43 results on '"BLUE-footed booby"'
Search Results
2. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii)
- Author
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Faircloth, Brant C., Ramos, Alejandra, Drummond, Hugh, and Gowaty, Patricia Adair
- Subjects
Life Sciences ,Evolutionary Biology ,Animal Anatomy / Morphology / Histology ,Plant Sciences ,Conservation Biology/Ecology ,Microsatellites ,SSRs ,Blue-footed booby ,Sula nebouxii ,Sulidae - Abstract
Blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) are socially monogamous, colonial seabirds exhibiting intra-specific nest parasitism and extra-pair copulations. Prior DNA fingerprinting assays failed to detect extra-pair offspring in the nests of congeners, and the rate of intra-specific nest parasitism has not been estimated using molecular techniques. We describe the development and characterization of 11 microsatellite DNA loci, tested using 31 individuals collected on Isla Isabel, Nayarit, México. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 22, averaging seven; total exclusionary power of the microsatellite panel was 0.99; no loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium; and we did not detect linkage disequilibrium following Bonferroni correction. This microsatellite panel will facilitate future studies of nest parasitism and extra-pair paternity in blue-footed boobies.
- Published
- 2009
3. Prevalence of Haemoproteus sp. in Galápagos blue-footed boobies: effects on health and reproduction.
- Author
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LEE-CRUZ, LARISA, CUNNINGHAM, ANDREW A., MARTÍNEZ, PAMELA, CRUZ, MARILYN, GOODMAN, SIMON J., and HAMER, KEITH C.
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BLOOD parasites , *BLUE-footed booby , *INTRODUCED species , *PLASMODIUM , *BIRD diseases , *BREEDING , *PARASITISM - Abstract
Populations of blue-footed boobies in the Galápagos Islands have declined by at least 50% compared with numbers recorded during the 1960s. Recently, concern has been expressed about potential adverse effects of introduced blood parasites; in particular, malarial parasites (i.e. Plasmodium sp.), which are frequently pathogenic and can cause mortality and morbidity in birds, and blood parasites of the genus Haemoproteus, which can reduce fitness. We screened blue-footed boobies at six breeding colonies within Galápagos for both genera of parasite. At two sites, we also investigated whether there was any relationship between infection status and physiological condition or breeding success. We found a high prevalence of Haemoproteus spp. in adults and chicks using PCR, although none was found on blood smears. We found no evidence of Plasmodium. Effects of parasitism on the condition of birds were limited. Also, there was no evidence that infection with Haemoproteus adversely affected breeding success or chick growth. Our results suggest that poor success of breeding birds was not strongly associated with Haemoproteus infection. However, regular colony monitoring and examination of dead birds are necessary to assess whether acute Haemoproteus infection might be responsible for some mortality, particularly of chicks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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4. Variation in parental rearing expenditure triggers short-term physiological effects on offspring in a long-lived seabird.
- Author
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González‐Medina, Erick, Castillo‐Guerrero, José Alfredo, Santiago‐Quesada, Francisco, Villegas, Auxiliadora, Masero, José A., Sánchez‐Guzmán, Juan M., Fernández, Guillermo, and Wanless, Ross
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PARENTAL behavior in animals ,SEA birds ,SEA bird chicks ,BLUE-footed booby ,ALKALINE phosphatase ,BIRDS - Abstract
Parental care in long-lived bird species involves a trade-off between the benefits of increasing the effort expended on current offspring and the costs that this represents for future reproductive output. Under regimes of high environmental variability, long-lived seabirds can adjust their breeding effort to buffer the negative effects of this variability on their offspring. However, the potential impacts of variation in breeding effort on offspring physiology in the short term and on longer-term survival are poorly understood. In this study, we manipulated brood age through a cross-fostering experiment to assess whether increasing or decreasing parental reproductive expenditure led to costs in Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii chicks. Specifically, we tested the consequences of altered parental reproductive expenditure on the offspring's physiological condition (plasma metabolites, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L) and body condition index ( BCI)) and survival. Offspring from broods in which parental investment was experimentally increased showed a lower BCI and lower alkaline phosphatase levels and higher H/L ratios than controls. Conversely, offspring showed the opposite pattern when reproductive expenditure was experimentally decreased. We observed no effects of manipulation of parental investment on triglyceride levels or on survival rates. Although our findings suggest that Blue-footed Booby parents have the ability to adjust their breeding effort according to the demands of their offspring, parental effort could influence the effect of hatching order by suppressing the aggressive tendency of the senior chick. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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5. Habitat structure and colony structure constrain extrapair paternity in a colonial bird.
- Author
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Ramos, Alejandra G., Nunziata, Schyler O., Lance, Stacey L., Rodríguez, Cristina, Faircloth, Brant C., Gowaty, Patricia Adair, and Drummond, Hugh
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PATERNITY , *COLONIAL birds , *BIRD breeders , *PREDATION , *HABITATS , *BLUE-footed booby - Abstract
Individual variation in sexual fidelity and extrapair paternity (EPP) is widely attributed to environmental heterogeneity, but the only variables known to be influential are food abundance and density of conspecific breeders (potential extrapair partners). Habitat structure is thought to impact EPP but is rarely measured and, when considered, is usually confounded with food abundance and predation pressure. To sidestep these confounds, we tested whether EPP is associated with habitat structure variables and with local conspecific density in a species whose nesting habitat is not used for feeding and lacks predators. In a blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii , colony, the probability of EPP in a female's nest was highest in parts of the study plot where there were few obstacles to locomotion, and was quadratically related to local density of sexually active males, even though local males did not sire the EP chicks. The probability of a male breeder siring EP (extrapair) chicks elsewhere was quadratically related to local density of sexually active males around his nest. From these patterns we infer that both sexes may foray for EP interactions, that males and females nesting at intermediate density are most likely to be accessed by forayers, and that obstacles in the vicinity of a female's nest constrain access of foraying males. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that individual variation in EPP is associated with habitat structure in the absence of confounding variation in food availability, predation pressure or breeder quality, and the first evidence that EPP opportunities of female and male breeders are reduced by high density of conspecific breeders above a particular threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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6. Behavioural roles in booby mate switching.
