האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM EFFECT OF NEST-SITE MICROCLIMATIC CONDITIONS ON NESTING SUCCESS IN THE LESSER KESTREL (FALCO NAUMANNI) By ORLI BOBEK, ADIV GAL, DAVID SALTZ AND UZI MOTRO Discussion Paper # 721 (July 2018) מרכז פדרמן לחקר הרציונליות THE FEDERMANN CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RATIONALITY Feldman Building, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Jerusalem 91904, Israel PHONE: [972]-2-6584135 FAX: [972]-2-6513681 E-MAIL:
[email protected] URL: http://www.ratio.huji.ac.il/ Effect of nest-site microclimatic conditions on nesting success in the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) Orli Bobek Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel Adiv Gal Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel David Saltz Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boker Campus 84990, Israel Uzi Motro1 Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Department of Statistics, and The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel 1 Corresponding author. Email address:
[email protected] Key Words: Lesser Kestrel, Falco naumanni, Nest Microclimate, Nesting Success, Nest-site Selection, Nesting Boxes. 2 ABSTRACT Capsule: Microclimatic conditions in the nest of the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), particularly the percentage of time of extremely low humidity, affect breeding success. Aim: (1) To study the effect of within-nest temperature and humidity on nest productivity, and the correlation between nest productivity and the order of dates on which nests were occupied by the parents.