Can current farmland landscapes feed declining steppe birds? Evaluating arthropod abundance for the endangered little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) in cereal farmland during the chick-rearing period: Variations between habitats and localities

Agriculture intensification threatens farmland bird populations because, among other reasons, it reduces the availability of food resources required to rear their offspring. In our study, we sampled and analyzed total arthropod abundance, biomass and richness, and orthopteran and coleopteran abundance and biomass in different agricultural habitats (alfalfa fields, stubble fields, grazed fields, and field margins) across 4 study localities with different levels of agriculture abandonment–intensification, comparing between areas used and not used by one of the most threatened farmland birds in Europe, the little bustard (Tetrax tetrax), during the chick-rearing season. Field margins were the taxonomically richest habitat, while alfalfa fields presented significantly higher total arthropod abundance and biomass than other habitats. All arthropod variables were the highest in the localities with clear conservation-focused agrarian management, and the lowest in the most intensive one. Areas used by little bustards had higher orthopteran and coleopteran abundance and biomass than nonused areas, except for coleopteran biomass in grazed fields. These results highlight the relevance of these arthropods for the species, the importance of dry alfalfa fields as food reservoirs in this critical time of year, the food scarcity in sites where agrarian management disregards farmland bird conservation, and the role of stubbles as providers of food resources during the chick-rearing season in areas used by the species. The adequate management of alfalfa fields and stubbles to provide those key resources seems crucial to improve little bustard breeding success.We thank the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) and Fundación Patrimonio Natural (FPN) de Castilla y León in the persons of Cédric Ferlat (IFHC), David Cubero (Dirección General de Medio Natural, Junta de CyL), and Francisco Jiménez (FPN) for their financial, administrative, and logistic support. This paper also contributes to project S2018/EMT-4338 REMEDINAL TE-CM from Comunidad de Madrid. We are also thankful to the officers responsible for the Reserve of Villafáfila, Mariano Rodíguez y Jesús Palacios. Little bustard spring survey data were kindly provided by SEO-BirdLife.Peer reviewe

Development and reproductive potential of the cereal aphid Sitobion avenae on resistant wheat lines (Triticum monococcum)

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