Geology controls the distribution of a seed-eating bird: Feeding-tree selection by the glossy black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami.

ABSTRACT: Despite seed production being nutrient-limited, the influence of nutrient pathways on granivore distributions is unclear. This article examines the influence of geology and soil on the distribution of glossy black-cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami), which feed almost exclusively on the kernels of casuarinas (Allocasuarina spp. and Casuarina spp.), and are selective about the trees in which they feed. To clarify the basis of this selection, Food Value (a measure of dry matter intake rate) and kernel nutrient content were compared between feeding and non-feeding trees of drooping sheoak (A. verticillata). Random forest modelling was then used to examine the influence of geology and soil chemistry on Food Value. Finally, logistic generalised additive modelling was used to examine the influen

SUBMITTER: Crowley GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11309512 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature