Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece
In territorial raptors, breeding performance and foraging behaviour are affected by territory characteristics as the abundance and availability of different prey species varies between habitats. In this study, we examined the diet of two White-tailed Eagle pairs, occupying neighbouring territories i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Raptor Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2023-0002 |
| _version_ | 1797435665947820032 |
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| author | Bounas Anastasios Karta Evangelia Navarrete Elisabeth Sidiropoulos Lavrentis Alivizatos Haralambos |
| author_facet | Bounas Anastasios Karta Evangelia Navarrete Elisabeth Sidiropoulos Lavrentis Alivizatos Haralambos |
| author_sort | Bounas Anastasios |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In territorial raptors, breeding performance and foraging behaviour are affected by territory characteristics as the abundance and availability of different prey species varies between habitats. In this study, we examined the diet of two White-tailed Eagle pairs, occupying neighbouring territories in two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece. We assess the diet composition of the species in the southernmost part of its European range and evaluate any intraspecific differences in the diet that may reflect resource and/or niche partitioning between territories. We found that birds and specifically waterbirds comprise the largest and quantitatively most important part of the White-tailed Eagle´s diet, with fish being the second most important prey group that was only found in the nest remains from one territory. There was high diet overlap between the two territories and when considering only avian prey our results suggest that the species predates on heavier (and the most common) waterbird species. A main factor that could be driving differences in the abundance and availability of different prey species between territories could be lake physiography, as our results point to a segregation and a subsequent resource partitioning between territories, with each pair utilizing an adjacent lake and its associated habitats. Competition and territoriality therefore seem to be important intraspecific interactions that along with prey availability could promote changes in territory size and ultimately affect individual fitness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:50:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8458602baec141b680b4f599dbdb39dd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2644-5247 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:50:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Raptor Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-8458602baec141b680b4f599dbdb39dd2023-12-01T07:20:10ZengSciendoRaptor Journal2644-52472023-06-01171152410.2478/srj-2023-0002Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern GreeceBounas Anastasios0Karta Evangelia1Navarrete Elisabeth2Sidiropoulos Lavrentis3Alivizatos Haralambos41Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, 45110Ioannina, Greece.3Management Unit of Protected Areas of Central Macedonia, 57200Lagadas, Greece.2Hellenic Ornithological Society / BirdLife Greece, Ag. Konstantinou 52, 10437, Athens, Greece.1Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, 45110Ioannina, Greece.4Zaliki str., 115 24Athens, Greece.In territorial raptors, breeding performance and foraging behaviour are affected by territory characteristics as the abundance and availability of different prey species varies between habitats. In this study, we examined the diet of two White-tailed Eagle pairs, occupying neighbouring territories in two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece. We assess the diet composition of the species in the southernmost part of its European range and evaluate any intraspecific differences in the diet that may reflect resource and/or niche partitioning between territories. We found that birds and specifically waterbirds comprise the largest and quantitatively most important part of the White-tailed Eagle´s diet, with fish being the second most important prey group that was only found in the nest remains from one territory. There was high diet overlap between the two territories and when considering only avian prey our results suggest that the species predates on heavier (and the most common) waterbird species. A main factor that could be driving differences in the abundance and availability of different prey species between territories could be lake physiography, as our results point to a segregation and a subsequent resource partitioning between territories, with each pair utilizing an adjacent lake and its associated habitats. Competition and territoriality therefore seem to be important intraspecific interactions that along with prey availability could promote changes in territory size and ultimately affect individual fitness.https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2023-0002haliaeetus albicillaintraspecific competitionforaging ecologyniche partitioningprey remains |
| spellingShingle | Bounas Anastasios Karta Evangelia Navarrete Elisabeth Sidiropoulos Lavrentis Alivizatos Haralambos Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece Raptor Journal haliaeetus albicilla intraspecific competition foraging ecology niche partitioning prey remains |
| title | Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece |
| title_full | Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece |
| title_fullStr | Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece |
| title_short | Diet composition of White-tailed Eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece |
| title_sort | diet composition of white tailed eagles inhabiting two adjacent inland lakes in northern greece |
| topic | haliaeetus albicilla intraspecific competition foraging ecology niche partitioning prey remains |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2023-0002 |
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