The feeding ecology of mountain chickadees (Parus gambeli): patterns of arthropod prey delivery to nestling birds

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1793-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Grundel ◽  
Donald L. Dahlsten
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Feeding Frequency ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Calendar Date ◽  
Parus Gambeli ◽  
Travelling Time ◽  
Foraging Site ◽  
Foraging Models ◽  
Mountain Chickadees ◽  
Significant Diurnal Variation

The diet of nestling mountain chickadees (Parus gambeli) (55 694 items in 34 730 feeding trips) is summarized. Larval Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and adult Coleoptera were the most common prey in the nestlings' diet. A single prey item was usually delivered per trip. Significant intersexual differences in delivery of specific prey types were rare; intersexual differences in overall diets declined with nestling age. Prey delivered by individual parents exhibited decreasing day to day variation as nestlings aged. Frequency of prey preparation declined with nestling age, with feeding frequency, and especially with increasing number of prey delivered per trip. Delivery of some prey, such as spiders, changed as a function of nestling age, whereas delivery of other prey was more directly related to calendar date and, by implication, to prey availability and environmental conditions. Take of most prey exhibited significant diurnal variation related to prey behaviour and to periodicities in nestling hunger state. Time spent waiting at the nest entrance often took up a greater portion of each foraging trip, and was more variable, than prey preparation time or travelling time between nest and foraging site and should be incorporated into foraging models.

scholarly journals The diet of white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis, Linnaeus 1758, in years of contrasting prey availability at South Georgia

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon D. Berrow ◽  
John P. Croxall
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Prey Item ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Euphausia Superba ◽  
Feeding Frequency ◽  
South Georgia ◽  
Important Prey ◽  
Breeding Failure ◽  
Feeding Methods ◽  
Procellaria Aequinoctialis

The diet of breeding white-chinned petrels was studied during the summers of 1996 and 1998 at South Georgia. Krill abundance/availability was high throughout 1996 but apparently low at the beginning of the 1998 breeding season. The diet of white-chinned petrels was similar between years and consistent with previous studies. Krill Euphausia superba (41–42% by weight) was the single most important prey item followed by fish (39–29%) and squid (19–25%). Meal mass was consistent (110 g in 1996, 119 g in 1998) between years but a significant decrease (46%) in feeding frequency in 1998 (0.54 meals day−1 compared to 0.75 meals day−1 in 1996) resulted in 19% less food delivered to chicks in 1998 than in 1996. Breeding success, however, was consistent between years at 44% and similar to that recorded previously at Bird Island. This is in contrast to black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses, both of which experienced almost total breeding failure in 1998. It is suggested that their varied and versatile feeding methods, together with their greater diving ability, capacity to feed at night and extensive foraging range, help white-chinned petrels minimise the effects of krill shortage.

Social Relationships among Mountain Chickadees (Parus gambeli)

The Condor ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Minock
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Parus Gambeli ◽  
Mountain Chickadees

Rapid Effects of Corticosterone on Cache Recovery in Mountain Chickadees (Parus gambeli)

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin J. Saldanha ◽  
Barney A. Schlinger ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Parus Gambeli ◽  
Cache Recovery ◽  
Mountain Chickadees

Foraging specificity and prey utilization: evaluating social and memory-based strategies in seabirds

Behaviour ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 861-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly F. Goyert
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Common Terns ◽  
Sterna Dougallii ◽  
Foraging Site ◽  
Species Comparisons ◽  
Prey Utilization

This study explores the capacity for seabirds to exhibit behavioral plasticity in response to the predictability of resources. Using direct species-comparisons, I tested the hypothesis that roseate terns (Sterna dougallii), dietary specialists, rely more heavily on foraging site-fidelity to pursue persistent prey, whereas common terns (S. hirundo), prey generalists, depend more on local enhancement by exploiting mixed-species assemblages. I analysed chick-provisioning observations and the bearings of commuting trajectories between the shared breeding colony, foraging areas, and feeding flocks. Foraging route patterns in roseate terns were consistent with a strategy based more heavily on spatial memory than social cues, in contrast to common terns, which associated more readily with nearby feeding aggregations, in line with social facilitation. Only during years of high prey abundance did roseate terns outperform common terns in nest productivity and the quality of prey delivered to chicks, suggesting that opportunistic tactics support resilience to sparse prey availability.

S.E.M.-T.E.M. Image Comparison

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 132-133
Author(s):  
G. M. Greene ◽  
J. W. Sprys
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Low Carbon Steel ◽  
Secondary Emission ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Actual Surface ◽  
Fine Detail ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Transmission Study ◽  
Large Sections

The present study demonstrates that fracture surfaces appear strikingly different when observed in the transmission electron microscope by replication and in the scanning electron microscope by backscattering and secondary emission. It is important to know what form these differences take because of the limitations of each instrument. Replication is useful for study of surfaces too large for insertion into the S.E.M. and for resolution of fine detail at high magnification with the T.E.M. Scanning microscopy reduces sample preparation time and allows large sections of the actual surface to be viewed.In the present investigation various modes of the S.E.M. along with the transmission mode in the T.E.M. were used to study one area of a fatigue surface of a low carbon steel. Following transmission study of a platinum carbon replica in the T.E.M. and S.E.M. the replica was coated with a gold layer approximately 200A° in thickness to improve electron emission.

Note-type based species classification by black-capped and mountain chickadees

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren M. Guillette ◽  
Marisa Hoeschele ◽  
Tara M. Farrell ◽  
Laurie L. Bloomfield ◽  
Christopher B. Sturdy
Keyword(s):  
Species Classification ◽  
Mountain Chickadees
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