- Author
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Pérez-Staples, Diana, Osorio-Beristain, Marcela, Rodríguez, Cristina, and Drummond, Hugh
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BLUE-footed booby , *BOOBIES (Birds) , *BIRD breeding , *HYPOTHESIS , *ANIMAL sexual behavior , *ERROR analysis in mathematics , *ANIMAL behavior - Abstract
The behaviour that mediates divorce and partner change in socially monogamous species is largely unstudied and unknown, although roles and adaptive functions in some birds have been inferred from breeding outcomes, partial behavioural records and captive studies. Here, roles and functions of natural within-season mate switching of a colonial bird were characterized by describing interactions over many days during the whole daylight period. Switching occurred in 5.9% of bluefooted booby pairs and was initiated by desertion of males or, less commonly, females. Three male desertions were consistent with either the Errors of Mate Choice or Incompatibility hypotheses but were better explained by our new Unfaithful Mate hypothesis because infidelity of the mate preceded desertion. Another two male desertions were more consistent with the Better Options hypothesis because the males switched to their ongoing extra-pair (EP) partners. One female desertion was consistent with the Errors of Mate choice or Incompatibility hypotheses, and another with the Better Options hypothesis. All five deserted females switched promptly to their EP partners. Thus, most switches consisted of (1) males replacing a possibly unsatisfactory partner with a new (already identified or to be identified) partner, or (2) deserted females pairing with their EP partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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7. Males use time whereas females prefer harmony: individual call recognition in the dimorphic blue-footed booby
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Dentressangle, Fabrice, Aubin, Thierry, and Mathevon, Nicolas
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BLUE-footed booby , *BIRD breeding , *SEXUAL partners , *SEXUAL behavior in birds , *SEXUAL dimorphism , *PARAMETER estimation , *BIRDS - Abstract
In breeding birds, acoustic signalling is often an important cue for reunion between sexual partners. However, in spite of its potential interest, mate recognition has rarely been examined by comparing the two sexes. We studied the blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii, a socially monogamous seabird, with a dramatic call sexual dimorphism suggesting two different strategies for identity coding: the female call is an amplitude-modulated sound with a harmonic series slowly modulated in frequency, while the male call is a noisy whistle strongly modulated in frequency. To compare acoustic strategies between the sexes, we (1) recorded calls of both males and females, (2) searched for an individual signature and characterized it, and (3) tested, using a playback experiment, whether the calls of males and females were equally efficient for mate recognition. Results showed that an individual signature was present in the calls of both sexes. However, the acoustic parameters involved differed: female individual identification was principally achieved by a spectral analysis of the call whereas males'' identity relied mostly on temporal cues. More than 70% of both females and males tested in playback experiments successfully recognized their mate. This suggests that the coding strategies are equally efficient in terms of individual recognition between mates. From a broader point of view, our results underline the importance of assessing both males and females within the same investigative framework. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2012
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8. Safe betting: males help dull females only when they raise high-quality offspring.
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Morales, Judith, Torres, Roxana, and Velando, Alberto
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BIOLOGICAL evolution ,EGGSHELLS ,LIFE history theory ,ANIMAL offspring sex ratio ,BLUE-footed booby ,BIRD eggs ,BIRD reproduction ,ANIMAL species - Abstract
In evolutionary biology, whether parents should enhance or reduce parental care according to mate ornamentation is a subject of great debate. However, the evolution of female ornaments can shed light on this question. In theory, female ornamentation should be traded off against fecundity and thus cannot be wholly informative to males without a direct indication of fecundity. Hence, direct cues of offspring quality should affect the relationship between male investment and female ornamentation. Under this hypothesis, we manipulated two direct cues of offspring quality (egg size and color) after first egg laying in the blue-footed booby and registered male incubation patterns. In this species, foot color is a dynamic signal of current condition and in females is traded off with egg size. We found that males spent more time incubating when paired with dull females but only in nests with large eggs. Males also spent less time incubating small dull eggs. Results indicate that egg size, a direct cue of reproductive value, affected the relationship between male effort and female ornamentation. Males may be willing to help females that have invested in offspring at the expense of ornamentation, which suggests compensation when females are in low condition. Another possibility is that males relax their effort when paired with highly ornamented and fecund females because they have high parenting abilities. Our findings suggest that the information conveyed by female ornaments may depend on direct cues of fecundity. Results also highlight that parental decisions are complex, modulated by a combination of information sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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9. Effects of recruiting age on senescence, lifespan and lifetime reproductive success in a long-lived seabird.
- Author
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Kim, Sin-Yeon, Velando, Alberto, Torres, Roxana, and Drummond, Hugh
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ANIMAL longevity , *BLUE-footed booby , *BOOBIES (Birds) , *AGING , *COST of reproduction (Ecology) , *LIFE history theory , *SOUTHERN oscillation - Abstract
Theories of ageing predict that early reproduction should be associated with accelerated reproductive senescence and reduced longevity. Here, the influence of age of first reproduction on reproductive senescence and lifespan, and consequences for lifetime reproductive success (LRS), were examined using longitudinal reproductive records of male and female blue-footed boobies ( Sula nebouxii) from two cohorts (1989 and 1991). The two sexes showed different relationships between age of first reproduction and rate of senescent decline: the earlier males recruited, the faster they experienced senescence in brood size and breeding success, whereas in females, recruiting age was unrelated to age-specific patterns of reproductive performance. Effects of recruiting age on lifespan, number of reproductive events and LRS were cohort- and/or sex-specific. Late-recruiting males of the 1989 cohort lived longer but performed as well over the lifetime as early recruits, suggesting the existence of a trade-off between early recruitment and long lifespan. In males of the 1991 cohort and females of both cohorts, recruiting age was apparently unrelated to lifespan, but early recruits reproduced more frequently and fledged more chicks over their lifetime than late recruits. Male boobies may be more likely than females to incur long-term costs of early reproduction, such as early reproductive senescence and diminished lifespan, because they probably invest more heavily than females. In the 1991 cohort, which faced the severe environmental challenge of an El Niño event in the first year of life, life-history trade-offs of males may have been masked by effects of individual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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10. Could specialization to cold-water upwelling systems influence gene flow and population differentiation in marine organisms? A case study using the blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii.
- Author
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Taylor, Scott A., Maclagan, Laura, Anderson, David J., and Friesen, Vicki L.
