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Common Cuckoo home ranges are larger in the breeding season than in the non-breeding season and in regions of sparse forest cover

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Abstract

Knowledge of species’ habitat requirements can be gained from studying individual variation in home range size, under the assumption that larger home ranges reflect increased resource needs or decreased habitat quality. We used satellite telemetry to delineate home ranges of South Scandinavian Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) throughout their annual cycle. Annual stage (breeding or non-breeding period) and percentage of forest cover were good predictors of home range size. Average breeding season home ranges were ten times as large as those of non-breeding home ranges, suggesting strong temporal variation in the birds’ resource needs, and perhaps lower habitat quality in the breeding range compared to the African part of their annual range. Furthermore, although the Cuckoos rarely chose a home range with complete forest cover, we found a significant negative relationship between forest cover and home range area. This suggests that heterogeneous landscapes which include some dense forest cover constitute important habitat for Cuckoos, and that the continuing trend of forest loss in tropical Africa could reduce habitat quality for the Cuckoo in the non-breeding season.

Zusammenfassung

Die Streifgebiete von Kuckucken sind größer zur Brutzeit als außerhalb und in Regionen mit spärlicher Waldbedeckung

Kenntnisse zu Habitatansprüchen von Arten können durch Untersuchung individueller Variationen in den Reviergrößen erlangt werden unter der Annahme, dass größere Reviere einen gesteigerten Ressourcenbedarf oder eine verringerte Habitatqualität widerspiegeln. Mit Hilfe der Satellitentelemetrie ermittelten wir die ‚home ranges‘südskandinavischer Kuckucke (Cuculus canorus) im Jahresverlauf. Jahresperiode (Brut- oder Nicht-Brutzeit) und der Anteil der Waldbedeckung waren gute Prädiktoren für die Größe von Revieren. Die durchschnittlichen Reviergrößen in der Brutzeit waren zehnmal größer als die Reviere außerhalb der Brutzeit, was auf eine starke zeitliche Variation des Ressourcenbedarfs der Vögel hindeutet und möglicherweise auch auf eine geringere Habitatqualität im Brutgebiet verglichen mit dem afrikanischen Teil ihres Jahreslebensraumes. Darüber hinaus, obwohl die Kuckucke selten ein Revier mit kompletter Waldbedeckung besetzten, fanden wir einen signifikant negativen Zusammenhang zwischen Waldbedeckung und ‘home range’-Fläche. Dies lässt vermuten, dass heterogene Landschaften inklusive einiger dichter Waldbereiche ein wichtiges Habitat für Kuckucke darstellen und dass der anhaltende Trend des Waldverlustes im tropischen Afrika die Habitatqualität für Kuckucke außerhalb der Brutzeit verringern könnte.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Chris Hewson and Thomas Alerstam for comments on an early version of this manuscript. We are also grateful to Samantha Franks and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive suggestions during the review process. K.T. thanks the Danish Council for Independent Research for support through the MATCH project (1323-00048B). M.W. and K.T. acknowledge the Danish National Research Foundation for their support of the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Heather M. Williams, Mikkel Willemoes & Kasper Thorup

  2. Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University at Buffalo, 411 Cooke Hall, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Heather M. Williams

  3. Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 22362, Lund, Sweden

    Raymond H. G. Klaassen & Roine Strandberg

  4. Dutch Montagu’s Harrier Foundation and Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Groningen University, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Raymond H. G. Klaassen

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  1. Heather M. Williams
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  2. Mikkel Willemoes
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  3. Raymond H. G. Klaassen
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  4. Roine Strandberg
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  5. Kasper Thorup
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Correspondence to Heather M. Williams.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Williams, H.M., Willemoes, M., Klaassen, R.H.G. et al. Common Cuckoo home ranges are larger in the breeding season than in the non-breeding season and in regions of sparse forest cover. J Ornithol 157, 461–469 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1308-0

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