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Este artículo contiene 10 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tabla., Synchrony can have important consequences for long-term metapopulations persistence, community dynamics and ecosystems functioning. While the causes and consequences of intra-specific synchrony on population size and demographic rates have received considerable attention only a few factors that may affect inter-specific synchrony have been described. We formulate the hypothesis that food subsidies can buffer the influence of environmental stochasticity on community dynamics, disrupting and masking originally synchronized systems. To illustrate this hypothesis, we assessed the consequences of European policies implementation affecting subsidy availability on the temporal synchrony of egg volume as a proxy of breeding investment in two sympatric marine top predators with differential subsidy use. We show how 7-year synchrony appears on egg volume fluctuations after subsidy cessation suggesting that food subsidies could disrupt interspecific synchrony. Moreover, cross correlation increased after subsidy cessation and environmental buffering seems to act during synchronization period. We emphasize that subsidies dynamics and waste management provide novel insights on the emergence of synchrony in natural populations., This work has been partially supported by Balearic Government, Ministry of Education (FPU2012-000869), Ministry of Economy (IBISESCGL2013- 42203-R and RESET-CGL2017-85210- P) and EU project MINOW (H2020-634495). It was partially funded by the EU FEDER regional funds. ASA was supported by a Ramo´n y Cajal contract (RYC-2017- 22796) funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacio´n y Universidades, the Agencia Estatal de Investigacio´n and the ESF. MG was supported by a postdoctoral contract co-funded by the Regional Government of the BI and the ESF (PD/023/2015).

Long-lived avian scavengers are threatened worldwide and thus, are common targets of conservation plans. However, scientific evidence of both the factors limiting populations and effectiveness of management actions are greatly needed in order to develop more efficient and successful conservation strategies. We assessed the effectiveness of conservation actions applied within a LIFE-Nature project aimed at improving the long-term survival of the critically endangered Canarian Egyptian vulture: including education campaigns for public awareness and control of illegal poisoning and the modification of power lines to reduce the risk of accidents. We formulated a multievent capture–mark–recapture model to obtain estimates of survival for juvenile, subadult and adult birds accounting for probabilities of resight, recovery and losses of metal and colour rings. Models supported a substantial enhancement in survival for subadult and adult birds and a moderate improvement for juveniles after the implementation of LIFE actions. Ring loss probabilities became notably high in the middle to long term. Poisoning events became very rare after LIFE was implemented, suggesting a positive effect of environmental education and awareness campaigns. Entanglements and collisions in power lines were also efficiently mitigated. Instead, electrocutions became the most identified cause of death in the post-LIFE stage. Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight the improvement of survival in a threatened island vulture population after the implementation of a European LIFE conservation project. On small islands, with small human populations and few stakeholders, education and awareness campaigns can be especially effective for biodiversity conservation. We also demonstrate the need to complement conservation programmes with long-term monitoring, which is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of actions, especially for long-lived species.

Dispersal propensity has been correlated with personality traits, conspecific density and predation risk in a variety of species. Thus, changes in the relative frequency of behavioural phenotypes or in the ecological pressures faced by individuals in contrasting habitats can have unexpected effects on their dispersal strategies. Here, using the burrowing owl Athene cunicularia as a study model, we test whether changes in the behavioural profile of individuals and changes in conspecific density and predation pressure associated with urban life influence their breeding dispersal decisions compared to rural conspecifics. Our results show that breeding dispersal behaviour differs between rural and urban individuals. Site fidelity was lower among rural than among urban birds, and primarily related to an individual’s behaviours (fear of humans), which has been reported to reflect individual personality. In contrast, the main determinant of site fidelity among urban owls was conspecific density. After taking the decision of dispersing, urban owls moved shorter distances than rural ones, with females dispersing farther than males. Our results support a personality-dependent dispersal pattern that might vary with predation risk. However, as multiple individuals of two populations (one urban, one rural) were used for this research, differences can thus also be caused by other factors differing between the two populations. Further research is needed to properly understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of changes in dispersal behaviours, especially in terms of population structuring and gene flow between urban and rural populations.

In some vertebrate species, family units are typically formed when sexually mature individuals delay dispersal and independent breeding to remain as subordinates in a breeding group. This behaviour has been intensively studied in gregarious species but has also been described in non-social species where ecological and evolutionary drivers are less known. Here, we explore factors that favour delayed dispersal and family living and potential benefts associated with this strategy in a non-social, monogamous species (the burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia) occupying urban and rural habitats. Our results show that family units arise when frst-year individuals, mainly males, delay their dispersal to stay in their natal nests with their parents. This delayed dispersal, while still uncommon, was more prevalent in urban (7%) than in rural (3%) habitats, and in areas with high conspecifc density and productivity. Birds delaying dispersal contributed to the genetic pool of the ofspring in 25% of the families analysed, but did not increase the productivity of the nests where they remained. However, their presence was related to an improvement in the body condition of chicks, which was ultimately linked to a slightly positive efect in ofspring future survival probabilities. Finally, delayed dispersers were recruited as breeders in high-quality urban territories and closer to their natal nests than individuals dispersing during their frst year of life. Thus, our results suggest that delaying dispersal may be mainly related to opportunities to inheriting a good quality territory, especially for males. Our study contributes to understanding the role played by habitat quality in promoting delayed dispersal and family living, not only in social but also non-social species, highlighting its impact in the ecology and evolution of animal populations

Este artículo contiene 10 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla., Stochasticity in food availability influences vital rates such as survival and fertility. Life-history theory predicts that in longlived organisms, survival should be buffered against environmental stochasticity showing little temporal variability. Furthermore, to optimize survival prospects, many animal species perform migrations to wintering areas where food availability is larger. Species with large latitudinal distribution ranges may show populations that migrate and others that are resident, and they may co-occur in winter. One example of these species is the predatory raptor buzzard Buteo buteo. Here, we test whether temporal variability in the density of five small mammal species of prey inhabiting different habitats (shrubland and forests) influences local annual survival of buzzards in a wintering area depending on their age and residency status (residents versus wintering individuals). We found that prey density explained a considerable amount of annual changes in local survival, which was higher for older and resident birds. This difference in local survival likely corresponded to philopatry to the wintering area, which was larger for residents and increased when prey density was larger. The total density of prey inhabiting open shrublands was the variable explaining more variance in temporal variability of local survival, even though the study area is mostly occupied by woodlands. Temporal population dynamics of the different small mammals inhabiting shrublands were not synchronous, which suggests that buzzards preyed opportunistically on the most abundant prey each winter. Generalist predation may buffer the impact of resource unpredictability for pulsed and asynchronous prey dynamics, typical of small mammals in winter., Funding Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Regional conservation agencies (Diputació de Barcelona, Dept. de Territori i Sostenibilitat -Generalitat de Catalunya) provided financial support to SEMICE. JG funded on his own all fieldwork research on buzzards. ASA was supported by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Science (RYC-2017-22796).

Events of non-natural mortality in human-dominated landscapes are especially challenging for populations of large vertebrates with K strategies. Among birds, vultures are one of the most threatened groups experiencing sharp population declines due to non-natural mortality. Factors causing non-natural mortality are usually studied separately. However, the potential use of an integrated index able to predict large-scale mortality risks of avian scavengers could be especially useful for planning conservation strategies. Here, we used the Human Footprint index to examine the impact of landscape anthropization on the survival rates of 66 GPS-tagged adult Eurasian griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in two Spanish regions. Foraging in more anthropized areas resulted in a significantly higher individual mortality risk mainly due to collisions with vehicles, poisonings, electrocutions and fatalities with wind turbines. Mean yearly survival rates were estimated at 0.817 ± 0.043 SE and 0.968 ± 0.018 SE for individuals from the more and less anthropized regions, respectively. Additional research should investigate whether some vulture populations could be acting as sinks unnoticed due to metapopulation dynamics. From a broader point of view, our study shows that a straightforward Human Footprint was a useful index to predict the survival of top scavengers and can be highly applicable to planning large-scale conservation measures., This research was funded by the Project RNM-1925 (Junta de Andalucía), the Project CGL2015-66966-C2-1-2-R (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and EU/ERDF) and the Project RTI2018-099609-B-C21 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and EU/ERDF). “Roads Less Travelled” project (DiversEarth, Trashumancia y Naturaleza and Yolda Initiative) also contributed to this research. EA was supported by La Caixa-Severo Ochoa International PhD Program 2015. ASA and ACA by a post-doctoral contract Viçent Mut (PD/003/2016 and PD/039/2017, respectiely) co-funded by the Govern Balear and European Social Funds. ASA was also supported by a Spanish Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017-22796) funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Social Found. JMPG was supported by a Juan de la Cierva research contract (FJCI-2015-25632).

