Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging

Skewed sex ratios can have negative implications for population growth if they do not match a species' life history. A skewed tertiary sex ratio has been detected in a population of Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus), a grassland shorebird experiencing population declines. To study the cause...

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Main Authors: Margaret M. Riordan, Paul M. Lukacs, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Victoria J. Dreitz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Resilience Alliance 2015-12-01
Series:Avian Conservation and Ecology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ace-eco.org/vol10/iss2/art3/
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author Margaret M. Riordan
Paul M. Lukacs
Kathryn P. Huyvaert
Victoria J. Dreitz
author_facet Margaret M. Riordan
Paul M. Lukacs
Kathryn P. Huyvaert
Victoria J. Dreitz
author_sort Margaret M. Riordan
collection DOAJ
description Skewed sex ratios can have negative implications for population growth if they do not match a species' life history. A skewed tertiary sex ratio has been detected in a population of Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus), a grassland shorebird experiencing population declines. To study the cause of the observed male skew, we examined three early life stages between egg and fledgling in eastern Colorado from 2010 to 2012. This allows us to distinguish between egg production and chick survival as an explanation for the observed skew. We examined the primary sex ratio in eggs produced and the secondary sex ratio in hatched chicks to see if the sex ratio bias occurs before hatching. We also determined the sex ratio at fledging to reveal sex-specific mortality of nestlings. The primary sex ratio was 1.01 (± 0.01) males per female. The secondary sex ratio consisted of 1.10 (± 0.02) males per female. The probability of a chick surviving to fledging differed between males (0.55 ± 0.13) and females (0.47 ± 0.15), but the precision of these survival estimates was low. Sex ratios in early life stages of the Mountain Plover do not explain the skewed sex ratio observed in adults in this breeding population.
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spelling doaj.art-13845e1639b94b89867568903d1bf4852023-01-02T01:08:04ZengResilience AllianceAvian Conservation and Ecology1712-65682015-12-01102310.5751/ACE-00772-100203772Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledgingMargaret M. Riordan0Paul M. Lukacs1Kathryn P. Huyvaert2Victoria J. Dreitz3University of MontanaUniversity of MontanaColorado State UniversityUniversity of MontanaSkewed sex ratios can have negative implications for population growth if they do not match a species' life history. A skewed tertiary sex ratio has been detected in a population of Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus), a grassland shorebird experiencing population declines. To study the cause of the observed male skew, we examined three early life stages between egg and fledgling in eastern Colorado from 2010 to 2012. This allows us to distinguish between egg production and chick survival as an explanation for the observed skew. We examined the primary sex ratio in eggs produced and the secondary sex ratio in hatched chicks to see if the sex ratio bias occurs before hatching. We also determined the sex ratio at fledging to reveal sex-specific mortality of nestlings. The primary sex ratio was 1.01 (± 0.01) males per female. The secondary sex ratio consisted of 1.10 (± 0.02) males per female. The probability of a chick surviving to fledging differed between males (0.55 ± 0.13) and females (0.47 ± 0.15), but the precision of these survival estimates was low. Sex ratios in early life stages of the Mountain Plover do not explain the skewed sex ratio observed in adults in this breeding population.http://www.ace-eco.org/vol10/iss2/art3/<span style="font-style: normal">Charadrius montanus</span>chick survivalMountain Ploverprimary sex ratiosecondary sex ratio
spellingShingle Margaret M. Riordan
Paul M. Lukacs
Kathryn P. Huyvaert
Victoria J. Dreitz
Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging
Avian Conservation and Ecology
<span style="font-style: normal">Charadrius montanus</span>
chick survival
Mountain Plover
primary sex ratio
secondary sex ratio
title Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging
title_full Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging
title_fullStr Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging
title_full_unstemmed Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging
title_short Sex ratios of Mountain Plovers from egg production to fledging
title_sort sex ratios of mountain plovers from egg production to fledging
topic <span style="font-style: normal">Charadrius montanus</span>
chick survival
Mountain Plover
primary sex ratio
secondary sex ratio
url http://www.ace-eco.org/vol10/iss2/art3/
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AT paulmlukacs sexratiosofmountainploversfromeggproductiontofledging
AT kathrynphuyvaert sexratiosofmountainploversfromeggproductiontofledging
AT victoriajdreitz sexratiosofmountainploversfromeggproductiontofledging