OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-08-09DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae033
E. A. Schreiber
{"title":"Blue-footed Boobies: Sibling Conflict and Sexual Infidelity on a Tropical Island","authors":"E. A. Schreiber","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae033","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"30 50","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141924715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-07-24DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae030
Garrett J Behrends, Y. Meheretu, Joseph D Manthey
{"title":"The Great Rift Valley is a more pronounced biogeographic barrier than the Blue Nile Valley for six Ethiopian Highland passerines in the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot","authors":"Garrett J Behrends, Y. Meheretu, Joseph D Manthey","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae030","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Ethiopian Highlands are divided by lowland biogeographic barriers, including the Blue Nile Valley (BNV) and Great Rift Valley (GRV). We show that the GRV is a more pronounced phylogeographic break than the BNV for 6 focal passerines. Previous research suggests that the BNV greatly shaped phylogeographic patterns in relatively sedentary montane taxa such as frogs and rodents, whereas the GRV shaped phylogeographic patterns in volant taxa such as birds. However, no previous research simultaneously compares the impact of each valley on phylogeographic patterns in birds, and as these barriers vary in geographic extent and topography, the relative extent of their effects on gene flow is unclear. Using whole genome resequencing, we quantified genetic variation in 6 montane forest passerines in the Ethiopian Highlands and found that their phylogeographic patterns varied, with general trends distinct from those of taxa that were previously studied across the same barriers. Genetic variation was assessed by estimating genome-wide genetic diversity (HO), demographic history, phylogeographic structure, and phylogeographic concordance among taxa. Population pairs flanking the GRV showed higher FST and more distinct population clusters in principal component analysis than those separated by the BNV. HO was broadly consistent across populations, excluding noticeable reductions in 2 populations (1 population each in 2 separate species). The overall phylogenetic signature and concordance across study taxa supported populations separated by the BNV as sister and populations southeast of the GRV as most distinct.","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"39 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141807640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-07-23DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae029
Jennifer L. McKee
{"title":"The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness","authors":"Jennifer L. McKee","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae029","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"134 13","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141811220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-07-20DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae032
S. Emslie
{"title":"A late Pleistocene nest cave of Gymnogyps californianus (California Condor) in Texas: New radiocarbon and stable isotope analyses","authors":"S. Emslie","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae032","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Fossil remains of Gymnogyps californianus (California Condor) from Mule Ears Peak Cave, Big Bend National Park, Texas, recovered in the 1930s were re-examined to determine a precise age for nesting condors in this region. Bones of at least 6 pre-fledged chicks account for most (15, or 65%) of the 23 skeletal elements from this cave and a new osteology collection of known-age condor chicks at the U.S. National Museum, Division of Birds, now allows accurate estimate of the age of death of these fossil condor chicks based on their bone development and porosity. Current and previous radiocarbon dates on juvenile and adult bones, respectively, indicate presence of condors at this site beginning at ~15,000 calendar years before present (cal yrs BP), with definite nesting occurring at ~13,000 cal yrs BP. Stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of bone collagen on two bones of adult condors reflects a diet similar to other fossil condors previously analyzed from the inland western U.S. The δ13C values in the Mule Ears Peak condors indicate a diet on megafauna that subsisted on C4 plants in a desert grassland ecosystem. These results support the hypothesis that condors were extirpated from the inland west with the loss of megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene. Further, Big Bend National Park with its vast open space and cliffs and canyons for nesting condors should be considered as an additional release site for captive-reared condors as part of the current Condor Recovery Program.","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"74 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141819017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-07-18DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae019
R. Chesser, Shawn M. Billerman, Kevin J Burns, C. Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Blanca E. Hernández-Baños, Rosa Alicia Jiménez, Oscar Johnson, A. Kratter, Nicholas A. Mason, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. Remsen
{"title":"Sixty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds","authors":"R. Chesser, Shawn M. Billerman, Kevin J Burns, C. Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Blanca E. Hernández-Baños, Rosa Alicia Jiménez, Oscar Johnson, A. Kratter, Nicholas A. Mason, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. Remsen","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae019","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":" 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141827610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-07-17DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae031
Marisa Phringphroh, D. Khamcha, Wangworn Sankamethawee, L. Powell, Rongrong Angkaew, A. J. Pierce, G. Gale
{"title":"Nest site vegetation structure influences nest predators and nesting success of understory birds in a dry evergreen forest in northeastern Thailand","authors":"Marisa Phringphroh, D. Khamcha, Wangworn Sankamethawee, L. Powell, Rongrong Angkaew, A. J. Pierce, G. Gale","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae031","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Nest predation is typically the main cause of nest failure in forest understory birds; thus, identification of primary nest predators is key to understanding nest predation patterns. Furthermore, responses of predators are likely affected by vegetation structure, but predator responses to micro-scale habitat characteristics are largely unknown, especially in tropical forests. We used a long-term study with one of the largest datasets of its kind to investigate the extent to which micro-habitat structure (5-m radius surrounding a nest) can predict the likelihood of predation and by which predator. In a secondary evergreen forest in northeastern Thailand, 2013–2021, we found 1,016 active nests of 13 species and 24-hr video-monitored 500 of them. We recorded 336 predation events from 16 nest predator species. From this and previous studies at our site, we identified the top 4 predator species/species-groups accounting for ~83% of predation events: Macaca leonina (northern pig-tailed macaque, 36% of predation events), cat snakes (Boiga cyanea [green cat snake] and Boiga siamensis [grey cat snake]) (20%), Lycodon cf. davisonii (Blandford’s bridle snake, 18%), and accipiters (A. trivirgatus [Crested Goshawk] and A. badius [Shikra]) (9%). These 4 predator species differed in their responses to vegetation structure likely reflecting differences in foraging behaviors. Macaque and accipiters, both diurnal and visually-oriented, tended to depredate more visible/open nests, but macaques depredated nests surrounded by more trees and short woody stems (<3 m tall) compared to raptors. For snakes, both nocturnal, cat snakes depredated nests with higher numbers of both short woody stems and woody climbers, whereas bridle snakes depredated nests with more trees and fewer climbers. As noted previously, nest predator identity is critical to understanding habitat-predation patterns. Our data suggest that nest site vegetation characteristics influence the likelihood of a given species of predator locating a nest and that even small changes in vegetation structure could significantly alter predation patterns.","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"171 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141828600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-07-01DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae028
Maybellene Gamboa, C. K. Ghalambor, T. Sillett, W. C. Funk, Ross A Furbush, Jerry F Husak, Raymond M. Danner
{"title":"Melospiza melodia (Song Sparrow) bill size is primarily shaped by thermoregulation on the California Channel Islands","authors":"Maybellene Gamboa, C. K. Ghalambor, T. Sillett, W. C. Funk, Ross A Furbush, Jerry F Husak, Raymond M. Danner","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae028","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Inferring the environmental selection pressures responsible for phenotypic variation is a challenge in adaptation studies as traits often have multiple functions and are shaped by complex selection regimes. We provide indirect evidence that morphology of the multifunctional avian bill is primarily shaped by climate and thermoregulatory ability in Melospiza melodia (Song Sparrow) on the California Channel Islands. Our research builds on a study in M. melodia museum specimens that demonstrated a positive correlation between bill surface area and maximum temperature, suggesting a greater demand for dry heat dissipation in hotter, xeric environments. We sampled contemporary sparrow populations across 3 climatically distinct islands to test the hypotheses that bill morphology is influenced by habitat differences with functional consequences for foraging efficiency and is related to maximum temperature and, consequently, important for thermoregulation. Measurements of >500 live individuals indicated a significant, positive relationship between maximum temperature and bill surface area when correcting for body size. In contrast, maximum bite force, seed extraction time, and vegetation on breeding territories (a proxy for food resources) were not significantly associated with bill dimensions. While we cannot exclude the influence of foraging ability and diet on bill morphology, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that variation in M. melodia need for thermoregulatory capacity across the northern Channel Islands selects for divergence in bill surface area.","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"64 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141697594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-06-14DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae018
