scholarly journals First data on breeding success of Croatian inland colonies of Common Tern Sterna hirundo

Acrocephalus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (180-181) ◽  
pp. 97-103
Author(s):  
Miloš Martinović ◽  
Jelena Kralj ◽  
Tomica Rubinić ◽  
Luka Jurinović ◽  
Ana Petrović ◽  
...  

AbstractIn 2018 and 2019, the breeding success of two Common Tern colonies on artificial lakes near the River Sava in Zagreb, Croatia, was studied. The colonies were visited weekly from May to July and we collected data on phenology, number of breeding pairs, clutch size as well as egg and chick survival. We also conducted a comparison between early and late breeders. Hatching and fledging success was within previously observed ranges, apart from a low hatching success on Siromaja in 2019. The smaller colony on Siromaja had a higher productivity in both years than the colony on Rakitje, although in 2018 an avian pox virus killed much of the late chicks on Rakitje. Early breeders seem to have had higher hatching success and average clutch size. Furthermore, a greater proportion of them managed to hatch all their eggs compared to late breeders, but the differences were not statistically significant. Our study provided baseline data for future monitoring of phenology and breeding success with regard to the management of breeding colonies.

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 1850-1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Morris ◽  
Rodger A. Hunter ◽  
James F. McElman

The breeding biology of five common tern (Sterna hirundo) colonies in the lower Great Lakes was studied between May and August 1972. Frequent visits were made to each colony and data collected on nests within large artificially enclosed areas. The objective was to identify factors that influence the reproductive success of common tern colonies on the Great Lakes. Hatching success was significantly dependent on clutch size and time of clutch initiation, whereas fledging success was independent of clutch size. The most common category of egg failure was disappearance from the nest. One colony (Port Colborne) realized a significantly higher hatching and fledging success than the others, among which there were no significant differences in prehatch or posthatch success rates. Factors that contributed to differences in reproductive success are presented and their relative contributions to the reproductive success of the tern colonies are discussed. The factors include the relative proportion of three-egg clutches, incubation time as a measure of 'parent attentiveness,' numerical size of the colony, predation, competition for nesting sites by gulls, food availability, flooding, and toxic chemicals. We conclude that no single factor can be readily correlated with reproductive success and suggest that caution should be exercised when considering the relationships between reproductive success and factors influencing it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Mohamed Dhaya El-Hak Khemis ◽  
Lamia Boutabia ◽  
Kamilia Farhi ◽  
Ali Elafri ◽  
Asma Kahli ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the first detailed study of population dynamics, breeding biology and egg measurement of Common Terns. During six years (from 2004 to 2009) of monitoring, from mid-May to mid-August, 74 Common Terns individual were recorded at Laouinet small island, El Tarf, northeast of Algeria, witha finite population growth rate that indicated an alarming population decline(λ = -0.62: Lambda). Sterna hirundo build its nests (n = 37) in the northeast at a mean distance of 7.58 m from the closest edge of rocks. The nests were closed and ovoid, constituted mainly of mussel shells Sandpit, stems and leaves. Incubation was performed by pairs of common tern and lasted 25.5 ±3.4 days. We recorded a clutch size of 1 to 3 eggs with mean clutch size of 2.45±0.65 (41.24±0.83 × 30.46±0.62 mm). The egg parameters (volume, mass, shape index) varied between the six years of the study. The egg volume (19.24±0.87) depended more on egg width (30.46±0.62), however the egg shape (0.73±0.20) depended negatively on the egg length (41.24±0.83) but not on the egg width. Our results also showed a stabilized hatching success and a best estimation of breeding success. The hatching success did not vary between years: 70.5% in 2004, 68.75% in 2005, 71.42% in 2006, 71.42% in 2007, 69.23% in 2008 and 69.23% in 2009.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Morris ◽  
Michelle Woulfe ◽  
G. D. Wichert

In 1987 and 1988, common tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks at a colony near Port Colborne, Ontario, were individually colour banded according to known hatch order. Intraclutch hatch intervals produced size disparities among chicks at brood completion; third-hatched chicks were significantly lighter and at a significant survival disadvantage compared with their earlier-hatched siblings. There were differences in feeding rates according to hatch order and many third-hatched chicks obtained fewer or no feedings during our periods of observation. Sixty-five chicks known to have abandoned their home broods gained acceptance into foreign broods. Chicks that remained in the foreign brood for more than 2 days (average residency 11.9 ± 5.3 days; n = 26) were fed and brooded by the foster parents, were on average older than the youngest resident chick, but were not always the last hatched in their home brood. Conversely, chicks that were in a foreign brood for less than 2 days were no different in age from the youngest resident chick. Survival and fledging success was highest for chicks accepted into two chick broods in which they were older than the resident second chick; in effect, the adoptee became the second chick. Parents that accepted a foreign chick for more than 2 days experienced a seasonal fitness loss compared with nonadopting parents. As the only viable option available to them, selection favours movement away from home broods by chicks that may be disadvantaged there.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Dariusz Bukackiński ◽  
Monika Bukacińska ◽  
Milena Grabowska

