Food-hoarding and nest-building propensities are associated in a cavity-nesting bird

Benjamin R. Sonnenberg; Carrie L. Branch; Angela M. Pitera; Lauren M. Benedict; Virginia K. Heinen; Vladimir V. Pravosudov

doi:10.1007/s00265-021-03114-0

Cavity Adoption and the Evolution of Coloniality in Cavity-Nesting Birds

The Condor ◽

10.1093/condor/104.2.240 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 104 (2) ◽

pp. 240-247

Author(s):

Jessica R. Eberhard

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Comparative Analysis ◽

Literature Survey ◽

Nest Building ◽

Breeding Systems ◽

Nesting Behavior ◽

Cavity Nesters ◽

Cavity Nesting ◽

Colonial Breeding ◽

Nesting Habits

AbstractAmong cavity-nesting birds, a distinction can be made between excavators, which dig their own cavities, and cavity-adopters, which nest in pre-existing cavities. Historically, these two types of species have been grouped together as “cavity-nesters,” but it has become clear that the two nesting habits are associated with very different suites of life-history characters. This paper tests the hypothesis that cavity-adopters differ from excavators and other nest-building species in their propensity to evolve colonial breeding. Because of their dependence on pre-existing cavities, cavity-adopters presumably have less control than excavators over the location of their nests, and this could limit their ability to nest near conspecifics. A literature survey of the nesting behavior of 842 species in 17 bird families shows that coloniality almost never occurs in species that are obligate cavity-adopters. A phylogeny-based comparative analysis of nesting behavior in the Anseriformes indicates that in this group, colonial breeding has evolved less frequently in lineages of cavity-adopters than would be expected by chance. Together, this evidence supports the hypothesis that colonial breeding systems are unlikely to evolve in lineages of cavity-adopters.Evolución de la Colonialidad en Aves que Nidifican en CavidadesResumen. Las aves que nidifican en cavidades pueden dividirse en dos grupos: las especies excavadoras, que construyen sus propias cavidades, y las no-excavadoras, que nidifican en cavidades pre-existentes. Históricamente, estos dos tipos de especies han sido agrupadas colectivamente como aves que anidan en cavidades, pero estudios recientes demuestran que los dos tipos de nidificación están asociados con diferentes caracteres de sus historias de vida. En este estudio se pone a prueba la hipótesis que especies no-excavadoras difieren de las excavadoras y de otras especies que construyen nidos en cuanto a su propensión a evolucionar hábitos de reproducción colonial. Debido a que dependen de cavidades pre-existentes, las especies no-excavadoras presumiblemente tienen menos control que las excavadoras sobre la ubicación de sus nidos, y esto podría limitar su habilidad para nidificar cerca de otros miembros de su especie. Una revisión bibliográfica sobre el comportamiento de nidificación de 842 especies pertenecientes a 17 familias demuestra que casi nunca se observa colonialidad en especies que obligatoriamente utilizan cavidades pre-existentes. Un análisis comparativo utilizando una filogenia y datos del comportamiento de nidificación de miembros del orden Anseriformes indica que la colonialidad ha evolucionado con menor frecuencia de lo esperado al azar en linajes de especies no-excavadoras que utilizan cavidades. En conjunto, estos datos apoyan la hipótesis que los sistemas de nidificación colonial tienen baja probabilidad de evolucionar en linajes de no-excavadoras que anidan en cavidades.

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Foraging extends beyond food: Hoarding of mental energy and information seeking in response to uncertainty

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18001838 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica L. Alquist ◽

Roy F. Baumeister

Keyword(s):

Information Seeking ◽

Potential Outcomes ◽

Food Hoarding

AbstractWhen an environment is uncertain, humans and other animals benefit from preparing for and attempting to predict potential outcomes. People respond to uncertainty both by conserving mental energy on tasks unrelated to the source of the uncertainty and by increasing their attentiveness to information related to the uncertainty. This mental hoarding and foraging allow people to prepare in uncertain situations.

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Red Heart Disease in Pines Caused by Porodaedalea (Phellinus) pini in Florida

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis-fr425-2019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 (1) ◽

pp. 3

Author(s):

Yin-Tse Huang ◽

Jeffrey Eickwort ◽

Jiri Hulcr

Keyword(s):

Heart Disease ◽

Forest Resources ◽

Fact Sheet ◽

Cavity Nesting ◽

Pine Species

All pine species in Florida are susceptible to red heart disease. The disease can decrease timber value and weaken trees, making them threats to people and property. In forests, however, the same disease can be beneficial to cavity-nesting animals like red-cockaded woodpeckers. This 3-page fact sheet written by Yin-Tse Huang, Jeffrey Eickwort, and Jiri Hulcr and published by the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation describes the disease and provides some tips to manage it in areas where it could cause problems for people.http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr425

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