Gradients of agricultural intensification in agroecosystems may determine uneven resource availability for predators relying on these man-made habitats. In turn, these variations in resource availability may affect predators’ habitat selection patterns, resulting in context-dependent habitat selection. We assessed the effects of gradients of landscape composition and configuration on habitat selection of a colonial farmland bird of prey, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), relying on 76 GPS-tracked nestling-rearing individuals from 10 populations scattered along an agricultural intensification gradient. Analyses were conducted considering two ecological levels of aggregation (the population and the individual) and two spatial scales of habitat availability (the colony surroundings and the individual home-range). Overall, non-irrigated croplands and semi-natural grasslands were the most preferred habitats at both spatial scales. At the colony scale, lesser kestrels showed a preference for grassland compared to non-irrigated crops, whereas the opposite was the case within individual home-ranges. Conversely, croplands were positively selected with comparable intensity at both spatial scales. Strong selection for grassland at the colony scale highlights the importance of this semi-natural habitat for the species. The weaker preference for grassland at the home-range scale is likely due to the phenology and structure of the vegetation in the late breeding season. Spatial scale differences in selection patterns may thus derive from spatio-temporal changes in resource availability through the breeding season. The strength of selection for the two most used habitats varied markedly among individuals. At the spatial scale of the colony, individual selection strength for grasslands increased with decreasing compositional diversity of the surrounding landscape, suggesting that agroecosystem heterogeneity may at least partly buffer the loss of semi-natural habitats. At the within home-range scale, higher cropland availability reduced the strength of individual preference for this habitat, suggesting a negative functional response possibly related to density-dependent processes acting on foraging movements. Our study provides evidence that farmland species show context-dependent habitat selection patterns in response to landscape gradients shaped by agricultural intensification as well as by intrinsic characteristics and habitat availability. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing both individual and population-level variability and considering multiple spatial scales in studies of habitat selection to inform species’ management and conservation.

农业生态系统中农业集约化的梯度可能决定依赖这些人造栖息地的捕食者的资源可用性不均衡。反过来，资源可用性的这些变化可能会影响捕食者的栖息地选择模式，导致依赖于环境的栖息地选择。我们评估了景观组成和配置的梯度对殖民地农田猛禽的栖息地选择的影响，小红隼（Falco naumanni)，依赖于分布在农业集约化梯度上的 10 个种群的 76 个 GPS 跟踪的雏鸟饲养个体。分析考虑了两个生态聚集水平（种群和个体）和栖息地可用性的两个空间尺度（群体环境和个体家庭范围）。总体而言，非灌溉农田和半天然草地是两个空间尺度上最优选的栖息地。在群体规模上，与非灌溉作物相比，较小的红隼表现出对草地的偏好，而在个别家庭范围内则相反。相反，农田在两个空间尺度上以相当的强度被积极选择。在殖民地规模上对草地的强烈选择凸显了这一半自然栖息地对该物种的重要性。在家庭范围内对草地的偏爱较弱可能是由于繁殖季节后期植被的物候和结构。因此，选择模式的空间尺度差异可能源于整个繁殖季节资源可用性的时空变化。两个最常用的栖息地的选择强度因人而异。在殖民地的空间尺度上，草原的个体选择强度随着周围景观组成多样性的降低而增加，这表明农业生态系统的异质性可能至少部分缓冲了半自然栖息地的丧失。在家庭范围内，较高的耕地可用性降低了个人对该栖息地的偏好强度，表明可能与作用于觅食运动的密度依赖过程有关的负面功能反应。我们的研究提供的证据表明，农田物种显示出与环境相关的栖息地选择模式，以响应由农业集约化以及内在特征和栖息地可用性形成的景观梯度。我们的研究结果强调了在栖息地选择研究中解决个体和种群水平可变性并考虑多个空间尺度以告知物种管理和保护的重要性。我们的研究提供的证据表明，农田物种显示出与环境相关的栖息地选择模式，以响应由农业集约化以及内在特征和栖息地可用性形成的景观梯度。我们的研究结果强调了在栖息地选择研究中解决个体和种群水平可变性并考虑多个空间尺度以告知物种管理和保护的重要性。我们的研究提供的证据表明，农田物种显示出与环境相关的栖息地选择模式，以响应由农业集约化以及内在特征和栖息地可用性形成的景观梯度。我们的研究结果强调了在栖息地选择研究中解决个体和种群水平可变性并考虑多个空间尺度以告知物种管理和保护的重要性。