1
|
Yin D, Yu J, Jin J, Shen C, Zhang L, Li X, Zhang K, Wang H. Nest box entrance hole size can influence nest site selection and nest defence behaviour in Japanese tits. Anim Cogn 2023:10.1007/s10071-023-01791-0. [PMID: 37231181 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01791-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Birds have the ability to assess the risk of predation in their environment and adjust their antipredation strategies based on this risk information. However, whether nest site selection has effect on subsequent nest defence behaviour has not been studied. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the Japanese tit (Parus minor) exhibits a nest-box hole size preference and whether the entrance hole sizes of nest boxes influence the nest defence behaviour of tits. We hung nest boxes with three different entrance hole sizes (diameters: 6.5 cm, 4.5 cm and 2.8 cm) in our study sites and investigated which nest boxes were occupied by tits. In addition, by using dummy-presentation experiments, we observed the nest defence behaviours of tits that nested in boxes with 2.8 cm and 4.5 cm entrance holes towards common chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus, a small nest predator able to enter these holes) and Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris, a large nest predator unable to enter the 2.8 cm entrance hole). The tits that bred in nest boxes with 2.8 cm entrance holes exhibited more intense nest defence responses to chipmunks than to squirrels. In contrast, the tits that bred in nest boxes with 4.5 cm entrance holes exhibited similar nest defence responses to chipmunks and squirrels. Additionally, Japanese tits that bred in nest boxes with 2.8 cm entrance holes exhibited more intense behavioural responses to chipmunks than those that bred in nest boxes with 4.5 cm entrance holes. Our results suggested that Japanese tits prefer to occupy nest boxes with small holes for breeding and that nest-box characteristics influenced their nest defence behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dake Yin
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Jiangping Yu
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
| | - Jiangping Jin
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Chao Shen
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Xudong Li
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Keqin Zhang
- School of Zoological Science, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology University, Jilin, 132109, China.
| | - Haitao Wang
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
- Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun, 130024, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lee JS, Callaghan CT, Cornwell WK. Using citizen science to measure recolonisation of birds after the Australian 2019–2020 mega‐fires. AUSTRAL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua S. Lee
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia
| | - Corey T. Callaghan
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia
- Ecology & Evolution Research Centre School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - William K. Cornwell
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia
- Ecology & Evolution Research Centre School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Vernouillet A, Fortin MJ, Fiola ML, Villard MA. Do Female Songbirds Avoid a Mammalian Nest Predator When Selecting Their Nest Site? Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.571456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceived predation risk can elicit strong behavioral responses in potential prey. During nest building, songbirds exhibit anti-predator behaviors under experimental conditions. Here, we hypothesized that females of two ground-nesting songbird species, the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) and the Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), would use naturally available cues of predation risk when selecting their nest site, thereby avoiding activity hotspots of Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus), a predator on songbird nests and fledglings. Chipmunks are highly vocal, thus providing cues of their presence. We mapped chipmunk detections and songbird nests over four successive years in study plots located in mature deciduous forest of New Brunswick, Canada. Chipmunk activity varied by an order of magnitude among study plots and years. Nests were built further away from chipmunk detections than expected by chance in some, but not all, plot-year combinations. When comparing study plots, the proportion of nests built within hotspots of chipmunk activity was four times lower in the two plots where chipmunk activity was highest. Yet, we did not find clear evidence that chipmunk avoidance provided fitness benefits, possibly because this behavior procured little protection at high chipmunk densities. The persistence of this avoidance behavior in our focal species of ground-nesting songbirds might be linked to the benefits it procures at intermediate chipmunk densities.
