Parental incubation patterns and the effect of group size in a Neotropical cooperative breeder

Mortensen, Jennifer L.; Reed, J. Michael

doi:10.1642/auk-17-236.1

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…These reproductive behaviors provide a mechanism through which pied babblers can respond flexibly to interannual variation in rainfall, laying and incubating more clutches and producing more surviving young in breeding seasons that follow a drought. An alternative explanation for the pattern that we observed could be that higher numbers of clutches initiated in non-drought years indicate higher rates of nest predation, an important cause of reproductive failure in birds (Mayer et al, 2009;DeGregorio et al, 2015;Mortensen and Reed, 2018). Previous research in sociable weavers (Philetairus socius) has shown that reproductive effort (defined as number of clutches laid and incubated) increases when predation is high (Mares et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Compensatory Breeding in Years Following Drought in a Desert-Dwelling Cooperative Breeder

et al. 2020

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Variation in weather patterns can influence reproductive effort and success not only within but also between breeding seasons. Where environmental conditions can be highly variable between years, the weather, and particularly extreme weather events such as heat waves and droughts, may exert a strong influence on reproductive effort (number of breeding attempts) and success (number of surviving young) from one breeding season to the next. We used a 15-year dataset for a cooperatively breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor, to determine the impact of high temperatures and drought on reproductive effort and success. We tested the influence on reproductive effort and success of mean daily maximum air temperature and drought both within a breeding season, to determine the relative importance of current conditions, and during the previous breeding season, to determine the relative importance of compensatory effects in response to prior conditions. Reproductive effort and success were lower during breeding seasons characterized by drought, and higher in the breeding seasons that followed droughts, but were not predicted by mean daily maximum temperatures measured over the full length of the breeding season. We provide evidence of compensatory breeding following drought in a bird species endemic to a semi-arid ecosystem and suggest that compensatory mechanisms may be an important part of both long-term population persistence and post-drought population recovery.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Compensatory Breeding in Years Following Drought in a Desert-Dwelling Cooperative Breeder

et al. 2020

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“…Incubation is energetically costly in temperate environments where eggs need to be kept warm ( Ardia et al , 2010 ; Nord et al , 2010 ; Nord and Cooper, 2020 ), but also extremely challenging in warm environments ( Amat and Masero, 2004 ; Coe et al , 2015 ; Nwaogu et al , 2017 ), where incubating birds must prevent eggs from overheating ( Carroll et al , 2015a ; Grant, 1982 ; McDonald and Schwanz, 2018 ) while also thermoregulating themselves ( DuRant et al , 2019 ; McKechnie, 2019 ; O’Connor et al , 2018 ). Behaviourally, birds initially respond to high temperatures by increasing incubation constancy ( AlRashidi et al , 2011 ; Cones, 2017 ; Conway and Martin, 2000 ; Mortensen and Reed, 2018 ; Mougeot et al , 2014 ) or engaging in shading behaviour ( Brown and Downs, 2003 ; Clauser and McRae, 2017 ; Downs and Ward, 1997 ; Grant, 1982 ) in order to regulate nest temperatures. Physiologically, the capacity of small endotherms such as birds to tolerate heat exposure is governed by their ability to dissipate heat ( McKechnie and Wolf, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dehydration risk is associated with reduced nest attendance and hatching success in a cooperatively breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor

Bourne

Ridley

McKechnie

et al. 2021

Conservation Physiology

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High air temperatures have measurable negative impacts on reproduction in wild animal populations, including during incubation in birds. Understanding the mechanisms driving these impacts requires comprehensive knowledge of animal physiology and behaviour under natural conditions. We used a novel combination of a non-invasive doubly labelled water (DLW) technique, nest temperature data and field-based behaviour observations to test effects of temperature, rainfall and group size on physiology and behaviour during incubation in southern pied babblers Turdoides bicolor, a cooperatively breeding passerine endemic to the arid savanna regions of southern Africa. The proportion of time that clutches were incubated declined as air temperatures increased, a behavioural pattern traditionally interpreted as a benefit of ambient incubation. However, we show that (i) clutches had a <50% chance of hatching when exposed to daily maximum air temperatures of >35.3°C; (ii) pied babbler groups incubated their nests almost constantly (99% of daylight hours) except on hot days; (iii) operative temperatures in unattended nests frequently exceeded 40.5°C, above which bird embryos are at risk of death; (iv) pied babblers incubating for long periods of time failed to maintain water balance on hot days; and (v) pied babblers from incubating groups lost mass on hot days. These results suggest that pied babblers might leave their nests during hot periods to lower the risk of dehydration associated with prolonged incubation at high operative temperatures. As mean air temperatures increase and extreme heat events become more frequent under climate change, birds will likely incur ever greater thermoregulatory costs of incubation, leading to compromised nest attendance and increased potential for eggs to overheat, with implications for nest success and, ultimately, population persistence.

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“…These reproductive behaviors provide a mechanism through which pied babblers can respond flexibly to interannual variation in rainfall, laying and incubating more clutches and producing more surviving young in breeding seasons that follow a drought. An alternative explanation for the pattern that we observed could be that higher numbers of clutches initiated in non-drought years indicate higher rates of nest predation, an important cause of reproductive failure in birds DeGregorio et al, 2015;Mortensen and Reed, 2018). Previous research in sociable weavers (Philetairus socius) has shown that reproductive effort (defined as number of clutches laid and incubated) increases when predation is high (Mares et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

The Impact of Weather on the Behavior and Ecology of Birds

Sharp¹,

Mainwaring²,

Nord³

2021

Frontiers Research Topics

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Parental incubation patterns and the effect of group size in a Neotropical cooperative breeder

Cited by 9 publications

References 61 publications

Compensatory Breeding in Years Following Drought in a Desert-Dwelling Cooperative Breeder

Compensatory Breeding in Years Following Drought in a Desert-Dwelling Cooperative Breeder

Dehydration risk is associated with reduced nest attendance and hatching success in a cooperatively breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor

The Impact of Weather on the Behavior and Ecology of Birds

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