Browsing by Subject "Parental care"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Landscape productivity and the ecology of brood division in Golden-winged Warblers in the Western Great Lakes Region
    (2014-08) Peterson, Sean Michael
    Using radio-telemetry of fledgling Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) in the western Great Lakes region from 2010-2012, I investigated the poorly understood behavior of brood division. Brood division occured when both males and females care for a brood after fledging. I observed female-reared subbroods traveling over twice as far from the natal patch and nest sites as male-reared subbroods. The difference in space use we observed was correlated with female-reared subbroods preferentially moving in similar directions for a three-day period in which male-reared subbroods maintained an area of use. Because parental strategies differ between sexes with regard to movement patterns, I suggest incorporating the differences in space use between sexes in future management plans for Golden-winged Warblers and other species that employ brood division. Specifically, management actions might be most effective when they are applied at spatial scales large enough to incorporate the habitat requirements of both sexes throughout the entire reproductive season. Additionally, I developed a method for estimating productivity of a breeding season based on landscape around any given point. I used logistic exposure models to identify the influence of landscape structure and composition on nest productivity and fledgling survival. I used those models to predict spatially-explicit, full-season productivity across my study sites to identify areas of low relative productivity that could be targeted for management. I then used my models of spatially-explicit, full-season productivity to simulate the impact of potential management actions on my study sites with the goal of increasing total population productivity. I concluded that spatially-explicit, full-season productivity models that incorporate data from both the nesting and post-fledging periods are useful for informing breeding habitat management plans for Golden-Winged Warblers and that similar models can benefit management planning for many other species of conservation concern.
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    Paternal effort in relation to acoustically mediated mate choice in a Neotropical frog
    (2012-08) Pettitt, Beth Ann
    One aspect of communication not normally considered in studies of anuran amphibians involves the extent to which acoustic signals indicate the quality of parental care a male provides. My research examined this question in the golden rocket frog (Anomaloglossus beebei), a Neotropical dendrobatid that exhibits acoustically mediated mate choice and biparental care. I investigated the function of the male advertisement call of A. beebei in the context of female mate choice by testing the predictions of four hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the relationship between mate signals and male parental care quality. In addition, I conducted a series of studies on acoustic variability, female preferences for advertisement call traits and the importance of male parental care on offspring survival.
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    Predictors and benefits of microhabitat selection for offspring deposition in golden rocket frogs
    (2018-04-02) Pettitt, Beth A; Bourne, Godfrey R; Bee, Mark A; mbee@umn.edu; Bee, Mark A
    This data set originates from a field study of habitat selection by parental frogs. In many tropical frogs, offspring development and survival potentially depend on microhabitat features associated with sites that parents select for oviposition and tadpole rearing. This study investigated the importance of microhabitat features in the selection of oviposition sites versus tadpole rearing sites, as well as in determining offspring survival, in the golden rocket frog, Anomaloglossus beebei. Endemic to Guyana, this species exhibits biparental care and exclusively uses phytotelmata in bromeliads for oviposition and tadpole rearing. The data included here were used in model based inference to evaluate evidence for the hypotheses that (1) parents prioritize different microhabitat features in selecting phytotelmata suitable for oviposition versus tadpole rearing and (2) microhabitat selection can adaptively promote offspring survival. The dataset includes descriptions of bromeliad size, phytotelm height, leaf angle (indicative of location within the bromeliad), water volume, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and the presence/absence of potential predators and nearby conspecifics. Compared to tadpole rearing sites, the data show that oviposition sites were found in phytotelmata associated with leaves at lower angles within bromeliads and that had smaller water volumes, lower water temperatures, higher dissolved oxygen concentrations, and more crabs. Compared with unsuccessful egg clutches, successful clutches were found in phytotelmata with lower water temperatures, higher dissolved oxygen concentrations, fewer crabs, more dragonfly larvae, and more nearby conspecifics. These data indicate that non-random patterns of microhabitat use for oviposition sites and tadpole rearing sites in golden rocket frogs are associated with specific environmental factors that promote offspring survival through a critical stage of the animals’ complex life cycle.