Nouara Benslimane, Farrah Samraoui, Sarra Cheriet, Boudjéma Samraoui

Predictors of Hatching Success in Urban Eurasian Coots: Roles of Breeding Timing and Nest Characteristics

Santrauka Nest-site conditions and breeding phenology may relate to reproductive success in marsh-nesting birds, but their relative importance remains unclear. We examined hatching success in the Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) using 204 eggs from 43 nests in an urban wetland, integrating nest-scale habitat variables, initiation date, and egg volume. At the nest level, all 43 nests were analysed using a quasibinomial GLM because the initial binomial model showed substantial overdispersion. None of the four a priori nest-level predictors reached conventional statistical significance after accounting for overdispersion. Distance to open water showed the strongest negative association with hatching success (OR = 0.45, p = 0.078), whereas initiation date (OR = 0.69, p = 0.341), nest height above water (OR = 1.27, p = 0.532), and vegetation cover (OR = 1.64, p = 0.242) showed weaker evidence. At the egg level, a binomial GLMM based on 204 eggs from 43 nests showed a negative association between egg volume and hatching outcome (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.12–0.92, p = 0.033), while the nest-level covariates did not reach conventional significance. Egg outcomes were strongly clustered within nests (ICC ≈ 0.78). Overall, evidence for consistent nest-level predictors was limited, whereas egg volume was negatively associated with hatching fate.

Doi https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2026.2.5

Raktažodžiai Fulica atra; breeding phenology; reproductive ecology; nest microhabitat; wetland; Algeria

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