Sex ratio and fledging success of supplementary-fed Tengmalm's owl broods.

Abstract

A nest box population of Tengmalm's owls (Aegolius funereus) in northern Sweden was studied to investigate the effects of extra food on the sex ratio between hatching and fledging in this sexually size-dimorphic species. The brood size and brood sex ratio of supplementary-fed and control broods were compared. Newly hatched nestlings were blood sampled and sexed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the sex-linked CHD1Z and CHD1W genes. The brood sex ratio at hatching was strongly male biased (65%); this was also the case in broods where all eggs hatched (72%). There was no relationship between hatch order and sex ratio, and hatching sex ratio did not vary significantly with laying date. Brood size decreased between hatching and fledging, but did not differ between fed and control broods at either stage. Brood sex ratio did not differ between hatching and fledging, and fledging sex ratio did not differ between fed and control broods. It was concluded that, at least during the year in which the study was carried out, feeding had no effect on brood reduction, and that male and female nestlings did not show any differential mortality. The mechanisms behind the male-biased sex ratio at hatching, and any possible adaptive reasons for it, are not known.