Sentence examples for nestling competition from inspiring English sources

Hence, here we have explored the association between conspicuousness of nestling gapes (i.e., mouth and flanges) and three different variables related to level of nestling competition for parental attention.

All taken together, our results indicate that conspicuousness of nestling gapes structures were positively related to level of nestling competition as reflected by specific level of brood reduction and negatively related to body mass (Fig. 1).

However, brood reduction might be the result of parental manipulations such as hatching asynchrony and maternal effects, which allow a brood size adjustment to environmental conditions and/or create a competitive hierarchy that in some species, rather than increase, might decrease level of nestling competition [29], [50].

Starlings disadvantaged in nestling competition were fatter in adulthood.

This suggests that the experience of nestling competition has phenotypic consequences above and beyond its direct effects on growth.

In birds, nestling competition (Verhulst et al., 2006) and early-life corticosterone exposure (Spencer & Verhulst, 2008) can increase adult metabolic rate.

Thus, developmentally disadvantaged birds appeared to retain a phenotypic memory of increased nestling food competition, employing both energy storage and information-gathering insurance strategies to a greater extent than their advantaged siblings.

Although our treatment significantly affected body mass at fledging, we found no evidence that increased sibling competition affected nestling tarsus length and telomere length.

In addition to the plot variables, we tested whether our results were not caused by competition in the nestling phase, thus whether the respective brood manipulation at the nest level would change the results for plot treatment effects when included in the model.

Therefore, the predicted positive relationship between the duration of nestling period and sibling competitive aggression may not apply when trying to explain conspicuousness of nestlings gapes as consequence of sibling competition for parental attention.

This relationship was predicted since long nestling period should favor costly-aggressive competition because the substantial early investment involved in established dominance is more likely to be adequately compensated when brood mates cohabit and compete for parentally provided food for a long period [30].