Reproductive responses of temperate and boreal Tengmalm's Owl Aegolius funereus populations to spatial and temporal variation in prey availability
Abstract
Environmental variation across space and time can strongly influence life-history strategies in vertebrates. It has been shown that the reproductive success of birds of prey is closely related to food availability.
However, relatively little is known about intraspecific differences in reproductive success of birds in relation to varying ecological conditions across environmental gradients. We investigated the reproductive performance of Tengmalm's Owls Aegolius funereus in a temperate (Czech Republic, 50 degrees N) and a boreal (Finland, 63 degrees N) population in relation to long-term variations in the abundance of their main prey (small rodents).
Prey densities at the northern site were much higher, but there were also large inter-annual fluctuations and years with steep summer declines of vole densities. Northern owls laid larger clutches but offspring production per nest was similar at both study sites.
This resulted from higher nestling mortality in the northern population, especially in nests established later in the season. Despite much greater nesting losses due to predation by Pine Martens Martes martes, productivity at the population level was about four times greater at the temperate site, mainly due to the much higher breeding densities compared with Finland.
Tengmalm's Owls at the temperate study site may benefit from relatively stable prey abundance, a more diverse prey community that offers alternative prey during vole scarcity, longer nights in summer that allow more time for foraging, and a lower level of interspecific competition with other vole-specialized predators.