Nesting and Cooperative Breeding Behaviours of a High-Altitude Babbler, Tibetan Babax<i>Babax koslowi</i>

Lü, Xin; Ma, Xiao; Fan, Liqing

doi:10.3161/068.042.0213

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…On the Tibetan Plateau, altitude affects the breeding ecology of birds (Lu et al 2007(Lu et al , 2008 this study) through its strong effect on temperature and rainfall, which in turn affect plant distribution and food availability. In our study area, temperature and rainfall were low before late April (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Giant Babaxes mix brood reduction and brood survival strategies

Liu

Guan

et al. 2011

J Ornithol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Altricial birds may vary their relative reproductive investment at the egg versus nestling stages as an adaptive strategy to deal with variable or unpredictable food availability between stages. We investigated the parental investment strategies of Giant Babax (Babax waddelli) breeding in a harsh, high-altitude environment on the Tibetan plateau. In the modal clutch size of three, egg size declined strongly with laying order, resulting in an intra-brood size hierarchy throughout the nestling period. However, provisioners counteracted the initial handicapping of smaller, last-hatching young by two means: (1) preventing siblings from competing over a predictable feeding site; and (2) preferentially feeding the smallest nestling. Consequently, nestling growth curves differed near significantly by hatching order. We suggest this contrasting investment during the egg and nestling stages may be a strategy to maximize reproductive success in a harsh and unpredictable, high-altitude environment. The handicapping of last-laid eggs provides the opportunity for more efficient brood reduction in unfavorable conditions, but can be counteracted by preferential feeding under favorable conditions.Keywords Babax waddelli Á Parental investment strategy Á Brood reduction Á Brood survival Á Size hierarchy Zusammenfassung Riesenbabaxe (Babax waddelli) vermischen Strategien zum Brutverkleinern und Brutü berlebenNesthocker variieren ihre relativen Fortpflanzungs-Investitionen während der Ei-und Nestlings-Phasen als eine Anpassungsstrategie, um das wechselnde, oder nicht vorhersagbare, Nahrungsangebot in den unterschiedlichen Stadien in den Griff zu bekommen. Wir untersuchten die elterlichen Investitionsstrategien des in einer rauen Umgebung auf dem Tibetischen Hochplateau brütenden Riesenbabax. Bei einer modalen Gelegegröße von drei Eiern nahm die Größe der Eier stark mit der Reihenfolge, in der sie gelegt wurden, ab, was in einer brutinternen Größen-Hierarchie während der gesamten Nestlingszeit resultierte. Die Fütternden wirkten diesem anfänglichen Handicap der kleineren, später geschlüpften Jungen aber auf zwei Arten entgegen, indem sie: (1) die Jungen davon abhielten, an einem Futterplatz miteinander zu konkurrieren und (2) die kleineren Nestlinge beim Füttern bevorzugten. Die Wachstumskurven der Nestlinge unterschieden sich beinahe signifikant entsprechend der Reihenfolge des Schlüpfens. Unserer Meinung nach könnte dieses sich voneinander abhebende Investieren während der Ei-und Schlüpf-Stadien eine Strategie zur Maximierung des Fortpflanzungserfolgs in einer rauen, unberechenbaren und hoch gelegenen Umwelt sein. Diese Benachteiligung der später gelegten Eier bietet eine Gelegenheit für eine effizientere Brutverkleinerung bei ungünstigen Bedingungen, der aber bei günstigen Bedingungen durch eine Bevorzugung beim Füttern entgegengesteuert werden kann. Communicated by T.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Giant Babaxes are cooperative breeders and the extended breeding groups comprise the breeding pair with usually 1-5 helpers that defend breeding territories against conspecific intruders (Lu 2004;Lu et al 2007). We could easily locate breeding groups based on the territorial behaviors of each member.…”

Section: Study Species and Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Giant Babaxes mix brood reduction and brood survival strategies

Liu

Guan

et al. 2011

J Ornithol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To date, in addition to the Tibetan Ground Tit, only two avian cooperative breeders have been known to live at altitudes above 4000 m (Lu , Lu et al . ). The data from this high‐altitude temperate species may also expand our knowledge on cooperative breeding in birds, which is currently based mainly on data from subtropical and tropical taxa (Russell et al .…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Social organization, demography and genetic mating system of a Tibetan cooperative breeder