Mate searching is a key component of sexual reproduction that can have important implications for population viability, especially for the mate‐finding Allee effect. Interannual sperm storage by females may be an adaptation that potentially attenuates mate limitation, but the demographic consequences of this functional trait have not been studied. Our goal is to assess the effect of female sperm storage durability on the strength of the mate‐finding Allee effect and the viability of populations subject to low population density and habitat alteration. We used an individual‐based simulation model that incorporates realistic representations of the demographic and spatial processes of our model species, the spur‐thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca). This allowed for a detailed assessment of reproductive rates, population growth rates, and extinction probabilities. We also studied the relationship between the number of reproductive males and the reproductive rates for scenarios combining different levels of sperm storage durability, initial population density, and landscape alteration. Our results showed that simulated populations parameterized with the field‐observed demographic rates collapsed for short sperm storage durability, but were viable for a durability of one year or longer. In contrast, the simulated populations with a low initial density were only viable in human‐altered landscapes for sperm storage durability of 4 years. We find that sperm storage is an effective mechanism that can reduce the strength of the mate‐finding Allee effect and contribute to the persistence of low‐density populations. Our study highlights the key role of sperm storage in the dynamics of species with limited movement ability to facilitate reproduction in patchy landscapes or during population expansion. This study represents the first quantification of the effect of sperm storage durability on population dynamics in different landscapes and population scenarios., We find that sperm storage is an effective mechanism that can reduce the strength of the mate‐finding Allee effect and contribute to the persistence of low‐density populations, especially in altered landscapes. Our study represents the first quantification of the effect of sperm storage durability on population dynamics in different landscapes and population scenarios.

A common complication in invasive pest management is that the infectious state of the host can be wrongly assessed, leading to biases in the estimation of the prevalence of the pest and on the efficacy of mitigation actions. We designed a multievent model that accommodates uncertainty on host state to investigate the dynamics of the infestation of Phoenix canariensis by the invasive Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. Since 2011, the council of Palma city (Mallorca Island, Spain) applied preventive, curative and destructive treatments to public Phoenix palms. A year later awareness campaigns focused on every palm owner in an attempt to control the plague. We estimated the probability of infestation and assessed the efficiency of mitigation measures, awareness campaigns and palm-dependent covariates. Our results show that infestation probabilities were higher for palms infested in the previous year than for healthy palms and it decreased substantially over time as a results of mitigation measures and awareness campaigns. Palms surrounded by treated palms had a lower probability of being infested than palms surrounded by untreated palms, i.e. private palms before awareness campaigns implementation. Our results highlight the key role of awareness campaigns and public participation for invasive species control., A.S.A. was supported by a ‘Vicenç Mut’ contract co-funded by the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands and the European Social Fund (PD/003/2016) and a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017- 22796) funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Social Found (“El Fondo Social Europeo invierte en tu futuro”).

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), is a highly invasive species and a vector of several viruses of serious concern to public health. Investigating the habitat selection of this species at small to medium scales is essential to the planning of effective prevention and control campaigns. The present group considered detailed data for this species' presence/absence collected at 228 sites on Mallorca Island (Spain) in autumn 2015, 3 years after the first detection of the species on the island. Site occupancy models accounting for false negative detections and imperfect monitoring were used to evaluate the relationships between mosquito presence and habitat variables. In the study area, mosquito presence was negatively associated with altitude, probably as a result of greater human presence at low altitudes near the coast. Moreover, the presence of Ae. albopictus was positively associated with swimming pools as a result of associated gardens, plants and sources of fresh water. These two variables were combined to predict the presence of the species across the entire island.

The nominate race of the greater crested tern Thalasseus bergii breeds only along the coast of the Benguela region (west coast) of southern Africa, where its population is increasing, in contrast t...

Este artículo contiene 7 páginas, 3 figuras., Predators are an important ecological and evolutionary force shaping prey population dynamics. Ecologists have extensively assessed the lethal effects of invasive predators on prey populations. However, the role of non-lethal effects, such as physiological stress or behavioural responses like dispersal, has been comparatively overlooked and their potential population effects remain obscure. Over the last 23 years, we developed a mark-recapture program for the Audouin’s gull and an intensive carnivore monitoring program to assess how the appearance and invasion of the study site by carnivores affects population dynamics. We evaluate changes in turnover of discrete breeding patches within the colony, age structure and breeding performance. Once carnivores entered the colony, the number of occupied patches increased, indicating a higher patch turnover. Breeders responded by moving to areas less accessible to carnivores. More importantly, the presence of carnivores caused differential (and density-independent) breeding dispersal: experienced, better-performing breeders were more likely to leave the colony than younger breeders. This differential dispersal modified the age structure and reduced the reproductive performance of the population. Our results confirm the importance experience in the study of populations. The role of differential dispersal for animal population dynamics might be more important than previously thought, especially under scenarios of global change., RESET (ref.CGL2017-85210-P), FPU (ref. FPU2012-000869), IBISES (ref. CGL2013-42203-R) and MINOW (ref. H2020- 634495). ASA and MG are supported by a postdoctoral contract co-funded by the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands and the European Social Fund (ref. PD/003/2016 and PD/023/2015).

Este artículo contiene 14 páginas, 5 tablas, 5 figuras, 2 apéndices., Life-history traits of migratory seabirds are influenced by changing conditions at breeding and wintering grounds. Climatic conditions and predation are known to impact populations’ survival rates, but few studies examine their effect simultaneously. We used multievent capture–recapture models to assess mortality due to environmental conditions and predation in breeding European storm petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) in two allopatric colonies (Mediterranean and Atlantic). Predatory mortality at the colonies showed annual variation, being around 0.05 in certain years. Mortality at sea differed between the two oceanic basins, and was lower in the Mediterranean colony [0.11, 95% CI (0.09, 0.14)] when compared to the Atlantic colony [0.18, 95% CI (0.15, 0.22)]. The Western Mediterranean Oscillation index (WeMOi) explained 57% of the temporal variability in mortality of Mediterranean breeders. In comparison, 43% of the temporal variability in mortality of Atlantic breeders was explained by the winter St Helena index (wHIX) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation index (wENSO). Our results suggest that Mediterranean breeders remain in this basin for wintering where they may face lower migratory costs and more favourable environmental conditions. In contrast, Atlantic breeders’ mortality may be due to higher cost of migration, changing upwelling conditions in the Benguela current and heavy storms over their migratory route during La Niña events. This study underlines the importance of modelling separately different causes of mortality when testing the effects of climatic covariates., The study on Enez Kreiz was conducted with financial support of the Conseil Départemental du Finistère, the DREAL Bretagne—Ministry of environment, the MPAs Agency—Iroise National Marine Park and the Conseil Régional de Bretagne. Furthermore, we are indebted to Environmental Monitoring Service of Benidorm Island (Natural Park Serra Gelada-Generalitat Valenciana).

There is a growing need to understand how species respond to habitat changes and the potential key role played by natal dispersal in population dynamics, structure and gene flow. However, few studies have explored differences in this process between conspecifics living in natural habitats and those inhabiting landscapes highly transformed by humans, such as cities. Here, we investigate how individual traits and social characteristics can influence the natal dispersal decisions of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) living in urban and rural areas, as well as the consequences in terms of reproductive success and apparent survival. We found short dispersal movements among individuals, with differences between urban and rural birds (i.e., the former covering shorter distances than the latter), maybe because of the higher conspecific density of urban compared to rural areas. Moreover, we found that urban and rural females as well as bold individuals (i.e., individuals with shorter flight initiation distance) exhibited longer dispersal distances than their counterparts. These dispersal decisions have effects on individual fitness. Individuals traveling longer distances increased their reproductive prospects (productivity during the first breeding attempt, and long term productivity). However, the apparent survival of females decreased when they dispersed farther from their natal territory. Although further research is needed to properly understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of dispersal patterns in transformed habitats, our results provide information about the drivers and the consequences of the restricted natal movements of this species, which may explain its population structuring through restricted gene flow between and within urban and rural areas.

