Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Date
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Biology
Committee Chair
Emerson Bowers
Committee Member
James Adelman
Committee Member
Jennifer Mandel
Abstract
Interspecies interactions are strong drivers of natural selection, but their combined effects in nature are poorly understood. Here I investigate the breeding ecology of wild populations of Carolina Wrens and Prothonotary Warblers – species breeding in sympatry and occupying similar ecological niches but with contrasting life-histories. Wrens are, for example, noisy and aggressive when defending their nests and territories from potential threats and are far less likely than warblers to experience brood parasitism but more likely to experience nest depredation, especially when the density of nesting pairs increases. I hypothesize that the migratory warblers derive a fitness benefit from nesting closer to wrens through a reduction in nest depredation and parasitism. This thesis investigates (i) how these species are interacting with each other in space and time in the context of brood parasitism and nest depredation, and (ii) the potential contribution of habitat fragmentation in shaping these interactions.
Library Comment
Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.
Notes
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Green, Shelby, "Species interactions between two cavity-nesting songbirds under the threat of brood parasitism and nest depredation" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3657.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/3657
Comments
Data is provided by the student.