Behavioral ecology of coloniality in the Hispaniolan Woodpecker

Abstract

The Hispaniolan Woodpecker (Melanerpes striatus), a facultative colonial breeder, was studied in the Dominican Republic with the following objectives, corresponding to the three chapters of this dissertation: (1) to identify the ecological resources that explain variation in colony size; (2) to test the effects of colony size on reproductive success, aiming to differentiate between hypotheses of grouping for socially derived benefits and aggregations driven by the spatiotemporal clustering of resources; and (3) to determine whether coloniality influences the genetic mating system by increasing the occurrence of conspecific brood parasitism and extra-pair paternity.