Home Range and Habitat Use of the Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon) during the Reproductive Period in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula

Many populations of the Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon) have suffered a noticeable decrease over the last decades. This work has the aim of estimating the home range of the Moustached Warbler and its habitat use during the reproductive season. We captured 11 males during the reproductive period with mist nets and marked them with radio transmitters. We determined the home range by calculating minimum convex polygon and kernel areas at 95% (home range) and 50% (core area). Then, to study the habitat use, we registered the proportion of the different vegetation types within these areas and carried out a compositional analysis to investigate if there is a detectable habitat preference. The results seem to indicate that the marked individuals did not show territorial behavior, given that the overlaps between home ranges and also the core areas were over 70%. The compositional analysis showed that A. melanopogon prefers tall and short reeds and mixed vegetation with rushes and bulrushes. Thus, maintaining heterogeneous and stratified vegetation would favor this species.

Factors Influencing Home Ranges of the Qinghai Toad-headed Lizard(Phrynocephalus vlangalii)on the Dangjin Mountain,Gansu

Home range is an important ecological parameter reflecting the suita bility of animal habitats.To study the size and factors influencing the home ranges of the Qinghai toad-headed lizard(Phr ynocephalus vlangalii)in different habitats,from July to September 2020,we radio-tagged and tracked 15 individuals in each of sites distributed at high(3600 m)and low(2600 m)altitudes on the Dangjin Mountain,Gansu Province,northwest China.We calculated home range size using the 100%minimum convex polygon method,and analyzed the influence of inherent lizard characteristics and external environmental factors.Our results revealed that for both high-and lowaltitude lizard populations,the sizes of home ranges were positively correlated with lizard body mass.Moreover,after eliminating the effect of body mass as a covariable,we established that the home ranges of high-altitude lizards(5255.1±1103.8 m^(2))were larger than those of the low-altitude lizards(2208.1±348.7 m^(2)).Lizards in the high-altitude population were also characterized by longer daily suitable activity times and spent significantly more time in full sunlight than those in the low-altitude population.Furthermore,the food resources for lizards in low-altitude habitats were more abundant than those in high-altitude habitats In conclusion,we established that P.vlangalii lizards inhabiting high-altitude sites had larger home ranges than conspecific lizards distributed at a lower altitude,which was associated not only with endogenous factors,such as body mass,but also with habitat-related environmental factors,such as the quality of thermal resources and availability of food.