Dependence of Postjuvenile Moult on Hatching Date, Condition and Sex in the Great Tit

Bojarinova, Julia; Lehikoinen, Esa; Eeva, Tapio

doi:10.2307/3677016

Cited by 63 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Newton (1966) showed that in bull¢nches, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, the spread of moult start dates appeared to be greater than completion dates, which implies a faster rate of moult in late-moulting individuals. In juvenile great tits, Parus major, the start of moult is related to hatch date and later-moulting birds moult more rapidly (Bojarinova et al 1999). Our experiment exaggerated the di¡erence in the rate of decrease in daylength that would be experienced between nonbreeding and late-breeding birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Rate of moult affects feather quality: a mechanism linking current reproductive effort to future survival

Dawson

Hinsley

Ferns

et al. 2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

280

327

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Life-history theory proposes that costs must be associated with reproduction. Many direct costs are incurred during breeding. There is also evidence for indirect costs, incurred after breeding, which decrease survival and future reproductive success. One possible indirect cost identi¢ed in birds is that breeding activity in some way compromises plumage quality in the subsequent moult. Here we propose a mechanism by which this could occur. Breeding activity delays the start of moult. Birds that start to moult later also moult more rapidlyöan e¡ect of decreasing daylength. Could this result in poorer quality plumage? We kept two groups of male European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, one on constant long days and the other on decreasing daylengths from the start of moult. Decreasing daylengths reduced the duration of moult from 103 § 4 days to 73 § 3 days (p 5 0.0001). Newly grown primary feathers of birds that moulted fast were slightly shorter, weighed less (p 5 0.05) and were more asymmetrical. They had a thinner rachis (p 5 0.005), were less hard (p 5 0.01) and less rigid (p 5 0.05). They were also less resistant to wear so that di¡erences in mass and asymmetry increased with time. There was no di¡erence in Young's modulus. Poorer quality plumage will lead to decreased survival due to decreased £ight performance and increased thermoregulatory costs. Thus, reproduction incurs costs through a mechanism that operates after the end of breeding.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Rate of moult affects feather quality: a mechanism linking current reproductive effort to future survival

Dawson

Hinsley

Ferns

et al. 2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

280

327

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“…Thus, such a trade-off between current reproduction and moult may result in reduced parental effort late during the breeding season, potentially explaining the negative relationship between traits connected with current reproduction and absolute date. Additionally, start of moult among offspring is closely related to hatching date (Bojarinova et al 1999), potentially reducing the survival prospects of late-produced fledglings. Thus, absolute date can be important for both parents and offspring, simply because they may be running out of time.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The timing of birds' breeding seasons: a review of experiments that manipulated timing of breeding

Verhulst

Nilsson

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

469

486

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Reproductive success usually declines in the course of the season, which may be a direct effect of breeding time, an effect of quality (individuals with high phenotypic or environmental quality breeding early), or a combination of the two. Being able to distinguish between these possibilities is crucial when trying to understand individual variation in annual routines, for instance when to breed, moult and migrate. We review experiments with free-living birds performed to distinguish between the 'timing' and 'quality' hypothesis. 'Clean' manipulation of breeding time seems impossible, and we therefore discuss strong and weak points of different manipulation techniques. We find that the qualitative results were independent of manipulation technique (inducing replacement clutches versus cross-fostering early and late clutches). Given that the two techniques differ strongly in demands made on the birds, this suggests that potential experimental biases are limited. Overall, the evidence indicated that date and quality are both important, depending on fitness component and species, although evidence for the date hypothesis was found more frequently. We expected both effects to be prevalent, since only if date per se is important, does an incentive exist for high-quality birds to breed early. We discuss mechanisms mediating the seasonal decline in reproductive success, and distinguish between effects of absolute date and relative date, for instance timing relative to seasonal environmental fluctuations or conspecifics. The latter is important at least in some cases, suggesting that the optimal breeding time may be frequency dependent, but this has been little studied. A recurring pattern among cross-fostering studies was that delay experiments provided evidence for the quality hypothesis, while advance experiments provided evidence for the date hypothesis. This indicates that late pairs are constrained from producing a clutch earlier in the season, presumably by the fitness costs this would entail. This provides us with a paradox: evidence for the date hypothesis leads us to conclude that quality is important for the ability to breed early.

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“…Early young can make the transition to independence while food is still abundant and, by virtue of greater experience, may have a competitive advantage over later fledging con-specifics (Kluijver 1951, Nilsson andSmith 1985). Early fledging also correlates with earlier onset of post-juvenile moult (Bojarinova et al 1999) which should ensure adequate nutrition and optimum daylength for the production of good quality plumage (Dawson et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Settlement in Woodland Birds in Fragmented Habitat: Effects of Natal Territory Location and Timing of Fledging

et al. 2011

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Factors such as early fledging and natal territory location have been shown to influence dispersal and settlement success of woodland birds. Early fledging allows for earlier dispersal, increasing the chances of an individual locating good quality habitat. However, for birds in fragmented woodland, the advantages of early dispersal may be modified by natal territory location in relation to the availability of suitable habitat in the surrounding landscape. Connecting habitat corridors may promote dispersal, and connectivity in landscapes is usually considered as positive, but this may not always be the case. In landscapes where habitat is highly fragmented, corridors may promote departure, but leave dispersers with little chance of success.An individual-based Spatially Explicit Population Model was used to investigate the effects of timing of fledging, natal territory location and proximity to potential dispersal corridors on local settlement rates. Modelling was based on both hypothetical and real woodlands and used marsh tit as an example woodland bird. For each modelled scenario, the number of young that settled was recorded for each territory, the overall results being expressed as the mean percentage settlement rate per territory.Territory location and edge effects were both found to influence dispersal and settlement rate. Fledging early clearly demonstrated a general advantage for local settlement success. However, territory location, in relation to the likelihood of dispersing out of the wood was found to interact with fledging order. Fledglings from internal territories had an advantage over those from edge territories and local settlement rate could be reduced by a location favourable to emigration. In general, the effect of exits was to reduce the settlement rate of early fledging young while that of later young tended to increase. In highly fragmented woodland, fledging late from a well-connected edge territory would appear to be the worst case scenario.

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Dependence of Postjuvenile Moult on Hatching Date, Condition and Sex in the Great Tit

Cited by 63 publications

References 32 publications

Rate of moult affects feather quality: a mechanism linking current reproductive effort to future survival

Rate of moult affects feather quality: a mechanism linking current reproductive effort to future survival

The timing of birds' breeding seasons: a review of experiments that manipulated timing of breeding

Local Settlement in Woodland Birds in Fragmented Habitat: Effects of Natal Territory Location and Timing of Fledging

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