We conducted our study in the Common Tern colony (STH) located on an island in the middle Vistula River course, at the height of the city of Dęblin (km 393–394 of the waterway), in 2017. Our goal was to investigate some aspects of the biology and reproductive ecology of this species. Due to the fact that STH breeds both in single-species as well as in two- or multi-species colonies, in associations with Little Terns (Sternula albifrons), Black-Headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) (LAR) and/or Mew Gulls (Larus canus), we wanted to investigate whether the neighborhood of other species (in this case LAR) affected hatching success and chick survival in STH. Our results clearly show that the presence of breeding terns in the neighborhood of the LAR colony was not accidental and/or caused by the lack of space on the island and/or the possibility of nesting elsewhere. The height of nesting site, type of nesting habitat, clutch size, mean egg volume and mean egg mass of these STH pairs did not differ significantly from those that formed a single species colony, on the same island but several hundred meters away. However, STH nests in the neighborhood of the LAR colony were established much earlier and both the hatching success and chick survival of STH during the early-chick stage were twice as high. Thus, we can conclude that the LAR colony could provide an effective protection against predation of crows, magpies and gulls, dangers which accounted for the vast majority of STH nest failures in the year of our study.


The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 1128-1139
Author(s):  
Myriam E. Mermoz ◽  
Juan C. Reboreda

Abstract Shiny Cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis) often parasitize larger hosts. It has been proposed that larger hosts are preferred by that parasite because they provide higher reproductive success, but available data are quite variable. We studied the reproductive success of Shiny Cowbirds in nests of Brown-and-yellow Marshbirds (Pseudoleistes virescens), a larger and often multiply parasitized host. To estimate the extent of interspecific competition, we compared the hatching success of parasite eggs in nests with and without reduction of the clutch size of the host as a result of egg punctures inflicted by the parasite, and the survival and growth of parasite chicks reared with and without host chicks. To estimate the extent of intraspecific competition, we compared Shiny Cowbird egg losses, hatching success, and chick survival in singly versus multiply parasitized nests. Reproductive success of Shiny Cowbirds was 8% with depredation causing 80% of losses. Clutch reduction due to egg punctures were higher in multiply than in singly parasitized nests, but it did not improve hatching success of parasite eggs. Neither survival nor growth of parasite chicks was affected by the presence of host chicks. Shiny Cowbird hatching success and chick survival did not differ between singly and multiply parasitized nests. Parasite chicks were smaller than same-age Brown-and-yellow Marshbird chicks. However, because parasite chicks hatched one or two days before host chicks and had a higher growth rate, they were the larger chicks in the nest. Overall Shiny Cowbird reproductive success in Brown-and-yellow Marshbird nests was apparently higher than that reported in other smaller or similar-sized hosts. We think that host life-history traits like large clutch size, a longer incubation period, and slower growth rate of chicks are responsible for the high reproductive success of Shiny Cowbirds with Brown-and-yellow Marshbirds.


Ornis Svecica ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (1–2) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Börje Dahlén ◽  
Mats O G Eriksson

We investigated the breeding success of a Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata population of approximately 70 pairs during ten seasons, 1991–2000, in a 1820 km2 study area, dominated by coniferous forests and mires in Malung, Dalarna in Central Sweden. The majority of the pairs bred in tarns smaller than 1.0 ha and foraged in larger freshwater lakes or rivers up to a distance of 4.6 km. Average breeding success was 0.76 “large” chicks per pair and year, with a declining trend over the study period accompanied by a decline in the proportion of broods with two “large” chicks. Breeding success was higher in seasons with an average early start of incubation and could be related to higher hatching success and survival of chicks. Predation during incubation was probably an important reason for breeding failures, and abandoning or change of breeding tarns were related to breeding failures. The annual variation of the percentage of broods with two “large” chicks was synchronised between pairs foraging at different fishing lakes, which indicates the influence of some large-scale regional factors linked to the availability of food. Chick survival in two-chicks broods was significantly lower than in one-chick broods. The declining trend in breeding success is an incitement for future monitoring, and any link to impaired foraging conditions needs to be more closely addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-121
Author(s):  
Kevin B. Briggs ◽  
Mark C. Mainwaring

Abstract Nestboxes are widely provided as nesting sites for hole-nesting birds, yet the relative contribution of nestbox characteristics and habitat quality in determining the occupancy rates and breeding success of birds remains unclear. We provided nestboxes in deciduous woodlands in England and examined if those nestboxes were erected in random orientations and whether the orientation of nestboxes and habitat quality, in the form of tree density, influenced their occupation by, and breeding success of, Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), Great Tits (Parus major) and Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). We found that first, the nestboxes were erected non-randomly orientated towards the north and east, and away from the south and west. Second, the occupation rates of none of the species was related to nestbox orientation or tree density. Third, the breeding success of neither Blue Tits nor Great Tits varied with tree density but did vary with nestbox orientation. Blue Tit hatching success and fledging success was higher in nestboxes facing south than in other directions whilst in Great Tits, clutch sizes, hatching success and fledging success was higher in nestboxes facing south than nestboxes facing other directions. Our results suggest that nestbox characteristics, such as orientation, have more influence on the reproductive success of passerines than habitat quality. This further suggests that conservationists should orientate nestboxes southwards in order to maximise their benefit to birds in temperate climates during the breeding season.


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