scholarly journals Timing of arrival in the breeding area is repeatable and affects reproductive success in a non-migratory population of blue tits

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Gilsenan ◽  
Mihai Valcu ◽  
Bart Kempenaers
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
List Type ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Breeding Area ◽  
Arrival Date ◽  
Migratory Population ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
Timing Of Arrival

ABSTRACTEvents in one part of the annual cycle often affect the performance (and subsequently fitness) of individuals later in the season (carry-over effects). An important aspect of this relates to the timing of activities. For example, many studies on migratory birds have shown that relatively late spring arrival in the breeding area reduces both the likelihood of getting a mate or territory and reproductive success.In contrast, relatively little is known about movements of individuals in non-migratory populations during the non-breeding season. Few studies have investigated the timing of arrival at the breeding area in such species, possibly due to the assumption that most individuals remain in the area during the non-breeding season.In this study, we used four years of data from a transponder-based automated recording system set up in a non-migratory population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to describe individual variation in arrival at the breeding site. We investigated whether this variation can be explained by individual characteristics (sex, body size, or status), and we assessed its effect on aspects of reproductive success in the subsequent breeding season.We found substantial variation in arrival date and demonstrate that this trait is individual-specific (repeatable). Females arrived later than males, but the arrival dates of social pair members were more similar than expected by chance. Arrival predicted both whether an individual would end up breeding that season, and several aspects of its breeding success.Our study suggests that non-migratory species show a form of incipient migration behaviour in that they leave the breeding area during the non-breeding season. We conclude that the timing of pre-breeding events, in particular arrival date, may be an overlooked, but important, fitness-relevant trait in non-migratory species.

scholarly journals Weather conditions explain reproductive success and advancement of the breeding season in Western Capercaillie ( Tetrao urogallus )

Ibis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Coppes ◽  
Jim‐Lino Kämmerle ◽  
Karl‐Eugen Schroth ◽  
Veronika Braunisch ◽  
Rudi Suchant
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Tetrao Urogallus

Riverine characteristics and adult demography influence female lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) spawning behavior, reproductive success, and ovarian quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 1147-1160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari J. Dammerman ◽  
Molly A.H. Webb ◽  
Kim T. Scribner
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Lake Sturgeon ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Plasma Testosterone ◽  
Acipenser Fulvescens ◽  
Reproductive Costs ◽  
Arrival Date ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Yearly Means

Abiotic conditions and demographic factors can influence the timing of spawning. Behavioral plasticity allows females to select spawning conditions that are conducive to offspring development; however, reproductive costs associated with delaying spawning are not well understood. In this study, factors influencing timing of female spawning, residence time (RT), and reproductive success (RS) during two seasons were determined, and plasma testosterone concentrations were used to quantify atretic rates in a wild, lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) population. For the 123 females monitored, RT ranged from 1 to 23 days and was influenced by arrival date, temperature, discharge, and male number, with the latter having the largest influence. RS varied due to arrival date, temperature, discharge, male number, male length, and operational sex ratio. Two females had testosterone levels indicative of atresia and RS estimates lower than yearly means; however, most females had normal ovaries, suggesting little reproductive costs of plasticity in spawning ground residency time. Results demonstrate the multitude of factors influencing female reproductive behavior and RS, highlighting the importance of abiotic and demographic conditions to recruitment in wild populations.

Not only big bulls. Correlation between morphometry, reproductive success, and testosterone level in a flooded savannah population of the spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leidy Alejandra Barragan Contreras ◽  
Rafael Antelo ◽  
Adolfo Amezquita
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Steroid Hormone ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Caiman Crocodilus ◽  
Paternity Tests ◽  
Hourly Basis

Testosterone is a steroid hormone involved in the expression of many morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits that arguably affect reproductive success. The evidence for that link is, however, incomplete or absent in the research on crocodylian species. Testosterone levels are also known to change throughout the breeding season, often on an hourly basis, which may further complicate studying their relationship with breeding success. We tested here whether baseline testosterone levels, measured out of the breeding season, are correlated with morphometry and reproductive success in Caiman crocodilus (LINNAEUS, 1758). Paternity tests, based on the amplification and genotyping of eight fluorochrome labeled microsatellites, failed to support a continuous relationship between these variables. Although adult males of all sizes contribute to reproduction, paternity was overrepresented in a few males with high values of maleness index (bigger males), supporting a despotic or pyramidal hierarchy among males. Maternity assignments supported the existence of multiple paternity, a phenomenon previously attributed in this species to the lack of large males caused by human hunting. The idea of larger males having more offspring is widespread in crocodylians, but to our knowledge, this is the first investigation that prove this dogma.