Ticks can negatively affect their host by direct effects as blood feeding causing anaemia or discomfort, or by pathogen transmission. Consequently, ticks can have an important role in the population dynamics of their hosts. However, specific studies on the demographic effects of tick infestation on seabirds are still scarce. Seabird ticks have also the potential to be responsible for the circulation of little known tick-borne agents, which could have implications for non-seabird species. Here, we report the results of investigations on potential associations between soft tick Ornithodoros maritimus load and reproductive parameters of storm petrels Hydrobates pelagicus breeding in a large colony in a cave of Espartar Island, in the Balearic archipelago. We also investigated by molecular analyses the potential viral and bacterial pathogens associated with O. maritimus ticks present at the colony. Lower nestling survival was recorded in the most infested area, deep in the cave, compared to the area near the entrance. The parasite load was negatively associated with the body condition of the nestlings. One pool of ticks tested positive for West Nile virus and 4 pools tested positive for a Borrelia species which was determined by targeted nested PCR to have a 99% sequence identity with B. turicatae, a relapsing fever Borrelia. Overall, these results show that further investigations are needed to better understand the ecology and epidemiology of the interactions between ticks, pathogens and Procellariiform species., This Project was partially funded by the Govern Balear (Acciones Especiales, AAEE031/2017) and the Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Universities (RESET, ref: CGL2017-85210-P). ASA was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Universities Innovation and Universities, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Social Found (RYC-2017- 22796).

Bird migration studies have been given added impetus recently thanks to the miniaturisation of tracking devices. However, tracking methodologies have remained impractical for the smallest pelagic species and so important gaps in knowledge still exist. In the case of the European Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus, while Atlantic populations are thought to overwinter along the south-western African coast, the winter quarters of Mediterranean birds remain more enigmatic. We performed stable isotope analysis (SIA) of C and N on P1, S8 and P10 feathers from 33 adult birds captured in three Atlantic colonies and 156 adult birds in seven western Mediterranean colonies to infer their wintering areas. In addition, we collated all observational field data, both from peer-reviewed publications and the wider literature, to complement our inferences from SIA. Within the Atlantic, isotopic profiles of feathers moulted at the breeding grounds (P1) differed between birds captured at northern Atlantic and Canary Islands colonies, but were similar for feathers moulted in winter quarters (S8 and P10), indicating low migratory connectivity. Isotopic values of feathers from western Mediterranean birds differed from those of Atlantic birds and showed Mediterranean values for all feathers, indicating that the former overwinter in Mediterranean waters. Variance in the isotopic values was greater in winter than in breeding season feathers, suggesting that birds disperse over larger areas in winter. Isotopic values of feathers moulted during the non-breeding period could match a post-breeding movement towards the southern and eastern Mediterranean. This inference matches the distribution of the few winter reports, which are mainly concentrated in the south-central Mediterranean, mostly in the Tunisian Platform. Our results suggest that this region is the principal wintering area of Mediterranean Storm-petrels.-Martínez, C., Roscales, J.L., Sanz-Aguilar, A. & González-Solís, J. (2019). Inferring the wintering distribution of the Mediterranean populations of European Storm-petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis from stable isotope analysis and observational field data., Financial support was provided by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (CGL2009-11278/BOS), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CGL2013-42585-P and CGL2013-42203-R), Conselleria d’Agricultura, Medi Ambient i Territori des Illes Balears and Fondos FEDER.

Demographic parameters in wild populations are expected to be shaped by individual covariates and environmental variability. Thus, the understanding of the effects of age and/or environmental conditions on variability in vital rates is of special importance in ecological and evolutionary studies. Early age-related improvements in survival and reproduction and later declines due to senescence are expected, above all in long-lived species. Survival in these species is predicted to be a more conservative parameter than reproduction, thereby giving rise to less temporal variability. We studied age-dependent patterns of survival and breeding success in a long-lived seabird, the Mediterranean Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis, and the additive influence of individual heterogeneity and environmental climatic variables using 22 years of individual-based data (1993–2014). The North Atlantic Oscillation index (NAO) and sea surface temperature (SST) were selected as proxies of environmental conditions in both breeding and wintering areas. Our results show that vital rates improved with age for both survival and breeding success. A slow effect of senescence at older ages was detected for breeding success, whereas models did not disentangle the occurrence or the absence of actuarial senescence. Reproduction was also influenced by the age of first observed reproduction: at the same age, more experienced birds that recruited earlier had a higher breeding success than less experienced ones. Breeding success (but not survival) also showed great temporal variability in accordance with theoretical predictions. Neither the NAO nor the SST explained this variability, probably because petrels feed on lower trophic levels than most pelagic seabirds and other physical features such as river runoffs and winds may be involved, as well as other environmental stressors such as predation by sympatric gulls.

In evolutionary and ecological studies, demographic parameters are commonly derived from detailed information collected on a limited number of individuals or in a confined sector of the breeding area. This partial monitoring is expected to underestimate survival and recruitment processes because individuals marked in a monitored location may move to or recruit in an unobservable site. We formulate a multi-event capture-recapture model using E-SURGE software which incorporates additional information on breeding dispersal and the proportion of monitored sites to obtain unbiased estimates of survival and recruitment rates. Using simulated data, we assessed the biases in recruitment, survival and population growth rate when monitoring 10-90% of the whole population in a short- and a long-lived species with low breeding dispersal. Finally, we illustrate the approach using real data from a long-term monitoring program of a colony of Scopoli's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea. We found that demographic parameters estimated without considering the proportion of the area monitored were generally underestimated. These biases caused a substantial error in the estimated population growth rate, especially when a low proportion of breeding individuals were monitored. The proposed capture-recapture model successfully corrected for partial monitoring and provided robust demographic estimates. Synthesis and applications. In many cases, animal breeding populations can only be monitored partially. Consequently, recruitment and immature survival are underestimated, but the extent of these biases depends on the proportion of the area that remains undetected and the degree of breeding dispersal. We present a new method to obtain robust and unbiased measures of survival and recruitment processes from capture-recapture data. The method can be applied to any monitored population regardless of the type of nests (e.g. artificial or natural) or breeding system (e.g. colonial or territorial animals), and it only relies on an estimate of the proportion of the monitored area. The unbiased estimates obtained by this method can be used to improve the reliability of predictions of demographic population models for species' conservation and management., Research funds were provided by the Spanish Ministries of Science, Economy and Competitiveness (refs. BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS, CGL2009-08298, CGL2013-42203-R, JCI-2011-09085)

Identifying important foraging areas is fundamental to detecting the demographic drivers of a species and ultimately to plan conservation measures. For some species, such as small pelagic seabirds, foraging grounds are difficult to locate and remain largely unknown. We used miniaturised GPS devices (∼0.95g) to study foraging movements of Mediterranean Storm-petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis during the incubation period. A total of 43 individuals at Benidorm colony (southwestern Mediterranean Sea) were tracked during a single foraging trip. We first assessed potential negative effects of the tracking devices. We recorded 22 complete foraging trips and measured home-range, foraging areas and the degree of overlap among individuals. We used first passage time analyses (FPT) to differentiate foraging/resting from flying/travelling activities and to infer potential foraging areas. All tracked birds returned to the colony. On average, individual body weight slightly decreased after foraging trips, suggesting a small immediate negative effect of the device. Tracked birds had high breeding success (0.71). Foraging trips lasted between 1 and 4.5 days with the total distance travelled ranging between 303.14 and 1,726.53km. The visited areas covered the whole south-western part of the Mediterranean Sea. Tracked individuals shared more than 50% of their home-range areas. Foraging areas were located further from the colony than previously thought (from 240 to 469km away) on deep sea areas of the Alboran Sea and Cartagena Canyons. Further studies are needed to locate foraging grounds during other life-cycle periods and to evaluate repeatability yearly, in order to determine the important marine areas for the species.—Rotger, A., Sola, A., Tavecchia, G. & Sanz-Aguilar, A. (2021). Foraging far from home: GPS-tracking of Mediterranean Storm-petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis reveals long-distance foraging movements. Ardeola, 68: 3-16., Funds were provided by the project CNME19/0301/39 from the Generalitat Valenciana and the project CGL2017-85210-P from the Spanish Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities. ASA was supported by a “Ramon y Cajal” fellowship (RYC-2017-22796) and GT was supported by I. Hendriks.

Technological advances such as camera traps, and citizen science, coupled with advanced quantitative approaches, can help fill existing knowledge gaps and aid effective conservation. We combine citizen and camera trap observations to estimate survival of the Endangered lappet-faced vulture, assess the relative contribution of data from camera traps and citizens, as well as impact of loss of individual marks (wing tags), on survival estimates. We used data from 762 lappet-faced vultures wing tagged as nestlings during 2006–2017 in western Namibia. Observations of wing tagged individuals were provided by citizens or via camera traps. We formulated a multievent capture-mark-recapture model to estimate survival while accounting for probabilities of resighting by citizens and/or camera traps, recovery of dead individuals, and loss of the wing tag. Survival was relatively high for juveniles (0.79), and increased with age to 0.95. Citizen observations of live and dead birds were low in number. However, when combined with camera trap resightings of live individuals, citizen observations increased the precision of survival estimates of birds older than one year compared to using data from either sources separately. Wing tag loss was high after 5–6 years of tag age. If neglected, tag loss can result in severe underestimation of survival of the older age classes. Overall, we show that filling ecological knowledge gaps is possible through the efficient use of data provided by different sources, and by applying state-of the art approaches that minimise potential biases, such as those due to tag loss., AS thanks Academy of Finland (grant n. 307909). VMP was funded by Academy of Finland (278759) and the Finnish Cultural Foundation. ASA was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017-22796) funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Social Fund.

