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Breeding success of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and rodent population dynamics

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Abstract

The dependence of the breeding success of the eagle owl on the population dynamics of rodents, which are a staple of its diet in Mordovia, was traced. At peak numbers of rodents, large clutches and a high survival rate of fledglings were observed in the breeding pairs; after a year of depression of rodent populations, in the following year, the pairs do not nest at all or their breeding success is reduced to a minimum due to the death of the clutches. In 52% of the cases, the nesting pairs laid three eggs; in 31%, two eggs; in 9%, four eggs; in 4%, one egg or five eggs. The average clutch size was 2.78 ± 0.17. The average number of chicks grown from a successful nest was 2.41 ± 0.27. The nests in Mordovia were located at a distance of 1.1–3.7 km from residential areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mordovia State University, Saransk, 430000, Russia

    A. V. Andreychev, A. S. Lapshin & V. A. Kuznetsov

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  1. A. V. Andreychev
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  2. A. S. Lapshin
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  3. V. A. Kuznetsov
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Correspondence to A. V. Andreychev.

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Original Russian Text © A.V. Andreychev, A.S. Lapshin, V.A. Kuznetsov, 2016, published in Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 2016, Vol. 95, No. 2, pp. 204–215.

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Andreychev, A.V., Lapshin, A.S. & Kuznetsov, V.A. Breeding success of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and rodent population dynamics. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 43, 851–861 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359016080045

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