INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF PARASITEMIA AND RESOURCE AVAILABILITY ON REPRODUCTION IN GREAT TITS

Date

2025-8-13

Author

Kılınç, Kadirhan

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Studying how parasitic infections and environmental conditions interact to shape reproductive strategies is crucial to understand avian life-history evolution. Here, we investigated the combined effects of avian haemosporidian parasites and food availability on nest success, parental effort, and nestling development in a long-term monitored Great Tit (Parus major) population in METU, Turkey. Guided by the Terminal Investment Hypothesis, we tested four predictions: (1) Infected nestlings would exhibit poorer body condition, (2) infected females would increase reproductive effort, (3) infected mothers would raise nestlings in better condition and with faster growth, and (4) food limitation would reduce nestling growth and condition. All sampling was conducted across three distinct study sites within METU, comprising 59 artificial nest boxes, which were monitored every five days during the breeding season since 2024. Our findings provide partial support for terminal investment: Clutch size increased in infected females, but overall reproductive success was explained only by site effects. Infected nestlings grew faster, although their body condition at day 15 depended strongly on site and brood size, while food availability was only weakly and positively related. These results demonstrate that both parasitic stress and environmental context influence reproductive strategies, but not always in predicted directions. This study highlights the importance of considering both biotic and environmental factors in understanding host–parasite interactions and life-history trade-offs in wild bird populations.

Subject Keywords

Breeding Ecology, Terminal Investment Hypothesis, Avian Blood Parasites, Nest Success, Great Tit, Üreme Ekolojisi, Terminal Yatırım Hipotezi, Kuş Kan Parazitleri, Yuva Başarısı, Büyük Baştankara

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115598

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis