Balancing moult data by subsampling non-moulting birds prior to regression analysis
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo T
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448057 , vital:74694 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.517941
- Description: During the analysis of moult records from the SAFRING database it was found that for some datasets the records were not evenly distributed temporally and the proportion of moulting to non-moulting birds was not what would be expected from random sampling. In an attempt to balance these data, the records of non-moulting birds were subsampled with different sample sizes prior to moult regression analysis, and the resulting moult estimates were then compared. The results suggest that subsampling non-moulting birds such that they occur in the expected proportion to actively moulting birds, based on the duration of moult, provides the best estimates of moult.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo T
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448057 , vital:74694 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.517941
- Description: During the analysis of moult records from the SAFRING database it was found that for some datasets the records were not evenly distributed temporally and the proportion of moulting to non-moulting birds was not what would be expected from random sampling. In an attempt to balance these data, the records of non-moulting birds were subsampled with different sample sizes prior to moult regression analysis, and the resulting moult estimates were then compared. The results suggest that subsampling non-moulting birds such that they occur in the expected proportion to actively moulting birds, based on the duration of moult, provides the best estimates of moult.
- Full Text:
Regional patterns in moult and sexual dimorphism of adult Southern Red Bishops Euplectes orix in southern Africa
- Craig, Adrian J F K, Bonnevie, Bo T, Oschadleus, Hans-Dieter
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Bonnevie, Bo T , Oschadleus, Hans-Dieter
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449503 , vital:74826 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.488357
- Description: Using the SAFRING database and the Underhill-Zucchini model of primary moult, we analysed the timing of wing moult in Southern Red Bishops Euplectes orix in relation to sex and geographical region. Birds from the winter rainfall region in the south-western sector of the Western Cape start the annual moult more than two months before any other population, but there were no significant differences in starting date within the summer rainfall region. There were striking differences in the estimates of moult duration (62–114 d), which did not follow a consistent pattern in relation to sex or geography; annual variation within a region may be an additional factor. Throughout southern Africa, both sexes showed a trend for longer-winged birds to take more time to complete their moult. We suggest that sex, geographical area and possible annual environmental variations may all influence the timing of moult in local populations. In this sexually dimorphic species, males are consistently longer-winged and heavier than females.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Bonnevie, Bo T , Oschadleus, Hans-Dieter
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449503 , vital:74826 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.488357
- Description: Using the SAFRING database and the Underhill-Zucchini model of primary moult, we analysed the timing of wing moult in Southern Red Bishops Euplectes orix in relation to sex and geographical region. Birds from the winter rainfall region in the south-western sector of the Western Cape start the annual moult more than two months before any other population, but there were no significant differences in starting date within the summer rainfall region. There were striking differences in the estimates of moult duration (62–114 d), which did not follow a consistent pattern in relation to sex or geography; annual variation within a region may be an additional factor. Throughout southern Africa, both sexes showed a trend for longer-winged birds to take more time to complete their moult. We suggest that sex, geographical area and possible annual environmental variations may all influence the timing of moult in local populations. In this sexually dimorphic species, males are consistently longer-winged and heavier than females.
- Full Text:
Relative feather mass indices: are feather masses needed to estimate the percentage of new feather mass grown for moult regression models?
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo T
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448313 , vital:74721 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.455820
- Description: During the moult of primary wing feathers in birds it is likely that new feather material is being produced at an approximately constant rate if the energetic requirements of the birds are met. In moult regression analyses it is, therefore, desirable to transform moult measurements into a variable based on the amount of new feather material produced because of its linear properties. This can be achieved if the mass of each primary feather is known, and used as a weighting factor in a moult index. These primary feather masses would have to be known for every species being analysed. As an alternative, it is here tested if feather mass indices may be sufficient replacements for species-specific feather masses. Thirty-five species of birds with known primary feather masses were divided into four wing-shape groups, and a feather mass index was built for each group. Within each group, comparisons were made between estimates of moult parameters using the moult index with those using the known primary feather masses. Within groups there were no significant differences between any of the moult estimates.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo T
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448313 , vital:74721 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.455820
- Description: During the moult of primary wing feathers in birds it is likely that new feather material is being produced at an approximately constant rate if the energetic requirements of the birds are met. In moult regression analyses it is, therefore, desirable to transform moult measurements into a variable based on the amount of new feather material produced because of its linear properties. This can be achieved if the mass of each primary feather is known, and used as a weighting factor in a moult index. These primary feather masses would have to be known for every species being analysed. As an alternative, it is here tested if feather mass indices may be sufficient replacements for species-specific feather masses. Thirty-five species of birds with known primary feather masses were divided into four wing-shape groups, and a feather mass index was built for each group. Within each group, comparisons were made between estimates of moult parameters using the moult index with those using the known primary feather masses. Within groups there were no significant differences between any of the moult estimates.