Fabiola Rodríguez Vásquez, Caz Taylor
{"title":"An overview of the drivers of performance in nonbreeding Nearctic–Neotropical migratory songbirds","authors":"Fabiola Rodríguez Vásquez, Caz Taylor","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae018","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Developing conservation and recovery strategies for Nearctic–Neotropical migratory songbirds requires key research because population-limiting factors remain unknown for many species. In particular, the stationary nonbreeding period (sometimes referred to as overwintering) encompasses 6–8 months of the full annual cycle. We conducted a systematic review to assess what is known about the factors that influence individual-level performance (i.e., fitness proxies or indicators of self-maintenance) of Nearctic–Neotropical migratory songbirds during the stationary nonbreeding period. We focused on the metrics of apparent survival, persistence, and body condition (mass-related) indices. We found that 51 of 125 migratory Passeriformes species’ performance has been studied in 57 studies during the nonbreeding period. However, most species appear in only one study; thus, knowledge is skewed toward 3 species appearing in ≥ 10 studies. Body condition indices were the most studied group of metrics and apparent survival was the least studied. Habitat type, food availability, and precipitation were studied much more than other drivers, such as disease and predation. The most studied driver of nonbreeding performance was habitat type. Evidence was found among these studies that suggest that natural habitat types, wetter habitats or precipitation, and high availability of food may positively influence body condition, apparent survival, and persistence. Significant knowledge gaps remain that, if filled, could inform conservation strategies, especially for 59.2% of Passeriformes that are Nearctic–Neotropical migratory species and for areas of the nonbreeding range.","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"17 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141343040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
OrnithologyPub Date : 2024-06-03DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae025
Sarika P Suarez Sharma, Sarah L. Dobney, D. R. Norris, S. Doucet, Amy E. M. Newman, Joseph B Burant, Ines G. Moran, Sarah D Mueller, Hayley A Spina, D. Mennill
{"title":"Effects of age, breeding strategy, population density, and number of neighbors on territory size and shape in Passerculus sandwichensis (Savannah Sparrow)","authors":"Sarika P Suarez Sharma, Sarah L. Dobney, D. R. Norris, S. Doucet, Amy E. M. Newman, Joseph B Burant, Ines G. Moran, Sarah D Mueller, Hayley A Spina, D. Mennill","doi":"10.1093/ornithology/ukae025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukae025","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The size and shape of an animal’s breeding territory are dynamic features influenced by multiple intrinsic and extrinsic factors and can have important implications for survival and reproduction. Quantitative studies of variation in these territory features can generate deeper insights into animal ecology and behavior. We explored the effect of age, breeding strategy, population density, and number of neighbors on the size and shape of breeding territories in an island population of Passerculus sandwichensis (Savannah Sparrow). Our dataset consisted of 407 breeding territories belonging to 225 males sampled over 11 years. We compared territory sizes to the age of the male territorial holder, the male’s reproductive strategy (monogamy vs. polygyny), the number of birds in the study population (population density), and the number of immediate territorial neighbors (local density). We found substantial variation in territory size, with territories ranging over two orders of magnitude from 57 to 5727 m2 (0.0057–0.57 ha). Older males had larger territories, polygynous males had larger territories, territories were smaller in years with higher population density, and larger territories were associated with more immediate territorial neighbors. We also found substantial variation in territory shape, from near-circular to irregularly-shaped territories. Males with more neighbors had irregularly shaped territories, but shape did not vary with male age, breeding strategy, or population density. For males that lived two years or longer, we found strong consistent individual differences in territory size across years, but weaker individual differences in territory shape, suggesting that size has high repeatability whereas shape has low repeatability. Our work provides evidence that songbird territories are highly dynamic, and that their size and shape reflect both intrinsic factors (age and number of breeding partners) and extrinsic factors (population density and number of territorial neighbors).","PeriodicalId":19617,"journal":{"name":"Ornithology","volume":"65 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141272531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}