Uso y selección de sitios de nidificacion por Patagioenas maculosa y Columba livia , palomas urbanas de la ciudad de San Juan

FERNANDEZ V; BORGHI C. E.; DAVID GORLA

San Luis

Congreso; XXXII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2014

SOCIEDAD DE BIOLOGIA DE CUYO

USE AND NESTING SITE SELECTION FOR PATAGIOENAS MACULOSA AND COLUMBA LIVIA, TOWN PIGEONS OF THE CITY OF SANJUAN Fernández V, Borghi C E and Gorla D. CIGEOBIO (Centro de Investigaciones de la Geósfera y la Biósfera, UNSJ, CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales). E-mail: vivifernandezm@unsj-cuim.edu.ar We identified the abiotic and biotic features of the environment that explain the use and selection of nesting areas at the meso-scale and landscape levels of two large-sized species of urban pigeons that occur in the desert city of San Juan: the feral Columba livia and the native Patagioenas maculosa. To address this question, we collected data along line transects. The main features included the levels of urbanization, type of buildings and the availability of food and vegetation. The best models that explained the probability of nesting site selection for C. livia included: height of buildings, number of strata, type of construction, and type of zone, whereas for P. maculosa the best models included tree height, tree diameter, tree species, distance to the Park and nearest food source. Each pigeon species used different places for nesting. C. livia selected mostly urbanized areas and buildings with ledges that pigeons use to build their nests in colonies, whereas the solitary species P. maculosa selected areas near large green spaces, using mainly Morus alba and Platanus occidentalis trees to build their isolated nests. Control of C. livia nests should involve modification of the building structures that allow pigeons to nest. On the other hand, green spaces that contain large trees increase the nesting possibilities for P. maculosa.