Skip to main content
Log in

Territory characteristics and coexistence with heterospecifics in the Dartford warbler Sylvia undata across a habitat gradient

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study of successional gradients may help to understand the relative influence of habitat structure and competition on territory characteristics. Here, we evaluate the effects of vegetation cover, conspecific and heterospecific densities, and distance to the nearest neighbor on territory size, shape, and overlap in insectivorous birds. We studied these effects along a gradient of postfire habitat regeneration in which foliage cover and densities of focal species varied several-fold. We delineate 197 territories (minimum convex polygons) of the shrub-dwelling Dartford warbler (Sylvia undata) and 255 of the syntopic Sardinian (Sylvia melanocephala), subalpine (Sylvia cantillans) and melodious (Hippolais polyglotta) warblers at three plots in NE Catalonia (Spain and France) in 1987–2005. After accounting for the effect of the number of locations used to delineate polygons, generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) showed a reduction in territory area of the Dartford warbler as conspecific density increased and distance to nearest neighbor decreased, in accordance with the contender pressure hypothesis for territory size regulation. Heterospecific density was not included in the final model of territory size and the effect of habitat structure was marginal. Territory roundness was positively correlated with its size and with conspecific density, probably in relation to energetic constraints, and negatively with heterospecific density. Territorial exclusion was almost complete among Dartford warblers, whereas interspecific territory overlap was extensive and tended to increase with heterospecific density and with structural diversity along the gradient. Our results support the hypothesis that Mediterranean warbler coexistence derives from ecological segregation and not from interspecific territoriality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams ES (1998) Territory size and shape in fire ants: a model based on neighborhood interactions. Ecology 79:1125–1134

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams ES (2001) Approaches to the study of territory size and shape. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32:277–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barg JJ, Jones J, Robertson RJ (2005) Describing breeding territories of migratory passerines: suggestions for sampling, choice of estimator, and delineation of core areas. J Anim Ecol 74:139–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bas JM, Pons P, Gómez C (2005) Home range and territory of Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala in Mediterranean shrubland. Bird Study 52:137–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Bibby CJ (1979a) Breeding biology of the Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata in England. Ibis 121:41–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bibby CJ (1979b) Mortality and movements of Dartford Warblers in England. Brit Birds 72:10–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Bibby CJ, Burgess ND, Hill DA (1997) Bird census techniques. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Both C, Visser ME (2000) Breeding territory size affects fitness: an experimental study on competition at the individual level. J Anim Ecol 69:1021–1030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brotons L, Pons P, Herrando S (2005) Colonization of dynamic Mediterranean landscapes: where do birds come from after fire? J Biogeogr 32:789–798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference. A practical information-theoretic approach, Second Ed. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan K, Augusteyn JD (2003) Relationship between bird-unit size and territory quality in three species of fairy-wrens (Malurus spp.) with overlapping territories. Ecol Res 18:73–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cody ML (1978) Habitat selection and interspecific territoriality among the Sylviid warblers of England and Sweden. Ecol Monogr 48:351–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cody ML, Walter H (1976) Habitat selection and interspecific interactions among Mediterranean sylviid warblers. Oikos 27:210–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawley MJ (2002) Statistical computing. An introduction to data analysis using S-Plus. John Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies NB (1976) Food, flocking and territorial behaviour of the pied wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii Gould) in winter. J Anim Ecol 45:235–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eason P (1992) Optimization of territory shape in heterogeneous habitats: a field study of the red-capped cardinal (Paroaria gularis). J Anim Ecol 61:411–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberhard JR, Ewald PW (1994) Food availability, intrusion pressure and territory size: an experimental study of Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 34:11–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsman JT, Seppanen JT, Monkkonen M (2002) Positive fitness consequences of interspecific interaction with a potential competitor. Proc R Soc Lond B 269:1619–1623

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fretwell SD, Lucas HL (1969) On territorial behavior and other factors influencing habitat distribution in birds. I. Theoretical development. Acta Biotheoret 19:16–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia EFJ (1983) An experimental test of competition for space between blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla and garden warblers Sylvia borin in the breeding season. J Anim Ecol 52:795–805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haila Y, Hanski IK (1987) Habitat and territory overlap of breeding passerines in the mosaic environment of small islands in the Baltic. Ornis Fenn 64:37–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrando S, Brotons L (2001) Fluctuating asymmetry in Sardinian Warblers Sylvia melanocephala inhabiting two shrublands affected by fire. Bird Study 48:180–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrando S, del Amo R, Brotons L, Llacuna S (2001) Factors influencing post-fire dynamics of Sardinian and Dartford Warblers in Mediterranean shrublands. Ornis Fenn 78:168–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Hixon MA, Carpenter FL, Paton DC (1983) Territory area, flower density, and time budgeting in hummingbirds: an experimental and theoretical analysis. Am Nat 122:366–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoenig JM, Heisey DM (2001) The abuse of power: the pervasive fallacy of power calculations for data analysis. Am Stat 55:19–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IBCC (The International Bird Census Committee) (1969) Recommendations for an international standard for a mapping method in bird census work. Bird Study 16:249–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovaty F (1992) Observations sur le comportement territorial et vocal de la Fauvette sarde (Sylvia sarda) durant un cycle de reproduction. Nos Oiseaux 41:463–487

