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Bourbour RP, Martinico BL, Phillips EM, Schlarbaum JN, Hawkins MG, Hull JM, Kross SM. Banding records of nestling barn owls reveal optimal timing for nest box maintenance in California. J Wildl Manage 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan P. Bourbour
- Department of Animal Science and Graduate Group in Ecology University of California Davis One Shields Avenue Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Breanna L. Martinico
- Department of Animal Science and Graduate Group in Ecology University of California Davis One Shields Avenue Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Emily M. Phillips
- Department of Animal Science and Graduate Group in Ecology University of California Davis One Shields Avenue Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Jessica N. Schlarbaum
- Department of Animal Science University of California Davis One Shields Avenue Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Michelle G. Hawkins
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine University of California Davis One Shields Avenue CA 95616 USA
| | - Joshua M. Hull
- Department of Animal Science University of California Davis One Shields Avenue Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Sara M. Kross
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY 10034 USA
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Meaney KM, Peacock DE, Taggart D, Smith J. Rapid colonisation, breeding and successful recruitment of eastern barn owls (Tyto alba delicatula) using a customised wooden nest box in remnant mallee cropping areas of southern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1071/wr20021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
ContextThe introduced house mouse (Mus domesticus) causes significant economic damage to Australia’s agricultural enterprises. As part of the Marna Banggara Rewilding Project on the southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), the present study focused on the eastern barn owl (Tyto alba delicatula) as a potential bio-controller of mice, by providing nesting spaces where natural hollows are limited.
AimsTo design an appropriate pole-mounted wooden nest box, and to enhance barn-owl-breeding and house-mouse-hunting capacity on farmland adjacent to remnant native vegetation.
MethodsA prototype nest box was collaboratively designed with a nest box manufacturer using data from previous barn owl studies and anecdotal reports. Eleven pole-mounted wooden boxes with platforms were installed at distances >1.4km apart on properties near Warooka, southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), and monitored over a 6-month period using external trail cameras.
Key resultsOf the 11 nest boxes installed, 55 percent were colonised within a month after establishment, and 82 percent were colonised within 7 months. Occupied nest boxes were actively used by paired owls for mating, breeding and rearing of chicks, which resulted in up to 35 fledgling owlets.
ConclusionsThe nest box design successfully supported eastern barn owl colonisation and reproduction on the SYP. The inclusion of the platform not only provided easy, minimally invasive monitoring of barn owl activity and prey intake by researchers, but also increased usable space for barn owl behaviours, such as copulation and wing flapping.
ImplicationsThe important nest box design elements featured in this paper, such as the platform, high entrance hole, predator-proof pole and rear door access, can be implemented in barn owl conservation, research and on farms where alternative nesting sites are limited.
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Ducouret P, Romano A, Dreiss AN, Marmaroli P, Falourd X, Bincteux M, Roulin A. Elder Barn Owl Nestlings Flexibly Redistribute Parental Food according to Siblings' Need or in Return for Allopreening. Am Nat 2020; 196:257-269. [PMID: 32673089 DOI: 10.1086/709106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Kin selection and reciprocation of biological services are distinct theories invoked to explain the origin and evolutionary maintenance of altruistic and cooperative behaviors. Although these behaviors are not considered to be mutually exclusive, the cost-benefit balance of behaving altruistically or cooperating reciprocally and the conditions promoting a switch between such different strategies have rarely been tested. Here, we examine the association between allofeeding, allopreening, and vocal solicitations in wild barn owl (Tyto alba) broods under different food abundance conditions: natural food provisioning and after an experimental food supplementation. Allofeeding was performed mainly by elder nestlings (hatching is asynchronous) in prime condition, especially when the cost of forgoing a prey was small (when parents allocated more prey to the food donor and after food supplementation). Nestlings preferentially shared food with the siblings that emitted very intense calls, thus potentially increasing indirect fitness benefits, or with the siblings that provided extensive allopreening to the donor, thus possibly promoting direct benefits from reciprocation. Finally, allopreening was mainly directed toward older siblings, perhaps to maximize the probability of being fed in return. Helping behavior among relatives can therefore be driven by both kin selection and direct cooperation, although it is dependent on the contingent environmental conditions.
