2025/01/01 by Sebastian Klaus, Jia Huan Liew, Christian Müller +1 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Avian ecology and behavior #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Fire effects on ecosystems
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0959270925000036
Summary We investigated Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis avoidance of powerlines and their pylons by assessing the spatial distribution of Skylark territories. We mapped territory centres in a central German agricultural landscape during 2020 and used Bayesian logistic regression models to test if distances from powerlines and pylons are predictive of the presence of territories. We also tested other possible predictors, namely, nearest distances from roads, vertical structures, wind energy plants, settlements, as well as the nearest pylon type and vegetation. Distances from the nearest road and settlement were positively correlated with the probability of territory occurrence. However, distance from powerlines and pylons were not significant predictors. Skylarks were also more likely to establish territories in areas where winter grain is present. We conclude that powerlines are unlikely to lead to significant habitat reduction for the Skylark that would impact local populations. We can, however, confirm avoidance behaviour towards roads and settlements, as well as a preference for areas with winter grain because the crop’s growth period coincides with the start of the breeding season, initially providing vegetation of a suitable height and coverage.