Biometry based ageing of nestling Indian Spotted Owlets ( Athene brama brama)
نویسندگان
چکیده
Biometric analysis helps in sex differentiation, understanding development and for studies of avian biology such as foraging ecology, evolutionary ecology, and survivorship. We suggest that biometry can also be a reliable, practical and inexpensive tool to determine the age of nestlings in the field by non-invasive methods. As an example we studied the biometry of wing, culmen, talon, tarsus and body mass of nestling southern Indian Spotted Owlets (Athene brama brama). Based on the growth pattern analysis using logistic growth model, discriminant analysis and CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) based decision tree, we show that biometry of nestling Spotted Owlets is an easy, reliable and inexpensive method to determine nestling age and to assess growth rate and relative nutritional status. These biometric parameters also allow us to predict their ability to initiate first flight from the nest site. This method is described here for the first time and we postulate that such charts can be devised for other avian species as well, so as to assist conservation biologists and bird rescuers.
منابع مشابه
The critically endangered forest owlet Heteroglaux blewitti is nested within the currently recognized Athene clade: A century-old debate addressed
Range-restricted species generally have specific niche requirements and may often have unique evolutionary histories. Unfortunately, many of these species severely lack basic research, resulting in poor conservation strategies. The phylogenetic relationship of the Critically Endangered Forest Owlet Heteroglaux blewitti has been the subject of a century-old debate. The current classifications ba...
متن کاملA New Record of Tracheliastes Maculatus Kollar , 1835 ( Copepoda , Siphonostomatoida , Lernaeopodidae ) on Common Bream ( Abramis Brama ( L . , 1758 ) ) in the Netherlands
متن کامل
Comparing food limitation among three stages of nesting: supplementation experiments with the burrowing owl
Food availability is an important limiting factor for avian reproduction. In altricial birds, food limitation is assumed to be more severe during the nestling stage than during laying or incubation, but this has yet to be adequately tested. Using food-supplementation experiments over a 5-year period, we determined the degree and timing of food limitation for burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) ...
متن کاملFeeding behavior and brain acetylcholinesterase activity in bream (Abramis brama L.) as affected by DDVP, an organophosphorus insecticide.
1. Bream (Abramis brama) were exposed to sublethal concentration of organophosphorus insecticide DDVP and the amount of food consumed and brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) examined in exposed fish. 2. Exposure to DDVP resulted in decreased amount of food consumed and inhibited brain AChE activity. 3. Intraperitoneal injection of the fish with cholinergic drugs, atropine and TMB-4 recovered the ...
متن کاملComparison of genetic variation of wild and farmed Bream (Abramis brama orientalis; berg, 1905) using microsatellite markers
Bream (Abramis brama orientalis) is one of the most commercially valuable fish in the Caspian Sea. The aim of this study was to compare levels of genetic polymorphism between wild and farmed Bream populations using seven microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity was investigated by studying samples collected from two regions; Chaboksar and the Artificial Propagation Center of Guilan province. Alle...
متن کامل