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Ducouret P, Romano A, Dreiss AN, Marmaroli P, Falourd X, Roulin A. The Art of Diplomacy in Vocally Negotiating Barn Owl Siblings. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Ducouret P, Dreiss AN, Gémard C, Falourd X, Roulin A. Barn owl nestlings vocally escalate when interrupted by a sibling: evidence from an interactive playback experiment. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Dunn J, Andrews C, Nettle D, Bateson M. Early-life begging effort reduces adult body mass but strengthens behavioural defence of the rate of energy intake in European starlings. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171918. [PMID: 29892383 PMCID: PMC5990846 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Animals require strategies for coping with periods when food is scarce. Such strategies include storing fat as a buffer, and defending the rate of energy intake by changing foraging behaviour when food becomes difficult to obtain. Storage and behavioural defence may constitute alternative strategies for solving the same problem. We would thus expect any developmental influences that limit fat storage in adulthood to also induce a compensatory alteration in adult foraging behaviour, specifically when food is hard to obtain. In a cohort of hand-reared European starlings, we found that higher manipulated early-life begging effort caused individuals to maintain consistently lower adult body mass over a period of two years. Using an operant foraging task in which we systematically varied the costs of obtaining food, we show that higher early-life begging effort also caused stronger behavioural defence of the rate of energy intake when food was more costly to obtain. Among individuals with the same developmental history, however, those individuals who defended their rate of energy intake most strongly were also the heaviest. Our results are relevant to understanding why there are marked differences in body weight and foraging behaviour even among individuals inhabiting the same environment.
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Dreiss AN, Gaime F, Delarbre A, Moroni L, Lenarth M, Roulin A. Vocal communication regulates sibling competition over food stock. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2114-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Roulin A, Des Monstiers B, Ifrid E, Da Silva A, Genzoni E, Dreiss AN. Reciprocal preening and food sharing in colour-polymorphic nestling barn owls. J Evol Biol 2015; 29:380-94. [PMID: 26563617 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Barn owl (Tyto alba) siblings preen and offer food items to one another, behaviours that can be considered prosocial because they benefit a conspecific by relieving distress or need. In experimental broods, we analysed whether such behaviours were reciprocated, preferentially exchanged between specific phenotypes, performed to avoid harassment and food theft or signals of hierarchy status. Three of the results are consistent with the hypothesis of direct reciprocity. First, food sharing was reciprocated in three-chick broods but not in pairs of siblings, that is when nestlings could choose a partner with whom to develop a reciprocating interaction. Second, a nestling was more likely to give a prey item to its sibling if the latter individual had preened the former. Third, siblings matched their investment in preening each other. Manipulation of age hierarchy showed that food stealing was directed towards older siblings but was not performed to compensate for a low level of cooperation received. Social behaviours were related to melanin-based coloration, suggesting that animals may signal their propensity to interact socially. The most prosocial phenotype (darker reddish) was also the phenotype that stole more food, and the effect of coloration on prosocial behaviour depended upon rank and sex, suggesting that colour-related prosociality is state dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Roulin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - B Des Monstiers
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - E Ifrid
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A Da Silva
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max-Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - E Genzoni
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A N Dreiss
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Information Retention During Competitive Interactions: Siblings Need to Constantly Repeat Vocal Displays. Evol Biol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-014-9299-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Dreiss AN, Ruppli CA, Oberli F, Antoniazza S, Henry I, Roulin A. Barn owls do not interrupt their siblings. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Darker eumelanic barn owls better withstand food depletion through resistance to food deprivation and lower appetite. Oecologia 2010; 164:65-71. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-010-1680-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2010] [Accepted: 05/24/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Almasi B, Roulin A, Jenni-Eiermann S, Breuner CW, Jenni L. Regulation of free corticosterone and CBG capacity under different environmental conditions in altricial nestlings. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2009; 164:117-24. [PMID: 19467233 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2009.