Is young capture rate a reliable measure of White-crested elaenia productivity in the Andean-patagonian forest?

GOROSITO, C. A.; CUETO, V. R.

El Hornero

Asociación Ornitológica del Plata

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2022 vol. 37 p. 19 - 23

0073-3407

Productivity is an important parameter in the study of avian population dynamics and is commonly estimated through the number of young captured with mist-netting. However, this approach may not represent a true measure of local fledgling productivity. Several studies have reported a close relationship between the number of young captured and fledgling productivity for several bird species from Europe and North America, but to our knowledge this relationship has not been studied for Neotropical species. Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between fledgling productivity and young capture rate for White-crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps chilensis). We captured birds with mist-nets and carried out intensive nest monitoring during three breeding seasons. We found a close relationship between young capture rate and fledgling production. We also observed that fledglings stayed with their parents for almost the entire time between leaving the nest and the moment they dispersed from the territory they hatched in. Thus, we are confident that annual young abundance estimated by mist-netting reflects local fledgling productivity. This relationship needs to be evaluated in other Neotropical bird species to generalize the results presented here.