Many species only show sexual dimorphism at the age of maturity, such that juveniles typically resemble females. Under these circumstances, estimating accurate age-specific demographic parameters is challenging. Here, we propose a multievent model parameterization able to estimate age-dependent survival using capture–recapture data with uncertainty in age and sex assignment of individuals. We illustrate this modeling approach with capture–recapture data from the ring-necked parakeet Psittacula krameri. We analyzed capture, recapture, and resighting data (439 recaptures/resightings) of 156 ring-necked parakeets tagged with neck collars in Barcelona city from 2003 to 2016 to estimate the juvenile and adult survival rate. Our models successfully estimated the survival probabilities of the different age classes considered. Survival probability was similar between adults (0.83, 95% CI = 0.77–0.87) and juveniles during their second (0.79, 95% CI = 0.58–0.87) and third winter (0.83, 95% CI = 0.65–0.88). The youngest juveniles (1st winter) showed a slightly lower survival (0.57, 95% CI = 0.37–0.79). Among adults, females showed a slightly higher survival than males (0.87, 95% CI = 0.78–0.93; and 0.80, 95% CI = 0.73–0.86, respectively). These high survival figures predict high population persistence in this species and urge management policies. The analysis also stresses the usefulness of multievent models to estimate juvenile survival when age cannot be fully ascertained., The present study was funded by CGL‐2016‐79568‐C3‐3‐P research project to JCS from the Spanish Research Council (Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness). ASA was supported by a postdoctoral contract cofunded by the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands and the European Social Fund (ref. PD/003/2016). Rings were provided by the Catalan Ringing Office (ICO). We also wish to acknowledge the support provided by COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology Actions ES1304 “ParrotNet” for the development of this manuscript.

Reproductive timing in many taxa plays a key role in determining breeding productivity , and is often sensitive to climatic conditions . Current climate change may alter the timing of breeding at different rates across trophic levels, potentially resulting in temporal mismatch between the resource requirements of predators and their prey . This is of particular concern for highertrophic-level organisms, whose longer generation times confer a lower rate of evolutionary rescue than primary producers or consumers. However, the disconnection between studies of ecological change in marine systems makes it difficult to detect general changes in the timing of reproduction5 . Here, we use a comprehensive meta-analysis of 209 phenological time series from 145 breeding populations to show that, on average, seabird populations worldwide have not adjusted their breeding seasons over time (−0.020 days yr−1 ) or in response to sea surface temperature (SST) (−0.272 days °C−1 ) between 1952 and 2015. However, marked between-year variation in timing observed in resident species and some Pelecaniformes and Suliformes (cormorants, gannets and boobies) may imply that timing, in some cases, is affected by unmeasured environmental conditions. This limited temperature-mediated plasticity of reproductive timing in seabirds potentially makes these top predators highly vulnerable to future mismatch with lower-trophic-level resources Fil: Keogan, Katharine. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido Fil: Daunt, Francis. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Reino Unido Fil: Wanless, Sarah. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Reino Unido Fil: Phillips, Richard A.. British Antarctic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Walling, Craig A.. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido Fil: Agnew, Philippa. Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony; . Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Ainley, David G.. HT Harvey and Associates; Estados Unidos Fil: Anker-Nilssen, Tycho. Norwegian Institute For Nature Research; Noruega Fil: Ballard, Grant. Point Blue Conservation Science; Estados Unidos Fil: Barrett, Robert T.. Uit The Arctic University Of Norway; Noruega Fil: Barton, Kerry J.. Landcare Research; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Bech, Claus. Norges Teknisk-naturvitenskapelige Universitet; Noruega Fil: Becker, Peter. Institut Fur Vogelforschung "vogelwarte Helgoland"; Alemania Fil: Berglund, Per-Arvid. University of Agricultural Sciences. Institute of Marine Research, Department of Aquatic Resources; Suecia Fil: Bollache, Loïc. Universite de Bourgogne; Francia Fil: Bond, Alexander L.. Memorial University Of Newfoundland; Canadá Fil: Bouwhuis, Sandra. Institut Fur Vogelforschung "vogelwarte Helgoland"; Alemania Fil: Bradley, Russell W.. Point Blue Conservation Science; Estados Unidos Fil: Burr, Zofia M.. The University Centre In Svalbard; Noruega Fil: Camphuysen, Kees. University of Utrecht; Países Bajos Fil: Catry, Paulo. Ispa - Instituto Universitário; Portugal Fil: Chiaradia, Andre. Monash University; Australia. Phillip Island Nature Park; Australia Fil: Christensen-Dalsgaard, Signe. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; Noruega Fil: Cuthbert, Richard. Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds; Reino Unido Fil: Dehnhard, Nina. Universiteit Antwerp; Bélgica Fil: Descamps, Sébastien. Norwegian Polar Institute; Noruega Fil: Diamond, Tony. University Of New Brunswick; Canadá Fil: Divoky, George. Friends of Cooper Island; Estados Unidos Fil: Drummond, Hugh. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Dugger, Katie M.. United States Geological Survey; Estados Unidos Fil: Dunn, Michael J.. British Antarctic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Emmerson, Louise. Australian Antarctic Division; Australia Fil: Erikstad, Kjell Einar. Norwegian Polar Institute; Noruega Fil: Fort, Jérôme. Université de la Rochelle; Francia Fil: Fraser, William. Polar Oceans Research Group; Estados Unidos Fil: Genovart, Meritxell. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; España Fil: Gilg, Olivier. Universite de Bourgogne; Francia. Groupe de Recherches En Ecologie Arctique; Fil: González-Solís, Jacob. Universidad de Barcelona; España Fil: Granadeiro, José Pedro. Universidade de Lisboa; Portugal Fil: Grémillet, David. University Of Cape Town; Sudáfrica Fil: Hansen, Jannik. University Aarhus; Dinamarca Fil: Hanssen, Sveinn A.. Norwegian Institute For Nature Research; Noruega Fil: Harris, Mike. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Reino Unido Fil: Hedd, April. Environment Canada; Canadá Fil: Hinke, Jefferson. National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration; Estados Unidos Fil: Igual, José Manuel. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; España Fil: Jahncke, Jaime. Point Blue Conservation Science; Estados Unidos Fil: Jones, Ian. Memorial University Of Newfoundland; Canadá Fil: Kappes, Peter J.. Oregon Cooperative Fish And Wildlife Research Unit; Estados Unidos Fil: Lang, Johannes. Groupe de Recherche en Ecologie Arctique; Francia Fil: Langset, Magdalene. Norwegian Institute For Nature Research; Noruega Fil: Lescroël, Amélie. Géosciences Montpellier; Francia Fil: Lorentsen, Svein-Håkon. Norwegian Institute For Nature Research; Noruega Fil: Lyver, Phil O'B.. Landcare Research; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Mallory, Mark. Acadia University; Canadá Fil: Moe, Børge. Norwegian Institute For Nature Research; Noruega Fil: Montevecchi, William A.. Memorial University Of Newfoundland; Canadá Fil: Monticelli, David. University Of Coimbra, Marine And Environmental Sciences Center; Portugal Fil: Mostello, Carolyn. Massachusetts Division Of Fisheries And Wildlife; Estados Unidos Fil: Newell, Mark. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Reino Unido Fil: Nicholson, Lisa. Halfmoon Biosciences; Australia Fil: Nisbet, Ian. I. C. T. Nisbet & Company; Estados Unidos Fil: Olsson, Olof. Stockholms Universitet; Suecia Fil: Oro, Daniel. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; España Fil: Pattison, Vivian. Laskeek Bay Conservation Society; Canadá Fil: Poisbleau, Maud. Universiteit Antwerp; Bélgica Fil: Pyk, Tanya. Deakin University; Australia Fil: Quintana, Flavio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Ramos, Jaime A.. University Of Coimbra, Marine And Environmental Sciences Center; Portugal Fil: Ramos, Raül. Universidad de Barcelona; España Fil: Reiertsen, Tone Kirstin. Norwegian Polar Institute; Noruega Fil: Rodríguez, Cristina. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Ryan, Peter. University Of Cape Town; Sudáfrica Fil: Sanz-Aguilar, Ana. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; España Fil: Schmidt, Niels M.. University Aarhus; Dinamarca Fil: Shannon, Paula. National Audubon Society Seabird Restoration Program; Estados Unidos Fil: Sittler, Benoit. Groupe de Recherche en Ecologie Arctique; Francia Fil: Southwell, Colin. Australian Antarctic Division; Australia Fil: Surman, Christopher. Halfmoon Biosciences; Australia Fil: Svagelj, Walter Sergio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentina Fil: Trivelpiece, Wayne. Bolinas; Estados Unidos Fil: Warzybok, Pete. Point Blue Conservation Science; Estados Unidos Fil: Watanuki, Yutaka. Hokkaido University; Japón Fil: Weimerskirch, Henri. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia Fil: Wilson, Peter R.. Landcare Research; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Wood, Andrew G.. British Antarctic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Phillimore, Albert B.. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido Fil: Lewis, Sue. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido

