Changes in the tawny owl Strix aluco diet along an urbanisation gradient

The aim of this study was to describe how the diet of tawny owl changed along an urbanisation gradient. The research was conducted from 2003 to 2011 in central Poland. Pellets were collected in the following zones: the center of Warsaw, capital city of Poland (inhabited by approximately 2 million people), its outskirts and rural areas beyond the city. To investigate the differences in the percentages of the main groups of prey between the three zones, a redundancy analysis (RDA) method was implemented using CANOCO software. Sparrows, rats, pine voles and striped field mice were most connected to the city center, whereas voles (all species pooled together), northern birch mice, hazel dormice and insects were more commonly found among prey items collected in rural areas. As the outskirts were transitional areas where different habitats typical for both rural areas (such as forest complexes) and urban areas (such as parks or built-up areas) were present, no prey group was strongly connected to this landscape. Mammals were dominant in the diet in winter in all habitat types. Their share ranged from 52% (in the city center) to approximately 90% in the outskirts and rural areas. Birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects were more frequent in summer. Overall, the study confirmed high plasticity of the species as an opportunistic predator and its ability to adapt to long-term changes in its main prey in most urbanized areas.

[1]  J. Romanowski,et al.  Small mammals of the suburban areas of Warsaw in the diet of the tawny owl Strix aluco , 2020, Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae.

[2]  J. S. Marks,et al.  Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) , 2020, Birds of the World.

[3]  J. Gryz,et al.  Występowanie sów Strigiformes na terenie Leśnego Zakładu Doświadczalnego SGGW w Rogowie (środkowa Polska) , 2013 .

[4]  K. Kus,et al.  The effect of urbanization on the diet composition of the Tawny owl (Strix aluco L.) , 2013 .

[5]  J. Verboom,et al.  Factors influencing the density of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) in and around houses in Amsterdam , 2013 .

[6]  Z. Borowski.  Habitat selection and home range size of field volesMicrotus agrestis in Słowiński National Park, Poland , 2003, Acta Theriologica.

[7]  G. Lesiński,et al.  Vertebrates in the diet of the tawny owl Strix aluco in northern Podlasie (NE Poland) - comparison of forest and rural habitats , 2009 .

[8]  H. Southern.  TAWNY OWLS AND THEIR PREY , 2008 .

[9]  V. Wendland.  The influence of prey fluctuations on the breeding success of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco , 2008 .

[10]  P. Legendre,et al.  Role of habitat and landscape in structuring small mammal assemblages in hedgerow networks of contrasted farming landscapes in Brittany, France , 2007, Landscape Ecology.

[11]  C. Moser,et al.  Habitat preferences and distribution of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus Berk.) in the city of Salzburg (Austria): implications for an urban rat management , 2006, Journal of Pest Science.

[12]  Michaø › Mihorski.  DIET OF THE TAWNY OWL (STRIX ALUCO) IN THE ROMINCKA FOREST (NE POLAND) , 2006 .

[13]  L. Baltrūnaitė.  Diet and Winter Habitat use of the Red Fox, Pine Marten and Raccoon Dog in Dzūkija National Park, Lithuania , 2006 .

[14]  J. Gryz,et al.  Fluctuations of a Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Population in Central Poland , 2005 .

[15]  M. Żmihorski,et al.  Sowy Strigiformes wschodniej czesci Kampinoskiego Parku Narodowego , 2005 .

[16]  L. Salvati,et al.  Notes on the diet successful and failed breeding Tawny Owls [Strix aluco] in urban Rome, Italy , 2001 .

[17]  S. J. Petty.  Diet of tawny owls (Strix aluco) in relation to field vole (Microtus agrestis) abundance in a conifer forest in northern England , 1999 .

[18]  M. Gompper,et al.  Predation in Vertebrate Communities: The Bialowieza Primeval Forest as a Case Study , 1998 .

[19]  Dr. Bogumiła Jędrzejewska,et al.  Predation in Vertebrate Communities , 1998, Ecological Studies.

[20]  J. Millar,et al.  Life histories of Clethrionomys and Microtus (Microtinae) , 1994 .

[21]  J. Romanowski,et al.  Variation in diet of Tawny Owl Strix aluco L. along an urbanization gradient , 1993 .

[22]  P. Galeotti,et al.  Feeding ecology of the tawny owls (Strix aluco) in urban habitats (northern Italy) , 1991 .

[23]  D. Lees,et al.  Tracks & signs of the birds of Britain and Europe: An identification guide , 1987 .

[24]  Eulalia Moreno.  Clave osteológica para la identificación de los Passeriformes ibéricos. 2. Hirundinidae, Prunellidae, Sittidae, Certhiidae, Troglodytidae, Cinclidae, Laniidae, Oriolidae, Corvidae, Sturnidae, Motacillidae , 1986 .

[25]  J. Burton.  Keys to Vertebrates of Poland: Mammals , edited by Zdzislaw Pucek. English translation 1981. Available from: US Dept of Commerce , National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161, U.S.A. , 1982, Oryx.

[26]  J. Goszczyński.  Comparative analysis of food of owls in agrocenoses , 1982 .

[27]  H. Southern,et al.  Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa; the Birds of the Western Palearctic , 1978 .

[28]  J. Raczyński,et al.  The effect of digestion on the osteological composition of owl pellets , 1974 .

[29]  Eino Kostian.  Habitat requirements and breeding biology of the Root Vole, Microtus oeconomus (Pallas), on shore meadows in the Gulf of Bothnia, Finland , 1970 .

[30]  H. S. Horn,et al.  Measurement of "Overlap" in Comparative Ecological Studies , 1966, The American Naturalist.

[31]  森下.  Measuring of interspecific association and similarity between communities. , 1961 .

[32]  C. Harrison.  The Food of Some Urban Tawny Owls , 1960 .

[33]  E. Jackson.  NOTES ON DIET , 1927 .