Vol. 78 2026

ARTICLES

Escape Behaviour of Breeding Birds in Riparian Habitats of North Africa: Effect of Climate and Elevation Patterns

Okba Boumaaza1, Ismahan Halassi2, Lamir Benchaiba3, Ali Elafri2,* & Salah Telailia3

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1Laboratory of Biology, Water & Environment (LBEE), Faculty of SNV-STU, University of 8 May 1945-Guelma, 24000, Guelma, Algeria; E-mail: okba239@yahoo.fr
*,2Laboratory of Applied Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, University of Abbes Laghrour, 40004,
Khenchela, Algeria; E-mail: a.elafri@univ-khenchela.dz, ismahan.halassi@univ-khenchela.dz
3Laboratory of Agriculture and Ecosystem Functioning, Department of Agronomy Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, Chadli Bendjedid University, El Tarf, Algeria; l.benchaiba@univ-eltarf.dz, telailia-salah@univ-eltarf.dz

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb78.3.003135

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Abstract

Understanding how birds respond to human disturbance is essential for predicting behavioural adaptation under environmental change. We assessed fearfulness in riparian bird species during the breeding season in a montane region of north-eastern Algeria using flight initiation distance (FID) as a behavioural proxy. We analysed 479 FID observations from 39 species recorded in the Aurès Highlands and tested the effects of environmental predictors using two phylogenetic generalised least squares (PGLS) models: one including precipitation and the other – including spring temperature, alongside elevation and additional covariates. Mean FID was 22.39 ± 8.75 m (range: 5–53 m), with most values between 10 and 30 m. Species identity strongly influenced FID, explaining 38% of the variance, whereas site effects were weak. Both PGLS models received similar support (ΔAICc = 0.35), indicating that precipitation- and temperature-based climatic formulations explained the data equally well. Starting distance was the strongest predictor of FID, with a very large positive effect (r = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93–0.98). Elevation had a consistent large positive effect in both models (r = 0.49 and 0.47, correspondingly), showing that birds at higher altitudes initiated escape at greater distances. Climatic conditions also shaped FID: higher precipitation was associated with shorter FID (β = -0.02, p = 0.005), whereas higher spring temperatures were associated with longer FID (β = 0.02, p = 0.006). Together, our results suggest that birds inhabiting warmer and drier environments are generally more fearful than those in cooler or wetter areas. Raptor abundance showed only weak associations with FID, body size had no clear independent effect, while vegetation cover was not retained in the final models, possibly owing to sampling limitations or because its influence was overridden by climatic factors and unmeasured habitat conditions. Phylogenetic analyses detected no signal in FID (Pagel’s λ = 0), indicating that closely related species did not exhibit more similar escape responses than expected by chance.

Key words

Altitude, FID, phylogenetic signal, precipitation, spring temperature

How to Cite
Boumaaza O., Halassi I., Benchaiba L., Elafri A. & Telailia S. 2026. Escape Behaviour of Breeding Birds in Riparian Habitats of North Africa: Effect of Climate and Elevation Patterns. Acta zoologica bulgarica 78.

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