Abstract
The importance of male parental care to female reproductive success was investigated in the monogamous Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus by removing the male parent at two different stages of the breeding cycle. Females that were widowed at the start of egg‐laying continued breeding and managed to raise their brood on their own with no apparent reductions in numbers fledged or fledgling body‐mass. The widowed females compensated for the loss of male assistance by increasing their own food provisioning rate as compared with control females. However, widows spent less time brooding the small young, and the growth rate of nestlings was reduced. In nests where the male parent was removed 7 days after the eggs hatched, the subsequent growth rate of nestlings was still affected, which suggests that male care is influential throughout the nestling period. On average, broods reared by widows fledged 2 days later than did broods of control females. An extension of the nestling period may appreciably affect reproductive success, since 68% of nests failed due to predation, mostly during the nestling period. We suggest that the main role of male parental care in the Willow Warbler is to assure a high growth rate of nestlings, which leads to early fledging and hence a reduced risk of nest predation.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.