Breeding performance of an apex predator, the peregrine falcon, across urban and rural landscapes

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorKettel, Esther F.
dc.contributor.authorGentle, Louise K.
dc.contributor.authorYarnell, Richard W.
dc.contributor.authorQuinn, John L.
dc.contributor.funderNottingham Trent Universityen
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-02T04:38:55Z
dc.date.available2019-10-02T04:38:55Z
dc.date.issued2018-09-08
dc.description.abstractUrban environments present wildlife with major challenges and yet surprising numbers of species have colonised towns and cities globally. Despite the growing realisation that urban centres can be important habitats for wildlife, why some species do better than others in urban environments remains poorly understood. Here, we compare the breeding performance of an apex predator, the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), in urban and rural environments, and test whether variation in reproductive success between and within environments is driven by prey. Historical breeding data were collected from raptor study groups across Great Britain between 2006 and 2016, from 22 urban and 58 rural nest sites, involving 101 and 326 nesting attempts, respectively. Prey density, biomass and diversity around the individual nests was estimated using modelled estimates from a national bird census. Urban peregrines produced more fledglings and had a higher overall nesting success (i.e. whether a nesting attempt was successful or unsuccessful) than rural peregrines. Prey density and biomass were significantly higher, and diversity significantly lower, in the urban sites, and explained the variation in reproductive success within both the urban and rural environments. Therefore, urban environments in Great Britain appear to provide peregrine falcons with superior habitats in terms of prey availability compared to rural habitats. We conclude that some apex predators can benefit from urban environments and that urban planning has the potential to benefit biodiversity across many trophic levels.en
dc.description.sponsorshipBTO; JNCC; RSPBen
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationKettel, E.F., Gentle, L.K., Yarnell, R.W. and Quinn, J.L., 2019. Breeding performance of an apex predator, the peregrine falcon, across urban and rural landscapes. Urban Ecosystems, 22(1), (9pp). DOI:10.1007/s11252-018-0799-xen
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s11252-018-0799-xen
dc.identifier.eissn1573-1642
dc.identifier.endpage125en
dc.identifier.issn1083-8155
dc.identifier.issued1en
dc.identifier.journaltitleUrban Ecosystemsen
dc.identifier.startpage117en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/8665
dc.identifier.volume22en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen
dc.relation.urihttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11252-018-0799-x
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2018en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectFalco peregrinusen
dc.subjectUrban predatoren
dc.subjectUrbanisationen
dc.subjectProductivityen
dc.subjectBreeding bird surveyen
dc.titleBreeding performance of an apex predator, the peregrine falcon, across urban and rural landscapesen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Kettel2019_Article_BreedingPerformanceOfAnApexPre.pdf
Size:
852.55 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences - Journal Articles