    Google Scholar 

  • Maher CR, Lott DF (1995) Definitions of territoriality used in the study of variation in vertebrate spacing systems. Anim Behav 49:1581–1597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall MR, Cooper RJ (2004) Territory size of a migratory songbird in response to caterpillar density and foliage structure. Ecology 85:432–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin J-L (1992) Niche expansion in an insular bird community: an autecological perspective. J Biogeogr 19:375–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin J-L, Thibault J-C (1996) Coexistence in Mediterranean warblers: ecological differences or interspecific territoriality? J Biogeogr 23:169–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin PR, Martin TE (2001) Ecological and fitness consequences of species coexistence: a removal experiment with wood warblers. Ecology 82:189–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morse DH (1976) Variables affecting the density and territory size of breeding spruce-woods warblers. Ecology 57:290–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers JP, Connors PG, Pitelka FA (1979) Territory size in wintering sanderlings: the effects of prey abundance and intruder density. Auk 96:551–561

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton I (1998) Population limitation in birds. Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Norberg UM (1979) Morphology of the wings, legs and tail of three coniferous forest tits, the goldcrest, and the treecreeper in relation to locomotor pattern and feeding station selection. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 287:131–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orians GH, Willson MF (1964) Interspecific territories of birds. Ecology 45:736–745

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parejo D, Danchin E, Aviles JM (2005) The heterospecific habitat copying hypothesis: can competitors indicate habitat quality? Behav Ecol 16:96–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pons P (2001) The wintering of migrant Dunnocks Prunella modularis in two Mediterranean habitats after fire. Bird Study 48:68–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pons P, Prodon R (1996) Short term temporal patterns in a Mediterranean shrubland bird community after wildfire. Acta Oecol 17:29–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Pons P, Henry P-Y, Gargallo G, Prodon R, Lebreton J-D (2003) Local survival after fire in Mediterranean shrublands: combining capture–recapture data over several bird species. Popul Ecol 45:187–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prodon R, Lebreton J-D (1981) Breeding avifauna of a Mediterranean succession: the holm oak and cork oak series in the eastern Pyrenees, 1. Analysis and modelling of the structure gradient. Oikos 37:21–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seaman DE, Millspaugh JJ, Kernohan BJ, Brundige GC, Raedeke KJ, Gitzen RA (1999) Effects of sample size on Kernel home range estimates. J Wildl Manage 63:739–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedlacek O, Fuchs R, Exnerova A (2004) Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus and black redstart P. ochruros in a mosaic urban environment: neighbours or rivals? J Avian Biol 35:336–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman PT, Eason PK (1998) Size determinants in territories with inflexible boundaries: manipulation experiments on white-winged trumpeters’ territories. Ecology 79:1147–1159

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirihai H, Gargallo G, Helbig AJ (2001) Sylvia warblers. Christopher Helm, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Sillett TS, Rodenhouse NL, Holmes RT (2004) Experimentally reducing neighbor density affects reproduction and behavior of a migratory songbird. Ecology 85:2467–2477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith TM, Shugart HH (1987) Territory size variation in the ovenbird: the role of habitat structure. Ecology 68:695–704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smucker KM, Hutto RL, Steele BM (2005) Changes in bird abundance after wildfire: importance of fire severity and time since fire. Ecol Appl 15:1535–1549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sol D, Duncan RP, Blackburn TM, Cassey P, Lefebvre L (2005) Big brains, enhanced cognition, and response of birds to novel environments. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:5460–5465

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stefanescu C, Herrando S, Páramo F (2004) Butterfly species richness in the north-west Mediterranean Basin: the role of natural and human-induced factors. J Biogeogr 31:905–915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stenger J (1958) Food habits and available foods of Ovenbirds in relation to territory size. Auk 75:125–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland WJ, Newton I, Green AA (eds) (2004) Bird ecology and conservation: a handbook of techniques. Oxford University Press, Oxford

  • Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2001) Computer-assisted research design and analysis. Allyn & Bacon, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker GM, Heath MF (1994) Birds in Europe: their conservation status. BirdLife International, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiens JA (1989) The ecology of bird communities. Foundations and patterns. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiens JA, Rotenberry JT, Van Horne B (1985) Territory size variations in shrubsteppe birds. Auk 102:500–505

    Google Scholar 

  • Zbinden N, Blondel J (1981) Zu Raumnutzung, territorialität und legebeginn mediterraner grasmücken (Sylvia melanocephala, S. undata, S. cantillans, S. hortensis) in Südfrankreich. Der Ornithologische Beobachter 78:217–231

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank B. Batailler and the late J.P. Clara for field assistance, and D. Sol, D. Estany, L. Zamora, and E. Revilla for stimulating discussion. B. Lambert made the prescribed burning at Torderes possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pere Pons.

Additional information

Communicated by M. Soler

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Results from the GLMM models on Dartford warbler territory size, roundness and overlap (Tables 4 and 5) including all independent variables (maximal models)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pons, P., Bas, J.M., Prodon, R. et al. Territory characteristics and coexistence with heterospecifics in the Dartford warbler Sylvia undata across a habitat gradient. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 1217–1228 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0550-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0550-3

Keywords

Navigation