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Rydgren K, Indreeide B, Slagsvold T, Lampe HM. Nest building in titmice Paridae: Selectivity in bryophyte use. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9852. [PMID: 36911310 PMCID: PMC9994477 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
In many bird species, reproductive success is dependent on nest quality. However, detailed data on nest composition are scarce, and quantitative analyses have generally used only rough categories, without species identification. Bryophytes dominate the nests of many passerine bird species, but little is known about whether birds have preferences for certain species. In this study, we determined the bryophyte species composition in nests of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus and great tits Parus major in a forest near Oslo, Norway. We also sampled the abundance of the bryophyte species in plots on the forest floor surrounding a subset of the great tit nests. Blue tits and great tits both used 15 bryophyte species as nest materials, mainly the same pleurocarpous species but in different proportions. The tits preferred highly branched bryophyte species, i.e., Pleurozium schreberi, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, and Sanionia uncinata but avoided common forest floor bryophyte species that are sparsely branched. Great tits clearly collected bryophyte species selectively. We also found that bryophyte species content in great tit nests in the same nest box in different years was very similar. Our results also indicated that the great tits collected bryophyte nest materials close to their nests, mostly within 5 m, supporting the view that collecting nest materials is costly. We review several hypotheses to explain why the tits prefer certain species of bryophytes as nest materials. These include handling costs and their suitability as structural materials. We recommend field experiments to test specific hypotheses and to study whether preferences are heritable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Knut Rydgren
- Department of Environmental Sciences Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Sogndal Norway
| | | | - Tore Slagsvold
- Department of Biosciences CEES, University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Helene M Lampe
- Department of Biosciences CEES, University of Oslo Oslo Norway
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Slagsvold T, Wiebe KL. Nest decoration: birds exploit a fear of feathers to guard their nest from usurpation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:211579. [PMID: 34804584 PMCID: PMC8596015 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Many species of birds incorporate feathers into their nest as structural support and to insulate the eggs or offspring. Here, we investigated the novel idea that birds reduce the risk of nest usurpation by decorating it with feathers to trigger a fear response in their rivals. We let prospecting birds choose between a dyad of nest-boxes in the wild, both containing some nest materials, but where one had a few white feathers and the other had none. All three species of cavity-nesting birds studied, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, and the tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor, hesitated to enter boxes with white feathers. A similar avoidance of white feathers was found when the alternative nest-box of a dyad held black feathers. However, the birds readily collected white feathers that we placed in front of their nest-box, showing the fear of such feathers was context-dependent. We suggest that naive prospecting birds may perceive feathers in nests as the result of a predation event, and that owners decorate nests with bright feathers that can be seen from the opening to deter others from entering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tore Slagsvold
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
| | - Karen L. Wiebe
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
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Danel S, Zidat T, Lucas A, Biro D, Bonadonna F. First description of nest-decoration behaviour in a wild sub-Antarctic shorebird. Behav Processes 2021; 188:104408. [PMID: 33895252 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A wide range of animal species accumulate objects in, on, and/or around structures they build. Sometimes, these accumulations serve specific functions (e.g. structural or isolating features) or are purely incidental, while in other cases the materials are deliberately displayed to serve signalling purposes (extended phenotype signals). In this pilot study, we employed systematic in situ observations and camera trapping to describe for the first time that both partners of a territorial shorebird, the black-faced sheathbill (Chionis minor ssp minor) collect, carry, and arrange colourful marine shells and dry twigs within and around their nest cavity. Our observations expand the taxonomic breadth of avian extended phenotype signals, by showing that at least one species within a largely understudied group i.e., Charadriiformes, exhibits nest-decoration behaviour. Multiple manipulative experiments are needed to explore further the signalling function of these decorations, which opens new exciting avenues for animal communication and cognition research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samara Danel
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
| | - Timothée Zidat
- Cardiff University, School of Bioscience, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 3AX, UK.
| | - Annick Lucas
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France.