Invasive species face new environmental conditions in their areas of introduction. A correct timing of reproduction is crucial for the successful adjustment of individuals to their environments, yet the temporal aspects of the niche are a neglected subject in the study of biological invasions. When introduced, exotic species could successfully invade new habitats by making use of ecological opportunities, e.g. empty temporal Eltonian niches. Specifically, they may achieve this via conservatism of their native reproductive phenology and/or via plasticity in their reproductive timing. Here we compare the reproductive phenology of a marshland passerine community composed of five successfully established tropical exotic species and twelve coexisting Mediterranean native species along four consecutive years. Both groups showed large differences in their phenology, with exotics reproducing along more months and later in the year than natives. One exotic species even breeds only in late summer and early autumn, when virtually all natives have ceased breeding and when overall bird abundance as well as primary production in cultivated areas (rice fields) were highest. Nonetheless, estimates of population sizes and juvenile survival rates in the study area suggest that late breeding is not maladaptive but instead highly successful. The striking difference in reproductive timing suggests that the exotics may be taking advantage of a vacant Eltonian temporal niche, possibly generated by high resource availability in human-transformed habitats (rice fields and other croplands) in the study area. This study highlights the need to also consider the temporal aspects of the niche when studying invasions.

Large body-sized avian scavengers, including the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), are globally threatened due to human-related mortality so guidelines quantifying the efficacy of different management approaches are urgently needed. We used 14. years of territory and individual-based data on a small and geographically isolated Spanish population to estimate survival, recruitment and breeding success. We then forecasted their population viability under current vital rates and under management scenarios that mitigated the main sources of non-natural mortality at breeding grounds (fatalities from wind farms and illegal poisoning). Mean breeding success was 0.68 (SD. = 0.17) under current conditions. Annual probabilities of survival were 0.72 (SE. = 0.06) for fledglings and 2. yr old non-breeders, 0.73 (SE. = 0.04) for non-breeders older than 2. yrs old and 0.93 (SE. = 0.04) for breeders. Probabilities of recruitment were 0 for birds aged 1-4, 0.10 (SE. = 0.06) for birds aged 5 and 0.19 (SE. = 0.09) for older birds. Population viability analyses estimated an annual decline of 3-4% of the breeding population under current conditions. Our results indicate that only by combining different management actions in the breeding area, especially by removing the most important causes of human-related mortality (poisoning and collisions on wind farms), will the population grow and persist in the long term. Reinforcement with captive breeding may also have positive effects but only in combination with the reduction in causes of non-natural mortality. These results, although obtained for a focal species, may be applicable to other endangered populations of long-lived avian scavengers inhabiting southern Europe.

Large terrestrial long-lived birds (including raptors) are typically sedentary on islands, even when they are migratory on the mainland. Density-dependent variation in the age at first breeding has been described as responsible for the long-term persistence of long-lived bird populations on islands. However, sedentary island populations may also benefit from higher survival rates derived from the absence of migration costs, especially for young individuals. Thus, sedentary island populations can mimic a natural experiment to study migration costs. We estimated the age-dependent survival of two sedentary raptors on the island of Menorca (Egyptian vultures Neophron percnopterus and red kites Milvus milvus) and compared these estimates with those reported for other migratory and sedentary populations. In Menorca, Egyptian vultures, but not red kites, showed low levels of human-related mortality resulting in extremely high survival probabilities, probably due to different diet choices and behavioral patterns. Juvenile Egyptian vultures and red kites in the studied population had lower survival probabilities than adults. This difference, however, was smaller than those reported for mainland migrant populations, which showed a lower juvenile survival rate. In fact, between-population comparisons suggested that survival of the young in migrant populations may be triggered by mortality factors in wintering areas. In contrast, adult survival may respond to mortality factors in breeding areas. Our results suggest that raptor species that become sedentary on islands may benefit from higher pre-breeder survival prospects in comparison with their mainland migrant counterparts. This fact, in combination with an earlier age at first reproduction, may facilitate their persistence.

Este artículo contiene 7 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla., Studying colonisation is crucial to understand metapopulations, evolutionary ecology and species resilience to global change. Unfortunately, few empirical data are available because field monitoring that includes empty patches at large spatiotemporal scales is required. We examine the colonisation dynamics of a long-lived seabird over 34 years in the western Mediterranean by comparing population and individual data from both source colony and the newly-formed colonies. Since social information is not available, we hypothesize that colonisation should follow particular dispersal dynamics and personal information must be crucial in decision making. We test if adverse breeding conditions trigger colonisation events, if personal information plays a role in colonisation and if colonisers experience greater fitness. Our results show a temporal mismatch between colonisation events and both density-dependence and perturbations at the source colony, probably because colonisers needed a longer prospecting period to compensate for the lack of public information. Colonisers were mostly experienced individuals gaining higher breeding success in the new colony. Our results highlight the demographic value that experienced individuals can have on metapopulation dynamics of social longlived organisms., FPU (ref. FPU2012-000869), IBISES (ref. CGL2013- 42203-R) and MINOW (ref. H2020-634495)

In long-lived species, the age-, stage- and/or sex-dependent patterns of survival and reproduction determine the evolution of life history strategies, the shape of the reproductive value, and ultimately population dynamics. We evaluate the combined effects of age and sex in recruitment, breeder survival and breeding success of the globally endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), using 31- years of exhaustive data on marked individuals in Spain. Mean age of first reproduction was 7-yrs for both sexes, but females showed an earlier median and a larger variance than males. We found an agerelated improvement in breeding success at the population level responding to the selective appearance and disappearance of phenotypes of different quality but unrelated to within-individual aging effects. Old males (≥8 yrs) showed a higher survival than both young males (≤7 yrs) and females, these later in turn not showing aging effects. Evolutionary trade-offs between age of recruitment and fitness (probably related to costs of territory acquisition and defense) as well as human-related mortality may explain these findings. Sex- and age-related differences in foraging strategies and susceptibility to toxics could be behind the relatively low survival of females and young males, adding a new concern for the conservation of this endangered species

The number of nesting leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the eastern Pacific Ocean has declined dramatically since the late 1980s. This decline has been attributed to egg poaching and interactions with fisheries. However, it is not clear how much of the decline should also be ascribed to variability in the physical characteristics of the ocean. We used data on individually marked turtles that nest at Playa Grande, Costa Rica, to address whether climatic variability affects survival and inter-breeding interval. Because some turtles might nest undetected, we used capture–recapture models to model survival probability accounting for a detection failure. In addition, as the probability of reproduction is constrained by past nesting events, we formulated a new parameterization to estimate inter-breeding intervals and contrast hypotheses on the role of climatic covariates on reproductive frequency. Average annual survival for the period 1993–2011 was low (0.78) and varied over time ranging from 0.49 to 0.99 with a negative temporal trend mainly due to the high mortality values registered after 2004. Survival probability was not associated with the Multivariate ENSO Index of the South Pacific Ocean (MEI) but this index explained 24% of the temporal variability in the reproductive frequency. The probability of a turtle to permanently leave after the first encounter was 26%. This high proportion of transients might be associated with a high mortality cost of the first reproduction or with a long-distance nesting dispersal after the first nesting season. Although current data do not allow separating these two hypotheses, low encounter rate at other locations and high investment in reproduction, supports the first hypothesis. The low and variable annual survival probability has largely contributed to the decline of this leatherback population. The lack of correlation between survival probability and the most important climatic driver of oceanic processes in the Pacific discards a climate-related decline and point to anthropogenic sources of mortality as the main causes responsible for the observed population decline.