- Full Text:
Timing of primary wing moult in sexually dimorphic passerines from the Western Cape, South Africa
- Bonnevie, Bo T, Oschadleus, Hans-Dieter
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo T , Oschadleus, Hans-Dieter
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448355 , vital:74724 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.455821
- Description: SAFRING ringing data was used to investigate the differences in the timing and duration of primary wing moult between males and females of sexually dimorphic passerines from the Western Cape, South Africa. In the sunbirds, weavers and canaries that were considered, the males generally started moult before the females, whereas this was not so for other species. In the species where males started moult before the females, the standard deviation of the start of moult was generally smaller in the males and the males generally took longer to moult. These differences in the patterns of moult are discussed in the context of differences in parental care between males and females of each species and within their taxonomic groups.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo T , Oschadleus, Hans-Dieter
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448355 , vital:74724 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2010.455821
- Description: SAFRING ringing data was used to investigate the differences in the timing and duration of primary wing moult between males and females of sexually dimorphic passerines from the Western Cape, South Africa. In the sunbirds, weavers and canaries that were considered, the males generally started moult before the females, whereas this was not so for other species. In the species where males started moult before the females, the standard deviation of the start of moult was generally smaller in the males and the males generally took longer to moult. These differences in the patterns of moult are discussed in the context of differences in parental care between males and females of each species and within their taxonomic groups.
- Full Text:
Trophic ecology of grey-headed albatrosses from Marion Island, Southern Ocean: insights from stomach contents and diet tracers
- Richoux, Nicole B, Jaquemet, Se´bastien, Bonnevie, Bo T, Cherel, Yves, McQuaid, Christopher D
- Authors: Richoux, Nicole B , Jaquemet, Se´bastien , Bonnevie, Bo T , Cherel, Yves , McQuaid, Christopher D
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/458019 , vital:75710 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-010-1448-y"
- Description: During chick-rearing, albatrosses can alternate between long foraging trips that provide the main source of food for the adults and short foraging trips that they use to feed their young. This flexibility in foraging behaviour can lead to differences in diet composition between adults and chicks and implies that they may be vulnerable in different ways to food shortages. The trophic ecology of the Grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma was investigated at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands during the chick-rearing period in April 2006 using a combination of approaches. Diets of adults and chicks were assessed using stable isotope ratios and fatty acid (FA) profiles of blood and/or stomach oils, in addition to stomach contents analysis. Fish from the family Macrouridae and cephalopods (particularly the onychoteuthid Kondakovia longimana) were the primary prey, whereas crustaceans (krill Euphausia superba) represented a smaller proportion of the stomach contents. Stomach oil FA profiles contained more monounsaturated FA than the profiles of plasma, which were richer in saturated FA and arachidonic acid (20:4n-6). There was also a distinct separation of adults from chicks, with higher levels of monounsaturates in chick plasma, and higher saturated FA levels (particularly 16:0) in the adult plasma. Stable carbon isotope ratios of whole blood were similar in adults and chicks, whereas stable nitrogen isotope ratios showed significant enrichment by >1‰ in chicks. The combined FA, stable isotopes and stomach contents analyses suggest clear differences in diet quality between adults and chicks, with chicks feeding at a higher trophic position through feeding more on highly nutritious fish and adults keeping much of the less nutritious zooplankton for themselves.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Richoux, Nicole B , Jaquemet, Se´bastien , Bonnevie, Bo T , Cherel, Yves , McQuaid, Christopher D
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/458019 , vital:75710 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-010-1448-y"
- Description: During chick-rearing, albatrosses can alternate between long foraging trips that provide the main source of food for the adults and short foraging trips that they use to feed their young. This flexibility in foraging behaviour can lead to differences in diet composition between adults and chicks and implies that they may be vulnerable in different ways to food shortages. The trophic ecology of the Grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma was investigated at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands during the chick-rearing period in April 2006 using a combination of approaches. Diets of adults and chicks were assessed using stable isotope ratios and fatty acid (FA) profiles of blood and/or stomach oils, in addition to stomach contents analysis. Fish from the family Macrouridae and cephalopods (particularly the onychoteuthid Kondakovia longimana) were the primary prey, whereas crustaceans (krill Euphausia superba) represented a smaller proportion of the stomach contents. Stomach oil FA profiles contained more monounsaturated FA than the profiles of plasma, which were richer in saturated FA and arachidonic acid (20:4n-6). There was also a distinct separation of adults from chicks, with higher levels of monounsaturates in chick plasma, and higher saturated FA levels (particularly 16:0) in the adult plasma. Stable carbon isotope ratios of whole blood were similar in adults and chicks, whereas stable nitrogen isotope ratios showed significant enrichment by >1‰ in chicks. The combined FA, stable isotopes and stomach contents analyses suggest clear differences in diet quality between adults and chicks, with chicks feeding at a higher trophic position through feeding more on highly nutritious fish and adults keeping much of the less nutritious zooplankton for themselves.
- Full Text:
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