining the ability of Burrowing Owls to live in a range of habitats, including successfully breeding in urban areas, and emphasise the importance of breeding stage on behavioural traits.

Additional keywords: aggression, Athene cunicularia, breeding stage, FID, flight-initiation distance, nest-return behaviour, urbanisation.


References

Andersen, D. E. (1990). Nest-defense behavior of Red-tailed Hawks. Condor 92, 991–997.
Nest-defense behavior of Red-tailed Hawks.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Andersson, M., Wiklund, C. G., and Rundgren, H. (1980). Parental defense of offspring: a model and an example. Animal Behaviour 28, 536–542.
Parental defense of offspring: a model and an example.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Baladrón, A. V., Cavalli, M., Bó, M. S., Isacch, J. P., Martínez, G., and Madrid, E. A. (2015). Body size and sexual dimorphism in the southernmost subspecies of the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia cunicularia). Journal of Raptor Research 49, 479–485.
Body size and sexual dimorphism in the southernmost subspecies of the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia cunicularia).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Bates, D., Maechler, M., and Bolker, B. (2014). lme4: linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. R package version 1.0–6. Available at http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lme4 [Accessed 1 October 2015].

Berardelli, D., Desmond, M. J., and Murray, L. (2010). Reproductive success of Burrowing Owls in urban and grassland habitats in southern New Mexico. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122, 51–59.
Reproductive success of Burrowing Owls in urban and grassland habitats in southern New Mexico.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Biondi, L. M., Bó, M. S., and Vassallo, A. I. (2010). Inter-individual and age differences in exploration, neophobia and problem-solving ability in a Neotropical raptor (Milvago chimango). Animal Cognition 13, 701–710.
Inter-individual and age differences in exploration, neophobia and problem-solving ability in a Neotropical raptor (Milvago chimango).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 20300791PubMed |

Biondi, L. M., Guido, J. M., Bó, M. S., Muzio, R. N., and Vassallo, A. I. (2015). The role of stimulus complexity, age and experience in the expression of exploratory behaviour in the Chimango Caracara, Milvago chimango. Animal Cognition 18, 139–150.
The role of stimulus complexity, age and experience in the expression of exploratory behaviour in the Chimango Caracara, Milvago chimango.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 25001402PubMed |

Bloom, P. H., Clark, W. S., and Kidd, J. W. (2007). Capture techniques. In ‘Raptor Research and Management Techniques’. (Eds D. M. Bird and K. L. Bildstein.) pp. 193–219. (Hancock House Publishers: Surrey, BC, Canada.)

Bonier, F., Martin, P. R., and Wingfield, J. C. (2007). Urban birds have broader environmental tolerance. Biology Letters 3, 670–673.
Urban birds have broader environmental tolerance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 17766238PubMed |

Brown, G. E., Demers, E. E., Joyce, B. J., Ferrari, M. C., and Chivers, D. P. (2015). Retention of neophobic predator recognition in juvenile convict cichlids: effects of background risk and recent experience. Animal Cognition 18, 1331–1338.
Retention of neophobic predator recognition in juvenile convict cichlids: effects of background risk and recent experience.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26177895PubMed |

Bub, H. (1991). ‘Bird Trapping and Bird Banding: A Handbook of Trapping Methods All Over the World.’ (Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY.)

Carrete, M., and Tella, J. L. (2010). Individual consistency in flight initiation distances in Burrowing Owls: a new hypothesis on disturbance-induced habitat selection. Biology Letters 6, 167–170.
Individual consistency in flight initiation distances in Burrowing Owls: a new hypothesis on disturbance-induced habitat selection.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 19864278PubMed |

Carrete, M., and Tella, J. L. (2011). Inter-individual variability in fear of humans and relative brain size of the species are related to contemporary urban invasion in birds. PLoS One 6, e18859.
Inter-individual variability in fear of humans and relative brain size of the species are related to contemporary urban invasion in birds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3MXlt1aisbw%3D&md5=0e0995566e539bf62b37fa9017a1b139CAS | 21526193PubMed |

Carrete, M., and Tella, J. L. (2013). High individual consistency in fear of humans throughout the adult lifespan of rural and urban Burrowing Owls. Scientific Reports 3, 3524.
High individual consistency in fear of humans throughout the adult lifespan of rural and urban Burrowing Owls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24343659PubMed |

Cavalli, M., Baladrón, A. V., Isacch, J. P., Martínez, G., and Bó, M. S. (2014). Prey selection and food habits of breeding Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) in natural and modified habitats of Argentine pampas. Emu 114, 184–188.
Prey selection and food habits of breeding Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) in natural and modified habitats of Argentine pampas.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Cavalli, M., Baladrón, A. V., Isacch, J. P., Biondi, L. M., and Bó, M. S. (2016). Differential risk perception of rural and urban Burrowing Owls exposed to humans and dogs. Behavioural Processes 124, 60–65.
Differential risk perception of rural and urban Burrowing Owls exposed to humans and dogs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26718884PubMed |

Chace, J. F., and Walsh, J. J. (2006). Urban effects on native avifauna: a review. Landscape and Urban Planning 74, 46–69.
Urban effects on native avifauna: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Christensen, R. H. B. (2012). Regression models for ordinal data. R package version 2015.6–28. Available at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/ordinal/index.html [Accessed 1 October 2015].

