Present address: Allan M. Strong, School of Natural Resources, 347 Aiken Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405–0088, USA.
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Migrants in Neotropical bird communities: an assessment of the breeding currency hypothesis
Article first published online: 11 MAR 2005
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.00928.x
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How to Cite
JOHNSON, M. D., SHERRY, T. W., STRONG, A. M. and MEDORI, A. (2005), Migrants in Neotropical bird communities: an assessment of the breeding currency hypothesis. Journal of Animal Ecology, 74: 333–341. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.00928.x
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Present address: Allan M. Strong, School of Natural Resources, 347 Aiken Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405–0088, USA.
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Present address: Amanda Medori, D. R. Horne & Co., 1800 N. Kent St., Suite 1120, Arlington, VA 22209, USA.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 11 MAR 2005
- Article first published online: 11 MAR 2005
- Received 14 February 2004; accepted 17 September 2004
- Abstract
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Keywords:
- competition;
- consumer-resource model;
- food;
- insectivore;
- migration;
- seasonality
Summary
- 1Explanations for the integration of migratory and non-migratory (resident) birds in the Neotropics have been complicated by the paradox that arthropod abundances are low when bird abundances reach their annual peak. The breeding currency hypothesis offers an explanation for this paradox by postulating that resident birds are limited in the breeding season by the availability of large arthropods suitable for reproduction, whereas the carrying capacity of all birds in the non-breeding season is limited by the availability of arthropods suitable for self-maintenance of adults.
- 2Field data from Jamaica supported this hypothesis. Among 19 sites, the ratio of migrant to resident bird abundance was correlated negatively with the ratio of large arthropod biomass in the breeding season to total arthropod biomass in the non-breeding season.
- 3However, after controlling for effects of arthropod seasonality, migrant to resident bird abundance ratios were higher in human-disturbed than undisturbed sites.
- 4Other factors may interact with the availability of food for nestlings to limit the populations of resident birds below carrying capacities set by non-breeding season arthropod abundance, thereby creating a set of resources available to non-breeding migrants.