Abstract
AbstractUnderstanding reproductive performance in ecologically impoverished vs. more sustained anthropogenic habitats is critical to assess population health status and to develop land use and conservation management strategies. We compared resource‐based maternal effects, reproductive performance, and offspring quality in a model migratory passerine bird, the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). We assessed female condition, quantity of egg constituents, quality of diet consumed during egg formation, and nestling growth and survival in two habitats: cultivated farmland and meadows. Egg, albumin, and shell mass were greater at the meadow site, while yolk mass did not differ significantly between sites; albumin mass most strongly predicted egg mass. Stable isotope enrichment (δ15N and δ13C) in yolk but not albumin suggests a broader range of diet for yolk formation at the meadow site but could also reflect different hydric conditions between sites. δ13C and δ15N enrichment did not predict yolk, albumin, or egg mass. Concentration of yolk testosterone was higher at the meadow site and correlated with δ13C enrichment in yolk. Nestling survival was higher in the meadow than in the farmland site and corresponded to egg mass and δ13C enrichment in lipid‐free yolk. Surviving nestlings were larger in the meadow than in the farmland site. Results indicate that agricultural practice influences reproductive output through resource‐based maternal effects. The analyses of isotopic and biochemical composition of small samples of yolk and albumin may provide a minimally invasive tool to assess individual reproductive performance and predict impacts of habitat quality on population health.
Highlights
The health and status of wildlife populations depends on abiotic and biotic environmental conditions that influence reproductive performance and offspring quantity, quality, and survival
First clutches were laid at the same time, but only 50% of 24 nest boxes offered at the farmland site were occupied compared to 78% of 54 boxes at the meadow site
Albumin, and shell mass were significantly greater at the meadow site, Table 1
Summary
The health and status of wildlife populations depends on abiotic and biotic environmental conditions that influence reproductive performance and offspring quantity, quality, and survival. Size (Mousseau and Fox 1998) and allocation patterns within a clutch that can facilitate efficient management of offspring number (i.e., brood reduction) in response to food abundance. These include within-clutch variation in egg mass, egg composition, and yolk hormone concentrations, all of which can influence offspring growth and quality (e.g., Schwabl et al 1997, Eising et al 2001, Groothuis and Schwabl 2008). How variation in diet caused by agricultural practice impacts reproductive investment strategies, maternal effects, and performance is little understood but critical to assess impacts on populations
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