Pakistan J. Zool., pp 1-9, 2021. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjz/20190708150749 Diet of Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) in Forest Areas of Souk Ahras Region (North- Eastern Algeria): Management Implications Asma Kaouachi1, Mohcen Menaa1*, Abderraouf Chouaib Rebbah2 and Mohamed Cherif Maazi1 1LEAT Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Souk Ahras, P.O. 1553, Annaba Road, Souk Ahras, Algeria. 2Department of Nature and Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Oum El-Bouaghi, P.O. 321, Constantine Road, Oum El Bouaghi, Algeria. Article Information Received 08 July 2019 Revised 13 May 2020 ABSTRACT Accepted 08 August 2020 Available online 06 November 2020 The wood pigeon Columba palumbus is a common bird in Algerian forests. In the near past the species Authors’ Contribution populations have increased significantly in Algeria. In order to better comprehend the ecology and vital AK, MM and MCM collected, needs of the wood pigeon and to help with our results in the process of conservation management of wood analyzed the data and wrote the pigeon, a study of the diet of this pigeon was undertaken from October 2015 to April 2017 within the Souk article. ACR helped in data analysis Ahras region, in North-eastern Algeria. This work was carried out by using a combination of digestive- and in writing of the manuscript. contents analysis (86 contents) and field observations (during the breeding season). We identified 16 plant species of which four were recorded through on-site observations and 12 species were collected Key words from bird crops. The biomass contained in the alimentary tract showed that fruits dominated the bird Columba palumbus, Conservation diet but the proportion of food items varied among seasons reflecting their seasonal availability in the management, Diet, Algeria, Fruits study area. The pattern of seasonal variation of the diet was similar to most studies on wood pigeon diet. During the autumn and the winter; significant amounts of fruits of mastic tree Pistacia lentiscus and cork oak Quercus suber were consumed. Spring was characterized by the consumption of fruits of olives Olea europea and Aleppo pine Pinus halepensis. The direct field observations permitted to note that the summer diet was dominated by the cereals. INTRODUCTION Scandinavia to the Atlantic coasts and Mediterranean peninsulas (Saari, 1997; Bea et al., 2003). In North Africa, etermining a bird’s diet is crucial to many aspects of it is a common resident, passage migrant and widespread Davian ecology (Sam et al., 2017). The studies carried breeder (Self, 2014). on the wild bird’s diet suggested that the food resources The wood pigeon is common in Algerian forests and play a major role in determining how much to invest in its populations have increased significantly in previous reproduction, and it ultimatelyOnline affects the population Firstsize years (Moali Article et al., 2003; Merabet et al., 2014; Bendjoudi (Ruffino et al., 2014). Another way in which food can et al., 2015; Menaa, 2017). In Europe, many studies have influence the bird population is via its impact on breeding investigated the wood pigeon diet. These studies showed timing (Newton, 1980; Poulin et al., 1994). Seasonality that the diet of the wood pigeon is mainly composed of has a fundamental impact on food availability, which in seeds, fruits, and leaves (Colquhoun, 1951; Murton, 1965; turn affects abundance, bird distribution, breeding success Cramp, 1972; Schnock and Seutin, 1973; Folk, 1984; and the ultimate survival (Mengesha and Bekele, 2008). Jimenez et al., 1994; Rouxel and Czajkowski, 2004; Ó Columbidae is one of the most threatened bird families hUallachain and Dunne, 2013; Gutiérrez-Galán et al., in the world however it has received relatively little 2016). The main food species consumed by wood pigeons conservation attention (Walker, 2007). The wood pigeon varied in accordance with their abundance in the study belongs to the family Columbidae. It is a Palearctic species areas; for example, ivy Hedera helix and beech Fagus that breeds across the European continent, from Russia and sylvatica are the main plant species exploited by the wood pigeon in the North-east of Ireland (ÓhUallachain * Corresponding author: [email protected] and Dunne, 2013). In southern Spain, the acorns of oaks 0030-9923/2021/0001-0001 $ 9.00/0 Quercus spp. and fruit of mastic tree dominated the diet Copyright 2021 Zoological Society of Pakistan of the wood pigeon (Gutiérrez-Galán et al., 2016). In 2 A. Kaouachi et al. Algeria, Merabet et al. (2014) reported that Oxalis Oxalis this game bird and to develop conservation management pes-caprae and olives are important food items consumed strategies for this species in forest areas. by wood pigeon. The seasonal variation of the pigeon diet is another MATERIALS AND METHODS story. Many