Final - Onithology

how does beak shape relate to diet?

The beak size and shape of birds is a good predictor of diet. Types of bills include crushing beaks, probing beaks hooked beaks chisel like beaks and filtering beaks.

Examples:

Cardinals - Cone shaped Bill - For cracking seeds

Great blue heron - Spear like Bill for jabbing, fish, frogs, and shellfish

Brown pelican - Long Bill with long throat pouch used to scoop up fish

hooded Merganser - Long narrow bill with toothache parts for catching fish and draining water

Northern flicker - Chisel like Bill used to dig insect out of soft wood or the ground

Spoonbill- Long flat Bill for swinging through water to catch fish

Red tailed hawk - short strong, Bill hooked for tearing flesh

Optimal Forage Theory

A behavioral ecology model assuming that natural selection favors animals whose forging behavior maximizes net energy intake per unit of time.

Energy versus time : Animals measure prey by its energy, yield relative to the time it takes to pursue capture and consume it (Handling time)

the rule: an organism always include the most profitable prey in its diet

Migration

The regular seasonal movement of animals between breeding and non-breeding areas

What are the evolutionary advantages to / reasons for migration?

reasons - food availability, breeding opportunities, favorable climate, reduced completion, long term daylight during breeding station

Migration maximizes reproduction success while minimizing survival risks.

What environmental cues trigger migration?

Photoperiod - daylight length *strongest cue

Hormones

Temperature

Food availability

Photoperiod

Daylight length

What are flyways? What are the major ones in North American?

Flyways - typical migration path

Pacific flyway

Central flyway

Mississippi flyway

Atlantic flyway

(Typically divided by mountains, but since we have changed the landscape, they can leave flyways)

What is a stop over habitat and why is it so important?

Stopover - areas where birds stop, refuel, build up fat stores, and prepare to move.

Provide : rest water, food, predator avoidance. It’s critical for migration success

how do birds migrate?

Star compass - nocturnal migrants use North Star region, rotating constellations.

Sun compass - use position of the sun and internal biological clock

Magnetic field - can sense magnetic inclination (draw towards a direction and intensity)

*possible receptors - magnetite, or cytochrome proteins

Landmark - birds use rivers, mountains, coastlines, and forest edges during daylight migration

Olfactory cues - some birds using smell EX. Homing pigeons and seabirds

Navigation

Knowing one’s geographic position

Orientation

Choosing the correct direction

How is climate change affecting migration?

Climate change alters migration timing, food availability, breeding success, and range distributions. Phenological (study of timing of events) mismatch may occur.

Example - the biomass of caterpillars used to be around May 28th, which is when the songbird offspring had hatchlings. Now, because it’s warmer, caterpillars are having a peak mass around May 15th, near the date of hatching, resulting in less nesting success

Innate Behavior

Genetic, perform correctly first time, fixed action patterns

Ex: begging by nestlings, Courtship postures

Learned behavior

Song learning, foraging techniques, and habitat selection

What is the difference between innate and learn behavior?

And a behavior is driven by genetics so it’s correctly performed the first time and it’s fixed action patterns like begging by nestlings or courtship postures whereas learn behavior is things like song learning, foraging techniques or habitat selection Which is taught

How do bird songs differ from calls?

Bird songs are longer melodic Tune primarily used to attract mates and defend territory

Calls are short simple sounds used for our alarms, flocking and general communication

What is a territory and why do birds defend them?

A territory is an area, actively defended against competitor that include resources like food, nest site, mates, and roosting areas.

Birds defend these territories because they benefit with increased reproductive, success, reliable food, and nest protection. It does come at the cost of energy time and injury risk.

Clutch size

The number of eggs to hatch

Incubation

The time it takes for an embryo to hatch with heat - embryo development

Precocial

Down covered, open eyed, mobile soon after hatching, feed themselves with guidance, typically synchronous hatching all eggs hatch within hours.

Ex - ducks, shorebirds, game birds

Brood parasitism

A brood parasite lays eggs and another species nest.

Host response: Egg, rejection, nest, abandonment, acceptance and raising the parasite.

Fledgling

First sustained flight from the nest

Brood

Young birds not capable of flight

Lek

Communal gathering place

GPS Transmitters or satellite telemetry

Birdie backpack that sends signals to satellites or towers - MOTUS?

Altrical

Naked or sparsely feathered, eyes closed, remaining nest, require intensive feeding

ex - Robins, warbler, and sparrows

What are the different types of nests?

