Hard to fly the nest: A study of body condition and plumage quality in house sparrow fledglings
Contrary?to?the?nestling?phase,?the?post-fledging?phase?has?been?less?studied?probably?because?it?is?challenging?to?follow?the?chicks?after?they?fledge.?However,?this?phase?is?crucial?to?consider?when?focusing?on?the?life?cycle?of?individuals?because?it?is?associated?with?new?demands:?After?leaving?the?nest,?individuals?have?to?find?their?own?food?and?cope?with?a?new?set?of?previously?unknown?stressors.?In?this?study,?we?aimed?at?better?understanding?how?energetically?demanding?the?post-ftedging?period?is?in?house?sparrows?Passer?domesticus?by?measuring?several?indices?of?a?fledgling's?state?(body?condition,?fat?and?muscle?scores?and?plumage?quality).?If?the?energetic?demands?of?the?post-fledging?period?are?greater?than?those?of?the?adult?life,?we?predicted?that?fledglings?should?be?in?lower?condition?and?should?have?a?plumage?of?lower?quality?relative?to?adults.?Supporting?this?prediction,?the?condition?and?the?plumage?of?fledglings?differed?dramatically?from?those?of?adults.?Interestingly,?this?difference?disappeared?in?autumn.?Overall,?our?results?suggest?that?the?post-fledging?period?is?probably?one?of?the?most?energetically?demanding?of?the?life?cycle?in?this?species.?Supporting?this?idea,?the?resighting?probability?of?fledglings?was?lower?relative?to?adults.?However,?resighting?probability?depends?on?many?factors?(mortality,?dispersal,?habitat?use?and?behaviours)?and?future?studies?are?necessary?to?tease?apart?their?relative?importance?in?determining?resighting?probability?[Current?Zoology?60?(4):?449-459,?2014].
Charlene LELOUTRE Alice GOUZERH Frederic ANGELIER - 动物学报(英文版)
文章来源： 万方数据
