A Comprehensive Monograph on the Ecology and Distribution of the House Bunting (Emberiza Sahari) in Algeria
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a Frontiers of Biogeography 2021, 13.1, e47727 Frontiers of Biogeography MONOGRAPH the scientific journal of the International Biogeography Society A comprehensive monograph on the ecology and distribution of the House bunting (Emberiza sahari) in Algeria Abdelwahab Chedad1,2 , Djamel Bendjoudi3 , Brahim Beladis2,4 , Omar Guezoul2,4 , and Haroun Chenchouni5,6* 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Kasdi Merbah - Ouargla, 30000 Ouargla, Algeria; 2 Laboratoire BioRessources Sahariennes: Préservation et Valorisation, University of Kasdi Merbah - Ouargla, 30000 Ouargla Algeria; 3 Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment and Health, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Blida 1, 09000 Blida, Algeria; 4 Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University Kasdi Merbah - Ouargla, 30000 Ouargla, Algeria; 5 Department of Natural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Natural and Life Sciences, University of Tebessa, 12002 Tebessa, Algeria; 6 Laboratory of Natural Resources and Management of Sensitive Environments ‘RNAMS’, University of Oum-El-Bouaghi, 04000 Oum-El-Bouaghi, Algeria. *Corresponding author: Chenchouni, H.: Tel: +213-779-462-990: [email protected] Abstract Highlights The House bunting (Emberiza sahari Levaillant, 1850) is a human • This study represents a comprehensive monograph commensal passerine bird species, characteristic of urban environments in the Sahara Desert of Algeria. Its distribution in on House Bunting ecology in North Africa, which Algeria, with particular emphasis in Ghardaïa, was investigated deepens the understanding of distribution and using two sampling methods: progressive frequency sampling breeding management of the species in dryland and point abundance index, with ecological field data collected urban environments. during 2017−2019. Morphological biometric measurements were carried out on free-living individuals for each sex. Reproduction • We provide data on several biometric parameters, phenology and success were surveyed through the breeding season breeding biology (clutch size, hatchling and reproductive (February‒September) during 2018‒2019. Trophic behavior was success), nesting timing, and diet composition of studied by direct observations of foraging individuals. Results showed that the species range in Algeria is larger than shown adults. by data from the literature, with expansion northwards within • The study identified and addressed potential gaps the country. At a finer scale, in Saharan cities, the species prefers in knowledge of the species’ ecology in the Sahara old and traditional urban environments, where its densities are higher than within modern urban habitats. At a national scale, we Desert and semiarid lands of North Africa, showing an found that the species range is not restricted to desert climates, increase in range compared to the current literature but extends towards the north of Algeria, including the semi-arid (including the IUCN Red List assessment). steppe rangelands of the Hauts-Plateaux region. Range changes are attributed to changes in building practices and climate • As a synanthropic species of urban environments of change. Adult females were heavier and slightly larger than the Sahara, Emberiza sahari prefers traditional urban males, whose head plumage had different coloration patterns designs over modern estates. compared to females. Nests weighed 82.03 ± 20.77 g (mean ± standard deviation) and consisted of 72% plant materials, 19% • Range adjustments at fine scales appear linked to animal-origin materials and 9% inert constituents. The nest cups changing building practices and urbanization. were oval in form, top-lined and stuffed with diverse material. House buntings nest under the roofs of uninhabited houses, in stairwells, traditional water wells, and holes within walls. Nesting height averaged 2.14 ± 0.8 m. In Ghardaïa, courtship and pair formation began mid-February. Females can raise up to three successive broods (March-September), with 31‒34 days/brood including 14‒15 days for egg incubation. Clutch size is typically 2‒3 eggs. The diet of the House bunting included seeds of annual grasses dominated by Poaceae species. The species also fed on anthropogenic food remains, and sometimes on insects, especially during the breeding period. Keywords: Algeria, body biometrics, breeding biology, urban ornithology, Emberiza sahari, feeding ecology, House bunting, nesting, Sahara Desert, species distribution. e-ISSN: 1948-6596 https://escholarship.org/uc/fb doi:10.21425/F5FBG47727 © the authors, CC-BY 4.0 license 1 Chedad et al. Ecology of the House bunting (Emberiza sahari) in Algeria Introduction