Populations of long-lived species are highly sensitive to increases in mortality, but a loss of breeders can be compensated for by recruitment of local individuals or immigrants. Populations maintained through immigration can be sinks, jeopardizing the viability of the metapopulation in the long term when additive mortality from anthropogenic impacts occurs. Thus, the correct identification of whether a breeding population is maintained by local recruitment or by immigration is of special importance for conservation purposes. We developed robust population models to disentangle the importance of local recruitment and immigration in the dynamics of a Western Mediterranean population of Scopoli's shearwater Calonectris diomedea showing low adult survival but stable breeding numbers. Our results show that the shearwater population is not self-maintained but rescued by immigration: yearly immigrants recruiting in the population represents ~. 10-12% of total population size. We believe that this situation may be common to other Western Mediterranean populations, currently acting as sinks. We recommend urgent demographic studies at large core colonies to evaluate the global conservation status of the species., Research funds were provided by the Spanish Ministries of Science, Economy and Competitiveness (refs. BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS, CGL2009-08298, CGL2013-42203-R)

Nowadays seabirds are among the most threatened animal taxa. Due to introduction by humans of mammalian predators on large islands, Mediterranean Storm Petrels are now confined to islets and considered locally vulnerable, especially threatened by predatory overabundant gulls. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of nest boxes installation as a management measure for their conservation at Benidorm Island (Spain). We compare demographic parameters of individuals breeding in natural nests and nest boxes using capture-recapture and generalized linear mixed models. Our results show higher survival rates and breeding success probabilities for birds breeding in artificial nests than in natural sites, probably as a consequence of protection against gulls. Following the installation and successful occupation of nest boxes, breeding numbers of Storm Petrels greatly increased. Although conservation measures have proved highly effective we recommend the maintenance of the monitoring and evidence-based management of the Storm Petrel breeding population. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd., The Spanish Ministry of Science funded the study through several grants (AP2004-1128, BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS, CGL2009-08298 and SAB-2006-0014)

Identification of family members plays a primary role in the evolution of social behaviours such as nepotism, altruism and mate choice. The process is particularly important for philopatric species in which the encounter rate of kin-related conspecifics is high. Olfactory-based recognition of individual kin has been identified in most species, with the exception of birds; historically, birds were thought to have poor olfactory abilities, so the use of olfactory cues was ruled out a priori. Here, we show that European storm petrels, Hydrobates pelagicus, are able to distinguish kin from nonkin odours. Using special cotton swabs, like those used in forensic police procedures, we offered birds a binary choice in a Y-maze. Birds significantly preferred odours of unrelated individuals. Olfactory imprinting on a ‘family olfactory template’ or self-referent phenotype matching may be the mechanism underlying this effect. This choice behaviour may allow these highly philopatric birds to avoid inbreeding and select an appropriate mate. Our results suggest that sophisticated olfactory communication is relevant in birds, and leads to important behavioural traits such as philopatry.

Summary Large-scale seasonal climatic indices, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index or the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), account for major variations in weather and climate around the world and may influence population dynamics in many organisms. However, assessing the extent of climate impacts on species and their life-history traits requires reliable quantitative statistical approaches. We used a new analytical tool in mark–recapture, the multi-event modelling, to simultaneously assess the influence of climatic variation on multiple demographic parameters (i.e. adult survival, transient probability, reproductive skipping and nest dispersal) at two Mediterranean colonies of the Cory's shearwater Calonectris diomedea, a trans-equatorial migratory long-lived seabird. We also analysed the impact of climate in the breeding success at the two colonies. We found a clear temporal variation of survival for Cory's shearwaters, strongly associated to the large-scale SOI especially in one of the colonies (up to 66% of variance explained). Atlantic hurricane season is modulated by the SOI and coincides with shearwater migration to their wintering areas, directly affecting survival probabilities. However, the SOI was a better predictor of survival probabilities than the frequency of hurricanes; thus, we cannot discard an indirect additive effect of SOI via food availability. Accordingly, the proportion of transients was also correlated with SOI values, indicating higher costs of first reproduction (resulting in either mortality or permanent dispersal) when bad environmental conditions occurred during winter before reproduction. Breeding success was also affected by climatic factors, the NAO explaining c. 41% of variance, probably as a result of its effect in the timing of peak abundance of squid and small pelagics, the main prey for shearwaters. No climatic effect was found either on reproductive skipping or on nest dispersal. Contrarily to what we expect for a long-lived organism, large-scale climatic indexes had a more pronounced effect on survival and transient probabilities than on less sensitive fitness parameters such reproductive skipping or nest dispersal probabilities. The potential increase in hurricane frequency because of global warming may interact with other global change agents (such as incidental bycatch and predation by alien species) nowadays impacting shearwaters, affecting future viability of populations.

1. The balance between costs and benefits of migration under different environmental, density-dependent and individual conditions may promote a broad range of migratory behaviours. We studied the factors influencing first-year migration and subsequent fidelity or dispersal among wintering areas, and the survival costs of different wintering behaviours in the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus). 2. We analysed by multievent capture-recapture modelling among-site dispersal/fidelity and site-dependent survival probabilities from 22 671 flamingos ringed in the Camargue (France) between 1977 and 2010 and resighted subsequently in their wintering grounds classified as France, Iberian Peninsula, Italy and North Africa. 3. We found that first- and second-year birds either resident or wintering at medium distances from their birth place, survived better than those wintering further afield. However, under severe winter conditions (extremely cold winter 1984-1985), individuals with the sedentary strategy suffered the highest levels of mortality. From the third winter onwards, the pattern of survival reversed: the long-distance wintering individuals (i.e. North Africa) survived better. 4. The proportion of first-year birds migrating for wintering was highly variable among cohorts and increased with favourable environmental conditions (wet years). After the first winter, birds showed high fidelity (>90%) to their previous wintering area and wintered preferably near their natal colony when they became adults (>2 years). 5. Survival estimates suggest that long-distance migration was costly for young and inexperienced individuals. Nonetheless, for adults, the most southern wintering areas seem to offer the most favourable local conditions for overwinter survival. 6. The higher availability of intermediate stopover sites during wet years may facilitate first-year migration. Then, once they have some wintering experience, flamingos appear to favour the known wintering grounds. As they grow older, dispersing towards the vicinity of the natal colony may provide higher breeding prospects for individuals wintering closer to this high-quality and saturated breeding ground, as predicted by the arrival-time hypothesis.

The evolutionary potential in the timing of recruitment and reproduction may be crucial for the ability of populations to buffer against environmental changes, allowing them to avoid unfavourable breeding conditions. The evolution of a trait in a local population is determined by its heritability and selection. In the present study, we performed pedigree-based quantitative genetic analyses for two life-history traits (recruiting age and laying date) using population data of the storm petrel over an 18-year period in two adjacent breeding colonies (only 150 m apart) that share the same environmental conditions. In both traits, natal colony effect was the main source of the phenotypic variation among individuals, and cohort variance for recruitment age and additive genetic variance for laying date were natal colony-specific. We found significant heritability only in laying date and, more specifically, only in birds born in one of the colonies. The difference in genetic variance between the colonies was statistically significant. Interestingly, selection on earlier breeding birds was detected only in the colony in which heritable variation in laying date was found. Therefore, local evolvability for a life-history trait may vary within a unexpectedly small spatial scale, through the diversifying natural selection and insulating gene flow. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 439–446. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: adaptability – animal model – evolution – heritability – laying date – recruiting age – selection.

Human activities have greatly modified predator-prey dynamics within seabird communities by favouring a rapid increase in density of large predatory gulls. To counteract such a subsidized growth, conservation agencies perform massive random culling programs, which generally fail to restore the original predator-prey relationship. We used long-term individual-based information to evaluate the effects of a selective culling of a top seabird predator, the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), on the predatory pressure, survival and reproductive success probabilities of a secondary prey, the vulnerable European storm-petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus). The selective removal of only 16 gulls in 3 years led to a reduction of ca. 65% in the number of petrels killed, and to a relative increase in their survival and breeding success probabilities of 16% and 23%, respectively. Our results show that only a few specialised predators were responsible for the bulk of the impact on a secondary prey and that the removal of those specialised individuals was an effective and efficient way to improve prey demographic parameters. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved., The Spanish Ministry of Science funded the study through several grants (Refs. BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS)

Urban endocrine ecology aims to understand how organisms cope with new sources of stress and maintain allostatic load to thrive in an increasingly urbanized world. Recent research efforts have yielded controversial results based on short-term measures of stress, without exploring its fitness effects. We measured feather corticosterone (CORTf, reflecting the duration and amplitude of glucocorticoid secretion over several weeks) and subsequent annual survival in urban and rural burrowing owls. This species shows high individual consistency in fear of humans (i.e., flight initiation distance, FID), allowing us to hypothesize that individuals distribute among habitats according to their tolerance to human disturbance. FIDs were shorter in urban than in rural birds, but CORTf levels did not differ, nor were correlated to FIDs. Survival was twice as high in urban as in rural birds and links with CORTf varied between habitats: while a quadratic relationship supports stabilizing selection in urban birds, high predation rates may have masked CORTf-survival relationship in rural ones. These results evidence that urban life does not constitute an additional source of stress for urban individuals, as shown by their near identical CORTf values compared with rural conspecifics supporting the non-random distribution of individuals among habitats according to their behavioural phenotypes

