Oksana Zakala - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Oksana Zakala

Ornis Fennica, Sep 29, 2018

Studia Biologica

Background. Traditionally birds build their nests out of natural materials that are usually found... more Background. Traditionally birds build their nests out of natural materials that are usually found near the location of the future nest. However, along with the expansion of human economic activity and the appearance of various types of antropogenic materials (hereafter debris) that pollute environment, they appeared in bird nests. Although it is hard to predict with certainty what significance this behavior will have for birds in the future, it is possible to investigate which species are prone to such behavior, which unnatural materials birds choose to build nests, and which factors influence it. This makes it possible to predict how changes in the environment by humans affect the nest-building behavior of different species of birds and the species-specific appearance of the nest. Moreover, incorporation of debris into birds’ nests may be used as an indicator of environmental pollution. Materials and Methods. Materials for this article included 382 nests of 42 passerine species. N...

Visnyk of Lviv University. Biological series

The attention in the article is paid to the key species research importance. Their classification... more The attention in the article is paid to the key species research importance. Their classification was discussed in our article published in “Studia Biologica” (Y. Tsaryk, O. Reshetylo, I. Tsaryk, Biol. Stud. 2019: 13(1); 161–168). The main emphasis was made on ecological key species, while other categories were analyzed as well (protective, social etc.). A row of potential key species in different ecosystems was proposed based on the original field research. So, such phytophagous insects like the alder leaf beetles Agelastica alni, Linaeidea aenea, and the mother of pearl moth Patania ruralis are proposed to be the key species in forest ecosystems. Altogether in terrestrial ecosystems such species as the common carder bee Bombus pascuorum and the buff-tailed bumblebee B. terrestris are tend to be the key species among the pollinators (excluding European honey bee Apis mellifera). Ants are important invertebrate key species as well: Formica – in forest ecosystems, Lasius, Myrmica and...

Studia Biologica, 2021

Objectives. The Little Owl is the most common owl in the Western Palearctic and its population is... more Objectives. The Little Owl is the most common owl in the Western Palearctic and its population is declining significantly in Europe. Therefore, conservation and study of this owl is an important issue in most European countries. Analysis of trophic patterns at the local level provides interesting and valuable information about the predator’s eating habits. The owl’s diet investigation allows us to analyze their potential adaptations to habitats with different levels of environmental transformation. Materials and Methods. We studied nutrition of the Little Owl Athene noctua, in agricultural lands of Berehove district of Transcarpathian region in Ukraine. In total, 1446 pellets were collected at 15 pellet stations in 2002–2020 and 2506 prey items were identified. The prey items represented 18 vertebrate species (16 species of small mammals of three orders Rodentia, Soricomorpha, Carnivora, as well as reptiles of the family Lacertidae and birds of the order Passeriformes and arthropods...

Biological Conservation, 2014

ABSTRACT Protecting species is one of the major focuses of conservation efforts. However, large-s... more ABSTRACT Protecting species is one of the major focuses of conservation efforts. However, large-scale assessments of the effects of species protection on animal populations are rare. Protection has been shown to benefit birds in Western Europe and in the United States, but not yet in Eastern Europe, where modern environmental legislation was only established in the early 1990s after political changes. We compared the population trends of bird species between 1970–1990 and 1990–2000 in ten Eastern European countries for species protected since 1990s and unprotected species, controlling for effects of species’ phylogeny and traits. After 1990, trends in protected species improved more than in unprotected species. This suggests that national legislation has helped prevent declines of the protected species, although there was a high variability in population trends among countries. In particular, there was great improvement in the population trends of protected species in countries providing ‘narrow and deep’ protection to few species. In contrast, trends of protected species remained nearly unchanged in countries providing ‘broad and shallow’ protection to most species, while few unprotected species had adverse population trends in these countries. Although our correlative analysis cannot show causal relationships, the positive relationship between protection and long-term population trends suggests that species protection is a highly relevant tool for conservation. A combination of ‘broad and shallow’ and ‘narrow and deep’ protection might be most efficient for securing healthy bird populations for the future.

The Ring

The Citrine Wagtail has been gradually expanding its breeding range from Asia westward into Europ... more The Citrine Wagtail has been gradually expanding its breeding range from Asia westward into Europe since the middle of the last century. New breeding records of this species further to the west of Europe have emerged during the last several decades. The distribution of the Citrine Wagtail in Western Ukraine began at the end of the last century. A total of 48 Citrine Wagtails were ringed in August 1995–2016 at the Cholgynskyy ornithological reserve (West-Ukrainian Ornithological Station). The birds were recorded mainly in the first half of August, peaking from the beginning of the second decade to the middle of the month. At the beginning of August there were wagtails in different stages of moult. Adult moulted birds were recorded from the beginning of the second decade of August, while juvenile birds underwent partial moult during the first part of the month. The mean weight of adult moulted birds was higher than that of juveniles. At the beginning of August many Citrine Wagtails we...

Ring, 2004

Zakala O., Shydlovskyy I., Busse P. 2004. Variation in body mass and fat reserves of the Sedge Wa... more Zakala O., Shydlovskyy I., Busse P. 2004. Variation in body mass and fat reserves of the Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus on autumn migration in the Lviv province (W Ukraine). Ring 26, 2: 55-69.