conducted specifically on this species except for records made by Heim de Balsac and Mayaud (1962), Dupuy The Sahara, the largest and most extreme of the (1969), Ledant et al. (1981), Isenmann and Moali (2000) deserts worldwide, is marked by edapho-climatic conditions that constrain the survival of spontaneous living and Moulaï (2019). It is in this context that the current beings (Chehma 2006). This ecoregion is characterized study aimed to fill scientific gaps in several aspects of by low and uneven rainfall and pronounced thermal the species’ ecology and biogeography, by providing amplitudes between day and night and between a comprehensive investigation including: (i) mapping seasons (Doumandji and Doumandji-Mitiche 1994). and updating its range in Algeria with emphasis on the Regardless of its dryness, emptiness and severe province of Ghardaia and its neighboring regions in environmental conditions, the Sahara contains a very central Algeria; here the study focuses on how cultural particular diversity of flora and fauna, where some shifts in building practices are changing the species’ species have remarkable adaptations (Chehma 2006). distribution and abundance and assesses distribution Birds are excellent indicators for studying the shifts and expansion at a national scale. We investigated effects of urbanization because they react quickly to how urbanization intensity and building structure modifications in the landscape (Marzluff et al. 1998), (considered as different urban habitats ranging from and the trophic resources available present significant less urbanized and traditional habitats to modern spatio-temporal variations that influence the functioning and dense buildings) influence the occurrence and of populations and the expression of life history traits population abundance of this synanthropic species; (ii) of individuals (Roff 1992). Among the birds of the determining biometric parameters and their variation Emberizidae family, two Bunting species characterize between sexes; (iii) examining its breeding biology the Sahara Desert: House bunting (Emberiza sahari with analysis of the temporal variations of breeding Levaillant, 1850) in Northwest Africa and Striolated parameters (clutch size, hatchling and reproductive bunting (Emberiza striolata Lichtenstein, 1823) in success) and egg-laying date for different broods, Northeast Africa and Asia. The latter includes three times of nesting and years of study; and (iv) exploring subspecies: E. s. saturiator, E. s. jebelmarrae and E. adult diet composition. s. striolata (Kirwan and Shirihai 2007, Svensson et al. 2009, Sangster et al. 2013, Schweizer et al. 2017). Materials and Methods Globally, the House bunting is categorized as a species of least concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of threatened Study area species (BirdLife International 2016). In Algeria, the House bunting has a narrow The present study was carried out in the region distribution range. The northern boundary includes of Ghardaia (32°28’N, 3°42’E), which is located in the the Saharan limits of the Aurès mountains and its central‒northern part of the northern Sahara Desert. oases (M’Chouneche, El Kantra, Outaya, Biskra, Tolga, The City of Ghardaia is located 600 km south of the Chetma) and the southern aspect of the Saharan Atlas capital city Algiers (Heim de Balsac and Mayaud 1926) (Bousâada, Messaad, Laghouat, Ain Sefra, Beni Ounif, and is described as a UNESCO World Heritage Site Bechar). The southern boundary passes through Biskra, (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/188/). The region has Ghardaia, M’Zab, the oasis of Taghit and that of Beni a Saharan bioclimate characterized by mild winters Abbes south of Bechar. The distribution of this species (mean temperature of the coldest month = 11.5° C), also includes Hoggar, Tassili, Kalaa-Beni-Hammad (Setif), very hot summers (mean temperature peaks in July Belhiourt, Oued Abiod and Ghoufi (Aurès mountains) with 35.5 °C) and low annual rainfall (~50‒70 mm). (Heim de Balsac and Mayaud 1962, Chenchouni 2010). The House bunting is considered a noble, sacred, and Mapping species distribution in Algeria daring species, and it is a synanthropic species that In order to establish a distribution map of the has lived close to human settlements for a long time. House bunting in Algeria, with a particular focus in Locally, this species has several appellations in Arabic Ghardaia (central Algeria), species occurrence data and Berber such as “Bou-Oud”, “Bou-Hommir” and during 2017‒2019 were collected using the Progressive “Bou-Bechir” (Chedad, pers. obs.). Locals protect it Frequency Sampling (Echantillonnage Fréquentiel and contribute to its conservation through promoting Progressif “EFP”) method, which is a point-sampling traditional constructions that include suitable features technique (see