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Seasonal differences in rainfall, food availability, and the foraging behavior of Tropical Kingbirds in the southern Amazon Basin

2010; Association of Field Ornithologists; Volume: 81; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1557-9263.2010.00290.x

1557-9263

Alex E. Jahn, Douglas J. Levey, Ana María Mamani, Mirtha Saldias, Angélica Alcoba, María Julieta Ledezma, Betty Flores, Julián Quillén Vidoz, Fabián Hilarion,

Bird parasitology and diseases

Journal of Field OrnithologyVolume 81, Issue 4 p. 340-348 Seasonal differences in rainfall, food availability, and the foraging behavior of Tropical Kingbirds in the southern Amazon Basin Diferencias entre temporadas en la lluvia, disponibilidad de comida y el comportamiento de forrajeo de Tyrannus melancholicus en el sur de la Cuenca Amazónica Alex E. Jahn, Corresponding Author Alex E. Jahn Department of Biology, Bartram Hall 227, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8525, USA School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorDouglas J. Levey, Douglas J. Levey Department of Biology, Bartram Hall 227, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8525, USASearch for more papers by this authorAna María Mamani, Ana María Mamani Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorMirtha Saldias, Mirtha Saldias Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Entomología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorAngélica Alcoba, Angélica Alcoba Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Entomología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorMaría Julieta Ledezma, María Julieta Ledezma Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Entomología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorBetty Flores, Betty Flores Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorJulián Quillén Vidoz, Julián Quillén Vidoz Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorFabián Hilarion, Fabián Hilarion Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this author Alex E. Jahn, Corresponding Author Alex E. Jahn Department of Biology, Bartram Hall 227, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8525, USA School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorDouglas J. Levey, Douglas J. Levey Department of Biology, Bartram Hall 227, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8525, USASearch for more papers by this authorAna María Mamani, Ana María Mamani Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorMirtha Saldias, Mirtha Saldias Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Entomología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorAngélica Alcoba, Angélica Alcoba Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Entomología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorMaría Julieta Ledezma, María Julieta Ledezma Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Entomología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorBetty Flores, Betty Flores Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorJulián Quillén Vidoz, Julián Quillén Vidoz Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this authorFabián Hilarion, Fabián Hilarion Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Área de Zoología, Av. Irala 565, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BoliviaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 November 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1557-9263.2010.00290.xCitations: 28Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstracten ABSTRACT Little is known about the relationship between seasonal food availability and the foraging strategies of insectivorous Neotropical birds. We studied a population of Tropical Kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus), a primarily insectivorous species, in eastern Bolivia to examine relationships between rainfall, food availability, and foraging strategies throughout the year. Our study site in the southern Amazon Basin was characterized by strong seasonal variation in the abundance of the kingbird's main insect prey (coleopterans and hymenopterans), with reduced abundance during the nonbreeding season which largely overlaps the dry season. Overall, mean search times for insect prey by Tropical Kingbirds during the breeding (96.9 ± 85.6 [SD] sec) and nonbreeding (83.7 ± 91.2 sec) seasons did not differ (P= 0.23). However, during the nonbreeding season, kingbird search times were negatively, but nonsignificantly, correlated with coleopteran abundance (r2= 0.43, P= 0.16) and significantly and negatively correlated with hymenopteran abundance (r2= 0.72, P= 0.03). Although insect abundance differed seasonally, kingbird search times did not, perhaps because kingbirds forage on a greater variety of insects during the nonbreeding season or, during the breeding season, kingbird search times may be influenced by the need to monitor and defend nests as well as constraints on the types of prey that can be fed to nestlings. However, the reduced abundance of their primary insect prey and negative relationships between the abundance of those prey and search times during the dry, nonbreeding season suggest that Tropical Kingbirds in southern Amazonia may be food limited, potentially explaining why some migrate and spend that season elsewhere. RESUMENes Existe poca información sobre la relación entre la disponibilidad de comida por temporada y las estrategias de forrajeo de aves insectívoras Neotropicales. Estudiamos una población de Tyrannus melancholicus, una especie principalmente insectívora, en el este de Bolivia para examinar la relación entre lluvia, disponibilidad de comida y las estrategias de forrajeo a través del año. Nuestro sitio de estudio en el sur de la Cuenca Amazónica fue caracterizado por una fuerte variación entre temporadas en la abundancia de la comida principal de T. melancholicus (coleópteros e himenópteros), con una abundancia mucho menor durante la temporada no-reproductiva, cual generalmente corresponde a la temporada seca. En general, el promedio del tiempo durante la cual los T. melancholicus buscaron insectos durante la temporada reproductiva (96.9 ± 85.6 seg) y no-reproductiva (83.7 ± 91.2 seg) no varió significativamente (P= 0.23). Sin embargo, durante la temporada no-reproductiva, el tiempo de búsqueda de T. melancholicus para comida fue negativamente pero no significativamente correlacionado con la abundancia de coleópteros (r2= 0.43, P= 0.16) y fue significativamente negativamente correlacionado con la abundancia de himenópteros (r2= 0.72, P= 0.03). Aunque la abundancia de insectos varió significativamente entre temporadas, el tiempo de búsqueda de T. melancholicus para comida no varió, posiblemente porque forrajean sobre una variedad de insectos mas alta durante la temporada no-reproductiva, o porque durante la temporada reproductiva el tiempo de búsqueda para insectos podría ser influenciada por la necesidad de monitorear y defender al nido. También podría ser que hay limitaciones sobre los tipos de insectos que puede dar a los pichones. 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