© 2015 by the Ecological Society of America. Populations of species typically considered trophic generalists may include specialized individuals consistently feeding on certain resources. Optimal foraging theory states that individuals should feed on those resources most valuable to them. This, however, may vary according to individual differences in detecting or processing resources, different optimization criteria, and competitive abilities. White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) are trophic generalists at the population level. Their European population recovery has been attributed to increased wintering in southern Europe (rather than Africa) where they feed upon new anthropogenic food subsidies: predictable dumps and less predictable and more difficult to detect, but abundant, invasive Procambarus clarkii crayfishes in ricefields. We studied the foraging strategies of resident and wintering storks in southwestern Spain in ricefields and dumps, predicting that more experience in the study area (residents vs. immigrants, old vs. young) would increase ricefield specialization. We developed the first multi-event capture- recapture model to evaluate behavioral consistency, analyzing 3042 observations of 1684 banded storks. There were more specialists among residents (72%) than immigrants (40%). All resident specialists foraged in ricefields, and ricefield use increased with individual age. In contrast, some immigrants specialized on either dumps (24%) or ricefields (16%), but the majority were generalists (60%). Our results provide empirical evidence of high individual foraging consistency within a generalist species and a differential resource selection by individuals of different ages and origins, probably related to their previous experience in the foraging area. Thus, future changes in food resource availability at either of the two anthropogenic subsidies (ricefields or dumps) may differentially impact individuals of different ages and origins making up the wintering population. The use of multi-event capture- recapture modeling has proven useful for studying interindividual variability in behavior.

Petrels are highly philopatric and return from migratory journeys of thousands of kilometres to breed in the same burrow year after year. During the breeding season, some burrowing petrel species rely on their sense of smell to locate their nest at night, but the mechanisms involved in the homing behaviour after several months at sea are virtually unknown. To understand whether the sense of smell is involved in nest finding at the return from migration and to study the interplay with other positional cues, we explored the homing behaviour and nest choice by Mediterranean storm petrels, Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis. During two consecutive winters, we conducted our research in a colony with well-used artificial nestboxes that has been studied for the past two decades. We experimentally displaced previously occupied nestboxes in late winter and then checked for nest choice and occupancy by breeding individuals in the following breeding season. This experimental design allowed the manipulation of the location of the burrow, and the olfactory information contained within, without manipulating other positional cues. We observed that almost all individuals nested in the nestbox located at the same position as the year before, regardless of whether the nestbox was the one they had previously occupied or another one. During the breeding period, we also tested in a Y-maze the olfactory preference for the occupied nestbox with respect to another random one. Again, storm petrels did not show any olfactory preference for their nest. Our study implies that storm petrels breeding in a cave rely on other positional cues than olfactory ones to home and suggests a mechanism combining tactile and proprioceptive cues to find the nest in the dark. (C) 2015 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The dominant criterion to determine when an introduced species is established relies on the maintenance of a selfsustaining population in the area of introduction, i.e. on the viability of the population from a demographic perspective. There is however a paucity of demographic studies on introduced species, and establishment success is thus generally determined by expert opinion without undertaking population viability analyses (PVAs). By means of an intensive five year capture-recapture monitoring program (involving .12,000 marked individuals) we studied the demography of five introduced passerine bird species in southern Spain which are established and have undergone a fast expansion over the last decades. We obtained useful estimates of demographic parameters (survival and reproduction) for one colonial species (Ploceus melanocephalus), confirming the long-term viability of its local population through PVAs. However, extremely low recapture rates prevented the estimation of survival parameters and population growth rates for widely distributed species with low local densities (Estrilda troglodytes and Amandava amandava) but also for highly abundant yet non-colonial species (Estrilda astrild and Euplectes afer). Therefore, determining the establishment success of introduced passerine species by demographic criteria alone may often be troublesome even when devoting much effort to field-work. Alternative quantitative methodologies such as the analysis of spatio-temporal species distributions complemented with expert opinion deserve thus their role in the assessment of establishment success of introduced species when estimates of demographic parameters are difficult to obtain, as is generally the case for non-colonial, highly mobile passerines.

Small and peripheral populations are typically vulnerable to local extinction processes but important for the metapopulation dynamics of species. The Slender-billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei ) is a long-lived species breeding in unstable ephemeral coastal habitats. Their Western Mediterranean populations are relatively small and represent the edge of their global geographical distribution. At a local scale, using long-term data (14 years) on annual breeding success and capture-resights of marked individuals, we estimated and compared the vital rates and evaluated the connectivity of two Spanish populations (Ebro Delta and Doñana) varying in their local environmental conditions. At a metapopulation scale, we analyzed 22 years of data on breeding numbers to predict their future prospects by means of population demographic models. Local survival and breeding success of gulls from the Ebro Delta was lower than those from Doñana, which is likely the result of higher permanent emigration and/or winter mortality in the former. Gulls from the Ebro Delta wintered mostly in Mediterranean areas whereas those from Doñana did so in Atlantic coasts, where food availability is higher. Whereas adult local survival was constant, juvenile local survival showed temporal parallel variations between colonies, probably related to natal dispersal to other breeding colonies. Our results suggested that dispersal was higher at the Ebro Delta and gulls emigrating from their natal colonies settled preferentially in close patches. We found large fluctuations in breeding numbers among local populations probably related to the fact that the Slender-billed gull is a species adapted to unstable and unpredictable habitats with high abilities to disperse between suitable patches depending on environmental stochastic conditions during breeding. © 2014 Sanz-Aguilar et al.

Two-level data, in which level-1 units or individuals are nested within level-2 units or clusters, are very common in natural populations. However, very few multilevel analyses are conducted for data with imperfect detection of individuals. Multilevel analyses are important to quantify the variability at each level of the data. In this study, we present two-level analyses for estimating demographic parameters from data with imperfect detection of individuals and with a source of individual variability that is nested within a source of cluster variability. This method allows separating and quantifying the phenotypic plasticity or facultative behavioural responses from the evolutionary responses. We illustrate our approach using data from studies of a long-lived perennially monogamous seabird, the Cory's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) and a patchy population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). We demonstrate the existence of dependence in recapture probability between paired individuals in the Cory's shearwater. In addition, we show that family structure has no influence on parent-offspring resemblance in collared flycatchers dispersal. The new method is implemented in program e-surge which is freely available from the internet. © 2013 The Authors. Methods in Ecology and Evolution © 2013 British Ecological Society., This research was supported by a grant from the ‘Jeunes Chercheuses et Jeunes Chercheurs’ programme of the French ANR (ANR–08–JCJC–0028–01). A. Sanz-Aguilar was funded by a Marie Curie Fellowship (reference MATERGLOBE). The Spanish Ministry of Science funded the study through project CGL 2009-08298.

Understanding the processes driving seabirds’ reproductive performance through trophic interactions requires the identification of seasonal pulses in marine productivity.We investigated the sequence of environmental and biological processes driving the reproductive phenology and performance of the storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) in the Western Mediterranean. The enhanced light and nutrient availability at the onset of water stratification (late winter/early spring) resulted in annual consecutive peaks in relative abundance of phytoplankton, zooplankton and ichthyoplankton. The high energy-demanding period of egg production and chick rearing coincided with these successive pulses in food availability, pointing to a phenological adjustment to such seasonal patterns with important fitness consequences. Indeed, delayed reproduction with respect to the onset of water stratification resulted in both hatching and breeding failure. This pattern was observed at the population level, but also when confounding factors such as individuals’ age or experience were also accounted for.We provide the first evidence of oceanographic drivers leading to the optimal time-window for reproduction in an inshore seabird at southern European latitudes, along with a suitable framework for assessing the impact of environmentally driven changes in marine productivity patterns in seabird performance., Research funds were provided by the Spanish Government (refs. BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS, CGL2009 08298, CGL2013-42203-R, JCI-2011-09085), and the European Union (FP7-PEOPLE 2009-IEF-MATERGLOBE)

Context: Demographic parameters in wildlife populations are typically estimated by monitoring a limited number of individuals in observable sites and assuming that these are representative of the whole population. If individuals permanently disperse to unobservable breeding sites, recruitment and immature survival are expected to be negatively biased and breeding-site fidelity cannot be investigated. Aims: To develop a method to obtain unbiased estimated of survival, recruitment and breeding dispersal when individuals can move to, or recruit in, unobservable sites. Methods: We used the flexibility of multi-event capture–recapture models to estimate dispersal and recruitment to unobservable sites, merging observations made at two sites within the same breeding locations. We illustrated the model with data on little penguin (Eudyptula minor) breeding in artificial as well as in natural nests. Natural nests are unknown or inaccessible and birds in these sites remain unobservable. Encounters at beaches surrounding the colony suggested that marked animals can permanently move to unobservable nests. We built the multi-event model considering two possible states of the individuals (alive breeding in a nest box and alive in a natural nest) and three types of observations (encountered at a nest only, encountered at the beach only and encountered at both places). This model ensured that the breeding dispersal to unobservable places became estimable. Key results: Results indicate that the estimated survival was 8% higher than when recaptures at artificial nests were analysed alone. Also, fidelity to artificial nests was 12% lower than to natural nests. This might reflect the greater availability of natural sites or, alternatively, a heterogeneity between these two types of nest. Conclusions: We obtained an estimate of local survival of little penguins breeding at Penguin Island that incorporates the permanent migration to unobservable sites and found an asymmetric dispersion towards natural nests. Implication: Our conclusions suggest a need for more careful treatment of data derived from artificial sites alone, as demographic parameters might be underestimated if animals prefer natural breeding sites or if they are in greater proportion compared with artificial ones. The analytical approach presented can be applied to many biological systems, when animals might move into inaccessible or unobservable breeding sites.

