Vincenzo Penteriani

... of adult goshawks highlights the 3 months preced-ing egg laying as the best period for systematic listening for dawn and morning ... The re-lationship of spring and summer weather with density and breeding performance of the buzzard Buteo buteo, goshawk Accipiter gentilis ...

... in the field and have been shown to be good predictors of gen-der in several other bird species (eg, Calvo and Bolton 1997, Renner and ... G. Bor-tolotti, M. Di Vittorio, A. Harmata, H. Mikkola, F. Sergio, and an anonymous referee provided helpful comments on the first draft of the ...

We evaluated the effects of harvesting timber stands on goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) nesting in two European areas (central Italy and eastern France), by studying their occupancy and reproductive performance. We found no difference in the productivity of goshawk pairs reproducing in ...

SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING AND THE POPULATION DYNAMIC OF THE SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE Miguel FERRER* and Vincenzo PENTERIANI** ... Maria Luisa s/n, Pabellón del Perú, Seville, E-41013 Spain. Ardeola 54(2), 2007, 359-363 ... They said that in Calderón et al. ...

The media and scientific literature are increasingly reporting an escalation of large carnivore attacks on humans in North America and Europe. Although rare compared to human fatalities by other wildlife, the media often overplay large carnivore attacks on humans, causing increased fear and negative attitudes towards coexisting with and conserving these species. Although large carnivore populations are generally increasing in developed countries, increased numbers are not solely responsible for the observed rise in the number of attacks by large carnivores. Here we show that an increasing number of people are involved in outdoor activities and, when doing so, some people engage in risk-enhancing behaviour that can increase the probability of a risky encounter and a potential attack. About half of the well-documented reported attacks have involved risk-enhancing human behaviours, the most common of which is leaving children unattended. Our study provides unique insight into the causes, and as a result the prevention, of large carnivore attacks on people. Prevention and information that can encourage appropriate human behaviour when sharing the landscape with large carnivores are of paramount importance to reduce both potentially fatal human-carnivore encounters and their consequences to large carnivores.

... e fra le poche persone in Italia effettivamente coscienti della gravità dell'impatto delle linee elettriche sull'avifauna, a Mario Chiavetta, stu-dioso di ... biologo del Parco Nazionale dei Doñana (Spagna), a Luis Mariano Gon-zales biologo dell'ICONA (Spagna), ad Andrea Maria Paci ...

The effects of moon phases on predatoreprey relationships have so far been mainly investigated from the prey's perspective. The response of a predator to moon phases may represent a complex trade-off between overcoming the antipredator strategies of its prey and balancing other needs/constraints (e.g. individual status and condition). We explored the year-round effects of the lunar cycle on radiotagged breeders and dispersers of an avian predator, the eagle owl, Bubo bubo, from the perspective of move-ment patterns, foraging effort and display intensity. In general, the movements of breeders suggested an increase in activity around the time of the full moon. This may be related to an increase in both the time needed to detect prey (on brighter nights prey are more concealed and wary) and the time the predator devotes to visual displays (the full moon increases the conspicuousness of signalling). However, hunting activity also peaked during dark nights, when prey might be harder ...

The study of the demographic history of species can help to understand the negative impact of recent population declines in organisms of conservation concern. Here, we use neutral molecular markers to explore the genetic consequences of the recent population decline and posterior recovery of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) in the Iberian Peninsula. During the last century, the species was the object of extermination programs, suffering direct persecution by hunters until the 70's. Moreover, during the last decades the eagle owl was severely impacted by increased mortality due to electrocution and the decline of its main prey species, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In recent times, the decrease of direct persecution and the implementation of some conservation schemes have allowed the species' demographic recovery. Yet, it remains unknown to which extent the past population decline and the later expansion have influenced the current species' pattern of genetic diversity. We used eight microsatellite markers to genotype 235 eagle owls from ten Spanish subpopulations and analyse the presence of genetic signatures attributable to the recent population fluctuations experienced by the species. We found moderate levels of differentiation among the studied subpopulations and Bayesian analyses revealed the existence of three genetic clusters that grouped subpopulations from central, south-western and south-eastern Spain. The observed genetic structure could have resulted from recent human-induced population fragmentation, a patchy distribution of prey populations and/or the philopatric behaviour and habitat selection of the species. We detected an old population bottleneck, which occurred approximately 10,000 years ago, and significant signatures of recent demographic expansions. However, we did not find genetic signatures for a recent bottleneck, which may indicate that population declines were not severe enough to leave detectable signals on the species genetic makeup or that such signals have been eroded by the rapid demographic recovery experienced by the species in recent years.

To date, animal movement studies have mostly analysed the movement behaviours of individuals at specific times of their lives, but we lack detailed information on how individual movements may be affected by the various and different changes that individuals experience throughout their life (e.g. life history phases, experience, age). Here, we attempt to identify differences in home range and movement behaviour between two different statuses, disperser vs. breeder, of a long-lived species (the eagle owl Bubo bubo). Information on home range and movement behaviour between different stages of an individual life are crucial for species conservation and management, as well as for basic knowledge on space use and rhythm of activity. Does the transition from an exploratory stage to moving within more familiar surroundings call for changes in the movement behaviour? We observed notable differences during the two stages of the owls' lives, with individuals having different home range beh...

ABSTACT.--The breeding density and landscape-level habitat selection of Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) was studied from 1989-93 in a mountain area of Abruzzo Apennines (central Italy). Analysis of landscape features was based on circular plots (2.5 km diameter) centered on occupied nest trees. A total of 32 Common Buzzard nesting territories were identified within a 387 km 2 area (8.3 pairs/100

I attempted to quantify seasonal and daily Northern Goshawk (Accipitergentilis) vocalizations at nest sites and identify their function. Both duration and number of calls showed significant differences among different periods of the year. The daily distribution ofvocalizations differed through the breeding season both as a whole and in individual stages. My results suggested that the kek-kek-kek call may have two

... EAGLE OWL BUBO BUBO IN A MEDITERRANEAN HABITAT VINCENZO PENTERIAN1 l, MAX GALLARDO2, PHILIP ROCHE3 AND HELENE CAZASSUS4 Penteriani V ... We aggregated the initial classes into five land cover elements defined by both the density of vegeta-tion ...

... Dispersal. A Case Study with Eagle Owls Bubo bubo. María del Mar Delgado 1, * , Vincenzo Penteriani 1 & Vilis O. Nams 2. ... plane. Fractal D was computed using the Fractal Mean estimator with the program Fractal 3.16 (Nams 2006a). ...

Abstract Many studies have reported variation in bird diet composition related to spatial variation in habitat quality and landscape heterogeneity. Most diet analyses involve collection of food items at a sub-sample of available sites. Because individuals at different ...