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...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Fernández, G.J., Reboreda, J.C.
Formato: JOUR
Materias:
Egg predation
Nest concealment
Nest distribution
Nesting success
Rhea americana
Aves
Rheiformes
Acceso en línea: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 todo:paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez
record_format dspace
spelling todo:paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez2023-10-03T15:15:51Z Nest-site selection by male Greater Rheas Fernández, G.J. Reboreda, J.C. 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. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar 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
Fernández, G.J.
Reboreda, J.C.
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.
format JOUR
author Fernández, G.J.
Reboreda, J.C.
author_facet Fernández, G.J.
Reboreda, J.C.
author_sort Fernández, G.J.
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
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_02738570_v73_n2_p166_Fernandez
work_keys_str_mv AT fernandezgj nestsiteselectionbymalegreaterrheas
AT reboredajc nestsiteselectionbymalegreaterrheas
_version_ 1807323768286085120

Ejemplares similares