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Data and code from: Home range shifts and habitat selection across life-history stages in grey partridges

Laux, Amelie1; Mayer, Kathrin1; Gottschalk, Eckhard1

Published May 08, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsvcq

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Abstract

Understanding how birds use space throughout the year is essential for effective conservation planning, even in resident species. We investigated seasonal space use in a Central European population of grey partridges (Perdix perdix), a rapidly declining residential farmland bird. Using radio-telemetry data from 201 individuals monitored between 2009 and 2017, we estimated seasonal home ranges for three key life-history stages (pair formation, breeding (i.e., nesting and early chick rearing), and winter). We quantified spatial overlap and distances between consecutive seasonal home ranges and analysed habitat selection during breeding and winter to identify potential drivers of these shifts. Spatial overlap between seasonal home ranges was generally low. In most individuals, core areas of successive life-history stages showed little to no overlap, particularly between breeding and winter, indicating pronounced seasonal shifts in activity areas. Habitat selection at the home range scale differed strongly between seasons: during breeding, partridges preferred fallows, similar agri-environmental schemes and field margins relative to arable land, whereas in winter arable fields were selected more. In contrast, habitat selection at the telemetry-location level was more consistent between seasons. Home range size varied with season and sex, with breeding home ranges substantially smaller than those during pair formation and winter. By quantifying spatial overlap between seasonal home ranges, this study provides new insights into the spatial ecology of grey partridges. Our results show that seasonal shifts in space use are likely shaped by changing habitat requirements and that presence data gathered during pair formation may not reflect breeding territories. Improving habitat quality across the landscape may reduce the need for such shifts. More broadly, our findings illustrate the importance of incorporating seasonal spatial dynamics into conservation planning for farmland birds and other species with seasonally changing habitat requirements.