Tang

et al. 2017

Ibis

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge of cooperative breeding in birds from longitudinal studies is available only for a small proportion of species. This paper reports data from a 12‐year study on the Tibetan Ground Tit Pseudopodoces humilis. On average, 27.2% (range: 13.0–36.1%) of monogamous pairs in each year contained one (85.4%) or more (14.6%) male helpers, 83.7% of which were yearlings staying on natal territories. Most helpers (89.6%) helped once and then bred independently. Adults had male‐biased sex ratios, low annual survival rates (averaging 0.50) and shorter longevities (averaging 1.8 years) compared with low‐altitude avian cooperative breeders, suggesting that mate shortage promotes helping behaviour in this species. Incest occurred rarely (2.1% of pairs), probably because kin recognition occurs through year‐around living in family groups. There was a low level (3.1% of broods) of extra‐pair parentage, which could facilitate the maintenance of cooperative breeding.

show abstract

“…Large eggs appear to have an advantage in harsh environments (Smith et al 1995;Fox and Czesak 2000). On the Tibetan Plateau, elevation affects the breeding ecology of birds (Lu et al 2007(Lu et al , 2008(Lu et al , 2010Du et al 2012Du et al , 2014 through the strong effects of temperature and rainfall, which also affect plant distribution and food availability. In our study area, temperature and rainfall were lower in 2008 than in 2009, suggesting that the climate in 2008 was harsher than in 2009 (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past half century, studies of the impact of weather on the population biology of birds represent a major field of study for ornithologists (Crick 2004). Climate not only affects the metabolism of birds but also directly or indirectly affects the reproduction of birds (Zhao et al 2002b;Crick 2004;Lu et al 2007Lu et al , 2008Lu et al , 2010Du et al 2012Du et al , 2014. On the other hand, birds possess several mechanisms by which they can adjust the magnitude and pattern of their breeding effort in relation to environmental conditions and to their own breeding condition (Slagsvold et al 1984).…”

Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in egg and clutch size of the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) at the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background:In birds, the trade-off between the quality and number of nestlings is one of the most important theories of the evolution of life history of birds, which is closely related with climate. We investigated variation in egg and clutch size of the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in order to explore and test the relation between egg size and clutch size and the rules governing the variation in these two components with climate change. Methods:We monitored each located nest daily to determine the exact laying order of the eggs and measured their sizes. The variations in egg volume and clutch size between 2008 and 2009 were studied by independent sample t tests. The difference in egg volume in the sequence of the laying order was tested by Kendall's W test and we employed Pearson correlations to investigate the relation between egg size and laying order. All statistical analyses were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics, version 19.0Results: In 2008, the mean egg volume of the Black Redstart was 2.40 ± 0.20 cm 3 (n = 50), and the mean clutch size 4.90 ± 0.57 (n = 11). In 2009, the mean egg volume and clutch size were 2.26 ± 0.18 cm 3 (n = 74) and 5.20 ± 0.26 (n = 15) respectively. We found a significantly positive correlation between egg size and laying order (r = 0.397, p = 0.030), while egg size was strongly and negatively correlated with clutch size (r = −0.274, p = 0.002). Black Redstarts tend to lay smaller eggs but a larger clutch in a brood in a resource-rich year, whereas larger eggs but smaller clutches are produced in a harsh year. Conclusions:The Black Redstart adopted a "brood survival strategy" to ensure that more offspring could survive. The Black Redstart' trade-off in egg volume and clutch size would guarantee that it will gain maximum benefit in any case.

show abstract

Nesting and Cooperative Breeding Behaviours of a High-Altitude Babbler, Tibetan BabaxBabax koslowi

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Giant Babaxes mix brood reduction and brood survival strategies

Giant Babaxes mix brood reduction and brood survival strategies

Social organization, demography and genetic mating system of a Tibetan cooperative breeder

Variation in egg and clutch size of the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) at the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About