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Effects of superabundant food on breeding success and behavior of the red-winged blackbird

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Summary

The effects of food on breeding success and behavior of the red-winged blackbird (Icteridae: Agelaius phoeniceus) were investigated during 3 successive breeding seasons. In the second season, a 4-week pulse of abundant food in the form of a periodical cicada emergence (Homoptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada spp.) occurred in the forest adjacent to the marsh where the birds were breeding.

During the cicada period, the bird population showed: 1) an increase in foraging trips to the forest and a decrease in trips per h, 2) increased biomass of nestlings, 3) increased nestling survival caused by decreased starvation, 4) increased fledging success, and 5) bimodal weight distributions of older nestlings (reflective of the sexual dimorphism in this species). These data suggest the temporary removal of food limitations on the breeding population when the pulse of food was available.

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Author notes

  1. Charles E. Strehl

    Present address: Department of Water Quality, 17405, City of York, York, PA, USA

  2. JoAnn White

    Present address: Department of Biology, Whitman Lab., University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27514, NC, USA

    Charles E. Strehl & JoAnn White

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  1. Charles E. Strehl
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  2. JoAnn White
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Strehl, C.E., White, J. Effects of superabundant food on breeding success and behavior of the red-winged blackbird. Oecologia 70, 178–186 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379237

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379237

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