Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

login


[close window] [previous abstract] [next abstract]

Faivre B., Secondi J., Frochot B. & Cezilly F. (2002) Local survival and breeding ecology in an expanding population of Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta. ARDEA 90 (2): 293-301
Demographic studies were conducted in Burgundy (eastern France) on the Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta. This species has been expanding in Europe since the beginning of the 1960s. Over a three-year period, mean clutch size was 4.47 eggs. During the same period at least one egg hatched in 74.9% of clutches. Overall mean breeding success was 45.3%, with a mean of 2.04 chicks fledged per brood. Adult survival rates and capture rates were estimated separately from Capture-Mark-Recapture data collected over 11 years. A model with constant adult survival rate and varying annual capture rate provided the best fit to the data. From this model, annual local survival rate was estimated to be 50.5%, with no difference between the two sexes. We discuss these results in relation to geographic expansion and previous estimates of breeding success and adult survival rate in related species with similar life history traits


[close window] [previous abstract] [next abstract]