![]() ![]() Nightjar use of roads is therefore jointly determined by ambient temperature, amount of moonlight, and wind conditions-factors that all affect the thermal needs and foraging efficiency of nightjars. Being its abundances negatively affected by wind speed and increasing in nights warmer than the monthly average. We found that nightjars are most abundant on roads in either cold, dark nights or warm, bright nights. Additionally, we included the week to account for seasonality, and year as a random factor. To assess changes in nightjar abundance (birds/km), we fitted a LMM including a set of 16 environmental variables as explanatory factors. ![]() Here we investigate nightjar use of roads in relation to environmental variables known to influence insect availability and the thermal requirements and foraging efficiency of nightjars.īetween April and October 2009-2017, we carried out weekly counts of red-necked nightjars (Caprimulgus ruficollis) along a 24-km road network crossing the Doñana Natural Park, SW Spain. Foraging decisions are made to maximize energy gain by increasing food intake and decreasing the energy costs of movement and thermoregulation.Īmong nightjars, it has been suggested that they use roads at night as an open observation platform to forage for flying insects and to thermoregulate on a surface that absorbs heat during the day and attracts insects at night. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |