Nest survival for two species of manakins (Pipridae) in lowland Ecuador

Estimates of reproductive success are essential to understand life-history strategies, yet tropical species remain under-studied relative to their temperate counterparts. Here, we report nest survival probabilities for two manakin species (Pipridae). We monitored 61 wire-tailed manakin Pipra filicauda and 45 blue-crowned manakin Lepidothrix coronata nests during three breeding seasons. Both species suffered high nest failure (84%). We modeled the effects of year, nest height, nest age (for P. filicauda only), as well as nest manipulation on daily survival rates (DSR) using program MARK. DSR decreased with nest age in P. filicauda whereas a constant survival model was best fitted for L. coronata. Average DSR was 89% for P. filicauda and 85% for L. coronata. This study reports some of the lowest nest survival rates among tropical passerines and poses important questions about population maintenance.