Robben, Ramon (2020) Habitat choice shaping nestling growth: An exploratory study on environmental factors affecting growth in a wild insectivorous passerine. Master's Research Project 2, Ecology and Evolution.
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Abstract
The effect of habitat choice is only as great as the habitat’s effect on its inhabitants’ fitness. After all, if there were no fitness consequences, habitat choice would not matter. Previously, studies have often used singular environmental factors as proxies for the effects of habitats on organism fitness, potentially overlooking the true mechanisms behind habitat selection patterns. Here, we measured several environmental habitat factors and tested their (interacting) effects on the growth of the offspring of the thorn-tailed rayadito (Aphrastura spinicauda), a widespread South American nestbox inhabiting passerine. We found that specific habitat types are associated with differences in nestling growth, as the habitat with the densest vegetation was found to have lower offspring growth. Across several analyses of different growth measures, vegetation measures such as foliage coverage, diameter breast height, and the number of deciduous trees were generally also found to positively affect nestling growth. This was not found for insect abundance. Despite this, together with existing literature, these findings point towards vegetation being a good proxy for habitat choice for insectivorous passerines, as vegetation is often correlated with food abundance and can explain this distribution due to its importance for insect ecology. As such, research focussed on the habitats of insectivorous passerines could benefit from focussing on the vegetation aspects of habitats as it can work as an indirect measure for food abundance.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master's Research Project 2) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Komdeur, J. and Birker, M.L.M. |
| Degree programme: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Thesis type: | Master's Research Project 2 |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Jun 2020 10:38 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Mar 2023 08:55 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/22028 |
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