Nest-site selection in endemic and/or endangered birds in the Cerrado of Itirapina Ecological Station, SP

• Grant number: 11/16681-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Jose Carlos Motta Junior
• Grantee: Maikon de Souza Freitas
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

As the birds select the habitat for reproduction remains one of the central questions of ecology of these animals. The choice of nesting sites often minimizes the detection and, consequently, the risk of nest predation, which may contribute as an additional factor to high reproductive success. The decrease of suitable sites for nesting in the environment can be a critical factor that determines the local extinction of many species of birds. The aim are to verify whether the nest-site used by the birds according to vegetation structure and soil exposure differ from those non-used sites available in cerrado; whether the birds avoid or using sites with exotic grass invaders to nesting and if the features and structure of nest-sites can be used as model to predict the studied species occurrence in cerrado area. The research will conducted in Itirapina´s Ecological Station, where 38 (16,4%) of bird species are in endangered species list for the São Paulo State and/or are endemic of the Cerrado Dominion. Tours will be held monthly in the study area to nest localizations and sampling features of vegetation. To nest-sites selection data analysis will be used to test Mann-Whitney U examining whether the birds use different structural characteristics of vegetation according to their occurrence in the cerrado. Finally, it will be then used logistic regression models of choice using the "Akaike's Information Criterion" (AIC) to examine which variables explain the occurrence of nests. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FREITAS, MAIKON S.; MEDOLAGO, CESAR A. B.; COSTA, MARIELLEN C.; TELLES, MARINA; FRANCISCO, MERCIVAL R.; CARLOS MOTTA-JUNIOR, JOSE. First description of nests, eggs, and nestlings of the Pearly-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila pileata). Wilson Journal of Ornithology, v. 130, n. 3, p. 823-828, SEP 2018. (11/16681-1)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

FREITAS, Maikon de Souza. Breeding biology, nest-side selection and reproductive sucess in cerrado grassland birds in the Ecological Station of Itirapina, SP. 2014. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) São Paulo.