Breeding season
Encyclopedia
The breeding season is the most suitable season, usually with favourable conditions and abundant food and water, for breeding
Breeding in the wild
Breeding in the wild is the natural process of animal reproduction occurring in the natural habitat of a given species. This terminology is distinct from animal husbandry or breeding of species in captivity...

 among some wild animals and birds (wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

). Species with a breeding season have naturally evolved to have sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...

 during a certain time of year in order to achieve the best reproductive success. Different species of wild animal and birds have different breeding seasons according to their particular habitat requirements and food availability. Abiotic factors such as the timing of seasonal rains and winds can also play an important role in breeding onset and success.(C.Michael Hogan. 2010)

Communal breeding

Many species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 breed in colonies or large communities which is known as communal breeding. It is common to see large congregations of these species in particular favourable locations in their breeding seasons. These breeding colonies and their location are generally protected by wildlife conservation laws to keep the species from going extinct. Some species have evolved for communal breeding in large breeding colonies and can not breed in smaller numbers or pairs alone. These species can be threatened by imminent extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...

 if they are hunted on their breeding grounds or if their breeding colonies are destroyed. The Passenger pigeon
Passenger Pigeon
The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...

 is a famous example of probably the most numerous land bird on the American continent which had evolved for communal breeding that went extinct due to large scale hunting in its communal breeding grounds during the breeding season and its inability to breed in smaller numbers.(Jerram L. Brown. 1978)

See also

  • Hunting season
    Hunting season
    A hunting season is the time when it is legal to hunt and kill a particular species.In the United States, each state has primary responsibility and authority over the hunting of wildlife that resides within state boundaries. State wildlife agencies that sell hunting licenses are the best source of...

  • Reproduction
  • Mating system
    Mating system
    A mating system is a way in which a group is structured in relation to sexual behaviour. The precise meaning depends upon the context. With respect to higher animals, it specifies which males mate with which females, under which circumstances; recognised animal mating systems include monogamy,...

  • Habitat
    Habitat
    * Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

  • Ecology
    Ecology
    Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

  • Ecosystem
    Ecosystem
    An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

  • Habitat conservation
    Habitat conservation
    Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...

  • Habitat fragmentation
    Habitat fragmentation
    Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...

  • Endangered species
    Endangered species
    An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

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