Presentation Details
| Understanding factors advancing breeding phenology in urban birds Carolina L Villalona, Mikus Abolins-Abols. University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA |
Abstract
Breeding timing in seasonally breeding vertebrates depends on primary and secondary environmental cues to initiate the hormonal cascades that drive reproductive physiology and behavior. In many diurnal birds, daylength serves as the primary cue, while temperature and food availability are supplemental cues. In our nest initiation survey of American Robins (Turdus migratorious), we found that the first nest in urban areas came on average 3 weeks earlier than the first nest in rural areas. Artificial light at night (ALAN), even at very low intensities, can advance reproductive physiology by up to a month in closely related European Blackbirds. However, the predictive importance of ALAN relative to other environmental variables that serve as supplemental cues is not well understood. Using GIS data, I will quantify ALAN, land surface temperature, vegetation cover, and number of consecutive days above 0°C in spring of 2025 and 2026. Combined with survey data from the past two years I will use model comparison approaches to estimate the relative importance of these variables on nest initiation date.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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