| | - Dora Biro
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
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Baldan D, Griggio M. Pair coordination is related to later brood desertion in a provisioning songbird. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Kiere LM, Murphy TG, García-Muñoz A, Osorio-Beristain M. Ritualized display of a leaf: A putative agonistic signal in both sexes of a tropical bird. Behav Processes 2019; 168:103954. [PMID: 31491436 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Birds use many different signaling modalities (e.g. vocalizations, displays) to transmit information about their motivation to defend valuable resources. A handful of taxa use "props", inedible objects scavenged from the environment, in signaling. Several species of motmots (Coraciiformes) hold a leaf in their bill in a display that observational evidence suggests is agonistic. We used a simulated intruder experiment to test this display's agonistic signaling function using data from both members of pairs of russet-crowned motmots (Momotus mexicanus). If the display is agonistic, we expected territory-holding pairs to respond more strongly toward taxidermic mounts displaying a leaf. Our results showed that resident pairs reacted differently to the leaf display depending on the intruder's sex. Display of a leaf by the intruder increased the closeness of the pairs' approach when the model was male, but increased the probability of the territorial defenders displaying a leaf themselves when the model was female. Pairs spent more time responding to male models regardless of leaf display. Our results suggest that the leaf display is an agonistic signal, that territory owners react differently to the leaf display depending on the sex of the intruder performing it, and that the participation of both sexes in territorial defense-which is common among tropical resident birds-extends to this unusual signaling modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynna Marie Kiere
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
| | - Troy G Murphy
- Departament of Biology, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - America García-Muñoz
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Marcela Osorio-Beristain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
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Female incubation attendance and nest vigilance reflect social signaling capacity: a field experiment. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2423-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Rubalcaba JG, Fuentes D, Veiga JP, Polo V. Nest decoration as social signals by males and females: greenery and feathers in starling colonies. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Lyu N, Servedio MR, Lloyd H, Sun Y. The evolution of postpairing male mate choice. Evolution 2017; 71:1465-1477. [PMID: 28369908 PMCID: PMC5518233 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2016] [Revised: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
An increasing number of empirical studies in animals have demonstrated male mate choice. However, little is known about the evolution of postpairing male choice, specifically which occurs by differential allocation of male parental care in response to female signals. We use a population genetic model to examine whether such postpairing male mate choice can evolve when males face a trade-off between parental care and extra-pair copulations (EPCs). Specifically, we assume that males allocate more effort to providing parental care when mated to preferred (signaling) females, but they are then unable to allocate additional effort to seek EPCs. We find that both male preference and female signaling can evolve in this situation, under certain conditions. First, this evolution requires a relatively large difference in parental investment between males mated to preferred versus nonpreferred females. Second, whether male choice and female signaling alleles become fixed in a population versus cycle in their frequencies depends on the additional fecundity benefits from EPCs that are gained by choosy males. Third, less costly female signals enable both signaling and choice alleles to evolve under more relaxed conditions. Our results also provide a new insight into the evolution of sexual conflict over parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Lyu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100101People's Republic of China
- Department of BiologyUniversity of North CarolinaChapel HillNorth Carolina
| | - Maria R. Servedio
- Department of BiologyUniversity of North CarolinaChapel HillNorth Carolina
| | - Huw Lloyd
- Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology, School of Science and the EnvironmentManchester Metropolitan UniversityChester StreetManchesterM1 5GDUnited Kingdom
| | - Yue‐Hua Sun
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100101People's Republic of China
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Canal D, Mulero-Pázmány M, Negro JJ, Sergio F. Decoration Increases the Conspicuousness of Raptor Nests. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0157440. [PMID: 27455066 PMCID: PMC4959696 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian nests are frequently concealed or camouflaged, but a number of species builds noticeable nests or use conspicuous materials for nest decoration. In most cases, nest decoration has a role in mate choice or provides thermoregulatory or antiparasitic benefits. In territorial species however, decorations may serve additional or complementary functions, such as extended phenotypic signaling of nest-site occupancy and social status to potential intruders. The latter may benefit both signaler and receiver by minimizing the risk of aggressive interactions, especially in organisms with dangerous weaponry. Support for this hypothesis was recently found in a population of black kites (Milvus migrans), a territorial raptor that decorates its nest with white artificial materials. However, the crucial assumption that nest decorations increased nest-site visibility to conspecifics was not assessed, a key aspect given that black kite nests may be well concealed within the canopy. Here, we used an unmanned aircraft system to take pictures of black kite nests, with and without an experimentally placed decoration, from different altitudes and distances simulating the perspective of a flying and approaching, prospecting intruder. The pictures were shown to human volunteers through a standardized routine to determine whether detection rates varied according the nest decoration status and distance. Decorated nests consistently showed a higher detection frequency and a lower detection-latency, compared to undecorated versions of the same nests. Our results confirm that nest decoration in this species may act as a signaling medium that enhances nest visibility for aerial receivers, even at large distances. This finding complements previous work on this communication system, which showed that nest decoration was a threat informing trespassing conspecifics on the social dominance, territory quality and fighting capabilities of the signaler.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Canal