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2008] [Revised: 04/25/2009] [Accepted: 05/19/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The concentration of circulating glucocorticoids is regulated in response to environmental and endogenous conditions. Total circulating corticosterone, the main glucocorticoid in birds, consists of a fraction which is bound to corticosterone-binding globulins (CBG) and a free fraction. There is increasing evidence that the environment modulates free corticosterone levels through varying the concentration of CBG, but experimental evidence is lacking. To test the hypothesis that the regulation of chronic stress in response to endogenous and environmental conditions involves variation in both corticosterone release and CBG capacity, we performed an experiment with barn owl (Tyto alba) nestlings in two different years with pronounced differences in environmental conditions and in nestlings experimentally fed ad libitum. In half of the individuals we implanted a corticosterone-releasing pellet to artificially increase corticosterone levels and in the other half we implanted a placebo pellet. We then repeatedly collected blood samples to measure the change in total and free corticosterone levels as well as CBG capacity. The increase in circulating total corticosterone after artificial corticosterone administration varied with environmental conditions and with the food regime of the nestlings. The highest total corticosterone levels were found in nestlings growing up in poor environmental conditions and the lowest in ad libitum fed nestlings. CBG was highest in the year with poor environmental conditions, so that, contrary to total corticosterone, free corticosterone levels were low under poor environmental conditions. When nestlings were fed ad libitum total corticosterone, CBG and free corticosterone did not increase when administering corticosterone. These results suggest that depending on the individual history an animal experienced during development the HPA-axis is regulated differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina Almasi
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach & Zoological Museum, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
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Corbel H, Morlon F, Geiger S, Groscolas R. State-dependent decisions during the fledging process of king penguin chicks. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Corbel H, Groscolas R. A role for corticosterone and food restriction in the fledging of nestling White storks. Horm Behav 2008; 53:557-66. [PMID: 18313056 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2007] [Revised: 12/05/2007] [Accepted: 12/21/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Fledging is a critical period in the life of a bird, notably because at this stage under-development and lack of experience in searching for food may impair survival. The behavioral changes that accompany nest departure are therefore expected to be finely tuned to body condition and growth by endocrine processes. This study examines the possible involvement of corticosterone (CORT) in the stimulation of fledging in White storks through measurement of the changes in its plasma levels in relation to growth, nutritional status and the hatching rank of nestlings. For the first time in nest-bound chicks, we show that fledging is preceded by a marked and progressive 4 fold increase in baseline plasma CORT levels concomitant with an increase in locomotor activity (wing flapping) at the nest. Data on changes in body size, body mass, plasma metabolites and feeding frequency support the view that the increase in plasma CORT was induced by food restriction rather than being endogenously programmed. The timing and intensity of plasma CORT increase was dependent on the hatching rank within a brood, this increase being blunted in the less developed chicks possibly to avoid the impairment of final wing growth. These results show that an increase in plasma CORT as a result of food restriction and through the stimulation of locomotor activity is involved in the control of fledging in White storks. Moreover the CORT increase is adjusted to the hatching rank-related growth status of nestlings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Corbel
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Département d'Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, UMR 7178 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg Cedex 02, France
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Composition of the body mass overshoot in European barn owl nestlings (Tyto alba ): insurance against scarcity of energy or water? J Comp Physiol B 2008; 178:563-71. [DOI: 10.1007/s00360-007-0246-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2007] [Revised: 12/17/2007] [Accepted: 12/18/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Roulin A, Bersier LF. Nestling barn owls beg more intensely in the presence of their mother than in the presence of their father. Anim Behav 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.01.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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ROULIN ALEXANDRE, CHRISTE PHILIPPE, DIJKSTRA COR, DUCREST ANNELYSE, JUNGI THOMASW. Origin-related, environmental, sex, and age determinants of immunocompetence, susceptibility to ectoparasites, and disease symptoms in the barn owl. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00759.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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ROULIN ALEXANDRE. Linkage disequilibrium between a melanin-based colour polymorphism and tail length in the barn owl. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2006. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00636.