Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US.
Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) were extirpated from most of the continental United States by widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s. Populations have rebounded with banning of the pesticide and successful implementation of captive breeding and hacking programs. An essentially new pop...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f145557cb9b649258ee9db54dc862a8f 2023-05-15T16:10:00+02:00 Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. Isabel C Caballero John M Bates Mary Hennen Mary V Ashley 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159054 https://doaj.org/article/f145557cb9b649258ee9db54dc862a8f EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4946791?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159054 https://doaj.org/article/f145557cb9b649258ee9db54dc862a8f PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 7, p e0159054 (2016) Medicine R Science Q article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159054 2022-12-31T09:24:31Z Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) were extirpated from most of the continental United States by widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s. Populations have rebounded with banning of the pesticide and successful implementation of captive breeding and hacking programs. An essentially new population of Midwestern peregrines now exists that is comprised almost entirely of urban-nesting birds. The new population is considered to be of mixed ancestry, occurs at relatively high densities, and has nest sites in close proximity, factors that could influence breeding behaviors including mate fidelity, nest-site fidelity, extra-pair paternity, and natal dispersal. We investigated these behaviors using a combination of field observations and DNA microsatellite genotyping. Data for eleven microsatellite DNA markers, including eight newly developed for the species, were analyzed from a total of 350 birds from nine Midwestern cities, representing 149 broods collected at 20 nest sites. To document breeding behavior, parentage was inferred by likelihood techniques when both parents were sampled and by parental genotype reconstruction when only one parent was sampled. In cases where neither parent was sampled, a sibship reconstruction approach was used. We found high mate fidelity and nest-site fidelity in urban peregrines; in 122 nesting attempts made by long-term breeders, only 12 (9.8%) mate changes and six (4.9%) nest-site changes occurred. Only one brood (of 35 tested) revealed extra-pair paternity and involved a male tending two offspring of a recently acquired mate. Natal dispersal patterns indicated that female peregrines dispersed on average 226 km, almost twice the distance of males (average 124 km). Despite the novel environment of cities, our results suggest that monogamous breeding, nest fidelity, and female natal dispersal are high in urban peregrines, not unlike other raptors living in non-urban habitats. Article in Journal/Newspaper Falco peregrinus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 11 7 e0159054 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Isabel C Caballero John M Bates Mary Hennen Mary V Ashley Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) were extirpated from most of the continental United States by widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s. Populations have rebounded with banning of the pesticide and successful implementation of captive breeding and hacking programs. An essentially new population of Midwestern peregrines now exists that is comprised almost entirely of urban-nesting birds. The new population is considered to be of mixed ancestry, occurs at relatively high densities, and has nest sites in close proximity, factors that could influence breeding behaviors including mate fidelity, nest-site fidelity, extra-pair paternity, and natal dispersal. We investigated these behaviors using a combination of field observations and DNA microsatellite genotyping. Data for eleven microsatellite DNA markers, including eight newly developed for the species, were analyzed from a total of 350 birds from nine Midwestern cities, representing 149 broods collected at 20 nest sites. To document breeding behavior, parentage was inferred by likelihood techniques when both parents were sampled and by parental genotype reconstruction when only one parent was sampled. In cases where neither parent was sampled, a sibship reconstruction approach was used. We found high mate fidelity and nest-site fidelity in urban peregrines; in 122 nesting attempts made by long-term breeders, only 12 (9.8%) mate changes and six (4.9%) nest-site changes occurred. Only one brood (of 35 tested) revealed extra-pair paternity and involved a male tending two offspring of a recently acquired mate. Natal dispersal patterns indicated that female peregrines dispersed on average 226 km, almost twice the distance of males (average 124 km). Despite the novel environment of cities, our results suggest that monogamous breeding, nest fidelity, and female natal dispersal are high in urban peregrines, not unlike other raptors living in non-urban habitats. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Isabel C Caballero John M Bates Mary Hennen Mary V Ashley |
author_facet |
Isabel C Caballero John M Bates Mary Hennen Mary V Ashley |
author_sort |
Isabel C Caballero |
title |
Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. |
title_short |
Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. |
title_full |
Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. |
title_fullStr |
Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sex in the City: Breeding Behavior of Urban Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern US. |
title_sort |
sex in the city: breeding behavior of urban peregrine falcons in the midwestern us. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159054 https://doaj.org/article/f145557cb9b649258ee9db54dc862a8f |
genre |
Falco peregrinus |
genre_facet |
Falco peregrinus |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 7, p e0159054 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4946791?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159054 https://doaj.org/article/f145557cb9b649258ee9db54dc862a8f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159054 |
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PLOS ONE |
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11 |
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7 |
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