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      Threat-sensitive anti-predator defence in precocial wader, the northern lapwing Vanellus vanellus

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          Abstract

          Birds exhibit various forms of anti-predator behaviours to avoid reproductive failure, with mobbing—observation, approach and usually harassment of a predator—being one of the most commonly observed. Here, we investigate patterns of temporal variation in the mobbing response exhibited by a precocial species, the northern lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus). We test whether brood age and self-reliance, or the perceived risk posed by various predators, affect mobbing response of lapwings. We quantified aggressive interactions between lapwings and their natural avian predators and used generalized additive models to test how timing and predator species identity are related to the mobbing response of lapwings. Lapwings diversified mobbing response within the breeding season and depending on predator species. Raven Corvus corax, hooded crow Corvus cornix and harriers evoked the strongest response, while common buzzard Buteo buteo, white stork Ciconia ciconia, black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus and rook Corvus frugilegus were less frequently attacked. Lapwings increased their mobbing response against raven, common buzzard, white stork and rook throughout the breeding season, while defence against hooded crow, harriers and black-headed gull did not exhibit clear temporal patterns. Mobbing behaviour of lapwings apparently constitutes a flexible anti-predator strategy. The anti-predator response depends on predator species, which may suggest that lapwings distinguish between predator types and match mobbing response to the perceived hazard at different stages of the breeding cycle. We conclude that a single species may exhibit various patterns of temporal variation in anti-predator defence, which may correspond with various hypotheses derived from parental investment theory.

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          The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10211-016-0236-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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          R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing.

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            Agricultural intensification and the collapse of Europe's farmland bird populations.

            The populations of farmland birds in Europe declined markedly during the last quarter of the 20th century, representing a severe threat to biodiversity. Here, we assess whether declines in the populations and ranges of farmland birds across Europe reflect differences in agricultural intensity, which arise largely through differences in political history. Population and range changes were modelled in terms of a number of indices of agricultural intensity. Population declines and range contractions were significantly greater in countries with more intensive agriculture, and significantly higher in the European Union (EU) than in former communist countries. Cereal yield alone explained over 30% of the variation in population trends. The results suggest that recent trends in agriculture have had deleterious and measurable effects on bird populations on a continental scale. We predict that the introduction of EU agricultural policies into former communist countries hoping to accede to the EU in the near future will result in significant declines in the important bird populations there.
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              An analysis of nesting mortality in birds

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                natalia.krolikowska@amu.edu.pl
                Journal
                Acta Ethol
                Acta Ethol
                Acta Ethologica
                Springer Berlin Heidelberg (Berlin/Heidelberg )
                0873-9749
                1437-9546
                19 May 2016
                19 May 2016
                2016
                : 19
                : 3
                : 163-171
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Avian Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
                [2 ]School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ UK
                [3 ]South Iceland Research Centre, University of Iceland, Bankavegi, IS-800 Selfoss, Iceland
                Article
                236
                10.1007/s10211-016-0236-1
                5039224
                27738383
                036e9429-bef5-483f-8a99-5f4a7cfbc04e
                © The Author(s) 2016

                Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

                History
                : 14 January 2016
                : 26 April 2016
                : 6 May 2016
                Categories
                Original Paper
                Custom metadata
                © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and ISPA 2016

                Anthropology
                harm to offspring hypothesis,parental investment theory,predator recognition,reproductive value of offspring hypothesis

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