A method of food supplementation for ground-foraging insectivorous songbirds
| Autor: | Andrei L. Podolsky, Theodore R. Simons, Jaime A. Collazo |
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| Rok vydání: | 2004 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Field Ornithology. 75:296-302 |
| ISSN: | 1557-9263 0273-8570 |
| Popis: | Food supplementation can be an important experimental technique in studies of avian reproductive ecology, energetics, and parental care. We developed a method of food supplementation suitable for ground-foraging insectivorous passerines and tested it on Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) and Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina). We provided mealworms at feeding stations made of plastic transparency film covered with a thin layer of green moss. Feeding stations were placed on the ground or on logs or boulders in the vicinity of nests. Direct and indirect evidence suggested that 92% of breeding Ovenbirds and 79% of breeding Wood Thrushes used supplemental food. The impact of non-target consumers was not significant: they were observed eating mealworms at approximately one-third of our food-supplemented nests. However, diurnal non-target consumers were only detected on a single occasion for each species, and nocturnal consumers fed on small amounts of mealworms left after daytime feeding experiments. Th... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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