Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana
The breeding system of the Greater Rhea Rhea americana is almost unique among birds as it combines harem polygyny and sequential polyandry, with communal egg-laying and uniparental male care. In this species, large communal clutches (more than 30 eggs) are rare and have a lower hatching success than...
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2007
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| Acceso en línea: | https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez |
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paper:paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez2023-06-08T14:40:10Z Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana bioenergetics bird clutch size colonial breeding egg predation harem hatching incubation nest predation nesting success paternal care polygyny predation risk reproductive cost survival Aves Bacteria (microorganisms) Rhea Rhea americana The breeding system of the Greater Rhea Rhea americana is almost unique among birds as it combines harem polygyny and sequential polyandry, with communal egg-laying and uniparental male care. In this species, large communal clutches (more than 30 eggs) are rare and have a lower hatching success than smaller clutches. Here we analyse the proximate causes of hatching failures and the costs of large communal clutches (and therefore the costs of extensive polygyny) for males and females. We evaluated if length of the nesting period, egg viability, egg losses during incubation and male parental activity at the nest were affected by clutch size. We also evaluated if chicks hatched from large clutches have a lower survival during the first 2 months after hatching. Large clutches had longer nesting period and lower hatching success, mainly as a result of bacterial contamination of the eggs and increased hatching asynchrony. In addition, large clutches tended to lose more eggs as a result of accidental breakage or predation. Male activity at the nest and chick survival were not related to clutch size. Low hatching success, nest predation risk and energetic costs associated with large clutches penalize females that join large harems and males that accept additional eggs into the nest. © 2007 The Authors. 2007 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez |
| institution |
Universidad de Buenos Aires |
| institution_str |
I-28 |
| repository_str |
R-134 |
| collection |
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) |
| topic |
bioenergetics bird clutch size colonial breeding egg predation harem hatching incubation nest predation nesting success paternal care polygyny predation risk reproductive cost survival Aves Bacteria (microorganisms) Rhea Rhea americana |
| spellingShingle |
bioenergetics bird clutch size colonial breeding egg predation harem hatching incubation nest predation nesting success paternal care polygyny predation risk reproductive cost survival Aves Bacteria (microorganisms) Rhea Rhea americana Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana |
| topic_facet |
bioenergetics bird clutch size colonial breeding egg predation harem hatching incubation nest predation nesting success paternal care polygyny predation risk reproductive cost survival Aves Bacteria (microorganisms) Rhea Rhea americana |
| description |
The breeding system of the Greater Rhea Rhea americana is almost unique among birds as it combines harem polygyny and sequential polyandry, with communal egg-laying and uniparental male care. In this species, large communal clutches (more than 30 eggs) are rare and have a lower hatching success than smaller clutches. Here we analyse the proximate causes of hatching failures and the costs of large communal clutches (and therefore the costs of extensive polygyny) for males and females. We evaluated if length of the nesting period, egg viability, egg losses during incubation and male parental activity at the nest were affected by clutch size. We also evaluated if chicks hatched from large clutches have a lower survival during the first 2 months after hatching. Large clutches had longer nesting period and lower hatching success, mainly as a result of bacterial contamination of the eggs and increased hatching asynchrony. In addition, large clutches tended to lose more eggs as a result of accidental breakage or predation. Male activity at the nest and chick survival were not related to clutch size. Low hatching success, nest predation risk and energetic costs associated with large clutches penalize females that join large harems and males that accept additional eggs into the nest. © 2007 The Authors. |
| title |
Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana |
| title_short |
Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana |
| title_full |
Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana |
| title_fullStr |
Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Costs of large communal clutches for male and female Greater Rheas Rhea americana |
| title_sort |
costs of large communal clutches for male and female greater rheas rhea americana |
| publishDate |
2007 |
| url |
https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00191019_v149_n2_p215_Fernandez |
| _version_ |
1768544715454545920 |