Differential reproductive investment between sexes can lead to asymmetric costs of reproduction in birds. Long-lived procellariiform seabirds are single-egg layers with little sexual dimorphism and similar parental investment in incubation and chick rearing. However, sex-specific tasks exist at the beginning of the breeding season, including egg production by females (no courtship feeding by males in this group of species) and nest and mate guarding by males. Costs of reproduction could be evident during critical periods such as the first breeding attempt, because of inexperience in reproductive tasks or a higher proportion of low-quality individuals in young age classes, or both. Little is known about sex-specific costs of reproduction in monomorphic species, in which we expect costs to be similar. We investigated the effects of first reproduction on the subsequent survival of male and female European Storm-Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) and found that female survival (0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.60–0.82) was lower than that of males (0.85; 95% CI: 0.76–0.89) after first reproduction. However, these differences were not observed in subsequent breeding attempts by experienced females (0.89; 95% CI: 0.86–0.91) and males (0.88; 95% CI: 0.86–0.91), probably because of an experience-related improvement in foraging efficiency, reproductive tasks, or predator avoidance. The effort invested by inexperienced females in the production of a large egg (≤25% of adult body mass) may explain our observed differences in survival.

International audience; Trap-awareness and related phenomena whereby successive capture events are not independent is a feature of the majority of capture-recapture studies. This phenomenon was up to now difficult to incorporate in open population models and most authors have chosen to neglect it although this may have damaging consequences. Focusing on the situation where animals exhibit a trap response at the occasion immediately following one where they have been trapped but revert to their original naı¨venaı¨ve state if they are missed once, we show that trap-dependence is more naturally viewed as a state transition and is amenable to the current models of capture-recapture. This approach has the potential to accommodate lasting or progressively waning trap effects. Citation: Pradel R, Sanz-Aguilar A (2012) Modeling Trap-Awareness and Related Phenomena in Capture-Recapture Studies.

The frequency at which individuals breed is an important parameter in population, as well as in evolutionary, studies. However, when nonbreeding individuals are absent from the study area, the reproductive skipping is usually confounded with a recapture failure and cannot be estimated directly. Yet, there are situations in which external information may help to estimate reproductive skipping. Such a situation is found with nest-tenacious birds: the fact that an individual is not encountered in its previous nest is a good indication that it must be skipping reproduction. We illustrate here a general robabilistic framework in which we merged the classical individual capture-recapture information with nest-based information to obtain the simultaneous estimate of recapture, survival, reproductive skipping, and within-colony breeding dispersal probabilities using multi-event models. We applied this approach to Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), a long-lived burrow-nesting seabird. By comparing results with those obtained from the analysis of the capture-recapture information alone, we showed that the model separates successfully the probabilities of recapture from those of temporal emigration. We found that the probabilities of future reproduction and breeding-site fidelity were lower for individuals temporarily absent from the colony, suggesting a lower intrinsic quality of intermittent breeders. The new probabilistic framework presented here allowed us to refine the estimates of demographic parameters by simply adding nest-based data, a type of information usually collected in the field but never included in the analysis of individual-based data. Our approach also provides a new and flexible way to test hypotheses on temporal emigration and breeding dispersal in longitudinal data. © 2011 by the Ecological Society of America.

Fire and fire management are recognized as important factors in biodiversity conservation. Measuring species-level demographic, behavioural and population responses to different fire regimes is essential for designing adequate management policies. Here we assessed the impact of fire on survival rates, reproduction and movement patterns in Testudo graeca, an endangered terrestrial tortoise inhabiting the Mediterranean region, a system in which fire plays a relevant role in the functioning of their ecosystems. Then we predicted the probabilities of quasi-extinction of T. graeca under several fire regimes and population sizes by means of stochastic population models. Our results showed that fire caused direct and delayed reductions in local survival, young individuals being the most affected. There were not differences in fecundity and movement patterns of tortoises between burned and unburned areas. Population models showed a strong variation in the probability of quasi-extinction of populations depending on the fire regime and the population size. Under fire frequencies similar to those occurring in the wild (, The Spanish Ministry of Science funded the monitoring scheme through the projects project CGL2004-01335 and CGL2009-08251 and Grant ref. CGL2009-08298.

Capture–mark–recapture methods are used widely for monitoring and diagnosis of bird populations as they permit robust estimates of population abundance and demographic parameters (e.g. survival) to be obtained from incomplete records of individual life histories. The statistical analysis of these data relies on the important assumption that individuals of the same local populations (i.e. colony) have the same parameters (the homogeneity assumption). We used data from six medium- to long-term monitoring schemes of local Mediterranean populations of the European Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus to empirically show that the level of individual heterogeneity and the consequent bias in the parameter of interest depend on the recapture methodology, which has important consequences for the experimental design. We found that the recapture probability varied over time and among methodologies. The study design had a strong influence on the proportion of transients caught (i.e. individuals not recaptured after marking); however, the survival probability estimate for resident birds was fairly similar across the studies. The differences found in survival seem to depend on the biological variability between sites (e.g. predation pressure), and not on the recapture methods.

Evolutionary studies on optimal decisions or conservation guidelines are often derived by generalising patterns from a single population, while inter-population variability in life-history traits is seldom considered. We investigated here how survival and recruitment probabilities changed with age at different geographical scales using the encounter histories of 5523 European storm petrels from three Mediterranean colonies, and also how our estimates of these parameters might be expected to affect population growth rates using population matrix models. We recorded similar patterns among colonies, but also important biological differences. Local survival, recruitment and breeding success increased with age at all colonies; the most distant of three colonies (Marettimo Is.) showed the largest differences. Strikingly, differences in recruitment were also found between two adjacent colonies (two caves from Benidorm Is.). Birds marked as adults from Marettimo and Benidorm colonies had a different survival, whereas we found no differences within Benidorm. Differences in survival were no longer apparent between the two islands at the end of the study following a reduction in predation by specialist gulls at Benidorm. Since birds marked as fledglings mostly recruited near the end of the study, their overall survival was high and in turn similar among colonies. Results from our population matrix models suggested that different age-dependent patterns of demographic parameters can lead to similar population growth rates. Variability appeared to be greater for recruitment and the most sensitive parameter was adult survival. Thus conservation actions targeting this vulnerable species should focus on factors influencing adult survival. Differences in survival and recruitment among colonies could reflect the spatial heterogeneity in mortality due to predation and colony-specific density dependent processes. Results highlight the importance of taking into account the potential spatio-temporal heterogeneity among populations in vital rates, even in those traits that life-history theory considers less important in driving population dynamics. © 2009 Ecography., The Spanish Ministry of Science, funded the study through several grants (refs. BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS)

Life history theory predicts that higher levels of reproductive investment entail higher reproductive costs especially among young and inexperienced individuals that might not optimize reproductive investment. Using a long-term individual and state-dependent capture-recapture data on Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) we analyzed whether breeding experience and current breeding investment were associated with the expression of the cost of reproduction in terms of reduced survival and/or future breeding performance. We found a positive relationship between current breeding investment, breeding experience, and future survival and an improvement in breeding performance with individual experience independently of the previous breeding outcome. Our results suggest that the survival cost paid by first-time breeders and the positive correlation between reproduction and survival corresponds to selection against low quality birds unrelated to the breeding effort. Our work outlines the need to investigate the effect of multiple individual traits on different life history trade-offs simultaneously. © 2008 by the Ecological Society of America., This study was supported by a postgraduate grant (AP2004-1128) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, which also funded the study through several grants (BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS, and SAB-2006-0014/Roger Pradel)