Cup nest, cavity nest, pendant, nest, ground, and scrape

Migratory Birds Treaty Act 1918 (MBTA)

It protects native migratory birds, regulates take, protects nest and eggs, and is international

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Species listed is considered endangered, rare or threatened and its habitat is considered critical habitat and protected. Research team is formed and a recovery plan is created and requires federal consultation

Recovery plan

Research team forms a plan to help revive a species from being “listed”

Bald and golden eagle protection act (BGEPA)

Specifically protects bald eagles, golden eagles, and their parts

National Environmental policy act (NEPA)

Law that any federally funded project has to go through an evaluation to determine if a project will have a negative environmental impact.

What role does NEPA play in conservation?

NEPA requires any federally funded job to disclose environmental impacts, which could Include Endangered species or affects on water. It causes projects to have to be considered by other govt agencies like USFWS and DNR

How does the endangered species act differ from the migratory bird treaty act?

The endangered species act is specifically protection for listed species whereas the migratory bird treaty act is for all migratory birds. The endangered species act also includes things like the birds, habitat, recovery plans, and evaluation from government agencies whereas the migratory bird treaty act protects birds themselves limits, takes and protect the nest and eggs.

Natality

Birth rate (# of live births per 1000 individuals)

Mortality

Death rate (# of deaths per 1000 individuals)

Exponential growth

“j” shaped curve, unlimited resources, rapid increase in population size

Ex. Colonization of new habitats by invasive bird species

Logistic population growth

resources become limited, population growth flows, S shaped growth curve

Carrying capacity (K)

Population growth

Population change = births + immigration - deaths - emmigration

Carrying capacity (k) and what effects it

The maximum population size an environment can support indefinitely without degrading the habitat.

What effects k?

Food availability, nesting sites, predation, disease, weather.

What limits population growth?

Population growth is limited on the same things that limit carrying capacity which includes food, availability, nesting sites, predation disease, and weather

Which are density dependent and density independent?

Density dependent factors are factors that become stronger as populations increase like competition, prediction, disease, parasitism.

Density independent factors are factors that are unrelated to population density like drought, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and severe winter

Why are long-term monitoring programs important? Provide some examples

Bird populations have been monitored to determine increases or decreases. Most of this interest originally stemmed from harvested populations like waterfall, turkeys, and other gamebird. This is important because the data tells us survivorship of a bird species. It’s product, productivity, and movement and migration patterns.

Circannual rhythm

An internal biological clock that controls an annual behaviors, such as migration, breeding, and molting, even when environmental conditions change

Trophic level

An organism is feeding position in a food chain

Niche

The role of a species plays in its environment, including a habitat, diet behavior, and interactions with other organisms

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time

Density

The number of individuals within a given area

Recruitment

The addition of new individuals to a population through birth or immigration, especially those that survived a breeding age

Survivorship

The Proportion of individuals and a population that survive from one age or life stage to the next

Metapopulation

A group of separate populations connected by the movement (dispersal) of individuals between habitat patches

Endangered species

A species that is at risk of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range

Critical habitat

Specific areas essential for the conservation and recovery of a threatened or endangered species

Adaptive management

A conservation approach that uses monitoring and research to evaluate results and adjust management strategies overtime

Forging

The process of searching for, obtaining, and consuming food

How does adaptive management improve conservation outcomes?

Adaptive management improves conservation by treating management as an ongoing process, managers, monitor populations and habitats value whether actions are working and adjust strategies based on new information. This allows conservation efforts to become more effective every time, especially as environmental conditions change.

Compare exponential and logistic growth

exponential growth occurs when resources are unlimited populations increase rapidly at a constant rate and produces a J-shaped curve whereas logistic growth occurs when resources become limited population growth slows As it approaches the environment carrying capacity and produces an S shaped curve

What factors influence clutch size?

Several factors influence the number of eggs, a bird lays: Food, availability, habitat, quality, predation, risk, agent, and health of the parents, climate and Weather species life history strategy

How does habitat affect nesting success?

Habitat affects nesting success by influencing the availability of food, nesting sites, shelter, and protect protection from predators and weather. High-quality habitats generally provide adequate food for adults and nestlings, safety nesting locations good cover from predators and favorable, environmental conditions. Poor or fragmented habitat often leads to higher predation rates, lower food availability, increase failure, and reduced fling success