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No adverse effects on Lesser Spotted Eagle breeding in an area of high White-tailed Eagle density

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Abstract

Mesopredators frequently suffer lethal and/or non-lethal negative effects when breeding in sympatry with more powerful apex predators. The recent recovery of the White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla (WTE) population throughout its range indicates the return of the largest predator of the raptor communities there. In this study, we assess the importance of habitat overlap and spatial distribution to the reproduction of the Lesser Spotted Eagle Clanga pomarina (LSE), a species that breeds sympatrically in areas of high WTE density near the Baltic Sea, but is three times smaller than the latter. Fewer water bodies surround the nesting sites of the LSE, and it uses agricultural areas and transitional habitats more frequently than the WTE. The same breeding territories are faithfully occupied by the LSE annually, irrespective of the distance between these and those of the WTE. We found that the breeding success of the LSE was not affected by the proximity or breeding output of the nearest pair of WTEs, nor was this affected by the number of WTE pairs present within a 3-km radius of nests. Our data suggest that the smaller LSE coexists with an abundant top predator without any obvious adverse effects on its population dynamics.

Zusammenfassung

In Gebieten mit hoher Seeadler-Dichte zu brüten, hat für Schreiadler keine Nachteile

Schwächeren Greifvögeln entstehen oft tödliche oder fast-tödliche Nachteile, wenn sie sympatrisch mit deutlich stärkeren Greifvögeln brüten. Die Erholung der Seeadlerpopulationen (Haliaeetus albicilla) in letzter Zeit bedeutete eine Rückkehr des größten aller Greifvögel. In dieser Studie untersuchten wir, wie wichtig Habitatüberlappung und räumliche Verteilung für den Fortpflanzungserfolg des nur ein Drittel so großen Schreiadlers (Clanga pomarina) sind, der sympatrisch mit Seeadlern in Gebieten nahe der Ostsee brütet, in denen die Seeadlerdichte besonders hoch ist. Im Vergleich zu den Seeadlern gab es um die Brutplätze der Schreiadler herum weniger Gewässer, und sie nutzten landwirtschaftlich genutzte Flächen und Übergangshabitate häufiger als die Seeadler. Unabhängig von ihrem Abstand zu den Seeadlern benutzten die Schreiadler jedes Jahr genau die gleichen Brutplätze. Der Fortpflanzungserfolg der Schreiadler war unbeeinträchtigt von der Entfernung zum nächstgelegenen Seeadlerpaar und dessen Bruterfolg wie auch von der Anzahl von Seeadlerpaaren innerhalb eines Umkreises von 3 km. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass der kleinere Schreiadler ohne feststellbaren Nachteil für seine Populationsdynamik mit großen Greifvögeln koexistieren kann.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Phil Whitfield and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable contributions, which greatly improved early drafts of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Research Centre, Akademijos Street 2, 08412, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Deivis Dementavičius, Daiva Vaitkuvienė, Mindaugas Dagys & Rimgaudas Treinys

  2. T. Ivanauskas Zoological Museum, Laisvės Avenue 106, 44253, Kaunas, Lithuania

    Deivis Dementavičius & Saulius Rumbutis

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  1. Deivis Dementavičius
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  2. Saulius Rumbutis
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Correspondence to Rimgaudas Treinys.

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Dementavičius, D., Rumbutis, S., Vaitkuvienė, D. et al. No adverse effects on Lesser Spotted Eagle breeding in an area of high White-tailed Eagle density. J Ornithol 160, 453–461 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01625-2

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