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Total Plasma Protein And Renesting By Greater Sage-Grouse, Michael A. Gregg, Mike R. Dunbar, John A. Crawford, Michael D. Pope
Total Plasma Protein And Renesting By Greater Sage-Grouse, Michael A. Gregg, Mike R. Dunbar, John A. Crawford, Michael D. Pope
USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population declines have been attributed to reduced productivity. Although renesting by sage-grouse may contribute significantly to annual productivity during some years, little information is available on this aspect of sage-grouse reproductive ecology. We investigated the relationship between total plasma protein, age of hen, time of first nest initiation, and time of first nest loss on occurrence of renesting. We captured, assigned age, extracted blood, and radiomarked prelaying, female sage-grouse on 4 study areas during 1999–2004. We monitored radiomarked females from mid-April through June to identify period of nest initiation (early, mid, or late), nest …
Parent Birds Assess Nest Predation Risk And Adjust Their Reproductive Strategies, J. J. Fontaine, T. E. Martin
Parent Birds Assess Nest Predation Risk And Adjust Their Reproductive Strategies, J. J. Fontaine, T. E. Martin
Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications
Avian life history theory has long assumed that nest predation plays a minor role in shaping reproductive strategies. Yet, this assumption remains conspicuously untested by broad experiments that alter environmental risk of nest predation, despite the fact that nest predation is a major source of reproductive failure. Here, we examined whether parents can assess experimentally reduced nest predation risk and alter their reproductive strategies. We experimentally reduced nest predation risk and show that in safer environments parents increased investment in young through increased egg size, clutch mass, and the rate they fed nestlings. Parents also increased investment in female condition …
Life-History And Ecological Correlates Of Geographic Variation In Egg And Clutch Mass Among Passerine Species, Thomas E. Martin, R. D. Bassar, S. K. Bassar, J. J. Fontaine, P. Lloyd, H. A. Mathewson, A. M. Niklison, A. Chalfoun
Life-History And Ecological Correlates Of Geographic Variation In Egg And Clutch Mass Among Passerine Species, Thomas E. Martin, R. D. Bassar, S. K. Bassar, J. J. Fontaine, P. Lloyd, H. A. Mathewson, A. M. Niklison, A. Chalfoun
Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications
Broad geographic patterns in egg and clutch mass are poorly described, and potential causes of variation remain largely unexamined. We describe interspecific variation in avian egg and clutch mass within and among diverse geographic regions and explore hypotheses related to allometry, clutch size, nest predation, adult mortality, and parental care as correlates and possible explanations of variation. We studied 74 species of Passeriformes at four latitudes on three continents: the north temperate United States, tropical Venezuela, subtropical Argentina, and south temperate South Africa. Egg and clutch mass increased with adult body mass in all locations, but differed among locations for …
Habitat Selection Responses Of Parents To Offspring Predation Risk: An Experimental Test, J. J. Fontaine, T. E. Martin
Habitat Selection Responses Of Parents To Offspring Predation Risk: An Experimental Test, J. J. Fontaine, T. E. Martin
Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications
The ability of nest predation to influence habitat settlement decisions in birds is widely debated, despite its importance in limiting fitness. Here, we experimentally manipulated nest predation risk across a landscape and asked the question, do migratory birds assess and respond to variation in nest predation risk when choosing breeding habitats? We examined habitat preference by quantifying the density and settlement date of eight species of migratory passerines breeding in areas with and without intact nest predator communities. We found consistently more individuals nesting in areas with reduced nest predation than in areas with intact predator assemblages, although predation risk …