scholarly journals Nonideal nest box selection by tree swallows breeding in farmlands: Evidence for an ecological trap?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ève Courtois ◽  
Dany Garant ◽  
Fanie Pelletier ◽  
Marc Bélisle
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Trap ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nest Box

scholarly journals Nonideal nest box selection by tree swallows breeding in farmlands: evidence for an ecological trap?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ève Courtois ◽  
Dany Garant ◽  
Fanie Pelletier ◽  
Marc Bélisle
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Trap ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes

Animals are expected to select a breeding habitat using cues that should reflect, directly or not, the fitness outcome of the different habitat options. However, human-induced environmental changes can alter the relationship between habitat characteristics and their fitness consequences, leading to a maladaptive habitat choice. The most severe case of such nonideal habitat selection is the ecological trap, which occurs when individuals prefer to settle in poor-quality habitats while better ones are available. Here we studied the adaptiveness of nest box selection in a tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) population breeding over a 10-year period in a network of 400 nest boxes distributed along a gradient of agricultural intensification in southern Québec, Canada. We first examined the effects of multiple environmental and social habitat characteristics on nest box preference to identify potential settlement cues. We then assessed the links between those cues and habitat quality as defined by the reproductive performance of individuals that settled early or late in nest boxes. We found that tree swallows preferred nesting in open habitats with high cover of perennial forage crops, high spring insect biomass, and high density of house sparrows, their main competitors for nest sites. They also preferred nesting where the density of breeders and their mean number of fledglings during the previous year were high. Additionally, we detected mismatches between preference and habitat quality for several environmental variables. The density of competitors and conspecific social information showed severe mismatches, as their relationships to preference and breeding success went in opposite direction under certain circumstances. Spring food availability and agricultural landscape context, while related to preferences, were not related to breeding success. Overall, our study emphasizes the complexity of habitat selection behavior and provides evidence that multiple mechanisms may potentially lead to an ecological trap in farmlands.

scholarly journals Double Broods of Tree Swallows in One Nest Box

Blue Jay ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Stiles ◽  
C. Neill
Keyword(s):  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nest Box

Effects of urbanization and nest box design on reproduction vary by species in three cavity-nesting passerines in the Okanagan Valley

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Dale ◽  
Matthew W Reudink ◽  
Laurene M Ratcliffe ◽  
Ann E McKellar
Keyword(s):  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Artificial Nest ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Western Bluebirds ◽  
Mountain Bluebirds ◽  
Artificial Nest Boxes ◽  
Okanagan Valley

Artificial nest boxes provide an important resource for secondary cavity-nesting passerines, whose populations may be limited by the availability of nesting sites. However, previous studies have demonstrated that the design and placement of boxes may affect the reproductive success of the birds that use them. In this study, we asked whether the habitat surrounding a nest box or the type of box influenced reproduction in three cavity-nesting passerines. We studied western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana Swainson, 1832), mountain bluebirds (S. currucoides Bechstein, 1798), and tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor Vieillot, 1808) breeding in artificial nest boxes at sites across 70 km of the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Sites varied in their degree of urbanization, from relatively undisturbed ranchland, to cultivated vineyards, to frequently disturbed ‘suburban’ habitat, and boxes varied in type of entrance (slot or hole). Western bluebirds nested earlier in vineyards, and tree swallows produced significantly fewer fledglings in suburban habitat. In addition, tree swallows nested earlier and produced more fledglings in slot boxes. Our results suggest that conservation actions for cavity-nesting passerines may depend on the target species, which in turn should dictate the appropriate box type and habitat when erecting or replacing nest boxes.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Patterns in Nest Box Occupancy by Tree Swallows Across North America

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Shutler ◽  
David J. T. Hussell ◽  
D. R. Norris ◽  
David W. Winkler ◽  
Raleigh J. Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nest Box

scholarly journals Experimental playback of natural gas compressor noise reduces incubation time and hatching success in two secondary cavity-nesting bird species

The Condor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle P Williams ◽  
Julian D Avery ◽  
Thomas B Gabrielson ◽  
Margaret C Brittingham
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Incubation Time ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Success Probability ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ecological Trap ◽  
Frequency Noise ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Fledging Success ◽  
Eastern Bluebirds

Abstract Natural gas compressor stations emit loud, low-frequency noise that travels hundreds of meters into undisturbed habitat. We used experimental playback of natural gas compressor noise to determine whether and how noise influenced settlement decisions and reproductive output as well as when in the nesting cycle birds were most affected by compressor noise. We established 80 nest boxes to attract Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to locations where they had not previously nested and experimentally introduced shale gas compressor noise to half the boxes while the other 40 boxes served as controls. Our experimental design allowed us to control for the confounding effects of both physical changes to the environment associated with compressor stations as well as site tenacity or the tendency for birds to return to the specific locations where they had previously bred. We incorporated behavioral observations with video cameras placed within boxes to determine how changes in behavior might lead to any noted changes in fitness. Neither species demonstrated a preference for box type (quiet or noisy), and there was no difference in clutch size between box types. In both species, we observed a reduction in incubation time, hatching success, and fledging success (proportion of all eggs that fledged) between quiet and noisy boxes but no difference in provisioning rates. Nest success (probability of fledging at least one young; calculated from all nests that were initiated) was not affected by noise in either species suggesting that noise did not increase rates of either depredation or abandonment but instead negatively impacted fitness through reduced hatching and fledging success. Compressor noise caused behavioral changes that led to reduced reproductive success; for Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows, gas infrastructure can create an equal-preference ecological trap where birds do not distinguish between lower and higher quality territories even when they incur fitness costs.

