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Testosterone And Group Size In Cliff Swallows: Testing The “Challenge Hypothesis” In A Colonial Bird, Linda C. Smith, Samrrah A. Raouf, Mary Bomberger Brown, John C. Wingfield, Charles R. Brown Jan 2005

Testosterone And Group Size In Cliff Swallows: Testing The “Challenge Hypothesis” In A Colonial Bird, Linda C. Smith, Samrrah A. Raouf, Mary Bomberger Brown, John C. Wingfield, Charles R. Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The “challenge hypothesis” states that increases in testosterone levels of male animals during the breeding season are directly related to the extent of intrasexual competition for resources or mates that they experience. Although often tested in territorial species, the challenge hypothesis has not been evaluated for colonial animals that live in groups of different sizes and that thus experience different intensities of intrasexual competition. We measured circulating testosterone levels of male and female cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, where these birds nest in colonies of widely different sizes. Males had significantly higher testosterone levels than females, …


Effects Of Endogenous Steroid Hormone Levels On Annual Survival In Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Samrrah A. Raouf, Linda C. Smith, John C. Wingfield Jan 2005

Effects Of Endogenous Steroid Hormone Levels On Annual Survival In Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Samrrah A. Raouf, Linda C. Smith, John C. Wingfield

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The hormone corticosterone is an important part of animals’ response to environmental stress, modulating short-term adaptive changes in behavior and physiology. The hormone testosterone is also critical, especially for males, in regulating the expression of sexual behavior and parental care. These hormones can have costly consequences, however, and within populations individuals show variation in endogenous levels of both corticosterone and testosterone. We studied how annual survival varied as a function of natural levels of these hormones in colonially breeding Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, USA, in 2000–2003. We sampled hormone levels of birds caught at colonies …


Juvenile And Adult Survival In The Sociable Weaver (Philetairus Socius), A Southern-Temperate Colonial Cooperative Breeder In Africa, Rita Covas, Charles R. Brown, Mark D. Anderson, Mary Bomberger Brown Jan 2004

Juvenile And Adult Survival In The Sociable Weaver (Philetairus Socius), A Southern-Temperate Colonial Cooperative Breeder In Africa, Rita Covas, Charles R. Brown, Mark D. Anderson, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We used capture–recapture analyses to describe juvenile and adult survival from 1993 to 2001 in a population of Sociable Weavers (Philetairus socius), a colonial, cooperatively breeding passerine of southern Africa. We examined temporal variation in survival and the role that the breeding season’s length and environmental factors play in determining survival patterns in the population. Annual survival probability (mean ± SE) was 0.66 ± 0.02. In contrast to most passerines, juveniles and adults had similar survival probabilities; survival rates did not vary significantly between years. We found no relationship among temperature, rainfall, and survival. Relatively high survival rates …


Body Mass Of Late Quaternary Mammals (Data Set), Felisa A. Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Kate E. Jones, Kansas State University, Tamar Dayan, Pablo A. Marquet, James H. Brown, John P. Haskell Dec 2003

Body Mass Of Late Quaternary Mammals (Data Set), Felisa A. Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Kate E. Jones, Kansas State University, Tamar Dayan, Pablo A. Marquet, James H. Brown, John P. Haskell

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this data set was to compile body mass information for all mammals on Earth so that we could investigate the patterns of body mass seen across geographic and taxonomic space and evolutionary time. We were interested in the heritability of body size across taxonomic groups (How conserved is body mass within a genus, family, and order?), in the overall pattern of body mass across continents (Do the moments and other descriptive statistics remain the same across geographic space?), and over evolutionary time (How quickly did body mass patterns iterate on the patterns seen today? Were the Pleistocene …


A Re-Evaluation Of Hotspot Settlement In Lekking Sage Grouse, Robert M. Gibson Nov 1996

A Re-Evaluation Of Hotspot Settlement In Lekking Sage Grouse, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Recent analyses of avian leks have come to conflicting conclusions concerning the role of male settlement on female traffic hotspots. This issue was re-examined in the sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, using data on prenesting movements of radio-tagged females and the dispersion of lekking males collected during a 10-year field study. As expected with hotspot settlement, leks were preferentially located in areas through which females traveled between wintering and nesting ranges before mating. In addition, the distribution of males among leks was related proximately to variation in numbers of females visiting each lek during the mating period and ultimately to …


Female Choice In Sage Grouse: The Roles Of Attraction And Active Comparison, Robert M. Gibson Jul 1996

Female Choice In Sage Grouse: The Roles Of Attraction And Active Comparison, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Previous studies of female choice in sage grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have implicated both the acoustic quality and repetition rate of the stereotyped strut display as putative cues for female choice. Stages in the choice process at which specific components of male courtship display influence female decisions were investigated using field observations of female premating behavior. Females visited a subset of territorial males and then actively chose one of these as a mate. The order in which males were visited suggested that females searched until an acceptable mate was found, rather than employing a “best-of-n” tactic. Numbers of females visiting a …


Lek Formation In Sage Grouse: The Effect Of Female Choice On Male Territory Settlement, Robert M. Gibson Mar 1992

