Parental Nesting Behavior, Chick Growth and Breeding Success of Shoebills<i>(Balaeniceps rex)</i>in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia

Mullers, Ralf H. E.; Amar, Arjun

doi:10.1675/063.038.0102

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(32 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In nests with multiple nestlings, it is possible that Bobolink parents may focus their time, energy, and resources on only a few of their nestlings to increase the likelihood of survival of some offspring, resulting in reduced survival of others. This behavior has been observed in Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex), where females lay two eggs, but only one chick typically fledges due to the unequal allocation of parental care (Mullers and Amar 2015). Alternatively, nestlings that hatch first and are of higher quality may be able to better compete with their nest mates for food, resulting in variation in condition among nest mates (Ostreiher 1997).…”

Section: Top Covariates: Maternal Nest Number and Nest Sibling Returnmentioning

confidence: 86%

Diverse demographic factors influence apparent juvenile survival in a migratory songbird

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To better understand the dynamics of avian populations and their role in population trends, we require an in‐depth understanding of the factors influencing the survival of adults and juveniles. However, assessing survival in juveniles is often challenging, especially in small, migratory species where individuals typically disperse from the study area and are not available for recapture in subsequent years. Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) are a long‐distance migrant that exhibits natal philopatry in at least one population, allowing for more comprehensive juvenile survival analyses than in many other long‐distance avian migrants. Using a 17‐yr dataset from two sites representing a Vermont population of Bobolinks, we used Program MARK to assess factors influencing apparent juvenile survival, including factors related to nesting timing, nest attempt number, the philopatric behaviors of relatives, body mass, brood size, and agricultural management scheme. Our top models indicated that nest attempt number and whether or not a nest mate also survived and returned to breed locally were important factors explaining variation in apparent survival in juvenile Bobolinks. Specifically, juveniles from first nest attempts that fledged earlier in the season, with siblings that did not survive and return to breed locally, showed higher apparent survival. Factors such as site and the philopatric behavior of females associated with nests also appeared in top‐ranking models, while factors such as body mass and brood size did not. These results indicate the importance of providing high‐quality breeding habitat to birds early in the season when juvenile survival is greatest and indicate that individuals may be utilizing inbreeding avoidance strategies. These results provide new insight into the ecological and agricultural management factors influencing survival in migratory species that use managed habitats and underscore the importance of integrating juvenile survival data into current management schemes to better support this and other declining species.

show abstract

Section: Top Covariates: Maternal Nest Number and Nest Sibling Returnmentioning

confidence: 86%

Diverse demographic factors influence apparent juvenile survival in a migratory songbird

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During the breeding season, adults forage close to the nest, moving smaller distances and occupying smaller home ranges 15 , 16 . Shoebills chicks hatch in June-July, and until the chicks are about 40 days old, at least one adult is constantly on the nest 37 . Later in the breeding season (September and October), adult daily distances moved started to increase.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Later in the breeding season (September and October), adult daily distances moved started to increase. Shoebills build their nests on top of floating vegetation 36 , 53 , but as the breeding season progresses, the water levels recede to the point that by the end of the breeding season, the nests are resting on solid ground 37 . This might also decrease the suitability of the foraging areas surrounding the nest, forcing adult birds to increase their daily moved distances as the breeding season progresses to find suitable foraging sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Birds were classified as juveniles until the start of the following breeding season (1st of May), as immatures during the second and third year and as adults from the fourth year onwards, since Shoebills start to breed after 3 years 38 . For this study, we only considered the movements of immature and adult birds, since first year juveniles remained near the nest for a long period after fledging 37 . Six individuals provided more than 1 year of data, maturing from juvenile to immature birds, and four immature birds provided more than 3 years of data, becoming adults (Table 1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shoebills inhabit permanent swampy wetlands with seasonal flooded grasslands, where they prey on fish in shallow waters or use floating vegetation as fishing sites 33 , 34 . Despite being a highly emblematic species, there are very few studies on Shoebill ecology, and existing studies have focused on deriving local population estimates 30 , 35 , and better understanding their foraging 33 , 34 and breeding ecology 36 , 37 . This species is believed to be sedentary, staying in the same region all year long 32 , 38 ; however, to date, the movement ecology of the Shoebill is completely unknown, which is unsurprising given that very few birds have ever been ringed and no previous tracking studies have occurred on this species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Changes in surface water drive the movements of Shoebills

Acácio

Mullers

Franco

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animal movement is mainly determined by spatial and temporal changes in resource availability. For wetland specialists, the seasonal availability of surface water may be a major determinant of their movement patterns. This study is the first to examine the movements of Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex), an iconic and vulnerable bird species. Using GPS transmitters deployed on six immature and one adult Shoebills over a 5-year period, during which four immatures matured into adults, we analyse their home ranges and distances moved in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia. We relate their movements at the start of the rainy season (October to December) to changes in Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), a proxy for surface water. We show that Shoebills stay in the Bangweulu Wetlands all year round, moving less than 3 km per day on 81% of days. However, average annual home ranges were large, with high individual variability, but were similar between age classes. Immature and adult Shoebills responded differently to changes in surface water; sites that adults abandoned became drier, while sites abandoned by immatures became wetter. However, there were no differences in NDWI of areas used by Shoebills before abandonment and newly selected sites, suggesting that Shoebills select areas with similar surface water. We hypothesise that the different responses to changes in surface water by immature and adult Shoebills are related to age-specific optimal foraging conditions and fishing techniques. Our study highlights the need to understand the movements of Shoebills throughout their life cycle to design successful conservation actions for this emblematic, yet poorly known, species.

show abstract

Novel Shoebill and Strategy on Combatting Terrorist inspired Optimization Algorithms for Real Power Loss Diminution

Lenin

2023

2023 IEEE IAS Global Conference on Emerging Technologies (GlobConET)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parental Nesting Behavior, Chick Growth and Breeding Success of Shoebills(Balaeniceps rex)in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia

Cited by 5 publications

References 17 publications

Diverse demographic factors influence apparent juvenile survival in a migratory songbird

Diverse demographic factors influence apparent juvenile survival in a migratory songbird

Changes in surface water drive the movements of Shoebills

Novel Shoebill and Strategy on Combatting Terrorist inspired Optimization Algorithms for Real Power Loss Diminution

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About