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Reproductive potential and output of the Bahama Parrot Amazona leucocephala bahamensis
Author(s) -
GNAM ROSEMARIE,
ROCKWELL R. F.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.1991.tb04588.x
Subject(s) - brood , hatching , nest (protein structural motif) , biology , reproductive success , incubation , endangered species , zoology , reproductive cycle , parental investment , reproduction , ecology , demography , population , habitat , biochemistry , sociology , pregnancy , genetics , offspring
We evaluated reproductive investment and loss in the endangered Bahama Parrot Amazona leucocephala bahamensis using a fitness components model that corresponds to stages of the reproductive cycle. On average, a pair produced 3.6 eggs but fledged only 0.8 young, a 77% loss on their initial investment. While losses accrued throughout the cycle, they were highest during the hatching and post‐hatching stages. Partial hatching failure and total brood failure, respectively, were the primary sources of loss at these stages. These components did not change significantly over the four years of the study. Total nesting failure changed significantly over time and exacerbated losses during the incubation stage in two of the four years of the study. The implementation of a conservation management plan that would reduce total nest and brood failures is urgently needed.