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FORAGING behavior , *CASE studies , *BLUE-footed booby , *SEA bird behavior , *UPWELLING (Oceanography) , *CLIMATE & biogeography , *GENETIC engineering - Abstract
We assessed population differentiation and gene flow across the range of the blue-footed booby ( Sula nebouxii) (1) to test the generality of the hypothesis that tropical seabirds exhibit higher levels of population genetic differentiation than their northern temperate counterparts, and (2) to determine if specialization to cold-water upwelling systems increases dispersal, and thus gene flow, in blue-footed boobies compared with other tropical sulids. Work was carried out on islands in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean from Mexico to northern Peru. We collected samples from 173 juvenile blue-footed boobies from nine colonies spanning their breeding distribution and used molecular markers (540 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region and seven microsatellite loci) to estimate population genetic differentiation and gene flow. Our analyses included classic population genetic estimation of pairwise population differentiation, population growth, isolation by distance, associations between haplotypes and geographic locations, and analysis of molecular variance, as well as Bayesian analyses of gene flow and population differentiation. We compared our results with those for other tropical seabirds that are not specialized to cold-water upwellings, including brown ( Sula leucogaster), red-footed ( S. sula) and masked ( S. dactylatra) boobies. Blue-footed boobies exhibited weak global population differentiation at both mitochondrial and nuclear loci compared with all other tropical sulids. We found evidence of high levels of gene flow between colonies within Mexico and between colonies within the southern portion of the range, but reduced gene flow between these regions. We also found evidence for population growth, isolation by distance and weak phylogeographic structure. Tropical seabirds can exhibit weak genetic differentiation across large geographic distances, and blue-footed boobies exhibit the weakest population differentiation of any tropical sulid studied thus far. The weak population genetic structure that we detected in blue-footed boobies may be caused by increased dispersal, and subsequently increased gene flow, compared with other sulids. Increased dispersal by blue-footed boobies may be the result of the selective pressures associated with cold-water upwelling systems, to which blue-footed boobies appear specialized. Consideration of foraging environment may be particularly important in future studies of marine biogeography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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11. Biliverdin-based egg coloration is enhanced by carotenoid supplementation.
- Author
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Morales, Judith, Velando, Alberto, and Torres, Roxana
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BLUE-footed booby ,EGGSHELLS ,PROTECTIVE coloration (Biology) ,CAROTENOIDS ,LIFE history theory ,PIGMENTS ,IMMUNE system ,ANTIOXIDANTS - Abstract
vian eggshell color is remarkably variable among and within species and its possible function has long been controversial. Female birds use biliverdin pigment to color their eggs blue and green. Although evidence is accumulating that blue-green eggshell coloration is costly to produce, the exact mechanisms underlying its expression are little studied. Biliverdin pigment is involved in important maintenance functions such as immune and antioxidant defenses and shows similar properties to carotenoid pigments. Carotenoids play a role as immunoenhancers and have the potential to ameliorate the impact of oxidative processes, although their antioxidant function could be minor for some bird species. Important life-history components can be limited by carotenoid availability, including sexual displays and fecundity. Here we explored if biliverdin-based eggshell pigmentation was affected by carotenoid availability in a seabird, by performing a carotenoid supplementation experiment in female blue-footed boobies ( Sula nebouxii) after laying their first egg. In this species, blue eggshell color is associated with incubation patterns, and carotenoid availability affects the crucial trade-off between female foot ornamentation and fecundity. We found that under natural conditions, there was a decline in eggshell color with laying order, suggesting pigment limitation for females. However, carotenoid-supplemented females had enhanced second egg coloration compared to controls, and the color increase was independent of their previous pigment allocation to the first egg. Our results suggest that biliverdin-based eggshell coloration is costly to produce and can be alleviated by current carotenoid availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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12. Climatic influence on demographic parameters of a tropical seabird varies with age and sex.
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ORO, DANIEL, TORRES, ROXANA, RODRIGUEZ, CRISTINA, and DRUMMOND, HUGH
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SEA birds , *BOOBIES (Birds) , *ANIMAL populations , *POPULATION biology , *CLIMATE change , *BIOTIC communities - Abstract
In marine ecosystems climatic fluctuation and other physical variables greatly influence population dynamics, but differential effects of physical variables on the demographic parameters of the two sexes and different age classes are largely unexplored. We analyzed the effects of climate on the survival and recruitment of both sexes and several age classes of a long-lived tropical seabird, the Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii), using long-term observations on marked individuals. Results demonstrated a complex interaction between yearly fluctuations in climate (both local and global indexes, during both winter and breeding season) and the sex and age of individuals. Youngest birds' survival and. recruitment were commonly affected by local climate, whereas oldest birds' parameters tended to be constant and less influenced by environmental variables. These results confirm the theoretical prediction that sex- and age-related variation in life-history demographic traits is greater under poor environmental conditions, and they highlight the importance of including variability in fitness components in demographic and evolutionary models. Males and females showed similar variation in survival but different recruitment patterns, in relation to both age and the spatial scale of climatic influence (local or global). Results indicate different life-history tactics for each sex and different ages, with birds likely trying to maximize their fitness by responding to the environmental contingencies of each year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
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13. Senescence of Maternal Effects: Aging Influences Egg Quality and Rearing Capacities of a Long-Lived Bird.
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Beamonte-Barrientos, René, Velando, Alberto, Drummond, Hugh, and Torres, Roxana
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AGING , *LONGITUDINAL method , *BLUE-footed booby , *BABY birds , *EGG quality , *CHICKS , *BIRD breeding , *IMMUNE response , *AGE , *ANIMALS - Abstract
Senescence could depress prenatal and postnatal capacities of mothers to invest in offspring. Longitudinal observations on the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) revealed a quadratic effect of female age on fledgling production and cohort differences in rate of reproductive decline. By swapping clutches between females of different ages, we tested whether reproductive senescence is due to decline in egg quality or capacity to care. As laying mothers aged, egg size, ulna length of 5-day-old chicks, and ulna growth of second chicks up to age 30 days declined, and as rearing mothers aged, ulna growth and cellular mediated immune response of second chicks diminished. Oddly, senescent females (>11 years) produced more fledglings when rearing offspring of middle-aged females (8-11 years) than when rearing offspring of senescent or young females. Thus, senescence reduced egg quality and rearing capacities, and reproductive success of senescent mothers depended on prenatal effects associated with the age of the laying mother. Reproductive senescence of boobies may involve constraints on resources allocated to reproduction as well as adaptive adjustment of provision and care according to offspring value, implying that negative effects of senescence on offspring survival can be ameliorated by plasticity in postlaying or postnatal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
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14. Simultaneous positive and negative density-dependent dispersal in a colonial bird species.
