How to translate text using browser tools
1 May 2012 Parents or Predators: Examining Intraseasonal Variation in Nest Survival for a Migratory Passerine
Robin Hirsch-Jacobson, W. Andrew Cox, Emily E. Tewes, Frank R. Thompson III, John Faaborg
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

For birds, risk of nest predation can vary within a breeding season, but few data exist that explain why such variation occurs. We investigated intraseasonal variation of nest survival of the Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) in Midwestern forests and tested whether four of the adults' reproductive strategies (clutch size, nest concealment, nest visitation rates, nest height) explained trends in survival across the breeding season. We also used video cameras to identify predators at 40 nests, which allowed us to determine whether variation in predation rates by category of predator (e.g., birds, mammals, snakes) explained overall seasonal variation in predation rates. The flycatchers' nest survival had a quadratic relationship with Julian date but generally increased through the breeding season. Nest height increased as the breeding season progressed but did not explain any variation in nest survival. No other reproductive trait exhibited significant intraseasonal variation. Overall, predator-specific predation rates did not vary seasonally, but there was a marginal decline in the risk of failure from avian predators as the season progressed. Of the explanations we considered, changes in predator abundance or activity were likely the primary contributor to intraseasonal variation in survival of Acadian Flycatcher nests.

© 2012 by The Cooper Ornithological Society. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp.
Robin Hirsch-Jacobson, W. Andrew Cox, Emily E. Tewes, Frank R. Thompson III, and John Faaborg "Parents or Predators: Examining Intraseasonal Variation in Nest Survival for a Migratory Passerine," The Condor 114(2), 358-364, (1 May 2012). https://doi.org/10.1525/cond.2012.110057
Received: 18 April 2011; Accepted: 1 October 2011; Published: 1 May 2012
KEYWORDS
Acadian Flycatcher
Empidonax virescens
nest survival
nest-visitation rates
reproductive strategies
Seasonality
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top