Pagaldai Nerea, Arizaga Juan, Jiménez-Franco María V, Zuberogoitia Iñigo
Department of Ornithology, Aranzadi Sciences Society, Zorroagagaina 11, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Department of Applied Biology, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Oct 13;11(10):2954. doi: 10.3390/ani11102954.
Natural habitats are being altered and destroyed worldwide due to urbanization, leading to a decrease in species abundance and richness. Nevertheless, some species, including tawny owls, have successfully colonized this novel habitat. Consequences at the population level have not been described; thus, our main objective was to describe the effects that urban structure have on the tawny owl population at local and landscape levels. Data were obtained from 527 survey points over 7 months in a large-scale owl survey in the Basque Country (northern Spain) in 2018. At the local scale, the interaction between forest and urban cover affected tawny owl abundance, the optimum being in medium forested areas. The interaction between urban cover and clumpiness index (urban patch distribution) showed a generally negative effect. At the landscape scale, its abundance decreased in complex-shaped urban patches and when distance between them was greater. In conclusion, at the local scale, when a minimal forest structure is present in urbanized areas, the species can exploit it. At the landscape scale, it prefers smaller urban towns to cities. Thinking ahead, the current tendency toward "green capitals" should benefit tawny owl populations.
由于城市化，全球范围内的自然栖息地正在发生改变和遭到破坏，导致物种丰富度和数量减少。然而，包括仓鸮在内的一些物种已成功在这个新栖息地定居。目前尚未描述其在种群水平上的影响；因此，我们的主要目标是描述城市结构在局部和景观层面上对仓鸮种群的影响。数据来自2018年在西班牙北部巴斯克地区进行的一项大规模猫头鹰调查，该调查在7个月内覆盖了527个调查点。在局部尺度上，森林与城市覆盖之间的相互作用影响了仓鸮的数量，最佳情况是在中等森林覆盖区域。城市覆盖与聚集度指数（城市斑块分布）之间的相互作用总体上呈现负面影响。在景观尺度上，仓鸮在形状复杂的城市斑块中以及斑块之间距离较大时数量会减少。总之，在局部尺度上，当城市化地区存在最低限度的森林结构时，该物种能够加以利用。在景观尺度上，相较于城市，仓鸮更喜欢较小的城镇。展望未来，当前“绿色之都”的发展趋势应会有利于仓鸮种群。