- Author
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Sin-Yeon Kim, Torres, Roxana, and Drummond, Hugh
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ANIMAL dispersal , *BLUE-footed booby , *COLONIAL birds , *ANIMAL species , *HABITATS , *HABITAT selection , *ANIMAL ecology , *RESOURCE partitioning (Ecology) , *ORNITHOLOGY - Abstract
Contradictory patterns of density-dependent animal dispersal can potentially be reconciled by integrating the conspecific attraction hypothesis with the traditional competition hypothesis. We propose a hypothesis that predicts a U-shaped relationship between density and both natal and breeding dispersal distance. Using 10 years of observations on a breeding colony of the Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii), the hypothesis was confirmed by documenting simultaneous positive and negative density-dependent dispersal distances in natal and breeding dispersal of males and breeding dispersal of females within the colony. Point-pattern analyses demonstrated that the breeding sites of Blue-looted Boobies were highly aggregated in all years within a large study area. and aggregation presumably resulted in heterogeneity in patch density throughout the colony. As predicted, at moderate to high densities, dispersal distances showed positive density dependence, with individuals moving to lower density patches. In contrast, at low to moderate densities, dispersal distances showed negative density dependence, with individuals moving to higher density patches. In both sexes of the 1994 cohort, the higher the mean density in patches used by an individual over the long term (up to age I 1 years), the fewer fledglings it produced. A positive effect of density on long- term reproductive success was not detected, possibly because birds that failed during pair formation or incubation were not sampled. Density of conspecifics may be an important influence on habitat selection of breeders, and dispersal may tend to carry individuals to patches where pair formation opportunities are better and negative effects of competition on reproductive success are reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
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15. Maternal investment in eggs is affected by male feet colour and breeding conditions in the blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii.
- Author
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Dentressangle, Fabrice, Boeck, Lourdes, and Torres, Roxana
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EGGS ,BLUE-footed booby ,BOOBIES (Birds) ,ANDROSTENEDIONE ,BREEDING ,ANIMAL breeding - Abstract
Females are expected to vary investment in offspring according to variables that may influence the offspring fitness in a way that optimises her inclusive fitness for a particular context. Thus, when sexual ornaments signal the quality of the male, females might invest in reproduction as a function of the attractiveness of their mate. We tested whether breeding conditions and male feet colour influence reproductive decisions of blue-footed booby females. In the blue-footed booby, male feet colour is a dynamic condition-dependent sexually selected trait that is related to paternal effort. During two consecutive years, an El Niño year (poor breeding conditions) and a year with good breeding conditions, we experimentally reduced male attractiveness by modifying their feet colour after the first egg was laid and recorded female investment in the second egg. We found that, relative to the first egg in the clutch, females laid heavier second eggs during the poor year than during the good year. Females paired with males with duller feet colour reduced second-egg mass and volume and delayed the laying of the second egg, independently of the year. Absolute yolk androstenedione (A4) concentration (but not testosterone, T) in second eggs was higher during a poor year than during a good year. Only during a year with poor breeding conditions, females paired with experimental males decreased the relative A4 concentration (but not T) in the second egg compared to control females. Thus, blue-footed booby females probably favour brood reduction by decreasing egg quality and increasing size asymmetry between chicks when the breeding and the mate conditions are poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
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16. Development of a linear dominance hierarchy in nestling birds
- Author
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Valderrábano-Ibarra, Claudia, Brumon, Ireri, and Drummond, Hugh
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BLUE-footed booby , *SUBMISSIVENESS , *BOOBIES (Birds) , *ANIMAL behavior - Abstract
Theoreticians propose that trained winning and losing are important processes in creating linear animal dominance hierarchies, and experiments have shown that both processes can occur in animals, but their actual roles in creating natural hierarchies are unknown. We described agonism in 18 broods of three blue-footed boobies, Sula nebouxii, a species for which trained winning and losing have been demonstrated, to infer how these processes generate and maintain a natural hierarchy. Ranks in the linear hierarchy that emerged in every brood were initially assigned by asymmetries in age, size and maturity, which led to differences between broodmates in levels of expressed and received aggression and, consequently, to differences in the training of their aggressiveness and submissiveness. Later, ranks appeared to be maintained by the chicks'' acquired aggressive and submissive tendencies combined with ongoing effects of persisting differences in size and maturity. Our results suggest that trained winning and trained losing are important in the construction of booby hierarchies but that these two axes of learning are largely independent. Increase in submissiveness occurs over a period of about 10–20 days, and the level of submissiveness reached varies with the amount of aggression received. After training, submissiveness is apparently maintained by a lower level of aggression and increasing use of threats. Threats become increasingly effective as chicks age, but are never as effective as attacks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2007
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17. SEASONAL EGG-MASS VARIATION AND LAYING SEQUENCE IN A BIRD WITH FACULTATIVE BROOD REDUCTION.
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D'Alba, Liliana and Torres, Roxana
- Subjects
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ANIMAL clutches , *BLUE-footed booby , *BIRDS , *BREEDING , *SEA birds , *EGGS - Abstract
Females may maximize their lifetime reproductive output by adjusting their investment in each breeding event to the perceived likelihood of success. The Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) is a long-lived seabird with facultative siblicide. We examined whether there is differential resource allocation to eggs with laying order and whether greater egg mass increases hatching probability, chick survival, hatching interval, and mass and size at hatching. We found that the relative investment in first and second eggs decreased as the season advanced: second eggs were slightly (1.5%) heavier than first eggs in early clutches; by contrast, first eggs were 2% heavier than second eggs in late clutches. Accordingly, hatching probability increased with laying date for first eggs and decreased for second eggs. The mass of the egg increased hatching probability; and no effect on chick survival was detected. Laying interval increased after a heavier egg was laid, and heavier eggs produced heavier hatchlings. Hatching intervals were positively related to laying intervals, but egg mass was unrelated to the length of the incubation period and the hatching interval. Our results suggest that egg mass influences embryo survival and that Blue-footed Booby females may adaptively allocate resources to eggs of different laying order according to breeding conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
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18. Tactics, effectiveness and avoidance of mate guarding in the blue-footed booby ( Sula nebouxii).