Effects of nest-box density on the behavior of Tree Swallows during nest building

2006 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean K. Male ◽  
Jason Jones ◽  
Raleigh J. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Nest Building ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nest Box

Nest box orientation affects internal temperature and nest site selection by Tree Swallows

2006 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Ardia ◽  
Jonathan H. Pérez ◽  
Ethan D. Clotfelter
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Nest Site Selection ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Internal Temperature ◽  
Nest Box

A comparison of the breeding ecology of a secondary cavity nesting bird, the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), in nest boxes and natural cavities

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1046-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raleigh J. Robertson ◽  
Wallace B. Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Interspecific Competition ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Second Year

Several studies concerned with mate choice, reproductive performance, and life history strategies have been conducted with secondary cavity nesting birds breeding in nest boxes. Although the need for comparative studies has been recognized, populations breeding in nest boxes often have not been compared with those breeding in natural cavities. We compared the ecology of Tree Swallows breeding in nest boxes and natural cavities to determine if nest box populations of Tree Swallows are accurate models of natural populations. Two nest site characteristics, nest site dispersion and cavity height, were similar for birds in both nesting environments. Greater cavity entrance area at natural cavities resulted in increased interspecific competition in natural populations, involving larger competitors, more species, and a greater abundance of each species. Clutch size was smaller in natural cavities compared with nest boxes, likely because floor area was smaller in natural cavities. Fledging success did not differ between populations. Disproportionately more after-second-year females bred in nest boxes, and more second-year females bred in natural cavities, as estimated by a model of Tree Swallow survivorship. Tree Swallows settle at nest boxes before natural cavities in our study area, perhaps as a result of the greater potential for reproductive success and reduced interspecific competition in the nest boxes as opposed to natural cavities. For some aspects of the ecology of secondary cavity nesters, nest boxes do not provide an accurate representation of natural populations. Therefore, evolutionary interpretations of nest box studies should be compared with observations of birds in natural environments.

scholarly journals Nest-boxes alter the reproductive ecology of urban cavity-nesters in a species-dependent way

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Sudyka ◽  
Irene Di Lecce ◽  
Lucyna Wojas ◽  
Patryk Rowiński ◽  
Marta Szulkin
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Ecological Trap ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Cavity Nesters ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
Nest Type

To mitigate the shortage of natural breeding sites in cities, nest-boxes are provided for cavity-nesters. However, these are not the breeding sites these animals originally evolved in and optimised their breeding performance to. It thus remains inconclusive if nest-boxes can provide adequate substitutes, ensuring equivalent fitness returns for breeding animals. Additionally, the majority of knowledge on the ecology of urban birds comes from nest-box populations, but no study to date directly compared fitness consequences of breeding inside nest-boxes in relation to natural-cavities in an urban context. This limits our understanding of the urban ecology of cavity-nesters and addressing its functional meaning. We investigate fitness consequences and life-history trait variation according to the nesting site type to provide a comprehensive understanding of conservation potential of nest-boxes in cities and to support/question generalisations stemming from nest-box studies on urbanization. We directly compare the reproductive performance of two small passerines, blue tits and great tits, breeding in nest-boxes as opposed to natural-cavities in a seminatural forest of a capital city using a quasi-experimental setting. We show that the effects of nest type vary between species: in blue tits, fitness proxies were negatively affected by nest-boxes (lower fledging success and fledgling numbers, longer time spent in nest and later fledging date in comparison to natural-cavities), while great tit performance appeared to be unaffected by nest type. We detected that both species breeding in nest-boxes accelerated incubation onset, but since there were no major differences in pre-hatching traits (lay date, clutch size, hatching rates) between the nest types, we attribute the fitness deterioration to post-hatching effects. Interestingly, overall breeding density of tits in urban natural-cavities was higher than observed in a primeval habitat. Nest-boxes may become an ecological trap for some species and the unaffected species can consequently outcompete them, decreasing overall biodiversity in cities. We highlight the ecological importance of old-growth tree stands, providing natural tree cavities for city-breeding animals. Due to the detected nest type-dependent variation in reproductive performance, we support the criticism regarding the unconditional extrapolation of evolutionary and ecological interpretations of nest-box studies to general populations.

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