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SPATIAL SCALE OF LOCAL BREEDING HABITAT QUALITY AND ADJUSTMENT OF BREEDING DECISIONS
Author(s) -
Doligez Blandine,
Berthouly Anne,
Doligez Damien,
Tanner Marion,
Saladin Verena,
Bonfils Danielle,
Richner Heinz
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/07-0113.1
Subject(s) - habitat , occupancy , parus , ecology , scale (ratio) , spatial ecology , avian clutch size , population , geography , spatial variability , quality (philosophy) , biology , reproduction , demography , statistics , cartography , philosophy , mathematics , epistemology , sociology
Experimental studies provide evidence that, in spatially and temporally heterogeneous environments, individuals track variation in breeding habitat quality to adjust breeding decisions to local conditions. However, most experiments consider environmental variation at one spatial scale only, while the ability to detect the influence of a factor depends on the scale of analysis. We show that different breeding decisions by adults are based on information about habitat quality at different spatial scales. We manipulated (increased or decreased) local breeding habitat quality through food availability and parasite prevalence at a small (territory) and a large (patch) scale simultaneously in a wild population of Great Tits ( Parus major ). Females laid earlier in high‐quality large‐scale patches, but laying date did not depend on small‐scale territory quality. Conversely, offspring sex ratio was higher (i.e., biased toward males) in high‐quality, small‐scale territories but did not depend on large‐scale patch quality. Clutch size and territory occupancy probability did not depend on our experimental manipulation of habitat quality, but territories located at the edge of patches were more likely to be occupied than central territories. These results suggest that integrating different decisions taken by breeders according to environmental variation at different spatial scales is required to understand patterns of breeding strategy adjustment.