Meeting Abstract

P3.112  Thursday, Jan. 6  Incubation behavior of a tropical montane hummingbird, Doryfera ludovicae HANAUER, Rachel E.*; LONDONO, Gustavo A.; Indiana University; University of Florida rhanauer@indiana.edu

Avian incubation presents a trade-off between embryo development and adult self-maintenance. The energy and time investment of incubation is expensive for any bird, but it presents a special challenge to hummingbirds because of their high metabolic rate, nectivorous diet, and the relatively small thermal inertia of their tiny eggs. Nevertheless, hummingbirds have adapted to nesting in the cool climate of tropical montane forests, where they are notably abundant and diverse. How do hummingbirds use behavior to negotiate these thermal challenges? We investigated this question in Doryfera ludovicae, the Green-Fronted Lancebill, in humid montane forest in southeastern Peru. We used temperature sensors and HOBO dataloggers to monitor 11 nests between 2008 and 2009. Analysis of temperature inside the nest compared to ambient temperature outside the nest will allow us to explore how number and length of incubation and foraging bouts are related to ambient temperature and stage of the incubation period. We also provide data on nest composition and thermal properties, nestling growth, nestling thermoregulation, and nestling feeding behavior. This is the first detailed examination of incubation behavior in this species, and we hope to provide new insights into the nesting biology of hummingbirds by examining the interaction between ambient temperature and incubation behavior.