Species models

Skylark

Alauda arvensis is a common and charismatic species of agricultural landscapes.

Sources: - Bauer, H.-G., Bezzel, E., & Fiedler, W. (Eds.). (2012). Das Kompendium der Vögel Mitteleuropas: Ein umfassendes Handbuch zu Biologie, Gefährdung und Schutz (Einbändige Sonderausg. der 2., vollständig überarb. und erw. Aufl. 2005). AULA-Verlag - Delius, J. D. (1965). A Population Study of Skylarks Alauda Arvensis. Ibis, 107(4), 466–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1965.tb07332.x - Donald et al. (2002). Survival rates, causes of failure and productivity of Skylark Alauda arvensis nests on lowland farmland. Ibis, 144(4), 652–664. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1474-919X.2002.00101.x - Glutz von Blotzheim, Urs N. (Ed.). (1985). Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Bd. 10. Passeriformes (Teil 1) 1. Alaudidae - Hirundidae. AULA-Verlag, Wiesbaden. ISBN 3-89104-019-9 - Jenny, M. (1990). Territorialität und Brutbiologie der Feldlerche Alauda arvensis in einer intensiv genutzten Agrarlandschaft. Journal für Ornithologie, 131(3), 241–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01640998 - Püttmanns et al. (2022). Habitat use and foraging parameters of breeding Skylarks indicate no seasonal decrease in food availability in heterogeneous farmland. Ecology and Evolution, 12(1), e8461. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8461

Initialise the skylark population. Creates pairs of skylarks on grassland and agricultural land, keeping a distance of 60m to vertical structures and giving each pair an area of 3ha.

allowsnesting(skylark, model, pos)

Check whether the given position is suitable for nesting.

Females that have laid eggs take care of their chicks, restarting the nesting process once the chicks are independent or in case of brood loss.

Initialise a skylark individual. Selects migration dates and checks if the bird should currently be on migration. Also sets other individual-specific variables.

destroynest!(skylark, model, reason)

Remove the skylark's nest and offspring due to disturbance or predation.

findterritory(skylark, model)

Check whether the habitat surrounding the skylark is suitable for establishing a territory. If it is, return the list of coordinates that make up the new territory, else return an empty list.

foragequality(skylark, model, pos)

Calculate the relative quality of the habitat at this position for foraging. This assumes that open habitat is best (quality = 1.0), and steadily decreases as vegetation height and/or cover increase. (Linear regressions based on Püttmanns et al., 2021; Jeromin, 2002; Jenny, 1990b.)

Females returning from migration move around to look for a suitable partner with a territory.

Females that have found a partner build a nest and lay eggs in a suitable location.

Non-breeding adults move around with other individuals and check for migration.

Once a male has found a territory, he remains in it until the breeding season is over, adjusting it to new conditions when and as necessary.

Males returning from migration move around to look for suitable habitats to establish a territory.