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

Productivityis an important parameter in the study of avian population dynamicsand is commonly estimated through the number of young captured withmist-netting. However, this approach may not represent a true measureof local fledgling productivity. Several studies have reported aclose relationship between the number of young captured and fledglingproductivity for several bird species from Europe and North America,but to our knowledge this relationship has not been studied forNeotropical species. Our objective was to evaluate the relationshipbetween fledgling productivity and young capture rate forWhite-crested Elaenia (Elaeniaalbiceps chilensis).We captured birds with mist-nets and carried out intensive nestmonitoring during three breeding seasons. We found a closerelationship between young capture rate and fledgling production. Wealso observed that fledglings stayed with their parents for almostthe entire time between leaving the nest and the moment theydispersed from the territory they hatched in. Thus, we are confidentthat annual young abundance estimated by mist-netting reflects localfledgling productivity. This relationship needs to be evaluated inother Neotropical bird species to generalize the results presentedhere.