Experimental fruit removal does not affect territory structure of wintering Hermit Thrushes

ABSTRACT.   Food is generally considered to be the primary resource structuring winter territories in migrant songbirds, but there is little experimental evidence to support this. In southeastern Louisiana, ripe fruits, consumed opportunistically in the absence of preferred arthropod resources, are a primary food resource for wintering Hermit Thrushes ( Catharus guttatus ). To test the possible role of food in controlling space use during the winter, we reduced fruit availability in the territories of wintering Hermit Thrushes and compared responses of these thrushes to those in control territories where fruit availability was not altered. We found that thrushes did not adjust either territory size or location in response to midwinter reduction of fruit availability. One possible explanation for this lack of response is that sufficient food, including arthropods, was available in thrush territories even after removal of fruit. Another possibility is that the removal of fruit did reduce food levels below the level needed to meet energetic needs, but social constraints on territory structure, dictated by fall settlement spacing and maintained by agonistic interactions, prevented birds from adjusting territories to match food supply later in the season.