Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas

Greater Rheas (Rhea americana) are ground-nesting birds that have high rates of nest desertion commonly associated with egg predation. We studied whether male Greater Rheas selected concealed sites to decrease detectability of their nests. We analyzed the spatial distribution of nests and compared t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Fernandez, Gustavo Javier, Reboreda, Juan Carlos
Publicado:	2002
Materias:	Egg predation Nest concealment Nest distribution Nesting success Rhea americana Aves Rheiformes
Acceso en línea:	https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez
Aporte de:	Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires

id	paper:paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez
record_format	dspace
spelling	paper:paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez2023-06-08T15:25:47Z Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas Fernandez, Gustavo Javier Reboreda, Juan Carlos Egg predation Nest concealment Nest distribution Nesting success Rhea americana Aves Rhea americana Rhea americana Rheiformes Greater Rheas (Rhea americana) are ground-nesting birds that have high rates of nest desertion commonly associated with egg predation. We studied whether male Greater Rheas selected concealed sites to decrease detectability of their nests. We analyzed the spatial distribution of nests and compared the microhabitat characteristics of nest sites vs. sites selected at random, and sites of successful nests vs. sites of deserted nests. We also used experimental nests (nests without male attention) to assess whether egg losses were associated with the microhabitat characteristics of the nest site. The distribution of nest sites differed significantly from a random pattern, and nest sites had a higher percentage of shrub cover, a lower percentage of grass cover, and a higher concealment (low overall visibility) than sites selected at random. However, none of the microhabitat characteristics that we analyzed were associated with nest failure or the rate of egg loss. Experimental nests that were more visible tended to suffer higher and faster egg predation than less visible ones. Our results indicate that Greater Rheas selected concealed sites for nesting, but they did not get any apparent benefit for selecting these sites. We propose that habitat alteration and the type of predation that this species suffers at present may have reduced the benefits of selecting concealed sites for nesting. Fil:Fernández, G.J. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Reboreda, J.C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2002 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_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	Egg predation Nest concealment Nest distribution Nesting success Rhea americana Aves Rhea americana Rhea americana Rheiformes
spellingShingle	Egg predation Nest concealment Nest distribution Nesting success Rhea americana Aves Rhea americana Rhea americana Rheiformes Fernandez, Gustavo Javier Reboreda, Juan Carlos Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas
topic_facet	Egg predation Nest concealment Nest distribution Nesting success Rhea americana Aves Rhea americana Rhea americana Rheiformes
description	Greater Rheas (Rhea americana) are ground-nesting birds that have high rates of nest desertion commonly associated with egg predation. We studied whether male Greater Rheas selected concealed sites to decrease detectability of their nests. We analyzed the spatial distribution of nests and compared the microhabitat characteristics of nest sites vs. sites selected at random, and sites of successful nests vs. sites of deserted nests. We also used experimental nests (nests without male attention) to assess whether egg losses were associated with the microhabitat characteristics of the nest site. The distribution of nest sites differed significantly from a random pattern, and nest sites had a higher percentage of shrub cover, a lower percentage of grass cover, and a higher concealment (low overall visibility) than sites selected at random. However, none of the microhabitat characteristics that we analyzed were associated with nest failure or the rate of egg loss. Experimental nests that were more visible tended to suffer higher and faster egg predation than less visible ones. Our results indicate that Greater Rheas selected concealed sites for nesting, but they did not get any apparent benefit for selecting these sites. We propose that habitat alteration and the type of predation that this species suffers at present may have reduced the benefits of selecting concealed sites for nesting.
author	Fernandez, Gustavo Javier Reboreda, Juan Carlos
author_facet	Fernandez, Gustavo Javier Reboreda, Juan Carlos
author_sort	Fernandez, Gustavo Javier
title	Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas
title_short	Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas
title_full	Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas
title_fullStr	Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas
title_full_unstemmed	Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas
title_sort	nest-site selection by male greater rheas
publishDate	2002
url	https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez
work_keys_str_mv	AT fernandezgustavojavier nestsiteselectionbymalegreaterrheas AT reboredajuancarlos nestsiteselectionbymalegreaterrheas
_version_	1768546251606851584

Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas

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