A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Plasticity in incubation behaviour under experimentally prolonged vulnerability to nest predation
Tekijät: Morosinotto C, Thomson RL, Korpimäki E
Kustantaja: BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS
Julkaisuvuosi: 2013
Journal: Behaviour
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimi: BEHAVIOUR
Lehden akronyymi: BEHAVIOUR
Numero sarjassa: 14
Vuosikerta: 150
Numero: 14
Aloitussivu: 1767
Lopetussivu: 1786
Sivujen määrä: 20
ISSN: 0005-7959
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-00003119
Tiivistelmä
Nest predation is the main cause of nest failures in many bird species. To counter this, birds have evolved different behavioural strategies to decrease the visibility of their nests, thus reducing the probability of nest detection. We manipulated the long-term perception of nest predation risk in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by experimentally increasing the nest vulnerability to predators. We placed treatment and control nest-boxes for breeding pied flycatchers that appeared identical during the initial phase of breeding. But after the removal of a front panel, treatment boxes had an enlarged entrance hole, almost twice the initial diameter. This treatment increases actual predation risk and presumably parental perception of risk. Control boxes presented instead an entrance hole of the same size both before and after the manipulation. When breeding in enlarged entrance holes, females doubled the vigilance at the nest while males reduced the time spent at the nest, compared to pied flycatchers breeding in control boxes. Increased vulnerability of the nest site to predation risk, thus, induced pied flycatcher parents to increase nest vigilance while reducing their activity at the nest. These results highlight the existence of plasticity in incubation behaviours under long-term experimentally increased nest predation risk.
Nest predation is the main cause of nest failures in many bird species. To counter this, birds have evolved different behavioural strategies to decrease the visibility of their nests, thus reducing the probability of nest detection. We manipulated the long-term perception of nest predation risk in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by experimentally increasing the nest vulnerability to predators. We placed treatment and control nest-boxes for breeding pied flycatchers that appeared identical during the initial phase of breeding. But after the removal of a front panel, treatment boxes had an enlarged entrance hole, almost twice the initial diameter. This treatment increases actual predation risk and presumably parental perception of risk. Control boxes presented instead an entrance hole of the same size both before and after the manipulation. When breeding in enlarged entrance holes, females doubled the vigilance at the nest while males reduced the time spent at the nest, compared to pied flycatchers breeding in control boxes. Increased vulnerability of the nest site to predation risk, thus, induced pied flycatcher parents to increase nest vigilance while reducing their activity at the nest. These results highlight the existence of plasticity in incubation behaviours under long-term experimentally increased nest predation risk.
Turun yliopiston Tutkimustietojärjestelmän portaali