Cooke, A. S. (1980). Observations on how close certain passerine species will tolerate an approaching human in rural and suburban areas. Biological Conservation 18, 85–88.
Observations on how close certain passerine species will tolerate an approaching human in rural and suburban areas.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Evans, J., Boudreau, K., and Hyman, J. (2010). Behavioural syndromes in urban and rural populations of Song Sparrows. Ethology 116, 588–595.

Fisher, R. J., Poulin, R. G., Todd, L. D., and Brigham, R. M. (2004). Nest stage, wind speed, and air temperature affect the nest defence behaviours of Burrowing Owls. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82, 707–713.
Nest stage, wind speed, and air temperature affect the nest defence behaviours of Burrowing Owls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Galeotti, P., Tavecchia, G., and Bonetti, A. (2000). Parental defence in Long-eared Owls Asio otus: effects of breeding stage, parent sex and human persecution. Journal of Avian Biology 31, 431–440.
Parental defence in Long-eared Owls Asio otus: effects of breeding stage, parent sex and human persecution.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

García, V., and Conway, C. J. (2009). Use of video probe does not affect Burrowing Owl reproductive parameters or return rates. Journal of Wildlife Management 73, 154–157.
Use of video probe does not affect Burrowing Owl reproductive parameters or return rates.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Li, C., Monclús, R., Maul, T. L., Jiang, Z., and Blumstein, D. T. (2011). Quantifying human disturbance on antipredator behavior and flush initiation distance in Yellow-bellied Marmots. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 129, 146–152.
Quantifying human disturbance on antipredator behavior and flush initiation distance in Yellow-bellied Marmots.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Lima, S. L. (2009). Predators and the breeding bird: behavioral and reproductive flexibility under the risk of predation. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 84, 485–513.
Predators and the breeding bird: behavioral and reproductive flexibility under the risk of predation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 19659887PubMed |

Marks, J. S., Canning, R. J., and Mikkola, H. (1994). Family Strigidae (Typical Owls). In ‘Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds’. (Eds J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot and J. Sargatal.) pp. 76–242. (Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.)

Martin, D. (1973). Selected aspects of Burrowing Owl ecology and behavior. Condor 75, 446–456.

Martínez, G. (2013). Nest-site selection and nesting success of the Burrowing Owl: importance of microscale variables. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Marzluff, J. M. (2001). Worldwide urbanization and its effects on birds. In ‘Avian Ecology and Conservation in an Urbanizing World’. (Eds J. Marzluff, R. Bowman and R. Donnelly.) pp. 19–47. (Springer: New York.)

McKinney, M. L. (2006). Urbanization as a major cause of biotic homogenization. Biological Conservation 127, 247–260.
Urbanization as a major cause of biotic homogenization.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Minias, P. (2015). Successful colonization of a novel urban environment is associated with an urban behavioural syndrome in a reed nesting waterbird. Ethology 121, 1178–1190.
Successful colonization of a novel urban environment is associated with an urban behavioural syndrome in a reed nesting waterbird.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Møller, A. P. (2008a). Flight distance of urban birds, predation and selection for urban life. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63, 63–75.
Flight distance of urban birds, predation and selection for urban life.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Møller, A. P. (2008b). Flight distance and population trends in European breeding birds. Behavioral Ecology 19, 1095–1102.
Flight distance and population trends in European breeding birds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Møller, A. P. (2009). Successful city dwellers: a comparative study of the ecological characteristics of urban birds in the Western Palearctic. Oecologia 159, 849–858.
Successful city dwellers: a comparative study of the ecological characteristics of urban birds in the Western Palearctic.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 19139922PubMed |

