Invaders on the road: synanthropic bird foraging along highways.

Intercity roads potentially offer a high availability of easily accessible food and could therefore be expected to represent a preferential area for synanthropic bird foraging. As a consequence, a road-network could act as an invasion corridor for non-native urban birds. This study is a first approximation to verify such pattern of spread, by determining if foraging is actually the main activity carried out along intercity roads. With this aim, during the spring of 2011 we surveyed 200 points along the New Zealand intercity road-network, carrying out observations on four invasive synanthropic bird species (Eurasian house sparrow Passer domesticus, Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula, Eurasian starling Sturnus vulgaris and Indian myna Acridotheres tristis). For every species we also investigated: food preferences, the possibility that certain road features could affect the occurrence of feeding activity along roads, and foraging micro-habitat selection along roads. Predominant observed behaviors related to feeding activity, with differences concerning species-specific foraging strategies. Sparrows were mainly observed feeding on small-sized items (such as seeds and invertebrates), while both starlings and mynas showed more generalist feeding habits. These three species were mostly observed along the side of the lane, in contrast with blackbirds, mainly detected preying on invertebrates along the mown grassy verges of the road. Similarly to urban areas, intercity roads provide easily accessible food, available for all the study species. We propose a road-mediated invasion pattern for synanthropic birds, and encourage future studies to optimize management strategies, and targeting intercity roads as the most suitable control areas to prevent spread. Palabras clave: Bird, Highway

Datos y Recursos

Cite como

D'Amico M. Rouco C. Russell J.C. Román J. y Revilla E. Invaders on the road: synanthropic bird foraging along highways. ABECO, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4257/oeco.2013.1701.08

Clipboard Icon
Recuperado: 23 Jan 2025 07:42:55
RIS BibTeX

Metadatos
Descargar
DCAT-AP/NTI-RISP

Información básica
Tipo de recurso Texto
Fecha de creación 02-12-2024
Fecha de última modificación 23-01-2025
Mostrar histórico de cambios
Identificador de los metadatos 580d4a75-2e8a-5488-96da-0a318f3951e8
Idioma de los metadatos Español
Temáticas (NTI-RISP)
Categoría del conjunto de alto valor (HVD)
Categoría temática ISO 19115 biota
URI de palabras clave
Información bibliográfica
Nombre del autor D'Amico, M., Rouco, C., Russell, J.C., Román, J. y Revilla, E.
Nombre del editor ABECO
Identificador alternativo DOI: 10.4257/oeco.2013.1701.08
Identificador del autor
Email del autor
Web del autor
Procedencia
Declaración de linaje
Perfil de Metadatos
Notas sobre la versión
Versión