Search results for "Reproductive success"
showing 10 items of 165 documents
Sources of variation in survival and breeding site fidelity in three species of European ducks
2002
Summary 1 We used long-term capture–recapture–recovery data and a modelling approach developed by Burnham (1993) to test a priori predictions about sources of variation in annual survival rates and fidelity within a population of individually marked females in three species of European ducks from a breeding ground study site in Latvia. 2 True annual survival was higher for diving ducks (tufted duck 0·72, common pochard 0·65) and lower for northern shoveler (0·52). Survival of female diving ducks was positively correlated with mean winter temperatures at Western European wintering areas, the relationship being much stronger for pochard. 3 We present the first unbiased estimates of breedin…
Breeding strategy and morphological characters in an urban population of blackbirds, Turdus merula
2001
Pairing patterns in monogamous birds are thought to be the consequence of mutual mate choice by males and females for characters linked to individual quality in the opposite sex. Although this may result in assortative pairing for a single character, there may be no simple match between male and female phenotype if the traits linked to individual quality are sex specific. For instance, in several passerine species, females tend to select males on the basis of territory quality or characters that may reflect health or vigour, whereas males benefit from pairing with females in good condition that breed early because early breeding increases reproductive success. We investigated pairing patter…
Life in varying environments: experimental evidence for delayed effects of juvenile environment on adult life history
2011
Summary 1. The effects of environment experienced during early development on phenotype as an adult has started to gain vast amounts of interest in various taxa. Some evidence on long-term effects of juvenile environment is available, but replicated experimental studies in wild animals are still lacking. 2. Here we report the first replicated experiment in wild mammals which examines the long-term effects of juvenile and adult environments on individual fitness (reproduction, survival and health). The early development of bank vole (Myodes glareolus) individuals took place in either foodsupplemented or un-supplemented outdoor enclosures. After the summer, adult individuals were reciprocally…
Within territory abundance of red wood ants Formica rufa is associated with the body condition of nestlings in the Eurasian treecreeper Certhia famil…
2007
Studies on individual reproductive success in relation to interspecific competition between distantly related taxa are scarce. We studied whether the abundance of red wood ants Formica rufa -group is related to the breeding habitat selection, fecundity and offspring quality in the Eurasian treecreeper Certhia familiaris, an old-growth forest passerine. The nest-box occupancy data were gathered over a five-year study period, whereas the breeding performance analyses were based on a two-year data set. The abundance of wood ants, measured within 50 m around the nest-boxes, was not related to nest-box occupancy rate, fecundity or the physiological stress of nestlings. In contrast, the abundance…
Reproductive success of Coregonus species in areas loaded by effluents from paper mills
1992
The annual reproductive success of Coregonus albula and C. lavaretus in some polluted and clean areas of the central parts of L. Paijanne was estimated in 1981–90 on the basis of occurrence of larvae in shore seine and seine net samples after the ice melted. In polluted areas (0-5 km from Kaipola paper mill) larvae of coregonids were found only occasionally. In semipolluted areas (5–15 km from the paper mill) the densities of larvae were usually less than 0.1 ind m-2. In ‘clean’ areas the mean densities of larvae ranged from 0.45 to 5.34 inds m-2. A relatively high reproductive success of vendace was observed in 1984–85, moderate success in 1982–83 and low success in 1986–90. The larvae of …
Transgenerational immunity in a bird-ectoparasite system: do maternally transferred antibodies affect parasite fecundity or the offspring's susceptib…
2009
During egg formation, female birds deposit antibodies against parasites and pathogens they were exposed to before egg laying into the yolk. In captive bird species, it has been shown that these maternal immunoglobulins (maternal yolk IgGs) can protect newly hatched offspring against infection. However, direct evidence for such benefits in wild birds is hitherto lacking. We investigated (1) if nestling Great Tits Parus major originating from eggs with naturally high levels of maternal yolk IgG are less susceptible to a common, nest-based ectoparasite, (2) if maternal yolk IgGs influence nestling development and in particular, their own immune defence, and (3) if there is a negative correlati…
Temporal genetic structure in a poecilogonous polychaete: the interplay of developmental mode and environmental stochasticity
2014
Background: Temporal variation in the genetic structure of populations can be caused by multiple factors, including natural selection, stochastic environmental variation, migration, or genetic drift. In benthic marine species, the developmental mode of larvae may indicate a possibility for temporal genetic variation: species with dispersive planktonic larvae are expected to be more likely to show temporal genetic variation than species with benthic or brooded non-dispersive larvae, due to differences in larval mortality and dispersal ability. We examined temporal genetic structure in populations of Pygospio elegans, a poecilogonous polychaete with within-species variation in developmental m…
Ageing via sexual perception is a by-product of male adaptive plasticity inDrosophila melanogaster
2021
ABSTRACTSensory perception of environmental cues can dramatically modulate ageing across distant taxa. For example, maleDrosophila melanogasterage faster if they perceive female cues but fail to mate (ageing via sexual perception). This finding has been a breakthrough for our understanding of the mechanisms of ageing, yet we ignore how and why such responses have evolved. Here, we usedD. melanogasterto ask whether ageing via sexual perception may be a by-product of plastic adaptive responses to female cues, and found that while long-term sexual perception leads to reproductive costs, short-term perception increases male lifetime reproductive success in a competitive environment. Simulations…
Coloration reflects behavioural types in the convict cichlid, Amatitlania siquia.
2015
9 pages; International audience; Interindividual behavioural differences, consistent over time and across situations, are frequently related to differences in reproductive success, susceptibility to disease and competitive ability. The behavioural phenotype of a conspecific is likely to affect the outcome of a social interaction, so an individual must be able to accurately assess behavioural phenotypes in order to optimize behavioural responses during mate choice, cooperative relationships and agonistic interactions. However, behavioural assessment based on dyadic interactions in different contexts can be costly because it may require significant time, increase the risk of predation and oft…
NOTES ON THE BIOMETRY, ORIENTATION AND SPATIAL LOCALIZATION OF THE NESTS OF THE GLOBALLY NEAR-THREATENED STRAIGHT-BILLED REEDHAUNTER (LIMNOCTITES REC…
2017
We report the records of three nests of Straight-billed Reedhaunter, Limnoctites rectirostris, in southernmost Brazil. For each nest, we collected information about the biometry, spatial localization within the patch (border or inland) and cardinal orientation of the incubation chamber. Information on number of eggs and reproductive success is also presented. All nests were found early in September. The three nests were situated on the edge of patches and guided incubation chamber opening between north and east. All results are discussed. The information presented herein extends the scarce knowledge about the breeding biology of the Straight-billed Reedhaunter. Key words: breeding biology, …