Lek Formation In Sage Grouse: The Effect Of Female Choice On Male Territory Settlement, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Previous studies of female choice in sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, have identified two processes that could drive the local clustering of male territories at leks: (1) fidelity of females to previous mating sites (“temporal spillover” hypothesis), and (2) “spatial spillover” of matings from an attractive male to his immediate neighbors (“hotshot” hypothesis). The effects of each process on male territory settlement were investigated using observations of the resettlement of vacant territories and of individual site fidelity during a 7-year field study. The frequency with which vacant territories were resettled both within and between seasons increased with mating success of …


The Costs Of Female Choice In A Lekking Bird, Robert M. Gibson, Gwendolyn C. Bachman Jan 1992

The Costs Of Female Choice In A Lekking Bird, Robert M. Gibson, Gwendolyn C. Bachman

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We investigated the costs of active female choice in sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, a lekking species in which females make repeated, lengthy visits to leks to assess males before mating. Several potential costs were measured by monitoring changes in hens' ranging behavior, time budgets, and encounter rates with predators when they visited leks. Two costs were identified: hens moved further per day and encountered golden eagles, Aquila chrysaetos, more frequently when visiting leks. However, extra travel due to visiting leks increased predicted daily energetic expenditure by only about 1%, and the risk of predation by golden eagles over …


Mate Choice In Lekking Sage Grouse Revisited: The Roles Of Vocal Display, Female Site Fidelity, And Copying, Robert M. Gibson, Jack W. Bradbury, Sandra L. Vehrencamp Jul 1991

Mate Choice In Lekking Sage Grouse Revisited: The Roles Of Vocal Display, Female Site Fidelity, And Copying, Robert M. Gibson, Jack W. Bradbury, Sandra L. Vehrencamp

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In lekking sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), females exhibit relatively unanimous mate choice for particular males, but a satisfactory explanation for this unanimity has been elusive. We present analyses of mating distributions from two leks over 4 years that provide evidence for female choice based on differences in vocal display performance of males, the locations at which hens mated in the previous year, and the choices of other females (copying). The unanimity of female choice varied markedly among leks and years in correlation with changes in the mean numbers of hens that mated at the same time and hence …


Relationships Between Blood Parasites, Mating Success And Phenotypic Cues In Male Sage Grouse Centrocercus Urophasianus, Robert M. Gibson Jan 1990

Relationships Between Blood Parasites, Mating Success And Phenotypic Cues In Male Sage Grouse Centrocercus Urophasianus, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In lek breeding Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus in eastern California, male mating success is strongly correlated with individual differences in lek attendance, and in the rate and acoustic quality of courtship display, suggesting that these provide cues by which females choose mates. Increased lek attendance and high display rates also associated with elevated metabolic expenditure. This paper examines the hypothesis that the ability to commit energy to display is related to the incidence of blood parasites. A single hematozoan genus, Haemoproteus, was found in 37.5% of 184 Sage Grouse sampled over a five year period. Parasitism varied across years and …


Field Playback Of Male Display Attracts Females In Lek Breeding Sage Grouse, Robert M. Gibson Jun 1989

Field Playback Of Male Display Attracts Females In Lek Breeding Sage Grouse, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Recent correlational studies of lekking sage grouse suggest that male vocal display attracts females. To test this hypothesis further, the natural displays of a territorial male were supplemented with the tape-recorded display of another reproductively successful individual. Significantly, more females approached the speaker's location on days when the recording was played, and also on nonplayback days immediately following a playback, than on other nonplayback days. Analysis of male displays indicated that females were responding to the playback itself rather than to changes in male behavior. The "after-response" following a playback suggests that some females present during a playback remembered its …


Foraging Behavior And Switching By The Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus Savannarum Searching For Multiple Prey In A Heterogeneous Environment, Anthony Joern Apr 1988

Foraging Behavior And Switching By The Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus Savannarum Searching For Multiple Prey In A Heterogeneous Environment, Anthony Joern

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Switching among four alternative grasshopper species by the grasshop- per sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) through frequency-dependent predation was ex- amined. Grasshoppers were presented against a heterogeneous natural background in an outdoor aviary where total density was held constant but relative density of each grasshopper species varied. Switching among prey, primarily between two of the four species, and inter-bird variability in switching was observed. Species-specific prefer- ences and interactions among the alternative grasshopper species affected the final diet choice as one grasshopper species was always preferentially selected and another disregarded independent of changes in relative density. Attributes of avian foraging behavior, including: …


Sexual Selection In Lekking Sage Grouse: Phenotypic Correlates Of Male Mating Success, Robert M. Gibson, Jack W. Bradbury Dec 1985

Sexual Selection In Lekking Sage Grouse: Phenotypic Correlates Of Male Mating Success, Robert M. Gibson, Jack W. Bradbury

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mate choice cues in sage grouse were reinvestigated by analyzing relationships between male mating success and a range of suggested cues. Display cues were implicated by significant relationships between mating status (whether or not a male mated) and lek attendance, display rate (corrected for effects of female proximity and time of day) and an acoustic component related to temporal and frequency measures of a whistle emitted during the strut display. Although display rate and the acoustic component were intercorrelated, both exerted significant partial effects on mating success in multivariate analyses. These display measures also differed significantly between males. In contrast, …