Effects of age and experience on reproductive performance of wood ducks
- Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
- Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC (United States)
Data from a long-term study of Wood Ducks breeding in South Carolina were used to test whether reproductive performance was age specific and to evaluate several hypotheses proposed for age-specific variation. We used known-aged females from 1 through 5 yr of age. Yearling females initiated nests 11-19 d later than older females; heavier females, independent of age, nested earlier than lighter females. One-way analyses of covariance using female body mass and nesting date as covariates indicated that clutch size, mean egg mass, number of ducklings per nest, and the percentage of eggs hatching (hatching success) were independent of female age. Probability of nests producing at least one duckling (nest success) also was not related to female egg. We separately tested effects of breeding experience and female age class (yearling vs. adult) on reproductive performance. In the context of this study, females were considered as experienced if they previously were captured using nest boxes and inexperienced if there was no record of nest box use. Adult females with previous breeding experience initiated nests an average of 26 d earlier than adults without previous experience; body mass of experienced adults was greater than that of inexperienced adults. Adult females designated as [open quotes]inexperienced[close quotes] may have nested previously in natural cavities and were simply changing to nest boxes. Nest-site fidelity is known to affect nesting date, so we also compared nesting dates of inexperienced adults with a subset of of experienced females that changed nest sites.
- OSTI ID:
- 5761954
- Journal Information:
- Ecology; (United States), Vol. 74:7; ISSN 0012-9658
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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