Ecological drivers of breeding periodicity in four forest neotropical eagles

Author(s)

Blank, Marcel Henrique ; Guimaraes Jr, Paulo Roberto ; do Nascimento, Lucas Ferreira ; Pereira, Ricardo Jose Garcia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 13, n. 1, p. 10-pg., 2023-03-16.

Abstract

We explore the potential factors that affect clutch initiation in four Neotropical large raptors (Harpy eagle-HE, Crested eagle-CE, Ornate hawk-eagle-OHE, and Black hawk-eagle-BHE) by analyzing 414 clutch events mostly obtained from captive individuals. Differences in how clutch initiation is associated with changes in photoperiod were found between HE and both hawk-eagles, and between CE and BHE. Changes in temperature at the time of clutch initiation only differed between HE and OHE, whereas changes in precipitation varied between BHE and all other species. Principal Component Analysis of these environmental cues showed that ellipses in the dataset of each species overlap, but only ellipses from CE and OHE had the same variation trends. This means that although these species live under similar ecological conditions, they exhibit three different patterns of response to environmental cues. Apparently, these patterns are not associated with phylogenetic relatedness because species belonging to the same clade do not show the same response pattern. Diet diversity analysis revealed that HE has the least varied diet, and CE and OHE the most varied diet. The fact that species who fit the same reproductive timing response to environmental cues show similar diets leads us to hypothesize that breeding in these eagles was most likely shaped by food availability. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 20/11479-9 - Generation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) in endangered wild animals
• Grantee: Marcel Henrique Blank
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 20/09286-8 - How can interactions between frugivorous birds and plants shape the color of bird plumage?
• Grantee: Lucas Ferreira do Nascimento
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 16/17158-4 - CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED CURASSOWS THROUGH INTERSPECIFIC GERM CELL TRANSPLANTATION
• Grantee: Ricardo Jose Garcia Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/14809-0 - Evolutionary dynamics in ecological networks
• Grantee: Paulo Roberto Guimarães Junior
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2