Effects of climate on nest success of the Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) in the woodlands of Buenos Aires

SALIO PAOLA; JACOBY ROSARIO; FIORINI VD; REBOREDA JC

Virtual

Conferencia; North American Ornithological Conference; 2020

There is an increasing concern about the effects of climate change on the animal fitness. In birds, the climate can influence reproduction in several ways. Temperature alters incubation of eggs and thermoregulation of nestlings, while precipitation has consequences on prey availability, among others. Moreover, different phenological responses to climate change may produce a mismatch between life cycles of populations, impacting on their dynamics. To understand and predict these effects, more information about the impact of weather on the populations is required. Our goal was to investigate how temperature and precipitation influence nest success of one Neotropical bird species, the Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimus saturninus). The field work was carried out in the Reserve "El Destino", Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, during October 2019-January 2020. We evaluated the nest success of the Chalk-browed Mockingbird in relation with the maximum media temperature (Tmax) and the sum of precipitation (Pp) of the last seven days. Results show a positive relationship between the probability of nest success and the Tmax (GLM, Z= 2.630, p= 0.008). The probability of nest success increased in a 60% for an increment of one degree of the Tmax (OR: 1.60). Therefore, temperature affects positively the reproductive success of this species. No significant correlations were found between nest success and Pp. This is the first step in the understanding of the complex relationships between climate and the reproductive success of a Neotropical bird species that will allow predicting the consequences of climate change on population dynamics.