El próximo jueves 24/03/2022 a las 15:00h en la Sala Reuniones SS6 (Edificio de Cabecera, Semisótano), Andrés López (Ecología de Vertebrados Terrestres) nos hablará sobre el tema: "Habitat preferences of the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) in Eastern Spain and its consequences".
He says:
The Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) is the most abundant nocturnal raptor in Europe, but their habitat preferences in Mediterranean environments have remained poorly known. We studied breeding territories in the Special Conservancy Area ‘Sierras de Talayuelas y Aliaguilla’ (Castilla-La Mancha region, eastern Spain) and carried out nocturnal surveys by recording spontaneous calls and vocal response to playbacks. Overall, we found 60 territories in the study area (i.e., density 1,22 owls/km2). Our results show that Tawny Owls prefer lower and patchy heterogeneous areas for breeding, avoiding natural grasslands and vegetation over limestone soils. Interestingly, owls avoid breeding close to wind-farms. In conclusion, our results evidence that Tawny owls can breed at high densities in Mediterranean landscapes. However, human activities and noise disturbance as those caused by renewable energies (i.e., wind-farms) can limit potential habitat distribution of nocturnal.
Links: Flyer
