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Differential effects of food availability and nest predation risk on avian reproductive strategies

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Listed:
  • Helen R. Sofaer
  • T. Scott Sillett
  • Susana I. Peluc
  • Scott A. Morrison
  • Cameron K. Ghalambor

Abstract

Spatial and temporal variation in resource abundance and predation risk can favor the evolution of phenotypic plasticity as a means of tracking changing environments. However, because food abundance and predation risk often covary in nature, few studies have separated their effects or tested whether different phenotypic traits respond to the same sources of environmental variation. We investigated patterns of parental investment and behavior over a 7-year period in 2 island populations of orange-crowned warblers (Oreothlypis celata) that showed little genetic divergence but experienced dramatic temporal variation in rainfall and spatial variation in nest predation risk. The amount of rainfall in each year was correlated with food abundance, and birds on both islands initiated breeding earlier and laid larger clutches in wetter years. In contrast, the rate at which parents visited their nests was not affected by rainfall but was negatively correlated with nest predation risk both within and between islands. Our results suggest that although the effects of food availability and nest predation have been viewed as mutually exclusive drivers of entire suites of life-history and behavioral traits, these traits can differ in their sensitivity to resource abundance or mortality risk, and traits that are often correlated can be decoupled under appropriate environmental conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen R. Sofaer & T. Scott Sillett & Susana I. Peluc & Scott A. Morrison & Cameron K. Ghalambor, 2013. "Differential effects of food availability and nest predation risk on avian reproductive strategies," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 24(3), pages 698-707.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:24:y:2013:i:3:p:698-707.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/ars212
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Susana I. Peluc & T. Scott Sillett & John T. Rotenberry & Cameron K. Ghalambor, 2008. "Adaptive phenotypic plasticity in an island songbird exposed to a novel predation risk," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 19(4), pages 830-835.
    2. Cameron K. Ghalambor, 2002. "Comparative manipulation of predation risk in incubating birds reveals variability in the plasticity of responses," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 13(1), pages 101-108, January.
    3. Sönke Eggers & Michael Griesser & Jan Ekman, 2005. "Predator-induced plasticity in nest visitation rates in the Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus)," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 16(1), pages 309-315, January.
    4. Sönke Eggers & Michael Griesser & Jan Ekman, 2008. "Predator-induced reductions in nest visitation rates are modified by forest cover and food availability," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 19(5), pages 1056-1062.
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