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Successive removal of individual rectrices does not influence the subsequent growth of the replacement feathers in the Great Tit Parus major
Author(s) -
Senar J. C.,
Uribe F.,
Doménech J.,
Carrascal L. M.
Publication year - 1998
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.1998.tb04614.x
Subject(s) - feather , flight feather , humanities , art , biology , zoology , botany , moulting , larva
Ptilochronology is the study of feather growth rates as revealed by the width of daily growth bars. Growth bars are cross-bands on feathers that denote 24-h periods of growth. The method consists of plucking a rectrix from a bird that is then released and, on recapture a month or more later, measuring the width of the growth bars on the replacement rectrix. This field technique has been suggested as a means of assessing the nutritional status of free-ranging birds and is increasingly being used (see Harder & Kirkpatrick 1994, Grubb 1995 for reviews). When birds are monitored over a long period, successive feathers may be taken from the same follicle so that daily growth bar widths can be compared between different stages of the biological cycle (Grubb & Pravosudov 1994, Grubb 1995). A study of this kind relies on the assumption that recent follicle history has no effect on feather growth rate (i.e. there is no physiological constriction: Murphy 1992, Grubb & Pravosudov 1994). Grubb and Pravosudov (19 94) addressed this problem, suggesting that follicle history does not affect feather growth rates. However, their study did not test the effect of successive removal of feathers between the sexes, or by age and body condition, all of which have already been shown to affect feather growth rates (Grubb & Cimprich 1990, Grubb et a/. 1991, White et al. 1991. Nilsson et al. 1992, Grubb 1995). Additionally, their study was carried out on captive House Sparrows Passer domesticus, so we do not know whether the results are applicable to birds in the wild. The aim of this study was to test whether successive removal of individual rectrices influences the subsequent growth of the replacement feathers in free-ranging Great Tits Parus majo,: taking into account the sex, age and body condition (pectoral muscle width) of the birds.