Secondary dispersal and philopatry in cooperatively breeding Acorn Woodpeckers

AOS Student Research Grant Seminar

Presenter: Chi Wei, Ph.D. student, Old Dominion University; 2023 Student Research Grant
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While natal dispersal in birds has been relatively well studied, secondary movement patterns (i.e., when a bird disperses from a breeding territory) remain less explored in social species. Using a 57-year dataset of Acorn Woodpeckers at Hastings Natural History Reservation (California, USA), I examine how demographic and ecological factors shape secondary movement decisions across breeding individuals, including how some breeders return to their natal territory.

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