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Query: "author" (Patrik Karell) .

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1.
Sensory pollutants have negative but different effects on nestbox occupancy and breeding performance of a nocturnal raptor across Europe
Giuseppe Orlando, Luca Nelli, Paul Baker, Patrik Karell, Al Vrezec, 2026, original scientific article

Abstract: Anthropogenic noise and artificial light at night (ALAN) are expanding globally, acting as pervasive sensory pollutants that can disrupt wildlife behaviour and reproduction. While most research has focused on diurnal species, the effects of these pollutants on the ecological response of nocturnal predators remain poorly understood. Using data from nine European countries, we investigated the effects of traffic noise, ALAN, and road proximity on nestbox occupancy and reproduction in the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco), a nocturnal raptor widespread across Europe. Traffic noise consistently reduced both nestbox occupancy and reproductive success regardless of road proximity. ALAN also impaired occupancy and reproduction, but its negative effect on reproduction changed based on the proximity to roads. Interestingly, the negative effect of ALAN was stronger in sites further from roads, but it attenuated in their proximity, where owls' hatching success and brood size moderately improved. This finding suggests that near roads, where prey abundance and availability are also generally high, owls may either find the prey regardless of ALAN or they may exploit it to facilitate hunting and brood provisioning. However, vicinity to roads might enhance mortality by vehicle collisions, which represents one of the greatest threats for the conservation of owls. Our findings highlight that anthropogenic noise and the co-occurrence between ALAN and roads can affect settlement decisions and breeding performance in nocturnal raptors, with potential consequences across the food chain. Mitigating anthropogenic noise and promoting nighttime-lighting systems that minimize owls' presence close to roads will represent valuable actions to improve their conservation.
Keywords: ALAN, anthropogenic noise, owls, reproductive fitness, roadside habitats, raptor conservation, conservation biology
Published in DiRROS: 14.10.2025; Views: 363; Downloads: 167
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2.
Lifetime fitness variation across the geographical range in a colour polymorphic species
Gian Luigi Bucciolini, Chiara Morosinotto, Jon Brommer, Al Vrezec, Peter Ericsson, Lars-Ove Nilsson, Karel Poprach, Ingar Jostein Øien, Patrik Karell, 2025, original scientific article

Abstract: The maintenance of variation (i.e., different phenotypes) for heritable traits that are under selection, despite expectations of selection eroding variation and favouring only the fittest phenotype, represents an evolutionary paradox. Here, we studied variation in life-history traits in five populations of colour polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) across Europe that have been individually studied for 13 years. Tawny owls show heritable plumage colour variation ranging from less pigmented (grey) to more heavily pigmented (brown-red). The breeding life span (BLS), lifetime egg production (LEP), lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and the number of years skipped between breeding attempts (NYS) varied between the study populations, with LEP and LRS varying across colour morphs in a population-specific fashion. Thus, grey tawny owl females have higher lifetime fledgling and egg production than brown-red females in some populations, but vice versa in others. Hence, our findings demonstrate disruptive selection of tawny owl plumage colourations across their European range, which may be one factor maintaining variation in heritable tawny owl colourations.
Keywords: colour polymorphism, fitness, geographical range, life-history traits, reproductive investment
Published in DiRROS: 07.05.2025; Views: 623; Downloads: 598
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