Combining social information use and comfort seeking for nest site selection in a cavity-nesting raptor

When selecting a breeding site, individuals can use social information to reduce the uncertainty regarding habitat quality. In particular, individuals from several bird species tend to reuse nests previously occupied by competitors. Re-occupying nests previously used by conspecifics or heterospecifics could result from exploiting social information by copying competitors’ choice (the ‘social information’ hypothesis). Alternatively, it could allow fulfilling the needs for a comfortable nest substrate (e.g. by improving thermal insulation or reducing egg breakage risks) at low costs, regardless of previous occupancy (the ‘comfort’ hypothesis). Here, we aimed to determine which of these two mechanisms triggered the preference for old conspecific nest material in a secondary cavity-nesting raptor which does not add lining materials to its nest, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). Using an experimental design forcing settling lesser kestrels to choose between two adjacent nestboxes containing different substrates, we detected a strong preference for comfortable substrates (peat moss, or conspecific or European roller old nest material) over uncomfortable mineral substrate, especially when the comfortable substrate also provided social information about previous nest use by a competitor. Despite the apparent absence of preference when directly comparing settlement patterns in comfortable substrates with and without social information, early-settling individuals favoured the substrate with social information, while late-settling ones favoured the substrate without social information. This could reflect intraspecific competition avoidance by late arriving individuals that may be competitively inferior compared to early arriving ones. This hypothesis is supported by a later laying date of young (up to two years old) breeders compared to older ones in our population. Our findings suggest that both comfort seeking and social information use explain preference for previously used nest cavities, and that nest site choices may depend on individual competitive abilities and experience.

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Behavioural traits modulate the use of heterospecific social information for nest site selection: experimental evidence from a wild bird population

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2020.0265 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 287 (1925) ◽

pp. 20200265 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jennifer Morinay ◽

Jukka T. Forsman ◽

Marion Germain ◽

Blandine Doligez

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Site Selection ◽

Nest Site ◽

Social Information ◽

Reproductive Investment ◽

Information Use ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Breeding Habitat ◽

Ficedula Albicollis ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

The use of social information for making decisions is common but can be constrained by behavioural traits via, for example, the ability to gather information. Such constrained information use has been described in foraging habitat selection; yet it remains unexplored in the breeding habitat selection context, despite potentially strong fitness consequences. We experimentally tested whether three behavioural traits (aggressiveness, boldness and neophobia) affected the use of heterospecific social information for nest site selection in wild collared flycatchers Ficedula albicollis . Flycatchers have previously been found to copy or reject an artificial apparent preference of tits (their main competitors) for a nest site feature: they preferred nest-boxes with the same or a different feature, depending on tit early reproductive investment. Here, we confirmed this result and showed that shy individuals and less aggressive old males (i.e. 2 years old or older) copied tit apparent preference, while more aggressive old males rejected the tit preference. Aggressiveness and boldness may allow males to access more information sources or affect males' interactions with dominant tits when selecting a nest site. Our study highlights the links between variation in behaviours and social information use for breeding habitat selection and calls for further work to explore underlying mechanisms.

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The Role of Cognition in Social Information Use for Breeding Site Selection: Experimental Evidence in a Wild Passerine Population

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2020.559690 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Morinay ◽

Laure Cauchard ◽

Pierre Bize ◽

Blandine Doligez

Keyword(s):

Site Selection ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Information Sources ◽

Nest Site ◽

Information Use ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Learning Performance ◽

Nest Boxes ◽

Problem Solving Task ◽

Slow Learning

In spatio-temporally variable environments, individuals are known to use information for making optimal decisions regarding where and when to breed. Optimal decision making can be complex when relying on multiple information sources with varying levels of reliability and accessibility. To deal with such complexity, different cognitive abilities such as learning and memory might enable individuals to optimally process and use these information sources. Yet, the link between information use and cognitive ability remains unexplored in natural populations. We investigated whether learning performance on a problem-solving task was related to the use of an experimentally manipulated source of social information for nest site selection in wild collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). Collared flycatchers are known to use heterospecific information from their main competitors, the great tits (Parus major). Here, we created a local apparent preference by tits for an artificial nest site feature (a geometric symbol attached to nest boxes occupied by tits) and recorded whether flycatcher pairs chose to settle in nest boxes displaying the same feature as tits (i.e., copied tit apparent preference). Using a problem-solving task requiring opening a door temporarily blocking the nest box entrance, we then measured flycatchers' learning performance during nestling rearing as the number of entrances required to solve the task and enter the nest box twice in a row below a given efficiency threshold. We found that the probability to copy tit preference decreased with decreasing learning performance in females, particularly yearling ones: fast learning females copied tit preference, while slow learning ones rejected it. Male learning performance did not affect copying behavior. Our results showed that learning performance might play an important role in the ability to optimally use information for nest site selection in females: both fast and slow learning females could process this heterospecific information source but used it differently. This could partly explain the link between cognitive abilities and reproductive success reported in previous studies. Whether cognitive abilities may modulate condition-dependent costs of using different information remains to be explored.

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Intraspecific social information use in the selection of nest site characteristics

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.12.004 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 83 (3) ◽

pp. 629-633 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Olli J. Loukola ◽

Janne-Tuomas Seppänen ◽

Jukka T. Forsman

Keyword(s):

Nest Site ◽

Social Information ◽

Information Use ◽

Site Characteristics ◽

Social Information Use ◽

Selection Of

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SPATIAL VARIATION IN NEST-SITE SELECTION BY A SECONDARY CAVITY-NESTING BIRD IN A HUMAN-ALTERED LANDSCAPE

The Condor ◽

10.1525/cond.2008.8608 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 110 (4) ◽

pp. 615-626 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

CINTIA CORNELIUS

Keyword(s):

Spatial Variation ◽

Site Selection ◽

Nest Site ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Cavity Nesting

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Different bees, different needs: how nest-site requirements have shaped the decision-making processes in homeless honeybees ( Apis spp.)

