Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
Many aspects of the breeding biology of the rapidly declining Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) are unknown. I used behavioral observations and genetic analyses to gain a better understanding of their mating system, on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA. Four polymorphic microsatel...
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California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
2013
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ftcalifstateuniv:oai:scholarworks:41687k87h 2024-09-30T14:46:13+00:00 Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Harding Scurr, April George, T. Luke 2013 http://hdl.handle.net/2148/1539 English eng California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt Natural Resources and Sciences Wildlife http://hdl.handle.net/2148/1539 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/?creator Polygymy Parental behavior Euphagus carolinus Rusty Blackbird Extra-pair paternity Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Wildlife Microsatellite Mating systems Masters Thesis 2013 ftcalifstateuniv 2024-09-10T17:06:18Z Many aspects of the breeding biology of the rapidly declining Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) are unknown. I used behavioral observations and genetic analyses to gain a better understanding of their mating system, on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA. Four polymorphic microsatellites developed for other avian species (QmAAT21, QmAAT37, Aph54, and Mp2-43) were used to assess rates of extra-pair paternity, polyandry, and egg dumping. Behavioral observations were employed to identify the social mating system and parental nest investment in relation to genetic contributions. In contrast to previous studies, my results indicate that male Rusty Blackbirds are not socially monogamous; over 15% of nests belonged to polygynous males. There was no evidence of polyandry or egg dumping, but extra-pair paternity (EPP) occurred in ≥ 33% of nests. There was no correlation between the proportion of young that a male sired in a nest and either feeding rate or nest defense. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of environmental and social factors on mating systems and the rates of polygamy and EPP in Rusty Blackbirds. Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, Natural Resources: Wildlife, 2013 Embargoed for one year from date added to Humboldt Digital Scholar (2013-05-21). Released from embargo May 27, 2014. Master Thesis Alaska Yukon Scholarworks from California State University Yukon |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Scholarworks from California State University |
op_collection_id |
ftcalifstateuniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Polygymy Parental behavior Euphagus carolinus Rusty Blackbird Extra-pair paternity Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Wildlife Microsatellite Mating systems |
spellingShingle |
Polygymy Parental behavior Euphagus carolinus Rusty Blackbird Extra-pair paternity Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Wildlife Microsatellite Mating systems Harding Scurr, April Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
topic_facet |
Polygymy Parental behavior Euphagus carolinus Rusty Blackbird Extra-pair paternity Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Wildlife Microsatellite Mating systems |
description |
Many aspects of the breeding biology of the rapidly declining Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) are unknown. I used behavioral observations and genetic analyses to gain a better understanding of their mating system, on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA. Four polymorphic microsatellites developed for other avian species (QmAAT21, QmAAT37, Aph54, and Mp2-43) were used to assess rates of extra-pair paternity, polyandry, and egg dumping. Behavioral observations were employed to identify the social mating system and parental nest investment in relation to genetic contributions. In contrast to previous studies, my results indicate that male Rusty Blackbirds are not socially monogamous; over 15% of nests belonged to polygynous males. There was no evidence of polyandry or egg dumping, but extra-pair paternity (EPP) occurred in ≥ 33% of nests. There was no correlation between the proportion of young that a male sired in a nest and either feeding rate or nest defense. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of environmental and social factors on mating systems and the rates of polygamy and EPP in Rusty Blackbirds. Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, Natural Resources: Wildlife, 2013 Embargoed for one year from date added to Humboldt Digital Scholar (2013-05-21). Released from embargo May 27, 2014. |
author2 |
George, T. Luke |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Harding Scurr, April |
author_facet |
Harding Scurr, April |
author_sort |
Harding Scurr, April |
title |
Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
title_short |
Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
title_full |
Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
title_fullStr |
Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
title_sort |
mating system and social behavior of rusty blackbirds on yukon flats national wildlife refuge |
publisher |
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2148/1539 |
geographic |
Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Yukon |
genre |
Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Alaska Yukon |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/2148/1539 |
op_rights |
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/?creator |
_version_ |
1811646364316073984 |