Download Congregation Among Columba livia

Congregation Among
Columba livia
A Study of Microhabitat Usage
and Morning Group Assembly in a
Population of Columba livia
Columba livia
• C. livia is more
commonly known as
the Rock Dove or Feral
Pidgeon.
• It is a large very
successfully urbanized
species of the order
Columbiformes.
• It is known to form
colonies and forage in
large groups.
Study Objectives
• The purpose of this study was to examine
how concentration of individuals at 3rd St
and Campbell Ave changes over the
course of the day.
• My study was therefore designed to
attempt to detect a preference for this
location dependant upon the time of day.
Methods
• The number of Rock Doves on the stretch
of electrical wires was recorded was
recorded once every ten minutes from
6:00-8:00 AM and again from 11:00 AM –
12:00 PM.
• Once all the data was collected the Mean
and Median numbers of Rock Doves at
each time interval was determined along
with Standard Deviation.
12:00
11:50
11:40
11:30
11:20
11:10
11:00
8:00
7:50
7:40
7:30
7:20
7:10
7:00
6:50
6:40
6:30
6:20
6:10
6:00
12:00
11:50
11:40
11:30
11:20
11:10
11:00
8:00
7:50
7:40
7:30
7:20
7:10
7:00
6:50
6:40
6:30
6:20
6:10
6:00
Results
Mean Values
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Median Values
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Conclusions
• Rock Doves favor the research site more
between 6:10-7:20 AM, relative to the
other times studied.
• Variation was extremely high from
sampling to sampling.
• Early congregation appears to be
supported although only marginally.
Discussion
• Why do Rock Doves congregate?
– Predation
– Mate Access
– Warming
– Vestigial Trait
Bibliography
(1.) Coghlan, Andy. New Scientist, 12/1/90, Vol. 128 Issue 1745, p48, 4p
(2.) Danchin E., T. Boulinier, and M. Massot. 1998. Conspecific reproductive success and
breeding
habitat selection: Implications for the study of coloniality. Ecology.
79:2415–2428.
(3.) Darwin, Charles On the Origin of Species, PF Collier and Son, 1st Ed. pubilished 1859
(4.) Fuller, Richard A.; Warren, Philip H.; Armsworth, Paul R.; Barbosa, Olga; Gaston, Kevin J.
Diversity & Distributions, Jan2008, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p131-137, 7p
(5.) Gill Frank B., Ornithology 3rd Ed. copyright 2007, W. H. Freeman and Company, New
York, NY.
(6.) Haila Y., A. O. Nicholls, I. K. Hanski, and S. Raivio. 1996. Stochasticity in bird habitat
selection:
Year-to-year changes in territory in a boreal forest birds assemblage.
Oikos. 76:536–552.
(7.) Martin T. E. 1998. Are microhabitat preferences of coexisting species under selection and
adaptive? Ecology. 79:656–670.
(8.) Peterson R. T. A Field Guide to Western Birds 3rd Ed. copyright 1990, Houghton Mifflin
Company, New York NY pp 208-210.
(9.) Soldatini C., D. Mainardi, N. E Baldaccini, D. Giunchi “A temporal analysis of the foraging
flights of feral pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica) from three Italian cities” Italian Journal
of
Zoology, March 2006; 73(1): 83–92
(10.) Van Horne B. 1983. Density as a misleading indicator of habitat quality. Journal of Wildlife
Management. 47:893–901.
Questions?