Variation in growth patterns of Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus nestlings: effects of hatching order, nestling subperiod, brood size and weather conditions

Author:

Zaremba UrszulaORCID,Golawski Artur,Kasprzykowski Zbigniew

Abstract

AbstractPost-natal growth has long-term consequences for survival and fitness in birds and is subject to strong directional selection. Highly variable patterns of nestling development are influenced by an array of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. This study analysed the impacts of hatching order, nestling subperiod, brood size and weather conditions, all of which could influence the growth rate of Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus nestlings. It was conducted over a period of 6 years, during which measurements of 173 nestlings from 66 nests were made at fishpond complexes in eastern Poland. Relative growth rates (RGR) were calculated on the basis of tarsus and wing lengths during two subperiods of nestling development. Linear mixed models showed that the hatching order and nestling subperiod influenced nestling growth, whereas brood size did not affect wing or tarsus relative growth rates. The effect of hatching order differed between the two traits and between subperiods. Marginal nestlings in broods of five exhibited poor wing growth and perished before fledging. In contrast to wing growth, tarsus growth rates were similar in all the siblings in the first subperiod. During the second developmental subperiod, the growth rates of both locomotor traits exhibited the same pattern, i.e., higher values in the later-hatched chicks than in the earlier ones. Precipitation, but not temperature, had a negative impact on growth in the second subperiod. Our results show a variation in growth patterns between nestmates, which was the most evident in the rate of wing growth. The study enhances our understanding of brood reduction and cainism in birds of prey.

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Subject

General Medicine

Reference52 articles.

1. Bartoń K (2020) MuMIn: multi-model inference. R package version 1.43.17. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/MuMIn. Accessed 15 Apr 2020

2. Benharzallah N, Si Bachir A, Taleb F, Barbraud C (2015) Factors affecting growth parameters of White Stork nestlings in eastern Algeria. J Ornithol 156:601–612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1162-0

3. Brody S (1945) Bioenergetics and growth, with special reference to the efficiency of domestic animals. Reinhold, New York

4. Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference. Springer, Heidelberg

5. Case TJ (1978) On the evolution and adaptive significance of postnatal growth rates in the terrestrial vertebrates. Q Rev Biol 53:243–282. https://doi.org/10.1086/410622

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3