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Pérez-Staples, Diana and Drummond, Hugh
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BLUE-footed booby ,ANIMAL courtship ,AGGRESSION (Psychology) ,ANIMAL psychology ,ANIMAL behavior - Abstract
We examined the dynamics and avoidance of mate guarding, by males and females, in the blue-footed booby, in which the two social mates are usually simultaneously present on the territory but each of them is unmonitored by the other for one-quarter of its time. Both sexes were promiscuous and liable to switch mates. Cuckolded individuals did not increase their overall presence on the territory, but in response to the extra-pair (EP) courtships of their mates, both sexes doubled their rate of intra-pair (IP) courtship and sometimes showed aggression. The male or female's presence depressed the social mate's EP activity, but intra-pair courtship had no such effect, tending even to propitiate that EP activity. Similarly, when females responded to their social mates' EP courtship with approach or aggression, disruption of EP activity was short-lived. Promiscuous females modified their diurnal pattern of attendance, as if attempting to sidestep monitoring by their mates, but cuckolded males matched the modification. Both sexes tended to perform their EP activities at a distance when their mates were present, possibly to evade monitoring or disruption by their mates. Male and female boobies cannot monitor their mates continuously, they do little to facultatively adjust their presence on territory to the risk of infidelity, and their immediate responses to overt infidelity have only the briefest impact; but the information they acquire while monitoring their mates may be critical to constraining their mates' infidelity and also to calibrating their own reproductive investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
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19. Male coloration and chick condition in blue-footed booby: a cross-fostering experiment.
- Author
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Velando, Alberto, Torres, Roxana, and Espinosa, Irene
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BLUE-footed booby ,BOOBIES (Birds) ,BIRDS ,ANIMAL sexual behavior ,ANIMAL courtship ,SEXUAL selection - Abstract
Sexual selection models suggest that female choice is based on male traits that indicate their genetic or environmental condition, consequently enhancing her reproductive success by direct or indirect benefits. We investigated the relationship between male foot colour and offspring condition in the blue-footed booby, a socially monogamous seabird, with conspicuous and variably condition-dependent coloured feet that are selected by females. In a cross-fostering experiment, we found that chick condition was related to the foot colour of the foster father and, to some extent, to the foot colour of the genetic father; thus overall, the father’s sexual ornamentation (genetic and foster) explained 32% of variance of chick condition. These data suggest that foot colour, a dynamic sexually selected trait, is mostly a signal of parental contribution. In species in which males provide parental care, females may choose mates with higher parental ability. Overall, our data suggest that colourful integuments are honest signals of parental ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
- Full Text
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20. A dynamic trait affects continuous pair assessment in the blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii.
- Author
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Torres, Roxana and Velando, Alberto
- Subjects
BLUE-footed booby ,BOOBIES (Birds) ,ANIMAL courtship ,SEXUAL selection ,ANIMAL sexual behavior ,ANIMAL behavior ,SOCIOBIOLOGY ,GENETIC psychology - Abstract
Bright colours of male birds have often been shown to be the target of sexual selection through female choice, yet few studies have looked at the role of colour expressed after pairing on female motivation and behaviour. Here we analyse the role of an integumentary colour in the spectral range of 400–700 nm, the foot colour in male blue-footed boobies, Sula nebouxii, which is prominently displayed during pair courtship. Measurements early in the breeding season showed that foot colour of courting males is pale (high values of brightness) and has an aqua-blue chroma, and females in better body condition were mated to males with brighter feet. We carried out an experimental manipulation which modified the foot colour of males in courtship, making it closer to the foot colour of males in low nutritional state. We found that females paired to experimental males courted less and were less likely to copulate than females in the control group. Male behaviour was apparently unaffected by the manipulation; thus the change in female behaviour can be attributed exclusively to foot colour manipulation. These results strongly support the hypothesis of female preference for an integumentary colour and suggest that this dynamic trait is used as a male ornament after pairing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2003
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
21. Zinc concentrations in Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) eggs, nestlings, and adults
- Author
-
Miriam Lerma, Guillermo Fernández, José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero, and Jaqueline García-Hernández
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Developmental stage ,biology ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Zinc ,Aquatic Science ,Booby ,Oceanography ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Animal science ,chemistry ,Dry weight ,biology.animal ,Blue-footed booby ,Seasonal breeder ,Seabird ,Sula nebouxii ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
Zinc is essential for animal metabolism, but the variation in Zn concentrations within seabird populations has been seldom explored. We collected Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) eggs during 2012 and 2013 and blood samples from nestlings and adults during 2011 and 2012 in Sinaloa, Mexico, to evaluate differences in Zn concentrations among years, ages, sexes, and breeding stages. Zinc concentrations in eggs ranged between 27.3 and 64.9 ppm (dry weight), whereas Zn levels in the blood of nestlings and adults ranged between 16.1 and 53.1 ppm (dry weight). Egg Zn concentrations did not differ due to developmental stage, although Zn concentrations were significantly higher in 2013 than in 2012. Nestling Zn concentrations differed between years and decreased gradually with age. Chicks had significantly higher Zn concentrations than those of adults. Once nestlings stopped growing, females presented higher Zn concentrations than males. Adult Zn concentrations were higher during the pre-laying period than during the other breeding stages. Our results suggest that growth, sex, and breeding stage affect blood Zn concentrations, which may be due to stage-specific requirements. When compared with those of other seabird species, the Zn concentrations reported here are intermediate, and we did not detect adverse effects on either nestlings or adults.
- Published
- 2020
22. Lead, cadmium and mercury in the blood of the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) from the coast of Sinaloa, Gulf of California, Mexico
- Author
-
Guillermo Fernández, Miriam Lerma, Jorge Ruelas-Inzunza, and José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero
- Subjects
Male ,0106 biological sciences ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Zoology ,010501 environmental sciences ,Aquatic Science ,Biology ,Booby ,Oceanography ,01 natural sciences ,Birds ,biology.animal ,Animals ,Mexico ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Cadmium ,Ecology ,Reproduction ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,Heavy metals ,Environmental availability ,Mercury ,biology.organism_classification ,Pollution ,Mercury (element) ,Lead ,chemistry ,Blue-footed booby ,Female ,Seasons ,Sula nebouxii ,Seabird ,Water Pollutants, Chemical ,Environmental Monitoring - Abstract
We used blood samples of the Blue-footed Booby, considering sex (female and male) and age-class (adult and chick) of individuals at different breeding stages during two breeding seasons (2010-2011 and 2011-2012) in Isla El Rancho, Sinaloa, to determine lead, cadmium, and mercury concentrations. Lead and cadmium concentrations were below our detection limit (0.05 and 0.36ppm, respectively). A higher concentration of mercury was found in early stages of breeding, likely related to changes in mercury environmental availability. Mercury concentrations in adults did not relate with their breeding output. Males and adults had higher mercury concentration than females and chicks. We provide information of temporal, sex and age-related variations in the concentrations of mercury in blood of the Blue-footed Booby.
