Natura Croatica Issue number: Natura Croatica, Vol. 8 No.4

Značajke morfoloških obilježja biljaka i njihova uloga u postavljanju gnijezda trstenjaka mlakara (Acrocephalus palustris)

Authors: Gordan Lukač, Snježana Vujčić-Karlo, Ivana Maguire

Authors and affiliation

  • Gordan Lukač JU NP Paklenica, Dr. F. Tuđmana 14a, HR-23244 Starigrad-Paklenica, Croatia
  • Snježana Vujčić-Karlo National Museum Zadar, Natural History Department, Medulićeva 2, 23000 Zadar, Croatia
  • Ivana Maguire University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris) nests in the plant communities of indigenous European species such as: Urtica dioica, Filipendula ulmaria, F. vulgaris and Phragmites communis. The biotopes that are colonized in Central Europe by the nettle (Urtica dioica) are covered with neophytes in Croatia (Solidago gigantea, S. canadensis, Helianthus tuberosus, Artemisia verlotiorum, etc.). The aim of this study was to establish to what extent these new plant species are appropriate for the settlement of the Acrocephalus palustris. The importance and role of plant species and the way the Marsh Warbler constructs its nest in vegetation structures with different shares of neophyta were studied. In the laboratory, the morphological features of plants relevant to nest building were measured.

Keywords

Marsh Warbler, nest building, plant morphology, neophytes, morphology-vegeta- tional complex

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