Do age and type of plantings affect turtle dove Streptopelia turtur nest placement in olive agro-ecosystems?

Abstract

Seventy active turtle dove nests were found in the Tadla irrigated olive agro-ecosystem, 39 in olive orchards and 31 in olive hedgerows. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to determine the combined effects of olive age categories (class A < 10 years, class B 10–20 years and class C 21–30 years) and type of plantings (orchards and hedgerows) on nest placement within-tree. Results indicated that turtle doves' nests are placed higher up gradually as the trees are older. Nonetheless, the nest's relative vertical position in the canopy does not change from one age to another. Nest placement in the canopy was higher in hedgerows than in orchards. This game species exhibits adaptive behavioural plasticity in nest placement and appears well-adapted to olive grove conditions in this region. This high adaptability is beneficial to maintaining the species in these highly frequented man-made environments.