- Published
- 2016
23. An unsuspected cost of mate familiarity: increased loss of paternity
- Author
-
Hugh Drummond, Cristina Rodríguez, Oscar Sánchez-Macouzet, and Alejandra G. Ramos
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Mate guarding ,biology ,05 social sciences ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Increased risk ,Blue-footed booby ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Animal Science and Zoology ,050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology ,Sula nebouxii ,Psychology ,Social psychology ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Demography - Abstract
The evolution of remating and prolonged pair bonds in animals has generally been explained in terms of improved coordination and cooperation between familiar individuals, but costs of mate familiarity have rarely been considered. A possible cost for males is increased risk of losing paternity if familiarity enables females to detect when alternative sires are desirable, evade mate guarding or invest more in infidelity. To test whether this familiarity cost exists, we examined whether extrapair paternity increases with bond length in the socially monogamous blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii, using microsatellite-based analysis of 384 broods. Extrapair paternity increased from 9.4% of broods in first pairings to 21.6% in second pairings, then declined to 7.5% in third through eighth pairings. On their first remating with a female, males faced enhanced risk of losing paternity, but thereafter the risk was no greater than on first matings. However, after loss of paternity, males were no more likely to divorce. Effects of familiarity on extrapair paternity could influence the evolution and taxonomic distribution of remating and prolonged pair bonding in socially monogamous animals.
- Published
- 2016
24. Non-aggressive mate guarding by the blue-footed booby: a balance of female and male control.
- Author
-
Osorio-Beristain, Marcela and Drummond, Hugh
- Subjects
BLUE-footed booby ,BOOBIES (Birds) ,SEXUAL behavior in birds ,MATE selection ,SULIDAE - Abstract
Thirteen pairs of blue-footed boobies ( Sula nebouxii) were observed on their colony. Pairs courted frequently and, on average, copulated 24 times during the 30 days before laying, with 38% of those copulations occurring in the last 5 days (presumed fertile period). Males and females increased attendance at the nest site as laying approached. Seven females performed an average seven extra-pair copulations, with 1–2 paired male neighbors, but these were less concentrated in the presumed fertile period than within-pair copulations, and the last two copulations of all 7 females were with their social mates. Rates of female extra-pair copulations were six times lower when their social mate was present, and during the presumed fertile period, no female performed an extra-pair copulation in the presence of her mate. Males did not respond to infidelity of social mates with aggression, prompt copulation, retaliatory copulation, or increase in copulation. Seven of 13 males performed an average of five extra-pair copulations, with 1–3 paired female neighbors, before their own mates began egg-laying. The males' extra-pair copulations represented only 4% of their total copulations during their own mates' presumed fertile periods. Females, the larger sex, apparently control sexual access and copulate with extra males to achieve extra-pair fertilization. Males pursue a mixed strategy: they copulate with extra females, mostly outside their own mate's presumed fertile period, and they copulate increasingly with their social mate as laying approaches, probably assuring some paternity by mate guarding, involving attendance and courtship. Behavior of males and females is also consistent with other hypotheses for extensive joint nest site attendance: pairbonding, copulation access, and territory acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 1998
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
25. Adoption and infanticide in an altricial colonial seabird, the Blue-footed Booby: the roles of nest density, breeding success, and sex-biased behavior
- Author
-
Eric Mellink, José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero, and Erick González-Medina
- Subjects
animal structures ,biology ,Aggression ,Ecology ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification ,Brood ,Altricial ,Nest ,biology.animal ,embryonic structures ,Blue-footed booby ,medicine ,Sula nebouxii ,medicine.symptom ,Seabird ,Demography - Abstract
We aimed to elucidate the factors that influence the frequency of adoption and infanticide in the Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii), a seabird with biparental chick care and high chick-rearing costs. We obtained data from two colonies during four breeding seasons. In addition, we removed parents from their nests for short periods of time (10 min) and fitted their chicks with polyethylene foam protectors, in order to record chick behavior, particularly interactions with neighboring adults. Adoption and infanticide occurred mostly in zones of high nest density and during years of high breeding success. The chicks adopted were 20–40 days of age, the age at which they acquire mobility and parents still experience a certain inability to recognize them. Adopted chicks were slightly younger than chicks in the broods into which they were adopted. In most cases, adoptees were younger than their siblings in their natal broods. We also recorded short-term (lasting only a few hours) alloparental care for chicks older than 40 days. When we excluded parents from nests and their chicks were attacked, it was female neighbors that physically attacked them, whereas males were more prone to brood or preen them; therefore, the sex with certainty of parenthood was more prone to practice infanticide, presumably to avoid adoption. The lack of aggressiveness by males might be due to the possibility of paternity, given the occurrence of extra-pair copulations in this species.
- Published
- 2013
26. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii)
- Author
-
Patricia Adair Gowaty, Hugh Drummond, Brant C. Faircloth, and Alejandra G. Ramos
- Subjects
Genetics ,Brood parasite ,Evolutionary Biology ,Sulidae ,Linkage disequilibrium ,Conservation Biology/Ecology ,biology ,Plant Sciences ,Life Sciences ,Zoology ,Locus (genetics) ,Blue-footed booby ,Sula nebouxii ,biology.organism_classification ,Animal Anatomy / Morphology / Histology ,SSRs ,DNA profiling ,Microsatellite ,Allele ,Microsatellites ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
Blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) are socially monogamous, colonial seabirds exhibiting intra-specific nest parasitism and extra-pair copulations. Prior DNA fingerprinting assays failed to detect extra-pair offspring in the nests of congeners, and the rate of intra-specific nest parasitism has not been estimated using molecular techniques. We describe the development and characterization of 11 microsatellite DNA loci, tested using 31 individuals collected on Isla Isabel, Nayarit, México. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 22, averaging seven; total exclusionary power of the microsatellite panel was 0.99; no loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium; and we did not detect linkage disequilibrium following Bonferroni correction. This microsatellite panel will facilitate future studies of nest parasitism and extra-pair paternity in blue-footed boobies.
