Non-adaptive territory selection by a bird with exceptionally long parental care.

ABSTRACT: High-quality territories are expected to provide greater fitness return for breeding individuals and, thus, are likely to have higher long-term occupation rate in comparison to low-quality territories. However, if environmental and ecological cues used for territory selection cannot reliably predict true territory quality, a mismatch between preferences and fitness may occur. We suggest that this kind of non-adaptive territory selection is more likely in species with long reproductive cycles, as a long time interval between territory establishment and young fledgling should reduce predictability of conditions during the critical stages of brood care. In this study, we investigated adaptiveness of territory selection in a migratory bird with exceptionally long parental care, the mute swan C

SUBMITTER: Wlodarczyk R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4811171 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature