Soulaf Aicha Beldjouher, Djamel Bendjoudi , Abdelwahab Chedad, Haroun Chenchouni

Distribution, population dynamics and breeding biology of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) in north-western Algeria

Abstract The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a widely distributed Palearctic migrant and an established bioindicator of habitat quality. This study examined how environmental and temporal factors shaped its distribution and breeding dynamics in the north-western High Plateaus of Algeria. Monitoring conducted between 2021 and 2023 revealed a marked increase in population size, with the average number of breeding pairs rising from 12.2 to 17.8 across study sites, accompanied by a rise in population density from 2.37 to 3.60 pairs/100 km². These trends appeared closely linked to local habitat conditions, particularly the availability and proximity of foraging sites (3–5000 m from nests), and the agricultural productivity characteristic of the semi-arid landscape. Temporal patterns also emerged as significant determinants of breeding success: mixed-effects modelling showed that interannual variation significantly influenced stork density, hatching rates, and fledgling output, whereas nest-site landscape categories had no detectable effect. Correlation analyses further indicated that higher stork densities were strongly associated with larger breeding populations and greater total fledgling productions, although per-nest productivity remained unaffected. Our findings highlighted the importance of temporal environmental fluctuations, resource availability, and human-mediated landscape features in driving the regional dynamics of White Stork populations. Local community awareness may further contribute to the conservation of this emblematic species in its North African range.

Doi https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2026.1.1

Keywords White Stork; breeding biology; Algeria; species distribution; population dynamics; nesting ecology; reproductive performance; breeding success

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