High mountain areas are subject to strong seasonal fluctuations, and species inhabiting these particular environments show a high degree of habitat specialization to cope with extreme abiotic conditions. Estimates of habitat use are influenced by the spatial and seasonal scales at which they are evaluated, so studies at multiple scales are important in order to explore adaptive responses to seasonal environments. In the present study, we assessed habitat use of the White‐winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis subsp. nivalis (henceforth Snowfinch) during breeding and non‐breeding seasons at three different spatial scales (diameters of 100, 250 and 500 m). Although Snowfinches clearly used high‐elevation habitats in both seasons, there was evidence that they are less specific during the non‐breeding period: the variance explained by habitat and topographical factors was lower in winter than in the breeding season. Moreover, our results suggest that the use of habitat is scale‐dependent. This pattern was especially relevant in the breeding season, perhaps because habitat use might be more related to nest‐site selection and specific foraging sites to provide food for nestlings. Snowfinches use high mountain habitats throughout the year, probably as a consequence of physiological and morphological specializations typical of high‐elevation species, but in winter they show a certain flexibility in habitat use. Snowfinches might thus adopt a flexible specialist strategy. This could represent a trade‐off to overcome possible effects on survival, condition and fitness, which can be particularly strong in harsh, unpredictable environments.

中文翻译：

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白翅雪雀Montifringilla nivalis nivalis栖息地利用的周期性变化

高山地区的季节波动很大，居住在这些特殊环境中的物种表现出高度的生境专长，可以应对极端的非生物条件。栖息地使用的估计值受评估时所依据的空间和季节尺度的影响，因此，为了探索对季节性环境的适应性响应，进行多个尺度的研究很重要。在本研究中，我们评估了白翅雪雀Montifringilla nivalis亚种的栖息地利用。Nivalis（以下称为“雪雀”）在三个不同的空间尺度（直径分别为100、250和500 m）的繁殖和非繁殖季节。尽管雪雀在两个季节都清楚地使用了高海拔的栖息地，但有证据表明它们在非繁殖期的特异性较低：冬季由栖息地和地形因素解释的方差比繁殖季节要低。此外，我们的结果表明，栖息地的使用取决于规模。这种模式在繁殖季节尤其重要，也许是因为栖息地的使用可能与巢地选择和为雏鸟提供食物的特定觅食点更相关。整年中，雪鸟都在高山栖息地中使用，这可能是高海拔物种所特有的生理和形态学专长的结果，但在冬季，它们在栖息地使用方面显示出一定的灵活性。因此，雪雀可能会采取灵活的专家策略。这可能是一个折衷方案，以克服可能对生存，状况和适应性造成的影响，这种影响在恶劣，不可预测的环境中尤其强烈。