Møller, A. P., and Ibáñez-Álamo, J. D. (2012). Escape behaviour of birds provides evidence of predation being involved in urbanization. Animal Behaviour 84, 341–348.
Escape behaviour of birds provides evidence of predation being involved in urbanization.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Montgomerie, R. D., and Weatherhead, P. J. (1988). Risks and rewards of nest defence by parent birds. Quarterly Review of Biology 63, 167–187.
Risks and rewards of nest defence by parent birds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Neufeld-Cohen, A., Tsoory, M. M., Evans, A. K., Getselter, D., Gil, S., Lowry, C. A., and Chen, A. (2010). A triple urocortin knockout mouse model reveals an essential role for urocortins in stress recovery. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, 19020–19025.
A triple urocortin knockout mouse model reveals an essential role for urocortins in stress recovery.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3cXhsVCqsbvN&md5=ca81ac45b51611700e3c9f78adf995d7CAS | 20937857PubMed |

Partecke, J., Gwinner, E., and Bensch, S. (2006). Is urbanisation of European Blackbirds (Turdus merula) associated with genetic differentiation? Journal für Ornithologie 147, 549–552.
Is urbanisation of European Blackbirds (Turdus merula) associated with genetic differentiation?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Pedrana, J., Isacch, J. P., and Bó, M. S. (2008). Habitat relationships of diurnal raptors at local and landscape scales in southern temperate grasslands of Argentina. Emu 108, 301–310.
Habitat relationships of diurnal raptors at local and landscape scales in southern temperate grasslands of Argentina.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Pinheiro, J. C., and Bates, D. M. (2000). ‘Mixed-Effects Models in S and S-PLUS’. (Springer: New York.)

Poulin, R. G., Todd, L. D., Dohms, K. M., Brigham, R. M., and Wellicome, T. I. (2005). Factors associated with nest- and roost-burrow selection by Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) on the Canadian prairies. Canadian Journal of Zoology 83, 1373–1380.
Factors associated with nest- and roost-burrow selection by Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) on the Canadian prairies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Poulin, R., Todd, L. D., Haug, E. A., Millsap, B. A., and Martell, M. S. (2011). Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia). In ‘The Birds of North America Online’. (Ed. A. Poole.) No. 061. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Ithaca, NY.) Available at bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/061/articles/introduction [Accessed 1 October 2015].

R Development Core Team (2015). ‘R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing.’ (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria.) Available at http://www.R-project.org [Accessed 1 October 2015].

Rankin, C. H., Abrams, T., Barry, R. J., Bhatnagar, S., Clayton, D. F., Colombo, J., Coppola, G., Geyer, M. A., Glanzman, D. L., Marsland, S., McSweeney, F. K., Wilson, D. A., Wu, C. F., and Thompson, R. F. (2009). Habituation revisited: an updated and revised description of the behavioral characteristics of habituation. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 92, 135–138.
Habituation revisited: an updated and revised description of the behavioral characteristics of habituation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18854219PubMed |

Rebolo-Ifrán, N., Carrete, M., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Rodríguez-Martínez, S., Cabezas, S., Marchant, T. A., and Tella, J. L. (2015). Links between fear of humans, stress and survival support a non-random distribution of birds among urban and rural habitats. Scientific Reports 5, 13723.
Links between fear of humans, stress and survival support a non-random distribution of birds among urban and rural habitats.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26348294PubMed |

Rodriguez-Martínez, S., Carrete, M., Roques, S., Rebolo-Ifrán, N., and Tella, J. L. (2014). High urban breeding densities do not disrupt genetic monogamy in a bird species. PLoS One 9, e91314.
High urban breeding densities do not disrupt genetic monogamy in a bird species.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24614308PubMed |

Rodríguez-Prieto, I., Fernández-Juricic, E., Martín, J., and Regis, Y. (2009). Antipredator behavior in Blackbirds: habituation complements risk allocation. Behavioral Ecology 20, 371–377.
Antipredator behavior in Blackbirds: habituation complements risk allocation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sih, A., Ferrari, M. C., and Harris, D. J. (2011). Evolution and behavioural responses to human-induced rapid environmental change. Evolutionary Applications 4, 367–387.
Evolution and behavioural responses to human-induced rapid environmental change.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 25567979PubMed |

Sol, D., Lapiedra, O., and González-Lagos, C. (2013). Behavioural adjustments for a life in the city. Animal Behaviour 85, 1101–1112.
Behavioural adjustments for a life in the city.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sproat, T. M., and Ritchison, G. (1993). The nest defense behavior of Eastern Screech-Owls: effects of nest stage, sex, nest type and predator location. Condor 95, 288–296.
The nest defense behavior of Eastern Screech-Owls: effects of nest stage, sex, nest type and predator location.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Warren, P., Tripler, C., Bolger, D., Faeth, S., Huntly, N., Lepczyk, C., and Walker, J. (2006). Urban food webs: predators, prey, and the people who feed them. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 87, 387–393.
Urban food webs: predators, prey, and the people who feed them.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |