@article{10272/11741,
year = {2016},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10272/11741},
abstract = {Landscape change provides a suitable framework for investigating population-level responses to
novel ecological pressures. However, relatively little attention has been paid to examine the potential
influence of landscape change on the geographic scale of population differentiation. Here, we
tested for morphological differentiation of red-necked nightjars Caprimulgus ruficollis breeding in
a managed property and a natural reserve situated less than 10km apart. At both sites, we also estimated
site fidelity over 5 years and quantified the potential foraging opportunities for nightjars.
Breeding birds in the managed habitat were significantly larger in size—as indexed by keel
length—than those in the natural one. However, there were no significant differences in wing or tail
length. Immigration from neighboring areas was almost negligible and, furthermore, no individual
(out of 1130 captures overall) exchanged habitats between years, indicating strong site fidelity.
Food supply for nightjars was equally abundant in both habitats, but the availability of foraging
sites was remarkably higher in the managed property. As a result, nightjars—particularly fledglings—
in the latter habitat benefited from increased foraging opportunities in relation to those in
the natural site. It seems likely that the fine-scale variation in nightjar morphology reflects a phenotypic
response to unequal local conditions, since non-random dispersal or differential mortality
had been determined not to be influential. High site fidelity appears to contribute to the maintenance
of body-size differences between the two habitats. Results from this nightjar population highlight
the potential of human-induced landscape change to promote population-level responses at
exceedingly small geographic scales.},
organization = {CC was supported by the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence
of  the  Spanish  Ministry  of  Economy  and  Competitiveness   (SVP-2013-
067686).  Nightjars  were  captured  and  marked  under  license  from  the
Andalusian  Authority  for  Wildlife  Protection  (permit  numbers:  4358/1064/
MDCG and 762/MDCG).},
publisher = {Oxford University Press},
title = {The road to opportunities : landscape change promotes body-size divergence in a highly mobile species},
doi = {10.1093/cz/zov008},
author = {Camacho, Carlos and Sáez Gómez, Pedro and Sánchez, Sonia and Palacios, Sebastián and Molina, Carlos and Potti, Jaime},
}