Breeding density of European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) on Sakar Mountain (SE Bulgaria)

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Gruychev, Gradimir Mihaylov, Hristo
Copyright Year	2019
Abstract	* Correspondence: gradi.val@gmail.com The European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a valuable game bird found throughout Europe. Its breeding population is declining, and that is why it falls in the category of vulnerable species. Species representatives have fallen to a mere 49% in only three generations (Birdlife International, 2017). Bulgaria falls within the natural nesting range of the Turtle Dove, which was reported as a common and widespread species in the middle of the 20th century (Patev, 1950). The size of the population varied between 25,000 and 80,000 breeding pairs for the period of 1996–2005 (Stoychev and Mitev, 2007) and 35,000 and 100,000 breeding pairs between 2005 and 2012 (Birdlife International, 2017). At present, the Turtle Dove is one of the primary game species. Hunting it is permitted from the second Saturday of August until 30 November. The study area is the MG-14 (35T) square of the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system, with an area of 100 km2. It is characterized by a continental Mediterranean climate. The average annual temperatures are between 8 and 13.5 °C, and the annual amount of precipitation is between 500 and 900 mm, reaching a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer/autumn. The duration of the snow cover is shorter compared to all other areas in Bulgaria (Kopralev, 2002). The following nesting habitats were categorized in the study area: black pine cultures (3.8%); oak forests, represented by Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto Tenn.), Austrian oak (Quercus cerris L.), and downy oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) (1.27%); mixed deciduous forests with a predominant presence of downy oak (4.92%); riparian wet forests (1.54%); shrubs with a predominant presence of Jerusalem thorn (Paliurus spina-christi Mill.) amid pastures and hay meadows (34.8%); strips of deciduous trees and shrubs amid vineyards (11.07%); strips of deciduous trees and shrubs amid arable lands (37%); populated locations (mainly small settlements) (3.8%); and water surfaces (1.8%) (Figure 1; Google Earth Pro, a tool by Google Earth, map base Image Landsat/Copernicus). In the period of 2014–2016, each square with sides of 1 km constituting MG-14 (35T) was visited 7 times a year. The breeding density of the Turtle Dove was determined by point-count methods (details: Bibby et al., 1992). Within the territory studied, 100 points were placed at the centers of the 100 one-kilometer squares of MG-14. Another 6 points were placed at locations where the birds’ song was heard less clearly (Figure 1). All the data used for determining the density were collected in clear and quiet weather, with no rainfall, between 0400 and 0830 hours from the middle of April to the end of August 2014–2016. The objective was to determine the times of the first Turtle Doves’ arrival in the study territory and the first birds singing; reports to determine the breeding density were conducted in the period of May–August. The number of singing Turtle Doves was estimated over the course of 10 min, after a 2-min wait on the part of the observer before the onset of the measurement of each point. The differences in the numbers of singing birds in different reports and habitats were tested with a chi-square test with the software product STATISTICA, version 8.0 (StatSoft Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA). Abstract: This study was conducted in the period of 2014–2016. The breeding density of the European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) was determined in the MG-14 (35T) square of the Universal Transverse Mercator system. The maximum number of breeding pairs/100 ha was 4.4 in 2014, 2.4 in 2015, and 1.6 in 2016. The peaks of singing Turtle Doves occurred in the second half of May and at the end of June. The number of singing males in riparian and oak forests was higher compared to other habitats.
Starting Page	403
Ending Page	406
Page Count	4
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.3906/zoo-1808-50
Volume Number	43
Alternate Webpage(s)	http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/issues/zoo-19-43-4/zoo-43-4-10-1808-50.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-1808-50
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article