Feeling the heat: Elevated temperature affects male display activity of a lekking grassland bird.

ABSTRACT: Most species-climate models relate range margins to long-term mean climate but lack mechanistic understanding of the ecological or demographic processes underlying the climate response. We examined the case of a climatically limited edge-of-range population of a medium-sized grassland bird, for which climate responses may involve a behavioural trade-off between temperature stress and reproduction. We hypothesised that temperature will be a limiting factor for the conspicuous, male snort-call display behaviour, and high temperatures would reduce the display activity of male birds. Using remote tracking technology with tri-axial accelerometers we classified and studied the display behaviour of 17 free-ranging male little bustards, Tetrax tetrax, at 5 sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Display b

SUBMITTER: Gudka M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6746384 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature