Is this article legit?

[DebA]

I came across this snooping through the web. Just wondered if you've
heard of the author. Not sure when it was written but he seems very sure of his data. Maybe he'sa forum contributor with one of those catchy hidden member names.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migrator ... t.cfm?id=8

Deb

[Dave Reynolds]

DebA -- Not to sure the age of the story or the writer. I think some things he/she is saying can be true but not all of it. Just my thoughts.

Dave

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Deb:

The author does not cite any additional scientific studies which might prove or disprove his findings. Therefore the reader of this article has to assume the author is basing his conclusions on his study's alone. This is a dangerous thing to do as one person making observations from one colony does not make it "fact".

I bet John Barrow and Louise could disprove his statements about mate fidelity real quick based on the years of "study", via banding, they have observed at many different colony sites.

Tim

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Its hard to prove what he is saying, the sample is just too small. Therefore I am thinking that much of it is just opinions. Like always, some of it could very well be true

[Louise Chambers]

His credentials are tops, especially with martins, and his data is sound. Dr Eugene Morton recently retired from the Smithsonian, where he was a senior researcher - many of his studies and articles focused on purple martins. We've published a lot of his work in the Update, too, and he is on the PMCA's scientific advisory board.

Anyone who's played the dawnsong at their colony site owes thanks to Gene - he studied dawnsinging in martins, and the tape came from his colony site. He donated the recording to the PMCA. He's done a lot of studies of bird songs, behavior, and also did DNA studies of Purple Martins, that helped demonstrate that subadult males aren't the father of most of the young they raise.

His wife is Dr Bridget Stutchbury, who is doing the geolocator projects with Purple Martins, so he's part of that project too. He's a good guy, too.

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Based on the relationship between Drs. Morton and Stutchbury with the PMCA, I certainly understand and appreciate the response from Louise. I am not disputing most of what Dr Morton states in his article. I am merely suggesting, based on the way the article was written; lack of documentation from other supporting studies from other individuals, I would be leary of accepting any study of only one person at only one colony as fact.

Mr Morton makes the following statement in his article.

"Now, this might happen because martins form lifetime pairbonds."

If we are to accept this as fact, then many martin reference books, including statements in the PMCA archives need to be changed.

Tim

[DebA]

Aha. Ok. Wow a real behind the scenes hero. I came across the article while like so many other times I turned to martins seeking solace. This time was right after WSU lost to Louisville. :(

But the sharing of SY's not fathering their children was the issue that made me doubt his validity. I was thinking it was an article that people have to choose to have faith in. Kinda like you guys with half the crap I write.

Good day to all!

Deb

[James Rieman]

This article is a summary of a paper published in "The Condor." You can download the PDF of the original paper at the bottom of the article. There is over a page of citations in that paper. Everything in that article is consistent with what PMCA tells us about martin biology. What conclusions in this article are in dispute? Thanks Deb A for finding it and bringing it to our attention. Great read and very interesting.

[DAVE]

This is a good write up, but a little over my head. I'm not a Book Learned person but a hands on person. I have never banded Martins but I do know that I have had 1 pair for the past 5 years that come together and move in the same Gourd. These 2 have White markings that no other Martins have. Also they seem to be the Alfa pair for no other Martins bother them.
Just a hands on observation!
Dave

[Louise Chambers]

Tim,

He was just raising the possibility of lifetime pair bonds -

Mr Morton makes the following statement in his article.

"Now, this might happen because martins form lifetime pairbonds."

But the next sentence addresses what he found

I checked this out in 1984 and 1985, and found that the same individual martins rarely remate. For fifteen 1984 pairs where both pair members returned in 1985, only two pairs (13%) remated.

At our colonies, we've noted banded birds, both male and female, reusing the same cavity or gourd for more than one season, but have yet to observe any martins pairing up for more than one season. But we'll keep watching & looking - I am glad John is good about reading bands, which takes sharp eyes and patience.

[DornCounty]

I'm with Tim.. this article makes assumptions based upon one colony and seems to pass them off as norm, at least to the typical reader. Sample size is everything. I'm not a biologist but I do have a math minor. I do respect everything this author has done for the cause, but he should have stated this at the beginning.

[James Rieman]

His observations seem to be consistent with everything I have ever read about martin biology (PMCA site FAQs and archives, Louise's postings here in this forum, Purple Martin Update, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, etc.). Does anyone know of any studies of banded birds anywhere that refutes any of the conclusions in this study? I was unaware of this article until DebA posted it and would love to learn more.

What a wonderful resource we have in the PMCA and this forum!

[Don]

If you "google" "Eugene Morton purple martins" you will find many articles written by Dr. Morton concerning purple martins. If you read all of the article quoted here you will find it is actually an abstract of an article published in the Condor. One doesn't usually list references in abstracts.

I do question his observation concerning young females soliciting sexual encounters. My experience has been that those young females have not yet learned that exposing their backside to old males frequently results in a rape. I see this frequently on the platform I use for providing nesting material. The old ladies know better. If I recall correctly there was an article written concerning this topic using DNA data and it turned out that about 40% of the young produced by first year breeding females were the result of other than the male feeding the young. I do not have a reference for that info.

As for lifetime relationships...In most cases it is similar to the axes that last over 100 years. Two new heads and three new handles.