Optimal brood size and its limiting factors in the Rufous Turtle DoveStreptopelia orientalis |
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Authors: | Kayoko Kameda |
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Institution: | (1) Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, 520-01 Shiga, Japan |
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Abstract: | Optimal brood size and its limiting factors of the Rufous Turtle Dove,Streptopelia orientalis, were studied at the campus of the University of Tsukuba, Japan, during the breeding season in 1990–92. The dove usually
lays two eggs in a nest. I made nests of a brood size of one and three by transferring a hatchling from one nest to the other,
and compared their fledging success, factors of breeding failure, weight and tarsus length at fledging, growth rate and nestling
period with those of a brood of two. The index of fitness (fledgling weight multiplied by average number of fledglings per
nest) was almost the same in broods of two and three. However, the highest variation in fledging weight within the brood and
the extension of nestling period were observed in broods of three, which caused the extension of inter-brood interval and
consequently the smaller number of broods in the total breeding season. Therefore, broods of three would not have an advantage
in producing more offspring than broods of two. Crop milk production had an effect on the growth of nestlings in the early
phase of the nestling period, but the rapid growth in the granivorous phase compensated for the growth delay of the smallest
nestling in broods of three. Small brood size and a large number of broods in a season would also be more effective under
high predation pressure. |
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Keywords: | crop milk inter-brood interval optimal brood size Streptopelia orientalis variation within brood |
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