3. RESULTS
The mean, minimum and maximum ln transformed values of the bacterial
loads in the entrance hole and the interior bacterial loads of the nest
box in the parkland and forest, occupied for breeding and empty in the
previous year, are given in Tables 1 and 2.
The mean entrance hole bacterial load differed significantly between the
study areas and was higher in the forest study area (Table 1, Table 3,
Fig.1). Similarly, the interior bacterial load of the nest box differed
significantly between the nest boxes occupied and unoccupied in the
previous year (which was higher in the nest boxes occupied in the
previous season), but the difference was significant only in the forest
study area (Table 2, Table 3, Fig.2).
The correlation between the entrance bacterial load and the interior
bacterial load was non-significant in the parkland study area and in the
forest study area (r = 0.41, p = 0.075 and r = -0.43, p = 0.129,
respectively).
FIGURE 1. Mean (± standard errors) entrance hole bacterial load
in the nest boxes occupied and unoccupied in the previous season in two
study areas
FIGURE 2. Mean (± standard errors) nest box interior bacterial
load in the nest boxes occupied and unoccupied in the previous season in
two study areas