studies highlighted the temporal variation in Study area the consumption of food items by wood pigeon. Seeds and The study was carried out from October 2015 to fruits of trees dominate winter and spring diets (Murton, March 2017 at three forests within the region of Souk 1965; ÓhUallachain and Dunne, 2013; Merabet et al., Ahras, in North-eastern Algeria (Fig. 1, Table I), where 2014). Gutiérrez-Galán et al. (2016) found that fruits wood pigeon are reported to be hunted. of trees also occurred during autumn in a worthwhile proportion. During summer, the wood pigeon feeds Data collection almost on cereals, and many studies agree with the great In total, 86 individual wood pigeon (54 males and 32 consumption of this food category (Colquhoun, 1951; females) were collected and examined between October Jimenez et al., 1994; Gutiérrez-Galán et al., 2016). 2015 to March 2017. The birds were hunted by local In North Africa, only a few studies document the hunters. They were dissected for crop content analysis. wood pigeon that were limited to annotated checklists and All the crops were removed and emptied into Petri dishes catalogues of bird species in Algeria (Isenmann and Moali, and the contents were weighed on a digital scale with 2000), Morocco (Thévenot et al., 2003) and Tunisia an accuracy of 0.0001g. The food items were examined (Isenmann et al., 2005). and separated under a binocular microscope LEICA with Wood pigeon diet in Algeria has been insufficiently a magnification of 10 X 40 mm. The sorted items were examined, and most of the studies are only descriptive conserved in ethanol at 70°. (Guezzoul et al., 2004; Merabet et al., 2014). These works showed that the wood pigeon consumes mostly plants with a preference for seeds of Oxalis, barley Hordeum vulgare and wheat Triticum durum in the plain of Mitidja (Merabet et al., 2014; Guezzoul et al., 2004). More research on the diet of this species is sorely needed and especially in our study area, where the wood pigeon is still found in forest areas and it rarely spreads over agricultural and urban areas. Besides wood pigeon is a game species that needs better management interventions. In order to redress this lack of information, we have studied the diet composition of this species and its seasonal variation in three forests within the Souk Ahras region, in North-eastern Algeria. The primary aim is to understand the ecology of the wood pigeon in the region of Souk Ahras and increase the knowledge of the diet Onlineof this species. The research First Article objectives were to evaluate the ecological requirements of Fig. 1. Geographic location of the study area. Table I. Summary of description for the sampling sites in the region of Souk Ahras. Sites Natural forest of Ouled Bechih Natural forest of Zaarouria Reforestation of Boussessou Habitat type Cork oak stands and zeen oak stands Aleppo pine stands Aleppo pine stands Municipality Mechroha Zaarouria M’Daourouch Coordinates 36° 21′ 26″ N, 7° 50′ 08″ E 36° 13′ 38″ N, 7° 57′ 28″ E 36° 04′ 29″ N, 7° 49′ 11″ E Altitude 790-1050 680-717 943-1067 Annual pricipitation (mm) 762 687 587 Monthly temperature (°C) 14.0 14.5 13.8 Climate Sub-humid Sub-humid Semi-arid 3 Diet of Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) in Forest Areas 3 Food items were classed into three categories: cereals: Considering all the consumed items in the analyzed (seeds of barley), fruits: (acorns and other fruits consumed crops, the wood pigeon was exclusively herbivorous; no by wood pigeon), grass clover (leaves of clover Trifolium animal species were recorded during this study. Table II sp.). summarizes all the plant species consumed by pigeons or Outside the legal hunting season, we observed the recorded during the fieldwork. feeding sites and recorded the species on which the wood The diet composition was examined to see if there pigeons were feeding. The observations on the feeding was a difference between seasons and sexes. Permanova sites were not detailed; our results are based on general analysis revealed a clear difference between seasons simple observations and the information given by the local (Adonis: F2.83=7.9391, p<0.001), but not between sexes residents. (Adonis: F2.83 =1.0719, p˃0.05). The body weight of entire birds was measured with The total weight of consumed items by all studied an electronic balance (to the nearest 1.0g), distinguishing wood pigeons (86 individuals) was 2276.1g and the between sexes and season. average weight of crop contents was 28.45 ± 10.86g. Seasonal changes in diet were evaluated by comparing wood pigeons haunted in autumn (October to November), winter (December to February) and high spring (March to April). The determination of sex was by examination of gonads following dissection. Statistical analyses Data on richness and body weight were analyzed for both the overall total and for each season and sex.