Habitat selection of a declining steppe-bird stresses the conservation value of fallows and non-intensive orchards

Habitat selection is closely linked to survival, reproduction and fitness. Understanding selection patterns can guide effective conservation, particularly in agroecosystems, where habitat suitability and resource availability fluctuate markedly across seasons. Here, we examine space use and habitat selection of a declining steppe-bird, the Eurasian Stone-curlew, in an agricultural Mediterranean environment to identify beneficial habitats and management interventions. Taking advantage of fine-scale GPS data, we aim to understand differences in the species’ behaviours between diurnal and nocturnal periods and across phenological periods. Given the particular importance of the breeding period for species survival, we also focus on this period to describe how habitat use relates to breeding success. We found that almond and olive orchards were selected for foraging, resting and nesting, and were especially used during the day in summer. Fallows were preferred over other land uses, and more than half of the nests were placed in them. We did not find significant differences in hatching success among land uses. Intensive fruit orchards, which are irrigated and planted as hedgerows, were avoided. The expansion of intensive fruit orchards at the expense of traditional ones, along with the loss of fallow land in cereal dominated landscapes contributes to habitat loss for the Stone-curlew, highlighting the need to preserve heterogeneous farmland mosaics and traditional land uses in Mediterranean agroecosystems. • Fallows and almond and olive orchards were selected by the Eurasian Stone-curlew. • Winter cereals and intensive fruit orchards were avoided compared to fallows. • Expansion of intensive fruit orchards and loss of fallows contributes to habitat loss. • Habitat use and selection vary seasonally with changes in the environment. • Need to preserve farmland mosaics in Mediterranean agroecosystems.