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Article
Open AccessHabitat type modulates sharp body mass oscillations in cyclic common vole populations
Cyclic rodent populations exhibit pronounced changes in body mass associated with the population cycle phase, long-known as Chitty effect. Although Chitty effect is a common epiphenomenon in both America and E...
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Article
Genetic footprints of a rapid and large-scale range expansion: the case of cyclic common vole in Spain
In the Anthropocene, many species are rapidly shifting their ranges in response to human-driven habitat modifications. Studying patterns and genetic signatures of range shifts helps to understand how species c...
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Article
Open AccessLeukocyte profile variation in Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti) in Spain and Morocco
Stress in birds has been widely studied through the measurement of heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio). In this study we aimed to assess for the first time the potential variation of stress, measured as...
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The Red-Legged Partridge: A Historical Overview on Distribution, Status, Research and Hunting
The Red-legged Partridge is endemic to the Mediterranean region. It is a resident species from southwestern Europe. Along its range, its abundance is characterized by low abundances in areas with wet climate s...
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Article
Open AccessParent–offspring conflict and transition to crèche phase in Chinstrap Penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica)
Parent–offspring conflict theory predicts that offspring seek to prolong the parental care period, while parents strive to shorten it as much as possible. Transition to the crèche phase in penguins involves ch...
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Open AccessLack of detectable genetic isolation in the cyclic rodent Microtus arvalis despite large landscape fragmentation owing to transportation infrastructures
Although roads are widely seen as dispersal barriers, their genetic consequences for animals that experience large fluctuations in population density are poorly documented. We developed a spatially paired expe...
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Article
Red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa productivity in relation to weather, land use, and releases of farm-reared birds
Productivity (offspring production) is a key demographic parameter influencing population dynamics, particularly in r-strategy species, and thus critical for implementing well-based management of populations. ...
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Article
Spatial and seasonal variation in occupation and abundance of common vole burrows in highly disturbed agricultural ecosystems
Understanding how species respond to disturbance in human-modified ecosytems is critical for management and conservation of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. In agroecosystems, human disturbances severely modi...
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Article
The fractal dimension of a conspicuous ornament varies with mating status and shows assortative mating in wild red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa)
Complex body designs, such as plumage ornaments in birds, can be described by fractal geometry. These complex patterns could have a role as visual signals during courtship and social interactions, but an empir...
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Article
A multi-scale approach for identifying conservation needs of two threatened sympatric steppe birds
Habitat selection is an inherently scale-sensitive process in which detected selection patterns frequently depend on the scale of analysis employed. We used a multi-scale modelling approach to identify how the...
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Article
Reconciling economic and ecological sustainability: can non-intensive hunting of red-legged partridges be economically profitable?
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is the most important gamebird in Spain. Due to population declines in recent decades, management approaches increasingly include the release of farm-reared partridges an...
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Article
Changes in behaviour and faecal glucocorticoid levels in response to increased human activities during weekends in the pin-tailed sandgrouse
Human recreational activities are becoming increasingly widespread and frequent, a fact that may potentially exacerbate their effects on wildlife. These human-related disturbances on animals may induce behavio...
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Article
Factors associated with the colonization of agricultural areas by common voles Microtus arvalis in NW Spain
The common vole, considered a rodent pest when overabundant in agricultural areas, was traditionally absent from the agricultural plains of Castilla-y-León, NW Spain. However, it rapidly invaded ca. 50.000 km2 of...
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Article
Improving decision-making for sustainable hunting: regulatory mechanisms of hunting pressure in red-legged partridge
Knowledge about how hunting pressure is determined, and the relative efficacy of different mechanisms to regulate harvest, can help to improve the managers’ decision-making process. We developed a general fra...
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Article
Niche-habitat mechanisms and biotic interactions explain the coexistence and abundance of congeneric sandgrouse species
Ascertaining which niche processes allow coexistence between closely related species is of special interest in ecology. We quantified variations in the environmental niches and densities of two congeneric spec...
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Article
Density dependence and habitat quality modulate the intensity of display territory defence in an exploded lekking species
We evaluated the effect of conspecific abundance and habitat quality of leks on the territorial behaviour of males in an exploded lekking species, the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax). The hypothesis that males mor...
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Article
Parental physiological condition and reproductive success in chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica)
Recent studies suggest that parental resource allocation may be the most important factor explaining differences in reproductive output among parents. That said at least two different hypotheses of balance bet...
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Article
Hunting management in relation to profitability aims: red-legged partridge hunting in central Spain
Game management is widely implemented in Spain, affecting more than 70 % of land cover. Management intensity may be linked to the financial aims of hunting estates, but no study of these aspects has been devel...
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Article
Is the interaction between rabbit hemorrhagic disease and hyperpredation by raptors a major cause of the red-legged partridge decline in Spain?
Hyperpredation can be described as a restrictive case of apparent competition where an increased number of primary prey species indirectly induces the decrease of the secondary prey species through numerical r...
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Article
An improved night-lighting technique for the selective capture of sandgrouse and other steppe birds
The night-lighting technique is routinely used to catch birds. We improved this technique using a thermal infrared camera to catch steppe birds such as the sandgrouse. Target birds were located by an observer ...
