Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure
Abstract Incubation breaks are necessary for any nesting bird but can increase the mortality risk of the nest or attending parent. How intrinsic and extrinsic variables affect nest attentiveness—the proportion of time a female is on nest during incubation— and subsequent survival of the nest remains...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10509 |
| _version_ | 1797542892861915136 |
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| author | Jacquelyn M. Gehrt Daniel S. Sullins Bram H. F. Verheijen David A. Haukos |
| author_facet | Jacquelyn M. Gehrt Daniel S. Sullins Bram H. F. Verheijen David A. Haukos |
| author_sort | Jacquelyn M. Gehrt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Incubation breaks are necessary for any nesting bird but can increase the mortality risk of the nest or attending parent. How intrinsic and extrinsic variables affect nest attentiveness—the proportion of time a female is on nest during incubation— and subsequent survival of the nest remains unclear for uniparental species. We related female nest attentiveness to nest survival and tested the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on nest attentiveness by female Lesser Prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) using GPS locations of 87 females at 109 nest sites in 3 study areas in Kansas during 2013–2015. Daily nest survival increased by 39% when nest attentiveness increased from 21% to 98%. Female Lesser Prairie‐chickens were 18% less attentive as body mass increased from 600 to 920 g. Daily precipitation and temperature, controlled for days into the incubation period, had interactive effects on nest attentiveness with nest attentiveness lowest on cool, wet days and increasing as temperature increased, regardless of precipitation (41% attentiveness at 16°C and 79 mm of precipitation to 90% attentiveness at 37°C and 41 mm of precipitation). Nest attentiveness increased by 11% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 78% when visual obstruction was at 1 and 2 decimeters (dm) and increased 9% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 83% when visual obstruction was at its maximum (3 dm). Our findings reveal the critical importance of nest attentiveness and incubation behavior, not only in relation to demography, but within the context of changing environmental conditions. As warmer temperatures and extreme precipitation events become more common and change the growth rates of vegetation, species like the Lesser Prairie‐chicken that are ground‐nesting, rely on vegetation cover, and exhibit uniparental care could experience negative demographic consequences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:36:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f285f8256b84bcc8a0463ef7e902432 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:36:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f285f8256b84bcc8a0463ef7e9024322023-11-21T07:26:25ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582023-09-01139n/an/a10.1002/ece3.10509Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structureJacquelyn M. Gehrt0Daniel S. Sullins1Bram H. F. Verheijen2David A. Haukos3Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas USADepartment of Horticulture and Natural Resources Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas USAMissouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit University of Missouri Columbia Missouri USAU.S. Geological Survey, Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas USAAbstract Incubation breaks are necessary for any nesting bird but can increase the mortality risk of the nest or attending parent. How intrinsic and extrinsic variables affect nest attentiveness—the proportion of time a female is on nest during incubation— and subsequent survival of the nest remains unclear for uniparental species. We related female nest attentiveness to nest survival and tested the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on nest attentiveness by female Lesser Prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) using GPS locations of 87 females at 109 nest sites in 3 study areas in Kansas during 2013–2015. Daily nest survival increased by 39% when nest attentiveness increased from 21% to 98%. Female Lesser Prairie‐chickens were 18% less attentive as body mass increased from 600 to 920 g. Daily precipitation and temperature, controlled for days into the incubation period, had interactive effects on nest attentiveness with nest attentiveness lowest on cool, wet days and increasing as temperature increased, regardless of precipitation (41% attentiveness at 16°C and 79 mm of precipitation to 90% attentiveness at 37°C and 41 mm of precipitation). Nest attentiveness increased by 11% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 78% when visual obstruction was at 1 and 2 decimeters (dm) and increased 9% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 83% when visual obstruction was at its maximum (3 dm). Our findings reveal the critical importance of nest attentiveness and incubation behavior, not only in relation to demography, but within the context of changing environmental conditions. As warmer temperatures and extreme precipitation events become more common and change the growth rates of vegetation, species like the Lesser Prairie‐chicken that are ground‐nesting, rely on vegetation cover, and exhibit uniparental care could experience negative demographic consequences.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10509behaviorincubationKansasLesser Prairie‐chickenprecipitationtemperature |
| spellingShingle | Jacquelyn M. Gehrt Daniel S. Sullins Bram H. F. Verheijen David A. Haukos Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure Ecology and Evolution behavior incubation Kansas Lesser Prairie‐chicken precipitation temperature |
| title | Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure |
| title_full | Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure |
| title_fullStr | Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure |
| title_short | Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure |
| title_sort | lesser prairie chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure |
| topic | behavior incubation Kansas Lesser Prairie‐chicken precipitation temperature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10509 |
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