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2017.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 373 (1746) ◽

pp. 20170010 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Madeleine Beekman ◽

Benjamin P. Oldroyd

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Site Selection ◽

Nest Site ◽

Movement Ecology ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Apis Florea ◽

Collective Movement ◽

Nest Sites ◽

Cavity Nesting ◽

Species Specific

During reproductive swarming, a honeybee swarm needs to decide on a new nest site and then move to the chosen site collectively. Most studies of swarming and nest-site selection are based on one species, Apis mellifera . Natural colonies of A. mellifera live in tree cavities. The quality of the cavity is critical to the survival of a swarm. Other honeybee species nest in the open, and have less strict nest-site requirements, such as the open-nesting dwarf honeybee Apis florea . Apis florea builds a nest comprised of a single comb suspended from a twig. For a cavity-nesting species, there is only a limited number of potential nest sites that can be located by a swarm, because suitable sites are scarce. By contrast, for an open-nesting species, there is an abundance of equally suitable twigs. While the decision-making process of cavity-nesting bees is geared towards selecting the best site possible, open-nesting species need to coordinate collective movement towards areas with potential nest sites. Here, we argue that the nest-site selection processes of A. florea and A. mellifera have been shaped by each species' specific nest-site requirements. Both species use the same behavioural algorithm, tuned to allow each species to solve their species-specific problem. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Collective movement ecology’.

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Old nest material functions as an informative cue in making nest-site selection decisions in the European Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Avian Research ◽

10.1186/s40657-019-0182-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mingju E ◽

Tuo Wang ◽

Shangyu Wang ◽

Ye Gong ◽

Jiangping Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Site Selection ◽

Nest Site ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Nest Material ◽

Falco Tinnunculus ◽

Nest Boxes ◽

Cavity Nesting ◽

Selection Decisions ◽

Nest Materials ◽

Organic Remains

Abstract Background For secondary cavity-nesting bird species that do not add lining materials to nests, the presence of old nest material or organic remains that have accumulated within nest cavities from previous breeding events may be a cue of nest-site quality. These materials potentially contain information about past breeding success in con- and heterospecifics and may improve the thermal insulation of eggs during incubation. However, few studies have addressed whether the presence of old nest materials serves as a cue for cavity-nesting raptors when choosing specific nest sites. Methods We conducted a 9-year nest box experiment to test whether old nest materials from con- and heterospecifics serve as informative cues to the European Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) when making nest selection decisions, as this species uses nest boxes without adding nesting material. Results The presence of old nest materials and entrance size best discriminated nest boxes occupied by European Kestrels from unoccupied boxes. Nest boxes containing conspecific organic remains, artificial dry leaf and branch material, and material left behind by Great Tits (Parus major) were reused at higher rates, especially those containing conspecific nest material, than nest boxes containing true or simulated nest materials from predators. In 2010, no single nest box was occupied by the same banded individual that occupied the box in the previous year (10 females and 2 males were banded in 2009). Conclusions European Kestrels preferred nest boxes containing old nest material over empty boxes, which is consistent with previous findings that they exploit con- and heterospecific cues when deciding where to settle and breed, as old nest or organic material provides substrate for incubating females. Kestrels may be able to assess the predation risks associated with a specific nest site based on experience or the presence of prey remains. The repeated use of nest boxes across breeding seasons by kestrels cannot be entirely ascribed to philopatry. This study provides evidence that old nest materials are potentially used as informative cues when making nest-site selection decisions in European Kestrels.

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Selective interspecific information use in the nest choice of solitary bees

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/15707563-20191233 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 70 (2) ◽

pp. 215-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Olli J. Loukola ◽

Elia Gatto ◽

Ana C. Híjar-Islas ◽

Lars Chittka

Keyword(s):

Site Selection ◽

Species Coexistence ◽

Nest Site ◽

Information Use ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Solitary Bees ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

Nest Choice ◽

Ideal System ◽

In The Wild

Abstract Most of the studies on learning in bees have focused on the foraging context; we know little about the preferences and cognitive processes in nest-site selection, especially in solitary bees. The majority of the bee species are solitary and in contrast to eusocial bees, solitary bees’ cognition and social information use have remained largely unstudied. Solitary cavity-nesting mason bees (Osmia spp.) are an ideal system to study interspecific information use in nest choice in the wild as many species share similar nesting requirements. Here, we show that the blue mason bee (O. caerulescens) and the orange-vented mason bee (O. leaiana) examine hallmarks of parasitization of the nests of red mason bees (O. bicornis) before deciding where to establish their own nests. They were also presented with contextual cues (geometric symbols) that could be linked to parasitization by observational learning. Subjects subsequently had the choice of nesting in a nest site marked by the symbol that matched, or did not match, the one seen at the parasitized or healthy nest. We show that the bees copied and rejected the symbol of the examined nest manipulated to exhibit successful and unsuccessful nesting, respectively. We conclude that solitary bees use interspecific information in their nest-site selection. In contrast with current theories of species coexistence, niche overlap between species may dynamically change depending on the observed success of surrounding individuals.

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