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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Does Helping-At-The-Nest Help? The Case Of The Acorn Woodpecker, Walter D. Koenig, Eric L. Walters, Sahas Barve
Does Helping-At-The-Nest Help? The Case Of The Acorn Woodpecker, Walter D. Koenig, Eric L. Walters, Sahas Barve
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Cooperative breeding groups often involve "helpers-at-the-nest"; indeed, such behavior typically defines this intriguing breeding system. In few cases, however, has it been demonstrated that feeding nestlings by helpers, rather than some other behavior associated with helpers' presence, leads to greater reproductive success. One prediction of the hypothesis that feeding behavior per se is responsible for the fitness benefits conferred by helpers is that there should be close congruence between the patterns of helping-at-the-nest and the fitness effects of helpers. Here we look for such a relationship in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) in order to begin …
Micro-Environment And Plant Assemblage Structure On Virginia's Barrier Island "Pimple" Dunes, Brett A. Mcmillan, Frank P. Day
Micro-Environment And Plant Assemblage Structure On Virginia's Barrier Island "Pimple" Dunes, Brett A. Mcmillan, Frank P. Day
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
“Pimple” dunes are small, rounded coastal dunes that form along major dune ridges of the barrier islands along the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Although most pimple dunes are small structures ranging between 10 and 20 m in diameter, they have distinct plant assemblages that replicate the upland ecotones of their barrier islands. We examined the relationship between microenvironment, edaphic factors, and plant assemblage structure on pimple dunes. Water availability was an obvious major ecological driver, but we also tested other environmental factors that may correlate with plant assemblage structure. We found distinct assemblage types that segregated themselves by habitat type: …