Limitation of Reproductive Success by Food Availability and Breeding Time in Pied Flycatchers

Siikamäki, Pirkko

doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[1789:lorsbf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 151 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Well-timed breeding is important because the seasonal decline in food availability generally has a strong effect on the reproductive success of birds (e.g., Daan et al 1989). This is also the case for the two flycatcher species (Viggins et al 1994, Siikama¨ki 1998). Our study sites on Ö land are dominated by deciduous forest including mainly oak (Quercus robur), hazel (Corylus avellana), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), and birch (Betula pendula) trees where caterpillars (the main food for the nestlings) show a high but narrow peak in availability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Life‐history divergence facilitates regional coexistence of competing Ficedula flycatchers

Qvarnström

Wiley

Svedin

et al. 2009

Ecology

107

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Abstract. Regional coexistence of ecologically similar species is facilitated when fluctuations in environmental conditions favor different species at different times or places. However, why species with similar ecology should vary in their response to environmental change is unclear. In this study, we explore the role of a life-history divergence in causing changes in relative fitness across environmental conditions experienced by populations of two closely related Ficedula flycatchers on the Baltic island of Ö land, Sweden. We compared patterns of nestling survival between Pied (Ficedula hypoleuca) and Collared (F. albicollis) Flycatchers in relation to two factors known to influence the environment experienced by nestlings: natural variation in their parents' onset of breeding and artificial manipulation of the brood size. Possible differences in the location of the nests (i.e., microhabitat differences) or in habitat use (i.e., feeding patterns) by the adult birds were controlled for by partial crossfostering of young between the two species. We found that nestling mortality was relatively higher among Collared Flycatchers and that this difference increased with later breeding. Mass gain, which predicted survival probability, of nestling Collared Flycatchers did not respond to the seasonal decline in environmental conditions when they were raised in nests with reduced brood size (i.e., where sibling competition was experimentally reduced). This latter result suggests that the smaller clutch size of Collared Flycatchers reflects an adaptive adjustment to their offspring's higher sensitivity to environmental change. We discuss the possibility that the divergence in life-history traits between the two species represents adaptation to different environments experienced during their recent evolutionary history. We conclude that the survival of nestling Collared Flycatchers is more sensitive to harsh environment and that this is likely to limit where and when the more aggressive Collared Flycatchers are able to displace Pied Flycatchers. Our results provide support for models of species coexistence that emphasize the importance of spatial or temporal heterogeneity in relative fitness or life-history divergence. More precisely, our results demonstrate that variation in life-history adaptations may result in changes in relative fitness of species across environments despite their use of similar resources.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Life‐history divergence facilitates regional coexistence of competing Ficedula flycatchers

Qvarnström

Wiley

Svedin

et al. 2009

Ecology

107

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“…The role of commuting costs in shaping reproductive phenology likely extends to other colonial central-place foragers. Reproductive timing in gulls is similarly tightly related to the peak of food availability (Perrins 1970, Siikamaki 1998 and energetic constraints of foraging are believed to limit reproductive success and hence colony size in seabirds (Ballance et al 2009). Costs of thermoregulation might also influence reproductive strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource availability and roosting ecology shape reproductive phenology of rain forest insectivorous bats

2017

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Bats in temperate and subtropical regions typically synchronize birth of a single young with peaks in resource availability driven by local climate patterns. In tropical rain forest, insects are available throughout the year, potentially allowing departures from seasonal monoestry. However, reproductive energy budgets may be constrained by the cost of commuting to foraging grounds from distant roosts. To test these hypotheses, we simultaneously tracked female reproductive activity of 11 insectivorous bat species, insect biomass, and local weather variables for 20 months in a Malaysian rain forest. Five species roost in forest structures and hence have low commuting costs, whereas six species depend on caves, which are limited in the landscape, and are presumed to incur higher commuting costs to foraging sites. Monthly insect biomass was positively correlated with monthly rainfall, and there was a significant relationship between insect biomass and lactation in cave‐roosting but not forest‐roosting species. Cave‐roosting species were seasonally monoestrus, with parturition confined to a two‐month period, whereas in forest‐roosting species, pregnancy and lactation were recorded throughout the year. Our results suggest that the energetic costs of commuting from roosts to foraging grounds shape annual reproductive patterns in tropical rain forest insectivorous bats. Ongoing changes in forest landscapes are likely to increase these costs for cave‐roosting bats, further restricting reproductive opportunities. Climate change is projected to influence the timing of rainfall events in many tropical habitats, which may disrupt relationships between rainfall, insect biomass, and bat reproductive timing, further compromising reproductive success.

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“…The precise timing of breeding within a narrow or broad temporal window is probably set by endocrine and photoperiod responses that are shaped by selection imposed by energy or nutrient constraints (Farner 1964, Lofts and Murton 1968, Immelmann 1971. Energy or nutrient constraints affect chick growth and survival to independence (Siikamaki 1998, Sanz and Tinbergen 1999, Perrins and McCleery 2001, and possibly body condition and survival of breeding adults (Johnston 1993, Merilä and Wiggins 1997, Thomas et al 2001a). The selective advantage of timing can therefore be considered in terms of supply and demand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Blue Tit Breeding Performance Across Gradients in Habitat Richness

Tremblay

Thomas

Lambrechts

et al. 2003

Ecology

138

118

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Food supply is widely considered to be a major factor in determining life history traits and reproductive performance of birds. However, large spatial and temporal variation in natural available food supply is not always paralleled by proportional changes in energy demand by breeding birds. This necessarily results in variation in the supply–demand ratio and the amount of food available per unit mass of nestling. Because reproductive performance should respond to increases in available supply as a saturation curve, reaching a plateau above a certain threshold of food supply, we predict that variation in supply should change the intensity of selection on reproductive traits. We first tested this prediction using long‐term data on nestling growth and survival in Blue Tits (Parus caeruleus) breeding over a gradient of habitat richness in Corsica, France. This long‐term data analysis evaluates the effect of variation in food supply available to breeding tits using three surrogate variables: interannual variation in peak caterpillar abundance (caterpillar frass fall), offset between breeding date and peak caterpillar abundance, and natural variation in clutch size. We also used an experimental brood size manipulation (±3 chicks) to test the effect of varying brood demand on nestling growth. Results of the long‐term data analysis show that all three variables affect fledging mass and fledging success in poor habitats, while only fledging mass is affected by variation in offset in rich habitats. Moreover, mean annual fledging success and fledging mass is strongly affected by annual variation in peak caterpillar abundance at low levels of abundance, but these effects disappear when food becomes abundant (saturation threshold level of 373 and 560 mg frass·m−2·d−1 for fledging success and fledging mass, respectively). Brood size manipulations confirm these results. In rich habitats, breeding birds can raise three extra chicks without any apparent effects on chick growth, while in poor habitats, chick growth is significantly reduced with brood enlargement. Our study shows that although food limitation can play an important role, it may not always be the primary force shaping life history traits.

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Limitation of Reproductive Success by Food Availability and Breeding Time in Pied Flycatchers

Cited by 151 publications

References 27 publications

Life‐history divergence facilitates regional coexistence of competing Ficedula flycatchers

Life‐history divergence facilitates regional coexistence of competing Ficedula flycatchers

Resource availability and roosting ecology shape reproductive phenology of rain forest insectivorous bats

Variation in Blue Tit Breeding Performance Across Gradients in Habitat Richness

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