Reproductive Ecology of the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma Coerulescens) on John F. Kennedy Space Center/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Download or read book Reproductive Ecology of the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma Coerulescens) on John F. Kennedy Space Center/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge written by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-06-24 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1988 to 2002 we studied the breeding ecology of Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) on John F. Kennedy Space Center/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We examined phenology, clutch size, hatching failure rates, fledgling production, nest success, predation rates, sources egg and nestling mortality, and the effects of helpers on these measures. Nesting phenology was similar among sites. Mean clutch size at Titan was significantly larger than at HC or T4. Pairs with helpers did not produce larger clutches than pairs without helpers. Fledgling production at T4 was significantly greater than at HC and similar to Titan. Pairs with helpers at HC produced significantly more fledglings than pairs without helpers; helpers did not influence fledgling production at the other sites. Nest success at HC and Titan was low, 19% and 32% respectively. Nest success at T4 was 48% and was significantly greater than at HC. Average predation rates at all sites increased with season progression. Predation rates at all sight rose sharply by early June. The main cause of nest failure at all sites was predation, 93%. Carter, Geoffry M. and Breininger, David R. and Larson, Vicky L. and Oddy, Donna M. and Smith, Rebecca B. and Stolen, Eric D. Kennedy Space Center NASA/TM-2005-212562