La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Nesting success in two Wood Stork colonies in Venezuela
Auteurs :	J. A. Gonzalez, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Journal of Field Ornithology (70(1) WIN 1999)
Article en page(s) :	18-27
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	I studied the reproductive success of the Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) in a seasonally inundated savanna in the southern Ilanos of Venezuela. Two breeding colonies were occupied by Wood Storks during the 1989-1990 nesting season. Storks arrived at the colonies in October, and most of the clutches were laid during the second half of November. The nesting period extended to mid-March. Of the 840 Wood Stork nests counted, 30.9% produced at least one chick of fledging age. One of the colonies was abandoned during the incubation period, whereas the other produced 435 fledglings (0.66 per nest). Predation by Crested Caracaras (Polyborus plancus) and eggs falling from the nest during early stages were the main causes of nesting failure. The entry of humans into Wood Stork colonies during early stages of nesting (October-November) increased egg/chick predation by Crested Caracaras, while parents were off their nests. Limited visits when young were half grown (after late January) did not result in large disturbance effects. As Wood Stork colonies in the study area are managed for ecotourism and receive heavy human visitation, measures to minimize human disturbance of colonies are proposed.

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