Display site selection in a ground dwelling bird: the importance of viewshed.

ABSTRACT: We studied the effects of visibility, female and male distribution, microhabitat and distance to human infrastructure on display site selection in a ground-dwelling bird, the Canarian houbara bustard. Using a very high-resolution digital elevation model based on LIDAR technology, and a complete census of the breeding population, we compared 98 display sites with randomly generated sites through generalized linear models. Univariate analyses showed that males displayed at locations that increased their visibility, both at short and long distances. Interestingly, although numbers of females and males around sites did not differ between display and random locations, from display locations males could see more females and males at both distance ranges. The absence of vegetation and stones was

SUBMITTER: Ucero A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10047634 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature