Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil
Food limitation may interact with nest predation and influence nesting patterns, such as breeding season length and renesting intervals. If so, reproductive effort should change with food availability. Thus, when food is limited, birds should have fewer attempts and shorter seasons than when food is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-11-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/5898.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797421770296262656 |
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| author | James J. Roper André M.X. Lima Angélica M.K. Uejima |
| author_facet | James J. Roper André M.X. Lima Angélica M.K. Uejima |
| author_sort | James J. Roper |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Food limitation may interact with nest predation and influence nesting patterns, such as breeding season length and renesting intervals. If so, reproductive effort should change with food availability. Thus, when food is limited, birds should have fewer attempts and shorter seasons than when food is not limiting. Here we experimentally test that increased food availability results in increased reproductive effort in a fragmented landscape in the Variable Antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens) in southern Brazil. We followed nesting pairs in a naturally fragmented habitat and experimentally supplemented food for half of those pairs. Birds were seen, but evidence of nesting was never found in two small fragments, even though these fragments were larger than individual territories. Pairs with supplemented food were more likely to increase clutch size from two to three eggs and tended to renest sooner (20 d on average) than control pairs. Also, fragment size was associated with breeding patterns, although fragment replicates were unavailable. Nest duration, nest success and breeding season length were all greater, while renesting intervals were shorter, in the largest fragments. Simulations showed that only the largest fragments were able to have a net production of young. Food availability clearly influenced reproductive effort and as a consequence, because of the interaction with predation risk, forest fragments of varying sizes will have complex reproductive dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:22:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a752aeaf10164de19b518396f02865bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:22:11Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-a752aeaf10164de19b518396f02865bc2023-12-03T07:14:59ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-11-016e589810.7717/peerj.5898Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical BrazilJames J. Roper0André M.X. Lima1Angélica M.K. Uejima2Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilPrograma de Pós Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilDepartamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilFood limitation may interact with nest predation and influence nesting patterns, such as breeding season length and renesting intervals. If so, reproductive effort should change with food availability. Thus, when food is limited, birds should have fewer attempts and shorter seasons than when food is not limiting. Here we experimentally test that increased food availability results in increased reproductive effort in a fragmented landscape in the Variable Antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens) in southern Brazil. We followed nesting pairs in a naturally fragmented habitat and experimentally supplemented food for half of those pairs. Birds were seen, but evidence of nesting was never found in two small fragments, even though these fragments were larger than individual territories. Pairs with supplemented food were more likely to increase clutch size from two to three eggs and tended to renest sooner (20 d on average) than control pairs. Also, fragment size was associated with breeding patterns, although fragment replicates were unavailable. Nest duration, nest success and breeding season length were all greater, while renesting intervals were shorter, in the largest fragments. Simulations showed that only the largest fragments were able to have a net production of young. Food availability clearly influenced reproductive effort and as a consequence, because of the interaction with predation risk, forest fragments of varying sizes will have complex reproductive dynamics.https://peerj.com/articles/5898.pdfBreeding season lengthRenesting intervalsNest predationForest fragmentsExperimental food supplementationVariable Antshrike |
| spellingShingle | James J. Roper André M.X. Lima Angélica M.K. Uejima Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil PeerJ Breeding season length Renesting intervals Nest predation Forest fragments Experimental food supplementation Variable Antshrike |
| title | Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil |
| title_full | Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil |
| title_short | Experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the Variable Antshrike in subtropical Brazil |
| title_sort | experimental food supplementation increases reproductive effort in the variable antshrike in subtropical brazil |
| topic | Breeding season length Renesting intervals Nest predation Forest fragments Experimental food supplementation Variable Antshrike |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/5898.pdf |
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