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Köppl C, Futterer E, Nieder B, Sistermann R, Wagner H. Embryonic and posthatching development of the barn owl (Tyto alba): Reference data for age determination. Dev Dyn 2005; 233:1248-60. [PMID: 15861405 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.20394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The normal development of the barn owl was documented with the intent of providing a guideline for determining the maturational stage of embryos and posthatching individuals. Embryonic development up to stage 39 could be well described using the well-known developmental atlas for the chicken (Hamburger and Hamilton [1951] J. Morphol. 88:49-92). For later stages, limb size was established as a suitable indicator. In addition, measuring the egg's vascularized area through candling was found to be a useful, noninvasive method for staging very early embryos, up to stage 25. An average relationship between incubation period and embryonic stage was derived, which showed that development in the barn owl initially lags that in the chicken. For posthatching individuals, skeletal measures (tarsal and ulnar length, skull width and length) were the most reliable parameters for judging maturation, up to 1 month. For older individuals, feather development (e.g., length of primary wing feathers) provided the only cue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Köppl
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
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Durant JM, Gendner JP, Handrich Y. Should I brood or should I hunt: a female barn owl's dilemma. CAN J ZOOL 2004. [DOI: 10.1139/z04-078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
While brooding, many female raptors rely exclusively on food provisioning from males. Thus, they may forego hunting until young are about half grown before exiting the nest to undertake a first foraging trip. To investigate the mechanisms that trigger this first foraging exit, we analysed nest food provisioning, female body mass change, and nestling and female food requirements in regard to exit date in five pairs of barn owls, Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769), nesting in eastern France. Adult mass and behaviour were monitored using an automated weighing system and a video camera. Our results indicate that the first foraging exit of the female occurs about 15 days after the hatching of the first egg. This reinitiation of foraging occurs at about the same time that male food provisioning no longer matches nestling food requirements — about 17 days after the hatching of the first egg. Thus the timing of the female's first hunting trip may be primarily adjusted to a discrepancy between brood food requirements and available food supply. Additionally, we found that females started to lose mass, on average, 6 days before their first hunting trip through a reduction of food intake, and we discuss the potential mechanisms and implications.
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Roulin A, Ducrest AL, Balloux F, Dijkstra C, Riols C. A female melanin ornament signals offspring fluctuating asymmetry in the barn owl. Proc Biol Sci 2003; 270:167-71. [PMID: 12590755 PMCID: PMC1691231 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2002.2215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection theory predicts that males advertise quality by displaying extravagant ornaments. By contrast, whether phenotypic variation in females has a signalling function remains an open question. Here, to our knowledge, we provide the first evidence that a female plumage trait can signal fluctuating asymmetry in the offspring. We experimentally demonstrate in wild barn owls (Tyto alba) that the extent to which females display black spots on their plumage does not only signal offspring parasite resistance as shown in a previous study but also developmental homeostasis in the offspring. A greater number of spotted females produced offspring that had more symmetrical feathers during the period of growth. Males, that pair non-randomly with respect to female plumage spottiness therefore appear to gain substantial benefits by mating with heavily spotted females. Genetic variation in plumage spottiness is nevertheless maintained as the covariation between offspring body mass and mother plumage spottiness varies annually depending on environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Roulin
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
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Abstract
Abstract
In double-brooded species, the sex that contributes less to breeding success may desert offspring before the end of the rearing period to start a new breeding attempt with another partner. I evaluated that prediction in the Barn Owl (Tyto alba), a species in which the male feeds the brood on average twice as often as the female. Among birds that produced a second brood, 46% of females and 4% of males deserted their offspring before completion of parental duties to remate with another partner at a distance of 1 to 10 km. Offspring desertion did not appear to incur a reproductive cost to the deserter, because deserting females at the first nest produced a similar number of offspring as nondeserting ones. In most cases, the new mate of deserting females had not been previously captured in the study area, and hence had probably not previously bred that season. Although the second clutch of deserting females was larger and produced two weeks earlier than that of nondeserting females, their nesting success did not differ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Roulin
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
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