The effect of supplemental food on body condition and the timing of reproduction in a cooperative breeder, the Florida Scrub-Jay
Article Abstract:
A sufficient quantity of food for the offspring and for breeding females to produce a clutch affect the timing of reproduction in Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens). Female breeders given supplemental food produce larger clutches and begin them earlier than those unsupplemented with food. Females given supplemental food have higher body lipid levels before clutch initiation as compared to controls. A decrease in food quantity as the season progresses reduces the size of the clutches. The body size and lipid levels of nonbreeders is low. However, limited food does not seem to be the only factor causing individuals not to breed.
Publication Name: The Condor
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0010-5422
Year: 1996
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Facultative communal brood rearing in California Quail
Article Abstract:
Most altricial species of birds participate in nuclear family care and parental care, but Californian Quail are not known to nest together although their broods are sometimes reared together. A new study investigates communal brood rearing by California Quail and assesses its potential fitness benefits. It is shown that parents of communal broods live longer than parents of single broods and they also hatch more young during their lifetimes. Communal brood fathers eat more than single brood fathers, so increasing their direct fitness.
Publication Name: The Condor
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0010-5422
Year: 1999
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Population dynamics of the New Zealand Whitehead (Pachycephalidae) - a communal breeder._ (includes bibliography)
Article Abstract:
A study was conducted to determine the density, social relationships, longevity and sex ratio of Whiteheads (Mohoua albicilla) on Little Barrier Island, New Zealand. Color-banded Whiteheads were observed from 1984 to 1987, and their densities were found to be as high as 87 birds/ha in the study area. The population was found to have a 1:1 sex ratio and an average life expectancy of 5.1 years. Breeding among Whiteheads was found to be communal, with young Whiteheads assisting their parents in raising nestlings.
Publication Name: The Condor
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0010-5422
Year: 1992
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- Abstracts: Dispersal from natal territories and the origin of cooperatively polyandrous breeding groups in the Brown Skua
- Abstracts: The effects of parental quality and timing of breeding on the growth of nestling Thick-billed Murres. Breeding and post-breeding habitat use by forest migrant songbirds in the Missouri Ozarks
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