Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US.

ABSTRACT: Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) were extirpated from most of the continental United States by widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s. Populations have rebounded with banning of the pesticide and successful implementation of captive breeding and hacking programs. An essentially new population of Midwestern peregrines now exists that is comprised almost entirely of urban-nesting birds. The new population is considered to be of mixed ancestry, occurs at relatively high densities, and has nest sites in close proximity, factors that could influence breeding behaviors including mate fidelity, nest-site fidelity, extra-pair paternity, and natal dispersal. We investigated these behaviors using a combination of field observations and DNA microsatellite genotyping. Data for eleven mic

SUBMITTER: Caballero IC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4946791 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature