Effects of Egg Size, Hatching Asynchrony, Parental Care, and Environment on the Growth of Nestling Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) in Southerstern Michigan
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Authors
Curry, Amy
Issue Date
1996
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Neonate birds hatching from large eggs tend to be larger than
conspecifics hatching from smaller eggs. This difference may have an impact
on survivorship immediately after hatching except, perhaps, in nests where
eggs hatch asynchronously. Hatching asynchrony, most common in
nidicolous birds, has a large influence on the size and possibly, competitive
hierarchy of hatchlings in a nest. We examined the effects of egg size and
hatching order on fledging success of Red-winged Blackbird (AgeZaius
phoenicius) nestlings, an altricial, nidicolous songbird nesting in
Southwestern Michigan. Egg size was measured to determine the effects it
has on hatchling size between the time of hatching and fledging, while
hatchlings were measured with sibling hierarchy and survivorship
monitored during the nesting stage. We found that egg mass only influences
size directly after hatching, and the hatching sequence has a large impact on
the size of the hatchling and survivorship for the first few days of the nestling
period. However, when nestlings are ready to fledge, size differences are
greater among nests than within nests making size differences among siblings
insignificant. While egg size and hatching order affect hatchling size and
survivorship early in the nesting stage, it seems to be that the environment
and parental care are responsible for the survival of the nestlings at the time
they are ready to fledge.
Description
v, 38 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.