Mobbing Behaviour, Nest Exposure, and Breeding Success in the American Robin

Behaviour ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 96 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 171-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian G. Mclean ◽  
K. Glenna Stewart ◽  
James N.M. Smith

AbstractWe tested some costs and benefits associated with variable levels of mobbing response towards nest predators by American robins. Playbacks of robin mobbing calls attracted a major predator of robin nests, the northwestern crow. This demonstrates a potential cost to robins that give mobbing calls. We then used human 'predators' to test whether reproductive success was related to mobbing intensity. We first showed that mobbing responses to humans resembled those shown to a stuffed crow. Second, we demonstrated that responses of pairs of robins were consistent at different tests at the same nest, but were less consistent between different nesting attempts of the same pair. The first result validates our experimental procedure, but the second result suggests that variation in mobbing response is partly determined by characteristics of the nest or nest site, rather than by the level of aggressiveness of the parents. When we compared mobbing responses by robins at exposed and well-concealed nests, robins with exposed nests used extreme responses (swoops and hits) more frequently than those with concealed nests. We did not, however, find an consistent relationship between mobbing intensity, stage of the nestling cycle, or reproductive success. Robins did not respond more strongly late in the nesting cycle, and pairs that responded weakly, or strongly, experienced similar levels of nesting success.

2000 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm North ◽  
George Steger ◽  
Renee Denton ◽  
Gary Eberlein ◽  
Tom Munton ◽  
...  

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Snekser ◽  
Murray Itzkowitz

Monogamy can be either long-term or serial, with new pairs formed with each breeding bout. Costs and benefits are associated with each strategy. Because biparental convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) typically switch mates, exhibiting serial monogamy, we tested for the costs associated with forcing individuals to remain with the same mate. Convict cichlids were observed over two successive breeding bouts, either with the same or a new, equally experienced, mate. Parental behavior did not differ between breeding bouts, nor did brood size. Surprisingly, fish that remained with their original partner for a second bout took significantly longer to produce a brood compared to fish that paired with new partners. New partners were also more likely to successfully produce a second brood than re-mated partners. This is in contrast to the majority of bird studies that show many benefits to staying with the same partner for multiple broods. In convict cichlids, there seems to be no benefit associated with remaining with the same partner and switching mates reduces duration between broods for both males and females, potentially increasing overall reproductive success.


2011 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee Robinette Ha ◽  
John M. Morton ◽  
James C. Ha ◽  
Lainie Berry ◽  
Sheldon Plentovich

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (11) ◽  
pp. 1533-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Jo Safran

Despite hundreds of studies, we know very little about the causes and fitness-related consequences of nest-site selection. For example, it is not typically known whether the rarely reported fitness consequences of site selection are the result of nest, individual, or nest-site variables or combinations of these factors. Reuse of previously constructed nest sites is a prevalent behavior in many animals and offers the opportunity to experimentally tease apart whether seasonal reproductive success is a function of nest, individual, or nest-site characteristics. I used observational and experimental data to test three hypotheses related to these factors in association with barn swallow ( Hirundo rustica L., 1758) nest reuse. While both nest and individual characteristics explain variation in seasonal reproductive success, nest location per se is not an important factor defining the outcome of nest-site selection. Whereas traits related to habitat and individual characteristics are likely confounded in correlational studies, my experiments demonstrate a causal relationship between seasonal reproductive success and aspects of the nest and individual, the latter explaining more variation in the model than nest characteristics. Knowledge of the relative roles of individual, nest, and nest-site attributes are important for understanding the causes and consequences of habitat selection behavior.


The Condor ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 234-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Porzig ◽  
Nathaniel E. Seavy ◽  
John M. Eadie ◽  
Thomas Gardali ◽  
Diana L. Humple ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Scott ◽  
Dean Croshaw

AbstractNest site selection is an important part of adult reproductive behavior because growth and survival of young are often affected by the local environment. In terrestrially nesting marbled salamanders, nest elevation is likely important to reproductive success because it is directly related to the time of hatching. We tested the hypothesis that females choose nest sites based on elevation and its correlates by controlling the availability of nesting cover, a potentially important factor in nest site selection which often covaries with elevation. Breeding adults were confined to field enclosures in which natural nesting cover had been removed and replaced with equal proportions of artificial cover in each of three elevation zones. In four enclosures that spanned from lowest to highest areas of a wetland breeding site, females used artificial nesting cover most frequently at low elevations. These results contrast with other studies in which intermediate elevations had highest nest densities, but are consistent with a conceptual model in which opposing selective forces result in locally adapted nest site selection.


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 2007-2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Rejwan ◽  
B J Shuter ◽  
M S Ridgway ◽  
N C Collins

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) nests were patchily distributed within the littoral zone of Lake Opeongo at two spatial scales (1 km and 100 m shoreline segments). Nest locations were recorded by snorkelling along 155 and 6.3 km of littoral zone over 4 and 11 years, respectively. The degree of patchiness was greater and occurred more consistently at the 1-km than at the 100-m spatial scale. However, the degree of patchiness was not significantly affected by 200% differences in spawning population size, implying that competitive interactions did not strongly influence nest locations over the study period. High-density nesting areas remained stationary between years at the 1-km and 100-m scales. This suggests that habitat variables having stationary spatial characteristics, influence nest site choice. Since the locations of nest patches are less stationary and less consistent among 100-m than among 1-km scale sites, influential habitat variables at the 100-m scale are either less important to the locations of nests or less stationary from year-to-year in their effects on nest distributions. If stationary nest patches are typical of spawning smallmouth bass in lakes, permanent protection of known patch locations could enhance their reproductive success.


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