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 Heterospecific song quality as social information for settlement decisions: an experimental approach in a wild bird

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Morinay ◽  
Jukka T. Forsman ◽  
Blandine Doligez
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Ficedula Albicollis ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Local Habitat

AbstractAssessing local habitat quality via social cues provided by con- or heterospecific individuals sharing the same needs is a widespread strategy of social information use for breeding habitat selection. However, gathering information about putative competitors may involve agonistic costs. The use of social cues reflecting local habitat quality acquired from a distance, such as acoustic cues, could therefore be favoured. Bird songs are conspicuous signals commonly assumed to reliably reflect producer quality, and thereby local site quality. Birds of different species have been shown to be attracted to breeding sites by heterospecific songs, but whether they can use fine heterospecific song features as information on producer (and by extension habitat) quality remains unknown. We used a playback experiment in a wild population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis), a species known to eavesdrop on dominant great tits’ (Parus major) presence and performance, to test whether flycatchers preferred to settle near broadcasts of a high quality great tit song (i.e. song with large repertoire size, long strophes, high song rate), a low quality great tit song or a chaffinch song (control). Among old females, aggressive ones preferred to settle near broadcasts of high quality tit song and avoided broadcasts of low quality tit song, while less aggressive females preferred to settle near broadcasts of low quality tit song. Male personality or age did not influence settlement decisions. Our results show that collared flycatcher females use great tit song quality features as information for settlement decisions, though differently depending on their own competitive ability and/or previous experience with great tit songs. Our study therefore further illustrates the complex condition-dependent use of heterospecific social information for breeding habitat selection.

scholarly journals Setting Favourable Habitat Reference Values for breeding birds: general principles and examples for passerine birds

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATTIA BRAMBILLA ◽  
CLAUDIO CELADA ◽  
MARCO GUSTIN
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Reference Values ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Species Population ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Range Of Values

SummarySetting Favourable Reference Values (FRVs) can assist the definition of the conservation status of a species. FRVs may consider population, habitat, and range. FRVs can indicate a range of values for different parameters, which should allow the long-term persistence of a species/population. We propose a method for the definition of reference values for the habitat (FRV-H or HRV) of breeding bird species. HRV should cover habitat extent and quality, both required to ensure long-term persistence. Extent HRV should express a measure of suitable area, whereas quality HRV could be defined as the range of values for habitat variables known to affect habitat quality. To define an extent HRV, we built species distribution models (SDMs) and set extent HRV as the extent of potentially suitable habitat under a conservative approach. Quality HRV should refer to environmental determinants/correlates of occurrence and breeding success, and should be defined by the identification of the habitat factors affecting occurrence and reproduction. When habitat selection is adaptive, habitat suitability may approximate habitat quality, being correlated with breeding success. In that case, fine-scaled habitat/distribution models may be used to identify determinants/correlates of reproductive output, and such species-habitat relationships may help define quality HRV. We show examples using the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio as a model. The use of habitat selection models, which can be made spatially explicit generating distribution models, may assist the definition of both extension and quality HRVs. Species-habitat models can allow the individuation of factors and relative values affecting species occurrence/reproduction (quality HRV), and the definition of the spatial distribution and quantity of potentially suitable habitat (extent HRV). Our approach is one of the possible ones, aiming at finding a “suitable” trade-off between affordable data and scientific precision. HRVs should be used together with population and range FRVs to assess the status of a species/population.

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

The effect of habitat selection on offspring performance in the giant water bug Belostoma bifoveolatum

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Gaston Jara
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Offspring Performance ◽  
Selection Of

The selection of breeding habitat is crucial for many ectotherms inhabiting aquatic environments. Giant water bugs offer an excellent model for analysis of how temperature affects breeding habitat selection and reproductive success. This work focuses on whether wetland temperature influences habitat selection and offspring success in the giant water bug Belostoma bifoveolatum Spinola 1852. To determine B. bifoveolatum breeding habitat characteristics, twenty-one wetlands lying on the environmental gradients of canopy cover and altitude were sampled in spring; water temperature was monitored and the presence or absence of adult belostomatids, incubating males, and nymphs were recorded. Several environmental variables were measured in sites where males incubated eggs, and compared with control sites. Field experiments were also conducted to evaluate the effect of site choice on hatching success. B. bifoveolatum Spinola 1852 was found up to 1545 m a.s.l. but reproduction was observed only in the warmest temporary wetlands, with low forest cover, from 300-1000 m a.s.l. Incubating males were found in the shallowest and warmest sites within the wetlands, where egg incubation time was shortest and hatching success highest. The selection of breeding habitat and incubation site, along with parental care, constitute important adaptations in B. bifoveolatum, and could explain its success in this cold region.

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.

Influence of habitat composition on nestling body condition and breeding success in European Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca)

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Glądalski ◽  
Iwona Cyżewska ◽  
Mirosława Bańbura ◽  
Adam Kaliński ◽  
Marcin Markowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Haemoglobin Concentration ◽  
Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
Crucial Component

The vegetation structure surrounding nest sites is a crucial component of habitat quality and may have large effects on avian breeding performance. Habitat quality reflects the extent to which the environmental characteristics of an area correspond to the preferred habitat characteristics of the species. The concentration of haemoglobin is considered a simple biochemical indicator of nestling body condition. We present results concerning the effects of variation in habitat characteristics on the concentration of haemoglobin in the blood of 14-day-old nestlings and breeding success of European Pied Flycatchers ( Ficedula hypoleuca) in a mature mixed deciduous forest in central Poland. The haemoglobin concentration of nestlings was higher when there were more native oaks and deciduous, native trees on the territory. Breeding success was reduced by the number of alien oak (the Red Oak, Quercus rubra) and other alien deciduous trees, but increased by the number of native oaks in the territory. This study was conducted on only one site so further research is needed to examine the broader applicability of our results. Our data support the idea that haemoglobin concentration may serve as a simple indicator of body condition in nestlings and is useful in field ecophysiology studies of European Pied Flycatchers.

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.

scholarly journals Does Habitat Diversity Modify the Dietary and Reproductive Response to Prey Fluctuations in a Generalist Raptor Predator, the Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo?

Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-126
Author(s):  
Marek Panek
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Common Vole ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Crop Fields ◽  
Buteo Buteo ◽  
Nestling Diet ◽  
Reproductive Response ◽  
Agricultural Habitat ◽  
Small Fields

Predators can modify their diet and demography in response to changes in food availability and habitat quality. I tested the prediction that some species can change their predation pattern, between specialist type and generalist type, depending on the complexity of habitat structure. It was hypothesized that their dietary response is stronger in diversified habitats than in simplified ones, but the opposite tendency occurs in the case of reproductive response. The nestling diet and breeding success of the Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo, the abundance of its main prey (the common vole Microtus arvalis), and that of the most important alternative prey group (passerines) were estimated over ten years in two types of agricultural habitat in western Poland, i.e., in the diversified habitat of small fields and the simplified habitat of large fields. The vole abundance was higher in large fields, but the abundance of passerines was greater in small fields. The frequency of voles in the Eurasian Buzzard nestling diet was higher in large fields than in small fields and increased with the abundance of this prey in crop fields. However, no difference in the relationship between the vole frequency in the diet of Eurasian Buzzards and the abundance of voles was found between the two habitat types. The breeding success of Eurasian Buzzards was dependent on the vole abundance, but this relationship did not differ between the two field types. It seems that the pattern of dietary and reproductive response of Eurasian Buzzards depends on the actual availability of individual prey species, which can be modified by habitat quality, rather than on relative prey abundance.

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