Assessing the influence of geography, land cover and host species on the local abundance of a generalist brood parasite, the brownheaded cowbird
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چکیده
Aim The brown-headed cowbird is an obligate brood parasite known to exploit a large number of host species and use a variety of habitats. Much attention has been directed towards uncovering the fundamental factors that affect cowbird abundance; however, no study has evaluated these factors in the context of a biogeographic-scale analysis that takes into account spatial autocorrelation. Our primary objective was to compare the relative influence of geography, land cover and host species on the local abundance of cowbirds.
منابع مشابه
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Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are the most widespread avian brood parasite in North America, laying their eggs in the nests of approximately 250 host species that raise the cowbird nestlings as their own. It is currently unknown how these heterospecific hosts influence the cowbird gut microbiota relative to other factors, such as the local environment and genetics. We test a Nature Hyp...
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تاریخ انتشار 2014