Are low reproductive rates characteristic of New Zealand's native terrestrial birds? Evidence from the allometry of nesting parameters in altricial species

Abstract

We investigate the notion that New Zealand's avifauna exhibits a macro-evolutionary trend towards low reproductive rates by analysing the allometry of nesting parameters for native altricial land birds. We show that egg size, incubation periods, and nestling periods are all strongly correlated with body mass, but clutch size is not. However, egg size more accurately predicts incubation periods, and incubation periods more accurately predict nestling periods, than does body mass.Variation between and within families is explored. Neither divergence per se nor slow rates of reproduction appear related to the taxic level of endemism. "Gigantic" species breed more slowly in proportion to body mass as predicted allometrically, but as a macro-evolutionary trend, the effect is counterpointed within New Zealand by a parallel trend towards dwarfism. We found that hollow-and cavity-nesting species have longer nestling periods than open-nesting species. Corvida passerines lay larger eggs, after controlling for body mass, than do Passerida passerines.Most of New Zealand's altricial bird species evolved from Australian colonists. Macroevolutionary trends are therefore most likely to be Z02026;

Patterns of life‐history traits in open‐nesting palearctic passerines as a function of the climatic variation of their ranges

“…The effect of allometry on egg size is well known in birds (e.g. Rahn et al 1985, Kulezsa 1990, Franklin & Wilson 2003. Likewise, in our dataset, log body mass explained 94% of variation in log egg mass.…”

“…Rahn et al . 1985, Kulezsa 1990, Franklin & Wilson 2003). Likewise, in our dataset, log body mass explained 94% of variation in log egg mass.…”

“…Moreover, whereas some life‐history traits such as egg mass often are allometrically related to body mass, other traits such as clutch size seem to be less clearly tied to body mass (e.g. Franklin & Wilson 2003, but see Sæther 1987). Therefore, the conclusions about the environmental causation of reproductive rates that are based on single, body mass uncorrected life‐history traits may be spurious (Zammuto & Millar 1985).…”

Constitutive immune defences correlate with life‐history variables in tropical birds

“…In chicks, the specific antibody response takes several weeks post‐hatch to fully develop, but maternal antibodies are protective for only 1–2 weeks following hatching (Klasing & Leshchinsky 1999). Incubation and nestling periods are positively related in general (Bosque & Bosque 1995; Franklin & Wilson 2003), as well as among the relatively small‐bodied altricial species in our study (Appendix S3). In most altricial species, the majority of mass gain occurs in the nest as chicks fledge near adult mass (Remes & Martin 2002).…”

Differential effects of exotic predator-control on nest success of native and introduced birds in New Zealand

“…Furthermore, birds that evolved with mammalian predators can re-nest quickly to accommodate multiple-brooding (Burley 1980), and they decrease their levels of activity around the nest to minimise the risk of attracting the attention of predators (Martin et al 2000;Skutch 1949). In contrast, birds that evolved on islands have a number of life history traits that appear to make them particularly susceptible to nest predation from introduced mammals (Franklin and Wilson 2003;Massaro et al 2008;Trevelyan and Read 1989). For example, bellbirds on the Poor Knights Islands have never been exposed to introduced mammalian predators and show higher levels of activity around the nest than bellbirds on the New Zealand mainland (Massaro et al 2008).…”