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Effect Of Predator Type, Season, Brood Size, And West Nile Virus Infection On The Nest Defense Behavior Of Male And Female Eastern Bluebirds, Kayde Lynn Gilbert
Effect Of Predator Type, Season, Brood Size, And West Nile Virus Infection On The Nest Defense Behavior Of Male And Female Eastern Bluebirds, Kayde Lynn Gilbert
Online Theses and Dissertations
The intensity of nest defense by birds can be influenced by many factors, including a parent's sex, brood size, stage of breeding season, type of predator, and physical condition. Because previous studies have produced conflicting results concerning the effects of these factors on the nest defense behavior of birds, additional studies are needed to better clarify how and why such factors influence behavior. No one to date has examined the possible effect of a viral infection on avian nest defense behavior. Thus, my objectives were to determine the effect of adult sex, brood size, stage of the breeding season, predator …
Effect Of Nestling Sex Ratio On The Provisioning Behavior Of Adult Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Barbara Ellen Kieffer
Effect Of Nestling Sex Ratio On The Provisioning Behavior Of Adult Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Barbara Ellen Kieffer
Online Theses and Dissertations
To maximize reproductive success, parents may, in some cases, differentially invest in sons and daughters, i.e., sex-biased parental investment. Preferential provisioning behavior has been reported in one population of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and attributed to local resource competition. To better understand this behavior, I studied the provisioning behavior of Eastern Bluebirds in Madison County, Kentucky, in 2004. I experimentally manipulated brood sex ratios in 24 bluebird nests, creating female-biased (N = 8), male-biased (N = 5), and control (N = 11) nests. Following manipulation, nests were video-taped to record adult provisioning behavior. Among experimental broods, the provisioning rates …