Title | Comparative breeding ecology of the Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) in three habitat types |
Publication Type | Thesis |
Year of Publication | 1974 |
Authors | Cuesta LRafael |
Number of Pages | 39 |
Date Published | 1974 |
University | New Mexico State University |
City | Las Cruces, New Mexico |
Thesis Type | M.S. Thesispp |
Call Number | 00041 |
Keywords | bird, habitat, bird, Tyrannus verticalis, bird, Western Kingbird, breeding ecology,Western Kingbird, dissertation, dissertations, theses, thesis, Western Kingbird,breeding ecology |
Abstract | Breeding ecology of the Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) in a riparian habitat and an urban habitat was compared to that in a Chihuahuan Desert site during the summer of 1973 in southern New Mexico. Emphasis was placed upon the populations' evironmental responses to differences in climate, food, and predation. These environmental responses were expressed as differences in length and timing of breeding season; breeding density; fledgling frequency; nest-success frequency; and fledglings per clutch, per pair, per hectare. Evidence indicates that the overall productivity of the desert population was reduced by the direct effect of a greater degree of climatic exposure, scarcity of food, and relatively greater vulnerability to predation. Among the ecological responses observed in the desert population were (1) an intermediate breeding season, (2) the lowest breeding density, (3) the highest fledgling frequency, (4) the lowest nest-success frequency, and (5) the lowest number of fledglings per clutch, per pair, per hectare. |