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Doñana Biological Station – CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Margarita Mulero-Pázmány
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Doñana Biological Station – CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
- Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, San Cayetano Alto, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Juan José Negro
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Doñana Biological Station – CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Fabrizio Sergio
- Department of Conservation Biology, Doñana Biological Station – CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
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Rubalcaba JG, Polo V, Maia R, Rubenstein DR, Veiga JP. Sexual and natural selection in the evolution of extended phenotypes: the use of green nesting material in starlings. J Evol Biol 2016; 29:1585-92. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. G. Rubalcaba
- Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica; Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación; Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; Móstoles Madrid Spain
| | - V. Polo
- Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica; Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación; Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; Móstoles Madrid Spain
| | - R. Maia
- Department of Ecology; Evolution and Environmental Biology; Columbia University; New York NY USA
| | - D. R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology; Evolution and Environmental Biology; Columbia University; New York NY USA
| | - J. P. Veiga
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; CSIC; Madrid Spain
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Males feed their mates more and take more risks for nestlings with larger female-built nests: an experimental study in the Nuthatch Sitta europaea. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2122-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Abstract
Selective pressures imposed by pathogenic microorganisms to embryos have selected in hosts for a battery of antimicrobial lines of defenses that includes physical and chemical barriers. Due to the antimicrobial properties of volatile compounds of green plants and of chemicals of feather degrading bacteria, the use of aromatic plants and feathers for nest building has been suggested as one of these barriers. However, experimental evidence suggesting such effects is scarce in the literature. During two consecutive years, we explored experimentally the effects of these nest materials on loads of different groups of bacteria (mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus and Enterococcus) of eggshells in nests of spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) at the beginning and at the end of the incubation period. This was also explored in artificial nests without incubation activity. We also experimentally increased bacterial density of eggs in natural and artificial nests and explored the effects of nest lining treatments on eggshell bacterial load. Support for the hypothetical antimicrobial function of nest materials was mainly detected for the year and location with larger average values of eggshell bacterial density. The beneficial effects of feathers and plants were more easily detected in artificial nests with no incubation activity, suggesting an active role of incubation against bacterial colonization of eggshells. Pigmented and unpigmented feathers reduced eggshell bacterial load in starling nests and artificial nest boxes. Results from artificial nests allowed us to discuss and discard alternative scenarios explaining the detected association, particularly those related to the possible sexual role of feathers and aromatic plants in starling nests. All these results considered together confirm the antimicrobial functionality mainly of feathers but also of plants used as nest materials, and highlight the importance of temporally and geographically environmental variation associated with risk of bacterial proliferation determining the strength of such effects. Because of costs associated to nest building, birds should adjust nest building effort to expected bacterial environments during incubation, a prediction that should be further explored.
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Cline MH, Hatt JL, Conroy MJ, Cooper RJ. Experimental evidence for a phenotypic trait as an age-dependent intrasexual social signal between familiar individuals. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Griggio M. An experimental test on time constraint and sexual conflict over parental care. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:3622-7. [PMID: 26380691 PMCID: PMC4567866 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2015] [Revised: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 06/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Because parental care is costly, a sexual conflict between parents over parental investment is expected to arise. Parental care behavior is an adaptive decision, involving trade-offs between remating, and consequently desertion of the brood, and continuing parental effort. If the main advantage of desertion is remating, then this will be a time constraint, because the deserting individual will require a certain minimum period of time to breed again in the same breeding season. So, a short breeding season should force certain individuals to desert the first brood to have enough time to successfully complete their second breeding attempt. The rock sparrow, Petronia petronia, is an unusual species in which brood desertion can occur in both sexes and the breeding season is quite short so it is a good species to investigate the role of time constraint on brood desertion. For 3 years, I investigated the brood desertion modality of the rock sparrow. Then, for 2 years, I removed a group of experimental nest boxes during the autumn. Later, I re-installed the experimental nest boxes after the start of the breeding season (2 weeks after the first egg was laid), mimicking a shortening of the breeding season for the (experimental) pairs that used experimental nest boxes. I found that in the experimental pairs, the percentage of deserting individuals was significantly higher than in the control groups, and the deserting individuals were older females. This experiment adds to our knowledge of timing of reproduction effects on individual decisions to desert by showing that a short and delayed breeding season may have different effects on males and females. To my knowledge, this is the first experimental study that demonstrates a direct link between time constraint and brood desertion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Griggio
- Department of Biology, University of Padova Via U. Bassi 58/B, I-35131, Padova, Italy
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