Field Journal 7: Reproductive Ecology and Evolution

Date: 04/24/2021
Start time: 1:00 pm
End time: 2:30 pm
Location: UVM Athletic Campus
Weather: high 60s, partly cloudy, slight wind (pretty slow speed), no precipitation
Habitat(s): University area, pine tree area, open sky, found in street trees, parking garage, places with disturbance of people and sounds such as cars etc.

In relation to a birds mate, nest, or territory selection, there are various behaviors such as aural and visual that play a large role in their process. The actions that the different species of birds take are vital in their survival. Some of these actions include singing the song to attract a female bird, singing their song to communicate for other birds about their territory or even about food selection, or communicating as a defense. For example, the American Robin is a very abundant bird that can be seen throughout campus in a variety of locations. However, more specifically they can be found nesting in the street trees that line the sidewalks and roads on athletic campus (but they can also be found elsewhere, just this area is where I found them).

The American Robin can be often found in the ground searching for worms that is close to their territory as well as building nests in these trees that are somewhat close in space so they can fly between them. Finding food is very important to the Robins fitness as it helps feeding their young. Nest building is very important when it comes to mate selection and producing offspring. This also involves defending territory of the area of the nest to ensure that the offspring are protected. Depending on the nesting requirements for a bird, the way that they defend the area can be very different. If the young require help from the parents, the more likely they may be to defend the area.

An example of a bird defending territory could be the Ring-billed Gull. Although they are often found by the water, the ones on campus are in search of food. Compared to other birds of this species, the areas they were defending could be considered poor or prime. Because there is a lot of traffic through the area, food may be easier to find. However, because of the high traffic, it could be harder to be able to be safe in retrieving the food as well as it being possibly far from their nesting territory. This might indicate that the Ring-billed Gull's fitness is that they are a scavenger and don't really have a preference of where they go to find food. I am not quite sure where they would be nesting if they are searching for food in this area. The nesting habitats of a Black-capped Chickadee vary from the American Robin and Ring-billed Gull. The chickadee often builds nests from moss or other rough materials while lining them with fur and other items of similar feel. They may build these nests in dead trees or branches or even bird boxes in residential areas. If they are nesting in a bird box usually not many materials could be required but for being in dead trees the materials are usually readily available on the forest floor or off the trees. Nesting varies greatly between species.

Publicado el 25 de abril de 2021 por maevecronin