Egg Success, Hatching Success, and Nest-site Selection of Brown Pelicans, Gaillard Island, Alabama, USA

We investigated factors that affect nest-site selection, egg success, and hatching success of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) on Gaillard Island, Alabama, USA, a man-made island in Mobile Bay. Vegetation density at differing heights, and temporal and spatial variables were considered in the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2011-06, Vol.123 (2), p.386-390
Main Authors: Robinson, Orin J., Dindo, John J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal nesting
Bird nesting
Birds
Breeding colonies
Brown pelican
Eggs
Gulfs
Hatching
Marine
Nest building
Nesting tables
Ornithology
Pelecanus occidentalis
Pelicans
Reproductive success
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Site selection
Statistical methods
Variables
Vegetation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We investigated factors that affect nest-site selection, egg success, and hatching success of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) on Gaillard Island, Alabama, USA, a man-made island in Mobile Bay. Vegetation density at differing heights, and temporal and spatial variables were considered in the analysis. Brown Pelicans arriving earliest chose sites that were open on the ground, but with a layer of vegetation between 1 and 2 m above the ground. Egg success was related to arrival date, density of the highest vegetation layer, density of nests in a given area, and percentage of nests on the ground. Brown pelicans that arrived earliest appeared to choose more optimal nest-sites and had greater egg and hatching success.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/10-125.1