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Social dominance and reproduction in Jackdaws (Corvus monedula)

Visser, P. (1999) Social dominance and reproduction in Jackdaws (Corvus monedula). Master's Thesis / Essay, Biology.

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Abstract

Findings of two studies involving Jackdaws (C. monedula) showed contrary results of the effect of dominance on reproduction. One of these studies was done by Röell(1978), he found dominant birds to produce less fledglings, the second study done by Henderson et al (1995) found dominant birds to produce more fledglings. This year the correlation between dominance and reproductive success in Jackdaws was looked at again, at a colony of Jackdaws in Haren, in the Netherlands. Röell's (1978) research was done at this studysite in Haren. Dominance of the male Jackdaw was determined by means of three different methods following methods of Röell (1978), Henderson et a! (1995) and Lambrechts et al(1986). Dominance was determined in two periods (5/3/1998 till 10/4/1998 and from 27/5/1998 to 18/6/1998). Reproductive parameters of the males that participated in the dominance hierarchy were collected. Dominance of the male Jackdaw was not significantly expressed in several parameters like wing and tarsuslength, age or owning a nestbox. Dominant males produced significant fewer fledglings; their young had lower body weights and females of dominant males laid significant smaller eggs. Wing and tarsus lengths of young of dominant males were also significant shorter. So dominant male Jackdaws in our colony raised fewer and smaller young, than subdominant males raised. A significant effect of laydate was also found on the number of young, their weights and bodyparameters. If chicks came from later clutches, they fledged significant less, their weights were lower and their bodyparameters like wing and tarsus lengths were smaller. Dominance and laydate are not significantly correlated. If dominance and laydate were controlled for statistically for each other, none of both variables showed a significant result on fledged young, however trends were present.

Item Type: Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Degree programme: Biology
Thesis type: Master's Thesis / Essay
Language: English
Date Deposited: 15 Feb 2018 07:44
Last Modified: 15 Feb 2018 07:44
URI: https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/9315

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