Senescence and carryover effects of reproductive performance influence migration, condition, and breeding propensity in a small shorebird.

ABSTRACT: Breeding propensity, the probability that an animal will attempt to breed each year, is perhaps the least understood demographic process influencing annual fecundity. Breeding propensity is ecologically complex, as associations among a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors may interact to affect an animal's breeding decisions. Individuals that opt not to breed can be more difficult to detect than breeders, which can (1) lead to difficulty in estimation of breeding propensity, and (2) bias other demographic parameters. We studied the effects of sex, age, and population reproductive success on the survival and breeding propensity of a migratory shorebird, the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), nesting on the Missouri River. We used a robust design Barker model to estimate true s

SUBMITTER: Weithman C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5743479 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature