Geology topics
Andrew T. Smith
Publications and source records attributed to Andrew T. Smith.
Relationship between demographics and diet specificity of Imperial Eagles Aquila heliaca in Kazakhstan
The demographic consequences of within-population variability in predator foraging are not well understood. We assessed the relationship between the degree of diet specialization and two demographic parameters, population density and reproductive output, within a single population of Imperial Eagles Aquila heliaca at a nature reserve in north-central Kazakhstan. Nearest-neighbour distances between eagle nests throughout the reserve, and thus population density, were correlated with the degree to which diets were specialized. Diet diversity showed an extensive regional variability that was linked to prey distributions, but within-year analyses of reproductive output did not show similar linkages. However, multi-year analyses of breeding performance showed inter-regional differences in nesting success that were paralleled, and probably driven by, similar trends in diet diversity. In contrast, brood size at fledging was not linked to diet diversity and was more probably driven by reserve-wide influences such as weather. Finally, the decision to initiate breeding was associated neither with diet diversity nor with environmental variability. Our results indicate that the degree of dietary specialization is linked to the demographics of Imperial Eagle populations. For these and other raptor populations, it is possible that management could be used separately to increase or decrease nesting success, brood size at fledging, and the likelihood that a pair will initiate breeding.
Coexistence in a multispecies assemblage of eagles in central Asia
We evaluated factors that permit species coexistence in an exceptional assemblage of similar raptor species at the Naurzum Zapovednik (a national nature reserve) in north-central Kazakhstan. White-tailed Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca), Golden Eagle (A. chrysaetos), and Steppe Eagle (A. nipalensis) all breed at the Zapovednik. Steppe Eagle use of nesting resources was distinct from that of tree-nesting species. We evaluated differences in nest tree and nest habitat characteristics, nest dimensions and positions, and nest spacing among the three forest-dwelling eagle species to distinguish between the effects of inter- and intraspecific resource limitations on species coexistence. Although the different species bred in similar habitat and sometimes reused other species' nests, the dimensions, positions and locations of their nests often differed. These differences did not appear to result from interspecific competition. Nest spacing trends were also species specific; Imperial Eagles generally nested farther from other eagle nests than did Golden Eagles and White-tailed Sea-Eagles. Intraspecific variation in habitat, physical characteristics, and spacing patterns of Imperial Eagle nests was extensive throughout the nature reserve. Although interspecific partitioning of nesting habitat may allow coexistence of ground-nesting Steppe Eagles, interspecific competition did not appear to be a primary determinant of the use of nest habitat, space, or nests by tree-nesting species. Rather, interspecific effects appeared secondary to intraspecific effects in determining coexistence of tree-nesting eagles at this site.