- Published
- 2009
27. Distance from the forest edge matters in habitat selection of the Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii
- Author
-
Hugh Drummond, Adolfo Christian Montes-Medina, and Sin-Yeon Kim
- Subjects
Geography ,biology ,Habitat ,Site location ,Nest ,Ecology ,Forest habitat ,Blue-footed booby ,High density ,Age distribution ,Sula nebouxii ,biology.organism_classification - Abstract
The relationships between breeding site location in forest habitat and age, behaviour and reproductive performance of Blue-footed Boobies Sula nebouxii were examined in two different plots on the northeast corner of Isla Isabel, Mexico. Birds nesting closer to the forest edge, where nest density is highest, laid their clutches earlier and fledged more chicks. In plot A, proximity to the forest edge was associated with more wakefulness and wing drooping in chicks and more interactions with other species in female breeders. In plot B, ages of breeders increased closer to the forest edge. The patterns of nest density, laying date and age distribution suggest that, on the northeast corner of Isla Isabel, the boobies prefer to nest close to the forest edge, possibly because the benefits, including easy landing and take-off, are greater than the costs associated with inclement weather, high density of conspecifics and allospecifics, and negative social interactions.
- Published
- 2009
28. Tactics, effectiveness and avoidance of mate guarding in the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii)
- Author
-
Hugh Drummond and Diana Pérez-Staples
- Subjects
Mate guarding ,Ecology ,Aggression ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Zoology ,Biology ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification ,Courtship ,Animal ecology ,Blue-footed booby ,behavior and behavior mechanisms ,medicine ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Extra-pair copulation ,Sula nebouxii ,medicine.symptom ,reproductive and urinary physiology ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,media_common - Abstract
We examined the dynamics and avoidance of mate guarding, by males and females, in the blue-footed booby, in which the two social mates are usually simultaneously present on the territory but each of them is unmonitored by the other for one-quarter of its time. Both sexes were promiscuous and liable to switch mates. Cuckolded individuals did not increase their overall presence on the territory, but in response to the extra-pair (EP) courtships of their mates, both sexes doubled their rate of intra-pair (IP) courtship and sometimes showed aggression. The male or female's presence depressed the social mate's EP activity, but intra-pair courtship had no such effect, tending even to propitiate that EP activity. Similarly, when females responded to their social mates' EP courtship with approach or aggression, disruption of EP activity was short-lived. Promiscuous females modified their diurnal pattern of attendance, as if attempting to sidestep monitoring by their mates, but cuckolded males matched the modification. Both sexes tended to perform their EP activities at a distance when their mates were present, possibly to evade monitoring or disruption by their mates. Male and female boobies cannot monitor their mates continuously, they do little to facultatively adjust their presence on territory to the risk of infidelity, and their immediate responses to overt infidelity have only the briefest impact; but the information they acquire while monitoring their mates may be critical to constraining their mates' infidelity and also to calibrating their own reproductive investment.
- Published
- 2005
29. Diurnal Predation by a Coyote (Canis latrans jamesi) on an Adult Blue-Footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) on Isla Tiburón, Gulf of California, Mexico
- Author
-
Abram B. Fleishman and Naomi S. Blinick
- Subjects
Shore ,Leucogaster ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Ecology ,Foraging ,Zoology ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification ,Canis latrans jamesi ,Predation ,Blue-footed booby ,Sula nebouxii ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
We report the predation by a coyote (Canis latrans jamesi) on a foraging, adult blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) during the early afternoon on 2 December 2009 on the west coast of Isla Tiburon in the Gulf of California, Mexico. The observed event took place while a flock of blue-footed and brown boobies (Sula leucogaster) was plunge-diving close to shore. The food habits of coyotes on Isla Tiburon are not known, and capture of live adult boobies by coyotes has not previously been documented in the literature.
- Published
- 2013
30. Long-Distance Natal Dispersal in Blue-footed Boobies
- Author
-
José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero and Eric Mellink
- Subjects
Geography ,biology ,Ecology ,Blue-footed booby ,Biological dispersal ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Economic shortage ,Booby ,Sula nebouxii ,biology.organism_classification - Abstract
Thirteen Blue-footed Boobies (Sula nebouxii) born on Isla Isabel, Nayarit, Mexico, nested on Isla El Rancho, Sinaloa. This natal dispersal of about 450 km was unknown for this species. Recruitment of these breeders appeared to happen at between four and seven years of age, slightly higher than the recruitment age reported for Isla Isabel birds that remain there. Age at first detection did not differ between males and females. Immigration to Isla El Rancho could relate to the recent establishment of this colony, and its continuous growth during the last five years. Since there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of nesting sites at Isla Isabel, long distance natal dispersal may be a normal trait in this species of booby.
- Published
- 2007
31. Bigamy in the Blue-footed Booby and the Brown Booby?
- Author
-
Aarón Aguilar, José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero, and Eric Mellink
- Subjects
Leucogaster ,biology ,Blue-footed booby ,Zoology ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Sula nebouxii ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification - Abstract
On islands in the Gulf of California in 2003 and 2004, we recorded three Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) and one Brown Booby (S. leucogaster) nests that were actively used by two females and one male. Although our data are limited, and cooperation cannot be completely ruled out, we suggest that these nests were the result of bigamous behavior.
- Published
- 2005
32. Effect of food deprivation on dominance status in blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) broods
- Author
-
Miguel A. Rodríguez-Gironés, Hugh Drummond, and Alex Kacelnik
- Subjects
Food deprivation ,biology ,Ecology ,Blue-footed booby ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Sula nebouxii ,biology.organism_classification ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Dominance (genetics) - Published
- 1996
33. Reversed Sexual Size Dimorphism and Parental Care: Minimal Division of Labour in the Blue-Footed Booby
- Author
-
Maria Guerra and Hugh Drummond
- Subjects
biology ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification ,Brood ,Developmental psychology ,Sexual dimorphism ,Behavioral Neuroscience ,Nest ,Blue-footed booby ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Sula nebouxii ,Paternal care ,reproductive and urinary physiology ,Division of labour ,Demography - Abstract
Abstract Reversed sexual size dimorphism in avian species (females larger than males) may be an adaptive consequence of different roles of males and females in parental care. We examined the alleged division of labour in two-chick broods of the blue-footed booby, using behavioural observation and frequent weighing of chicks. In the first week of parental care, males and females fed broods at similar frequencies and provided similar masses of food, but females brooded more than males when broods were 5-10 d old. Subsequently, females provided a greater mass of food and frequency of feeds than males until chicks were at least 35 d old (mass) and 60 d old (frequency), while attending the brood for just as much time as males until chicks were at least 35 d old. Males and females did not differ in the tendency to feed (frequency and mass) the first-hatched chick differentially. In nearly all components of parental care examined here, and in other studies, the female's contribution is equal to or greater than the male's. Only in clutch attendance and nest defence does the male contribute more than the female, but his small size seems unlikely to enhance performance in these activities. Overall, small size appears potentially to limit male provisioning of the brood, and is unlikely to be an adaptation for division oflabour in parental care. This result casts doubt on the relevance of the division-of-labour hypothesis for adult size dimorphism.
