Search results for "Falcon"
showing 10 items of 73 documents
An integrated analysis of micro- and macro-habitat features as a tool to detect weather-driven constraints: A case study with cavity nesters.
2017
The effects of climate change on animal populations may be shaped by habitat characteristics at both micro- and macro-habitat level, however, empirical studies integrating these two scales of observation are lacking. As analyses of the effects of climate change commonly rely on data from a much larger scale than the microhabitat level organisms are affected at, this mismatch risks hampering progress in developing understanding of the details of the ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms and, ultimately, effective actions to preserve their populations. Cavity nesters, often with a conservation status of concern, are an ideal model because the cavity is a microenvironment potentia…
Positive demographic effects of nest surveillance campaigns to counter illegal harvest of the Bonelli's eagle in Sicily (Italy)
2017
Illegal trade in wildlife has been identified as one of the main challenges to wildlife conservation. In 2010, an illegal trade-ring trafficking in birds of prey was uncovered in Sicily (southern Italy). This illegal trade targeted the three most endangered species in Italy: Bonelli's eagle Aquila fasciata, Lanner falcon Falco biarmicus and Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus, all of them long-lived territorial raptors threatened with extinction across their European distribution. Illegal harvest primarily involved young birds and eggs taken from nests. After the discovery of these activities, surveillance camps and camera traps connected to the mobile Global System for Mobile communicat…
Onset of natal dispersal in Peregrine Falcon from Mediterranean islands (Italy)
2018
Abstract Basic information on natal dispersal of Peregrine Falcons is virtually lacking in Europe, despite increased attention on this species, and the sensitivity of this stage in the Peregrines’ life history. In this study, we collected satellite telemetry data during the onset of natal dispersal of 19 Peregrine Falcons tagged in Sicily and the Aeolian archipelago (Italy). We divided the onset of dispersal into the following 3 periods: post-fledging dependence period (PFDP), wandering, and wintering. PFDP lasted on average 47±16 days, during which young peregrines moved very little (0.167 km), and explored small areas (0.226 km2) far from the nest cliff, and showed no sex differences. The…
Genetic variability in Peregrine falcon populations of the Western Palaearctic region
2018
We analyzed variation in ten polymorphic microsatellites and a portion of cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA in 4 populations of the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). living in northern and southern Italy. Spain and Czech Republic to assess species diversity in the poorly investigated Western Palearctic region. The Spanish population lives in the contact zone between F. peregrinus peregrinus and F. p. brookei. both the northern Italian and the Czech populations live within the range of F. p. peregrinus and the southern Italian is within the F. p. brookei. We added to our cytochrome b sequence dataset comprising 81 samples. previously published mitochondrial DNA sequences (n = 31) of English …
Population size and breeding performance of the Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus in Sicily: conservation implications
2017
Capsule: We report a significant reduction in population size and breeding success for the Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus in Sicily, its biggest stronghold in Europe, since the latest coordinated survey. Aims: To provide updated information on current population size of Lanner Falcon in Sicily and to compare breeding parameters with those obtained in previous studies. Methods: We performed an intensive coordinated field survey and literature review of breeding success parameters across the species range. Results: Overall, we monitored 126 territories throughout Sicily where the species had been reported in the last 15 years. Lanner Falcons were present only in 60 of them. Mean nest productiv…
Understanding the coexistence of competing raptors by Markov chain analysis enhances conservation of vulnerable species.
2016
Understanding ecological interactions among protected species is crucial for correct management to avoid conflicting outcomes of conservation planning. The occurrence of a superior competitor may drive the exclusion of a subordinate contestant, as in Sicily where the largest European population of the lanner falcon is declining because of potentially competing with the peregrine falcon. We measured the coexistence of these two ecologically equivalent species through null models and randomization algorithms on body sizes and ecological niche traits. Lanners and peregrines are morphologically very similar (Hutchinson ratios <1.3) and show 99% diet overlap, and both of these results predict …
Arctic avian predators synchronise their spring migration with the northern progression of snowmelt
2020
AbstractMigratory species display a range of migration patterns between irruptive (facultative) to regular (obligate), as a response to different predictability of resources. In the Arctic, snow directly influences resource availability. The causes and consequences of different migration patterns of migratory species as a response to the snow conditions remains however unexplored. Birds migrating to the Arctic are expected to follow the spring snowmelt to optimise their arrival time and select for snow-free areas to maximise prey encounter en-route. Based on large-scale movement data, we compared the migration patterns of three top predator species of the tundra in relation to the spatio-te…
Predator presence may benefit: kestrels protect curlew nests against nest predators.
1994
We studied whether the presence of breeding kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) affected nest predation and breeding habitat selection of curlews (Numenius arquata) on an open flat farmland area in western Finland. We searched for nests of curlews from an area of 6 km2 during 1985–1993. For each nest found, we recorded the fate of the nest, and the distance to the nearest kestrel nest and to the nearest perch. We measured the impact of breeding kestrels on nest predation by constructing artificial curlew nests in the vicinity of ten kestrel nests in 1993. Curlew nests were closer to kestrel nests than expected from random distribution, eventhough kestrels fed on average 5.5% of curlew chick produc…
"L'albero Falcone" e i suoi epigoni. La propagazione vegetale della memoria antimafia
2021
Le stragi di Capaci e via D’Amelio segnano un punto di svolta nel linguaggio con cui i movimenti antimafia costruiscono la memoria pubblica della violenza mafiosa. Uno dei tratti salienti di questa svolta è la proliferazione di luoghi di memoria che ruotano intorno a figure arboree. Il capostipite di questa genealogia è l’albero Falcone, noto come punto di raccolta per le manifestazioni del 23 maggio, la giornata della legalità. Nel corso degli anni ’90, il modello memoriale costruito intorno all’albero si sviluppa e si diffonde, mentre sono sempre già frequenti le piantumazioni di alberi in memoria delle vittime della mafia. L’articolo cerca di esplicitare le forme semiotiche soggiacenti a…
In situ observations of new particle formation in the tropical upper troposphere: the role of clouds and the nucleation mechanism
2011
New particle formation (NPF), which generates nucleation mode aerosol, was observed in the tropical Upper Troposphere (UT) and Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) by in situ airborne measurements over South America (January–March 2005), Australia (November–December 2005), West Africa (August 2006) and Central America (2004–2007). Particularly intense NPF was found at the bottom of the TTL. Measurements with a set of condensation particle counters (CPCs) with different <i>d</i><sub>p50</sub> (50% lower size detection efficiency diameter or "cut-off diameter") were conducted on board the M-55 <i>Geophysica</i> in the altitude range of 12.0–20.5 km and on board …