During the nesting period in 2000 and 2001 on Patara beach, total emergence and non-nesting emergence of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), nest distribution, and nest distance from the sea were recorded . The main nesting seasons for sea turtles (family Cheloniidae) were during June and July. Loggerhead turtles comprised the majority of sea turtle emergence records; only two green turtle (Chelonia mydas) emergences were recorded. The small nesting population (52 and 53 nests in 2000 and 2001, respectively) of sea turtles on Patara beach was due to low hatching success resulting from a rise in seawater levels, owing to beach erosion, and the subsequent inundation of most nests. The temperatures of four nests and sand at different distances from the sea were measured with electronic temperature loggers, which recorded mean nest temperatures of 28.8-30.7°C, with the mean temperature in the middle third of the incubation period from 28.5 to 31.0°C. The mean temperatures, incubation periods, temperature during the middle third of the incubation period, and percentage of hatchling sexes were evaluated with respect to sand and nest temperatures. The results showed a female-dominated sex ratio, which was probably the result of predation of nests far from the sea and the seawater inundation of nests close to the sea, as the sand temperature was different at sites close and far from the sea.Résumé : Durant la période de nidification en 2000 et en 2001 sur la plage de Patara, nous avons déterminé les émer-gences totales des caouanes (Caretta caretta), les émergences des tortues loin des nids, la répartition des nids sur la plage, ainsi que les distances des nids à la mer. Les périodes principales de nidification des tortues marines (Cheloniidae) ont lieu en juin et en juillet. La majorité des tortues qui ont émergé étaient des caouanes; seules deux émergen-ces de tortues vertes (Chelonia mydas) ont été observées. La petite taille de la population nidificatrice (52 et 53 nids respectivement en 2000 et 2001) de tortues marines sur la plage de Patara semble s'expliquer par le faible succès de l'éclosion à cause de la montée du niveau de la mer provoquée par l'érosion de la plage et à cause de l'inondation subséquente de la plupart des nids. La température moyenne du sable et celle de quatre nids situés à des distances différentes de la mer, mesurées à l'aide de thermomètres électroniques enregistreurs, varient de 28,8 à 30,7°C et la température moyenne du tiers médian de la période d'incubation, de 28,5 à 31,0°C. Les températures moyennes, la durée des périodes d'incubation, les températures durant le tiers médian de la période d'incubation et la proportion des mâles et des femelles chez les nouveau-nés ont été évaluées en fonction des températures du sable et des nids. Les rapports mâles:femelles sont dominés par les femelles. Ces rapports sont sans doute affectés par la prédation des nids aux sites éloignés de la mer et par l'inondation des nids par l'eau de mer aux sites proches de la mer, puisque les températures du sa...

While the function of ornaments shaped by sexual selection is to attract mates or drive off rivals, these signals may also evolve through social selection, in which the social context affects the fitness of signallers and receivers. Classical ‘mate choice’ experiments often reveal preferences for ornaments, but few studies have considered whether these are strictly sexual or reflect general social preferences. Indeed, an alternative possibility is that ornaments evolve through ‘non-sexual social selection’ (hereafter ‘social selection’). We examined the role of ornamentation (yellow ventral patch) and familiarity (individuals recognize group mates with which they have had previous interactions) on mate choice (opposite-sex stimuli preference) and social choice (same-sex stimuli preference) in both male and female white-eyed bulbuls (Pycnonotus xanthopygos). In the mate choice test, females preferred unfamiliar males with increased yellow. There were no biologically important differences in male preferences based on familiarity or intensity of patch colour. In the social choice test, females preferred to associate with familiar females. Males preferred to associate with familiar males but also preferred to associate with less ornamented males. Our results suggest that ornamentation and familiarity are important features, playing different roles in males and females, in both social and sexual selection processes.

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In this study, 50 female and 50 male 5-month-old captive-bred chukar partridges (Alectoris chukar) were released in 2012 into nature and monitored in the Çamkuyular Cedar Research Forest, Elmalı, Antalya. All individuals were tagged with colored leg tags and 15 also had radio transmitters attached. Over 4 months, the chukars were hunted by their natural predators, with the last dead bird found in January 2013. Of the 33 dead birds, 60.6% (n: 20) had been killed by large mammals and 39.4% (n: 13) by predatory birds. This study indicates that chukars produced in captivity are unable to successfully adapt to nature following release, primarily because they are unable to protect themselves against their natural predators. This suggests that a strategy favoring protection rather than bird release should be implemented in areas with declining partridge stocks.

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