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The effects of colony size interacting with extra food supply on the breeding success of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

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Abstract

In the present study, we evaluated the effect of distance to food from rubbish dumps and colony size on White Stork breeding success. Waste from poultry farms is expanding in the study area and is commonly used by the White Stork as a new food resource, which may explain the increase in the number of breeding Storks in the region. The study was carried out at 24 sites, including 88 different colonies of White Stork in northern Algeria, Sétif (36°09′N, 05°26′E; 900 m.a.s.l.); over a 4-year period (2002–2005) with considerable variation in rainfall. Nests were monitored at different distances from 30 rubbish dumps emanating largely from chicken farms. Results of the General Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) showed that breeding success of White Stork was dependent upon distance to dumps, recording the highest values in nests close to these places with food supply. There was a highly significant interaction between the year and the distance to the rubbish dumps. That is, reproductive success was higher when there was extra food in all years except in 2002, which could be due to the very low rainfall during spring 2002. Also, we found a significant interaction between colony size and distance to a rubbish dump. Results suggest that White Stork breeding success was also affected by natural food resources, since bigger colonies may deplete natural prey sooner, which is more evident in dry years.

Zusammenfassung

Koloniegröße und zusätzliches Nahrungsangebot beeinflussen gemeinsam den Bruterfolg beim Weißstorch ( Ciconia ciconia )

In der vorliegenden Studie bewerten wir den Einfluss der Entfernung zum Nahrungsangebot durch Mülldeponien und der Koloniegröße auf den Bruterfolg von Weißstörchen. Abfälle von Geflügelfarmen nehmen im Untersuchungsgebiet zu und werden gemeinhin von den Weißstörchen als neue Nahrungsquelle genutzt, was die Zunahme brütender Störche in der Region erklären könnte. Die Untersuchung fand in 24 Gebieten mit insgesamt 88 verschiedenen Weißstorch-Kolonien in Nordalgerien, Sétif (36°09′N, 05°26′O; 900 m über dem Meeresspiegel), statt; sie umfasste einen Zeitraum von vier Jahren (2002–2005), die sich beträchtlich in den Niederschlagsmengen unterschieden. Wir beobachteten Nester in unterschiedlichem Abstand zu 30 Müllabladestellen, die überwiegend von Hühnerfarmen herrührten. Die Ergebnisse der GLMM-Analysen zeigten, dass der Bruterfolg der Weißstörche von der Entfernung zu den Deponien abhängig war; hierbei wurden die höchsten Werte für Nester nahe bei diesen Nahrungsquellen ermittelt. Es bestand ein hochsignifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen dem Jahr und der Entfernung zu den Mülldeponien; das heißt, der Reproduktionserfolg war mit Zusatznahrung höher, und zwar in allen Jahren außer 2002, was auf die sehr geringen Niederschlagsmengen im Frühjahr 2002 zurückzuführen sein könnte. Außerdem entdeckten wir einen signifikanten Zusammenhang zwischen der Koloniegröße und der Entfernung zur Mülldeponie. Diese Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass der Bruterfolg der Weißstörche ebenfalls von natürlichen Nahrungsquellen beeinflusst wurde, da größere Kolonien natürlich vorkommende Beutetiere schneller dezimieren können, was in trockenen Jahren deutlicher zutage tritt.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all persons who helped us with the field work. We are particularly grateful to the farmers who kindly allowed us to carry out this work on their properties and provided us with useful information. We would like to express our thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their comments, which improved the manuscript. This work was carried out in compliance with the current laws in Algeria.

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Correspondence to Francisco S. Tortosa.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Djerdali, S., Guerrero-Casado, J. & Tortosa, F.S. The effects of colony size interacting with extra food supply on the breeding success of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia). J Ornithol 157, 941–947 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1343-5

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