Collapse
|
4
|
Ausprey IJ, Newell FL, Robinson SK. Adaptations to light predict the foraging niche and disassembly of avian communities in tropical countrysides. Ecology 2020; 102:e03213. [PMID: 33002207 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The role of light in partitioning ecological niche space remains a frontier in understanding the assembly of terrestrial vertebrate communities and their response to global change. Leveraging recent advances in biologging technology and intensive field surveys of cloud forest bird communities across an agricultural land use gradient in the Peruvian Andes, we demonstrate that eye size predicts (1) the ambient light microenvironment used by free-ranging birds, (2) their foraging niche, and (3) species-specific sensitivity to agricultural land use change. For 15 species carrying light sensors (N = 71 individuals), light intensity levels were best explained by eye size and foraging behavior, with larger-eyed species using darker microenvironments. Across the cloud forest bird community (N = 240 species), hyperopic ("far-sighted") foragers, (e.g., flycatchers), had larger eyes compared to myopic ("near-sighted") species (e.g., gleaners and frugivores); eye size was also larger for myopic insectivores that foraged in the forest understory. Eye size strongly predicted sensitivity to brightly lit habitats across an agricultural land use gradient. Species that increased in abundance in mixed intensity agriculture, including fencerows, silvopasture, and pasture, had smaller eyes, suggesting that light acts as an environmental filter when communities disassemble in a human-disturbed landscape. We suggest that eye size represents a novel functional trait contributing to terrestrial vertebrate community assembly and sensitivity to habitat disturbance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Ausprey
- Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Felicity L Newell
- Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Scott K Robinson
- Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Telve K, Mägi M, Lodjak J, Kilgas P, Remm J, Mänd R. Looking at the forest through the eyes of birds: A radio-tracking study of microhabitat use in provisioning great tits. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2020.103531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
6
|
Ben-David A, Shamon H, Izhaki I, Efronny R, Maor R, Dayan T. Increased songbird nest depredation due to Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) encroachment in Mediterranean shrubland. BMC Ecol 2019; 19:52. [PMID: 31847851 PMCID: PMC6918703 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-019-0270-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In recent decades, a decrease of passerine densities was documented in Mediterranean shrublands. At the same time, a widespread encroachment of Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis) to Mediterranean shrubland occurred. Such changes in vegetation structure may affect passerine predator assemblage and densities, and in turn impact passerine densities. Depredation during the nesting season is an important factor to influence passerine population size. Understanding the effects of changes in vegetation structure (pine encroachment) on passerine nesting success is the main objective of this study. We do so by assessing the effects of Aleppo pine encroachment on Sardinian warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) nest depredation in Mediterranean shrublands. We examined direct and indirect predation pressures through a gradients of pine density, using four methods: (1) placing dummy nests; (2) acoustic monitoring of mobbing events; (3) direct observations on nest predation using cameras; and (4) observation of Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) behaviour as indirect evidence of predation risk. Results We found that Aleppo pine encroachment to Mediterranean shrublands increased nest predation by Eurasian jays. Nest predation was highest in mixed shrubland and pines. These areas are suitable for warblers but had high occurrence rate of Eurasian jays. Conclusions Encroaching pines directly increase activity of Eurasian jays in shrubland habitats, which reduced the nesting success of Sardinian warblers. These findings are supported by multiple methodologies, illustrating different predation pressures along a gradient of pine densities in natural shrublands. Management of Aleppo pine seedlings and removal of unwanted trees in natural shrubland might mitigate arrival and expansion of predators and decrease the predation pressure on passerine nests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Asaf Ben-David
- School of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hila Shamon
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. .,Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA, USA.
| | - Ido Izhaki
- The Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ronny Efronny
- School of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Roi Maor
- School of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Tamar Dayan
- School of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Mouton JC, Martin TE. Nest structure affects auditory and visual detectability, but not predation risk, in a tropical songbird community. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James C. Mouton
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit University of Montana Missoula MT
| | - Thomas E. Martin
- U. S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit University of Montana Missoula MT
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Fidino M, Simonis JL, Magle SB. A multistate dynamic occupancy model to estimate local colonization–extinction rates and patterns of co‐occurrence between two or more interacting species. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mason Fidino
- Urban Wildlife InstituteLincoln Park Zoo Chicago Illinois
| | | | - Seth B. Magle
- Urban Wildlife InstituteLincoln Park Zoo Chicago Illinois
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Atuo FA, O'Connell TJ. The landscape of fear as an emergent property of heterogeneity: Contrasting patterns of predation risk in grassland ecosystems. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:4782-4793. [PMID: 28690807 PMCID: PMC5496548 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The likelihood of encountering a predator influences prey behavior and spatial distribution such that non‐consumptive effects can outweigh the influence of direct predation. Prey species are thought to filter information on perceived predator encounter rates in physical landscapes into a landscape of fear defined by spatially explicit heterogeneity in predation risk. The presence of multiple predators using different hunting strategies further complicates navigation through a landscape of fear and potentially exposes prey to greater risk of predation. The juxtaposition of land cover types likely influences overlap in occurrence of different predators, suggesting that attributes of a landscape of fear result from complexity in the physical landscape. Woody encroachment in grasslands furnishes an example of increasing complexity with the potential to influence predator distributions. We examined the role of vegetation structure on the distribution of two avian predators, Red‐tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), and the vulnerability of a frequent prey species of those predators, Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). We mapped occurrences of the raptors and kill locations of Northern Bobwhite to examine spatial vulnerability patterns in relation to landscape complexity. We use an offset model to examine spatially explicit habitat use patterns of these predators in the Southern Great Plains of the United States, and monitored vulnerability patterns of their prey species based on kill locations collected during radio telemetry monitoring. Both predator density and predation‐specific mortality of Northern Bobwhite increased with vegetation complexity generated by fine‐scale interspersion of grassland and woodland. Predation pressure was lower in more homogeneous landscapes where overlap of the two predators was less frequent. Predator overlap created areas of high risk for Northern Bobwhite amounting to 32% of the land area where landscape complexity was high and 7% where complexity was lower. Our study emphasizes the need to evaluate the role of landscape structure on predation dynamics and reveals another threat from woody encroachment in grasslands.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fidelis Akunke Atuo
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK USA
| | - Timothy John O'Connell
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
LaManna JA, Martin TE. Seasonal fecundity and costs to λ are more strongly affected by direct than indirect predation effects across species. Ecology 2017; 98:1829-1838. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 03/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A. LaManna
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit; University of Montana; Missoula Montana 59812 USA
| | - Thomas E. Martin
- U.S. Geological Survey; Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit; University of Montana; Missoula Montana 59812 USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
LaManna JA, Martin TE. Logging impacts on avian species richness and composition differ across latitudes and foraging and breeding habitat preferences. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:1657-1674. [PMID: 27723232 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the causes underlying changes in species diversity is a fundamental pursuit of ecology. Animal species richness and composition often change with decreased forest structural complexity associated with logging. Yet differences in latitude and forest type may strongly influence how species diversity responds to logging. We performed a meta-analysis of logging effects on local species richness and composition of birds across the world and assessed responses by different guilds (nesting strata, foraging strata, diet, and body size). This approach allowed identification of species attributes that might underlie responses to this anthropogenic disturbance. We only examined studies that allowed forests to regrow naturally following logging, and accounted for logging intensity, spatial extent, successional regrowth after logging, and the change in species composition expected due to random assembly from regional species pools. Selective logging in the tropics and clearcut logging in temperate latitudes caused loss of species from nearly all forest strata (ground to canopy), leading to substantial declines in species richness (up to 27% of species). Few species were lost or gained following any intensity of logging in lower-latitude temperate forests, but the relative abundances of these species changed substantially. Selective logging at higher-temperate latitudes generally replaced late-successional specialists with early-successional specialists, leading to no net changes in species richness but large changes in species composition. Removing less basal area during logging mitigated the loss of avian species from all forests and, in some cases, increased diversity in temperate forests. This meta-analysis provides insights into the important role of habitat specialization in determining differential responses of animal communities to logging across tropical and temperate latitudes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A LaManna
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Natural Sciences Room 205, Missoula, MT, 59812, U.S.A
| | - Thomas E Martin
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Montana, Natural Sciences Room 205, Missoula, MT, 59812, U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Merrill L, Baehl EM, Ripple KE, Benson TJ. Do Birds Alter Levels of Parental Investment Based on Nest-Site Habitat Features? Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Loren Merrill
- Illinois Natural History Survey; Prairie Research Institute; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Champaign IL USA
| | - Elizabeth M. Baehl
- Department of Animal Sciences; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Urbana IL USA
| | - Kaitlyn E. Ripple
- Illinois Natural History Survey; Prairie Research Institute; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Champaign IL USA
| | - Thomas J. Benson
- Illinois Natural History Survey; Prairie Research Institute; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Champaign IL USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
LaManna JA, Martin TE. Costs of fear: behavioural and life-history responses to risk and their demographic consequences vary across species. Ecol Lett 2016; 19:403-13. [PMID: 26900087 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2015] [Revised: 10/28/2015] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural responses to reduce predation risk might cause demographic 'costs of fear'. Costs differ among species, but a conceptual framework to understand this variation is lacking. We use a life-history framework to tie together diverse traits and life stages to better understand interspecific variation in responses and costs. We used natural and experimental variation in predation risk to test phenotypic responses and associated demographic costs for 10 songbird species. Responses such as increased parental attentiveness yielded reduced development time and created benefits such as reduced predation probability. Yet, responses to increased risk also created demographic costs by reducing offspring production in the absence of direct predation. This cost of fear varied widely across species, but predictably with the probability of repeat breeding. Use of a life-history framework can aid our understanding of potential demographic costs from predation, both from responses to perceived risk and from direct predation mortality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A LaManna
- Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
| | - Thomas E Martin
- US Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
| |
Collapse
|