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1 May 2008 The Effects of Food Supplementation on Extraterritorial Behavior in Female Northern Cardinals
Sheena K. Humbird, Diane L. H. Neudorf
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Abstract

We tested how food supplementation affects extraterritorial behavior in the socially monogamous Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Assuming extraterritorial movements are energetically costly, we predicted that if these movements function for gaining extra-pair matings, females on supplemented territories would spend more time off territory, make more extraterritorial forays, and have larger home ranges in relation to territory size than those on unsupplemented territories. If extraterritorial movements function for foraging purposes, then supplemented females should spend less time off territory, make fewer forays, and have smaller home ranges than unsupplemented females as a result of plentiful food on their home territories. We radio-tracked seven females during their fertile periods and found a trend for supplemented females to make more extraterritorial forays and spend more time off territory than unsupplemented females; however, there was no significant difference in home range sizes between treatment groups. Our findings provide some support for the extra-pair copulation function of extraterritorial movements in female Northern Cardinals.

Sheena K. Humbird and Diane L. H. Neudorf "The Effects of Food Supplementation on Extraterritorial Behavior in Female Northern Cardinals," The Condor 110(2), 392-395, (1 May 2008). https://doi.org/10.1525/cond.2008.8427
Received: 12 July 2007; Accepted: 1 April 2008; Published: 1 May 2008
KEYWORDS
Cardinalis cardinalis
extra-pair copulation
home range
northern cardinal
radio-telemetry
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