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Research Initiatives are questions to be pursued in addition to the long-term monitoring being done on control nests at each site every year. This is the home for links to each Research Initiative as it is developed. As stated in ‘Collaborative Projects’, posting on this page establishes rights (and responsibilities!) to primary authorship for publication of results following from research on these questions. Initiatives should be outlined and sent to Wink (dww4@cornell.edu) and Peter Wrege (phw2@cornell.edu) for posting on this page. Before posting, they will work with you, the initiator(s), to develop protocols, guidelines for sample size, etc., then post the initiative here and work with you to insure that the experiment or observation gets conducted correctly at as many sites as possible. |
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| Geographic Variation in the Use of Feathers for Nest Lining | ||
| Summary: | How does the extensive environmental variation in our Golondrinas breeding sites affect the numbers of feathers that are used and how they are used in the nest?
At temperate sites, the feather lining increases the nestlings' chances of survival by insulating them and keeping them warm, and chicks tend to grow faster in feather-lined nests. If this is the primary value of feathering nests, then birds in warmer climates may not need to use as many feathers in their nests. However, years ago Scott Robinson observed that Tachycineta albiventer nesting in Manú National Park in Peru used extensive feather nest-lining. This suggests that a controlled study across a wide latitudinal range will provide important insights into this interesting life history trait. |
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| Proposed by David W. Winkler - Feb. 2002 Suggested Protocal Sites Currently Interested: Ithaca, Belize |
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