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Huge AC, Adreani NM, Colombelli-Négrel D, Akçay Ç, Common LK, Kleindorfer S. Age effects in Darwin's finches: older males build more concealed nests in areas with more heterospecific singing neighbors. JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY 2023; 165:179-191. [PMID: 38225937 PMCID: PMC10787676 DOI: 10.1007/s10336-023-02093-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
Nesting success tends to increase with age in birds, in part because older birds select more concealed nest sites based on experience and/or an assessment of prevailing predation risk. In general, greater plant diversity is associated with more biodiversity and more vegetation cover. Here, we ask if older Darwin's finch males nest in areas with greater vegetation cover and if these nest sites also have greater avian species diversity assessed using song. We compared patterns in Darwin's Small Tree Finch (Camarhynchus parvulus) and Darwin's Small Ground Finch (Geospiza fuliginosa) as males build the nest in both systems. We measured vegetation cover, nesting height, and con- vs. heterospecific songs per minute at 55 nests (22 C. parvulus, 33 G. fuliginosa). As expected, in both species, older males built nests in areas with more vegetation cover and these nests had less predation. A novel finding is that nests of older males also had more heterospecific singing neighbors. Future research could test whether older males outcompete younger males for access to preferred nest sites that are more concealed and sustain a greater local biodiversity. The findings also raise questions about the ontogenetic and fitness consequences of different acoustical experiences for developing nestlings inside the nest. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10336-023-02093-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia C. Huge
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Nicolas M. Adreani
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Çağlar Akçay
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Lauren K. Common
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, 5001 Australia
| | - Sonia Kleindorfer
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, 5001 Australia
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Kleindorfer S, Colombelli‐Négrel D, Common LK, O’Connor JA, Peters KJ, Katsis AC, Dudaniec RY, Sulloway FJ, Adreani NM. Functional traits and foraging behaviour: avian vampire fly larvae change the beak and fitness of their Darwin’s finch hosts. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kleindorfer
- College of Science and Engineering Flinders University Adelaide Australia
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition and Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | | | - Lauren K. Common
- College of Science and Engineering Flinders University Adelaide Australia
| | | | - Katharina J. Peters
- College of Science and Engineering Flinders University Adelaide Australia
- Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Anthropology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- School of Earth and Environment Christchurch New Zealand
| | - Andrew C. Katsis
- College of Science and Engineering Flinders University Adelaide Australia
| | | | | | - Nicolas M. Adreani
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition and Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
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How the little finches that amazed Darwin battle a vampire fly. Nature 2021. [PMID: 34912060 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-021-03684-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Nesting Success and Nesting Height in the Critically Endangered Medium Tree Finch (Camarhynchus pauper). BIRDS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/birds2040032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
When different introduced species across trophic levels (parasite, predator) invade island systems, they may pose significant threats to nesting birds. In this study, we measure nesting height and infer causes of offspring mortality in the critically endangered Medium Tree Finch (Camarhynchus pauper), an island endemic restricted to Floreana Island on the Galápagos Archipelago. Considering all nests at which a male built a nest, sang and attempted to attract a female (n = 222 nests), only 10.4% of nests produced fledglings (5% of nests had total fledging success, 5.4% of nests had partial fledging success). Of the 123 nests chosen by a female, 18.7% produced fledglings and of 337 eggs laid, 13.4% produced fledglings. Pairing success was higher for older males, but male age did not predict nesting success. All nests with chicks were infested with avian vampire fly larvae (Philornis downsi). We attributed the cause of death to avian vampire fly if chicks were found dead in the nest with fly larvae or pupae (45%) present. We inferred avian (either Asio flammeus galapagoensis or Crotophaga ani) predation (24%) if the nest was empty but dishevelled; and black rat (Rattus rattus) predation (20%) if the nest was empty but undamaged. According to these criteria, the highest nests were depredated by avian predators, the lowest nests by rats, and intermediate nests failed because of avian vampire fly larvae. In conclusion, there is no safe nesting height on Floreana Island under current conditions of threats from two trophic levels (introduced parasitic dipteran, introduced mammalian/avian predators; with Galápagos Short-Eared Owls being the only native predator in the system).
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