- Published
- 1995
34. Males use time whereas females prefer harmony : individual call recognition in the dimorphic blue footed booby
- Author
-
Fabrice Dentressangle, Thierry Aubin, Nicolas Mathevon, Laboratorio de Conducta Animal, Instituto de Ecología, Centre de Neurosciences Paris-Sud (CNPS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Equipe 7 : Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, and Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,05 social sciences ,Biology ,Booby ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Pair bond ,Sexual dimorphism ,Information coding ,Female individual ,Blue-footed booby ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Spectral analysis ,[SDV.NEU]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC] ,050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology ,Sula nebouxii ,Social psychology ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Demography - Abstract
International audience; In breeding birds, acoustic signalling is often an important cue for reunion between sexual partners. However, in spite of its potential interest, mate recognition has rarely been examined by comparing the two sexes. We studied the blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii, a socially monogamous seabird, with a dramatic call sexual dimorphism suggesting two different strategies for identity coding: the female call is an amplitude-modulated sound with a harmonic series slowly modulated in frequency, while the male call is a noisy whistle strongly modulated in frequency. To compare acoustic strategies between the sexes, we (1) recorded calls of both males and females, (2) searched for an individual signature and characterized it, and (3) tested, using a playback experiment, whether the calls of males and females were equally efficient for mate recognition. Results showed that an individual signature was present in the calls of both sexes. However, the acoustic parameters involved differed: female individual identification was principally achieved by a spectral analysis of the call whereas males' identity relied mostly on temporal cues. More than 70% of both females and males tested in playback experiments successfully recognized their mate. This suggests that the coding strategies are equally efficient in terms of individual recognition between mates. From a broader point of view, our results underline the importance of assessing both males and females within the same investigative framework. ; p. 413-420.
- Published
- 2012
35. Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii)
- Author
-
Erika Nathalia Salazar Gómez, José Alfredo Hernández Díaz, and Thomas S. Schulenberg
- Subjects
biology ,Blue-footed booby ,Zoology ,Sula nebouxii ,biology.organism_classification - Published
- 2011
36. Evidence of kin-selected tolerance by nestlings in a siblicidal bird
- Author
-
Anderson, D. J. and Ricklefs, R. E.
- Published
- 1995
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. Climatic influence on demographic parameters of a tropical seabird varies with age and sex
- Author
-
Cristina Rodríguez, Hugh Drummond, Roxana Torres, and Daniel Oro
- Subjects
Male ,Aging ,Climate Change ,Climate ,Population Dynamics ,Population ,Climate change ,Booby ,Population dynamic ,Sula nebouxii ,Sulidae ,Life history theory ,Mark and recapture ,Charadriiformes ,Life-history traits ,Tropical climate ,Seasonal breeder ,Animals ,education ,Ecosystem ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Demography ,Tropical Climate ,education.field_of_study ,biology ,Ecology ,Blue-footed Booby ,Seabird ,biology.organism_classification ,Capture–recapture modeling ,Female - Abstract
10 páginas, 4 figuras, 5 tablas., In marine ecosystems climatic fluctuation and other physical variables greatly influence population dynamics, but differential effects of physical variables on the demographic parameters of the two sexes and different age classes are largely unexplored. We analyzed the effects of climate on the survival and recruitment of both sexes and several age classes of a long-lived tropical seabird, the Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii), using long-term observations on marked individuals. Results demonstrated a complex interaction between yearly fluctuations in climate (both local and global indexes, during both winter and breeding season) and the sex and age of individuals. Youngest birds' survival and recruitment were commonly affected by local climate, whereas oldest birds' parameters tended to be constant and less influenced by environmental variables. These results confirm the theoretical prediction that sex- and age-related variation in life-history demographic traits is greater under poor environmental conditions, and they highlight the importance of including variability in fitness components in demographic and evolutionary models. Males and females showed similar variation in survival but different recruitment patterns, in relation to both age and the spatial scale of climatic influence (local or global). Results indicate different life-history tactics for each sex and different ages, with birds likely trying to maximize their fitness by responding to the environmental contingencies of each year., La financiación para este trabajo ha provenido de: UNAM (PAPIIT, IN230603, IN211491, IN2007023), CONACYT (81823, 47599, 34500-V, 4722-N9407, D112-903581, PCCNCNA-031528, 31973H), Programa Marina Bueno y otras subvenciones del Ministerio de Ciencia del Gobierno español (referencia CGL2006-04325/BOS).
- Published
- 2010
38. Update from Isla de La Plata
- Author
-
Curry, Robert L.
- Subjects
Waved Albatross ,goats ,Galapagos sea lion ,Mimus longicaudatus platensis ,Blue-footed booby ,Conservation ,Sula nebouxii ,Zalophus californianus wollebaeki ,Long-tailed Mockingbird ,Isla de la Plata ,Diomedea irrorata ,Ecuador ,Sula sula ,Red-footed booby ,Biology - Published
- 1993
39. Responses of Three Booby Species to El Niño 1997-1998
- Author
-
Jahncke, Jaime and Goya, Elisa
- Published
- 2000
40. Long-Distance Natal Dispersal in Blue-Footed Boobies
- Author
-
Mellink, Eric
- Published
- 2007
41. Bigamy in the Blue-Footed Booby and the Brown Booby?
- Author
-
Castillo-Guerrero, José Alfredo and Mellink, Eric
- Published
- 2005
42. Simultaneous Positive and Negative Density-Dependent Dispersal in a Colonial Bird Species
- Author
-
Kim, Sin-Yeon, Torres, Roxana, and Drummond, Hugh
- Published
- 2009
43. Long-Distance Natal Dispersal in Blue-footed Boobies
- Author
-
Castillo-Guerrero, José Alfredo and Mellink, Eric
- Published
- 2007
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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