Short-term changes in body condition in relation to habitat and rainfall abundance in American redstarts Setophaga ruticilla during the non-breeding season
Short-term changes in body condition in relation to habitat and rainfall abundance in American redstarts Setophaga ruticilla during the non-breeding season
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1600-048x.2011.05369.x
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发表时间：
2011-07-01
影响因子：
1.7
通讯作者：
Marra, Peter P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Angelier, Frederic;Tonra, Christopher M.;Marra, Peter P.
在候鸟中，非繁殖季节静止期的环境条件是至关重要的，因为它们最终通过影响个体随后的迁徙、繁殖成功和生存来影响个体的健康。虽然一些研究已经调查了非繁殖地对个体应对长期季节性降雨波动能力的影响，但栖息地质量和降雨丰度的变化（以月为尺度）如何相互作用影响候鸟的非繁殖地状况，仍然是未知的。在本研究中，我们研究了生活在高质量栖息地（红树林）和低质量栖息地（灌丛）的非繁殖期红尾藻（Setophaga ruticilla）雌红尾藻（Setophaga ruticilla）的月降雨量变化对其身体状况的影响。在研究期间，红树林和灌丛红尾鸲的身体状况都出现了重要的变化，首次证明了非繁殖期雌性红尾鸲的身体状况可以随着降雨的短期波动而迅速变化。重要的是，我们发现，与生活在灌木丛中的雌性相比，生活在红树林中的雌性红鳉在低降雨量期间通常状况更好。然而，在频繁的强降水期间，红树林雌性和灌丛雌性的身体状况没有差异。重要的是，我们的研究还表明，扰动的持续时间是红翅鸟身体状况的一个重要决定因素，因为长期干旱导致两种栖息地的鸟类身体状况相似。无论生境和降雨条件如何，年龄与身体状况无关。我们的研究结果表明，高质量的栖息地可以暂时减少短期干旱对身体状况的有害影响，但当气候条件最优时，低质量的栖息地不会约束个体。
In migratory birds, environmental conditions during the stationary period of the non-breeding season are crucial to consider because they ultimately affect the fitness of individuals by influencing their subsequent migration, breeding success and survival. Although a few studies have investigated the influence of non-breeding habitat on the capacity of individuals to cope with long-term seasonal rainfall fluctuations, it remains unknown how habitat quality and variations in rainfall abundance-at a monthly scale-interact to affect non-breeding condition of migrating birds. In this study, we examined the influence of monthly changes in rainfall abundance on body condition of non-breeding female redstarts Setophaga ruticilla living either in a high quality habitat (mangrove) or in a low quality habitat (scrub). Body condition of both mangrove and scrub redstarts showed important variations over the study period, demonstrating for the first time that body condition of non-breeding female redstarts can change rapidly in response to short-term fluctuations in rainfall. Importantly, we found that female redstarts living in mangrove were usually in better condition during periods of low rainfall compared to females living in scrub. However, body condition did not differ between mangrove females and scrub females during an episode of frequent, heavy precipitation. Importantly, our study also demonstrated that the duration of a perturbation is an important determinant of body condition in redstarts since a prolonged drought resulted in similar low body condition for birds from both habitats. Age was not correlated with body condition whatever the habitat and the rainfall conditions. Our results demonstrate that high quality habitat can temporarily reduce the deleterious effect of a short-term drought on body condition, but also, that a habitat of low quality does not constrain individuals when climatic conditions are optimal.