Energy Expenditure in Reproductive Effort of Male and Female Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

The Auk ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne H. Brunton
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Mating Effort ◽  
Parental Effort ◽  
Nest Failure ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Charadrius Vociferus

Abstract The reproductive investment strategies of the sexes during the breeding season are detailed for Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), a monogamous plover. I measured the energy investments of the sexes in reproductive, mating, and parental effort. As predicted, males expend more mating effort than females; however, the sexes expend equal amounts of parental effort. Total energy expenditure in reproductive effort (mating and parental effort) during a successful nesting attempt was also equal for the sexes. However, early parental effort expenditures by females, early mating effort expenditures by males, and high rates of nest failure combine to result in female reproductive energy expenditures being significantly higher over the breeding season. This suggests that energy expenditure alone is not adequate for accurate comparisons of the relative investments of the sexes. Studies investigating male and female investments need to consider the degree and pattern of nest failures along with patterns of energy expenditure. The advantages to male and female Killdeer of sharing parental care is demonstrated using adult removal experiments. In general, a deserted parent expends more energy in parental effort than a bi-parental parent and has significantly lower reproductive success. However, males are able to hatch chicks, whereas females lose or abandon their nests within a few days of mate removal. Thus, monogamy in Killdeer appears to result from high nest failure rates, the necessity of two parents for any reproductive success, and the generalizable nature of Killdeer parental care.

Nest-site selection in the barn swallow, Hirundo rustica: What predicts seasonal reproductive success?

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (11) ◽  
pp. 1533-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Jo Safran
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Nest Site Selection ◽  
Hirundo Rustica ◽  
Barn Swallow ◽  
Nest Location ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Site Characteristics

Despite hundreds of studies, we know very little about the causes and fitness-related consequences of nest-site selection. For example, it is not typically known whether the rarely reported fitness consequences of site selection are the result of nest, individual, or nest-site variables or combinations of these factors. Reuse of previously constructed nest sites is a prevalent behavior in many animals and offers the opportunity to experimentally tease apart whether seasonal reproductive success is a function of nest, individual, or nest-site characteristics. I used observational and experimental data to test three hypotheses related to these factors in association with barn swallow ( Hirundo rustica L., 1758) nest reuse. While both nest and individual characteristics explain variation in seasonal reproductive success, nest location per se is not an important factor defining the outcome of nest-site selection. Whereas traits related to habitat and individual characteristics are likely confounded in correlational studies, my experiments demonstrate a causal relationship between seasonal reproductive success and aspects of the nest and individual, the latter explaining more variation in the model than nest characteristics. Knowledge of the relative roles of individual, nest, and nest-site attributes are important for understanding the causes and consequences of habitat selection behavior.

Diving behaviour during the breeding season in the terrestrially breeding male grey seal: implications for alternative mating tactics

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian C Lidgard ◽  
Daryl J Boness ◽  
W Don Bowen ◽  
Jim I McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Diving Behaviour ◽  
Halichoerus Grypus ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Alternative Mating Tactics ◽  
Grey Seal ◽  
Mating Tactics

We examined the diving behaviour of breeding male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) at Sable Island, Nova Scotia, from 1997 to 2001. The proportion of time spent at sea varied between 0 and 78% (N = 30). Males engaged in deep (43.4 ± 3.3 m (mean ± SE), N = 27) diving, and these dives were clustered into bouts, which mostly occurred during long trips (62.2 ± 14.7 h). We suggest that males spent time foraging during deep dives. Shallow diving (5.9 ± 0.1 m, N = 27) accounted for 40.8% of dives, which were also clustered into bouts that mostly occurred during short trips (2.1 ± 0.37 h). We suggest that shallow diving comprised a suite of behaviours, but included little foraging behaviour. Phenotypic traits had little influence on diving behaviour. Further work is required to understand the extent to which foraging behaviour enhances reproductive success, and whether shallow diving is a component of the mating tactics of male grey seals at Sable Island.

Reproductive success of ewe lambs after a period of exposure to vasectomised rams

1988 ◽  
Vol 1988 ◽  
pp. 89-89
Author(s):  
N.Z. Al-Mauly ◽  
M.J. Bryant ◽  
F.J. Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Ewe Lambs ◽  
Embryo Loss

The fertility of ewe lambs is usually lower than that of mature ewes. Early embryo loss has been implicated as a cause of reduced fertility, especially when matings occur at the pubertal oestrus (Hare and Bryant, 1985). The Introduction of vasectomised rams to ewe lambs may hasten the occurrence of puberty and, if the introduction of fertile rams is not advanced, mating may occur later in the breeding season with possible advantages to fertility. This experiment investigated the effects of a period of association with vasectomised rams preceding the introduction of entire rams upon (1) the occurrence of puberty, and (2) the fertility of ewe lambs.

scholarly journals Measuring Annual Reproductive Success in Birds

The Condor ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 470-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertram G. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Nest Success ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Evolutionary Success

Abstract From simulated data on three populations, I calculate different measures of “reproductive success”: clutch size, egg success (the proportion of eggs that produce young), nest success (the proportion of clutches that produce young), and the annual reproductive success per female in terms of both number of broods and number of young reared successfully during a breeding season. These measures of success are not correlated. Differences in egg success or nest success do not necessarily translate into differences in annual reproductive success, and differences in annual reproductive success do not necessarily translate into evolutionary success.

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