Several species use the number of young produced as public information (PI) to assess breeding site quality. PI is inaccessible for synchronously breeding birds because nests are empty by the time the young can collect this information. We investigate if location cues are the next best source of inadvertent social information (ISI) used by young prospectors during breeding site choice. We experimentally deployed ISI as decoys and song playbacks of breeding males in suitable and sub-optimal habitats during pre-and postbreeding periods, and monitored territory establishment during the subsequent breeding season for a social, bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), and a more solitary species, Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni ). The sparrows did not respond to treatments, but bobolinks responded strongly to post-breeding location cues, irrespective of habitat quality. The following year, 17/20 sub-optimal plots to which bobolink males were recruited were defended for at least two weeks, indicating that song heard the previous year could exert a 'carry-over attraction' effect on conspecifics the following year. Sixteen recruited males were natal dispersers, as expected when animals have little opportunity to directly sample their natal habitat quality. We suggest that differences in breeding synchronicity may induce an equivalent clinal distribution of ISI use.

To maximize fitness, organisms must assess and select suitable habitat. Early research studying birds suggested that organisms consider primarily vegetation structural cues in their habitat choices. We show that experimental exposure to singing in the post-breeding period provides a social cue that is used for habitat selection the following year by a migrant songbird, the black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens). Our experimental social cues coerced individuals to adopt territories in areas of very poor habitat quality where individuals typically do not occur. This indicates that social information can override typical associations with vegetation structure. We demonstrate that a strong settlement response was elicited because post-breeding song at a site is highly correlated with reproductive success. These results constitute a previously undocumented, but highly parsimonious mechanism for the inadvertent transfer of reproductive (public) information from successful breeders to dispersers. We hypothesize that post-breeding song is a pervasive and reliable cue for species that communicate vocally, inhabit temporally autocorrelated environments, produce young asynchronously and/or abandon territories after reproductive failure.

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Numerous studies have confirmed that when selecting habitat birds can use social information acquired from observing other individuals, and many aspects of this social information can be capitalized upon to manage bird populations. The conservation implications of attraction to conspecifics are especially promising for management, and as research progresses it is important to consider how this behavior can be applied to conservation practice. The biological underpinnings of conspecific attraction and the repercussions of manipulating species' distributions with attraction methods are not well understood, but conservation decisions often cannot wait for scientific research. Here we synthesize the current research on manipulation of songbirds by conspecific-attraction methods and review our knowledge gaps critically. We reviewed the published literature on conspecific-attraction experiments in songbirds and found that of 24 studies in which they were attempted, 20 were successful in attracting birds. Although many experiments have been successful in attracting conspecifics with various cues, we outline issues to be considered before songbirds are manipulated by attraction methods, and we highlight areas of research necessary to enhance the understanding of conspecific attraction and its use in conservation.Resumen. Se ha confirmado mediante numerosos estudios que las aves pueden utilizar información social adquirida mediante la observación de otros individuos al seleccionar el hábitat y muchos aspectos de esta información social pueden emplearse para manejar las poblaciones de aves. Las implicaciones de la atracción entre individuos coespecíficos para la conservación son especialmente promisorias para el manejo y a medida que la investigación progresa es importante considerar cómo se puede aplicar este comportamiento a la conservación en la práctica. Las bases biológicas de la atracción entre individuos coespecíficos y las repercusiones de manipular la distribución de las especies mediante métodos de atracción no se entienden adecuadamente, pero las decisiones de conservación a menudo no pueden esperar al desarrollo de investigaciones científicas. En este trabajo, sintetizamos la investigación actual sobre la manipulación de aves canoras mediante métodos de atracción de individuos coespecíficos y revisamos nuestros baches en el conocimiento de forma crítica. Revisamos la literatura publicada sobre experimentos de atracción de individuos coespecíficos en aves canoras y encontramos que, de 24 estudios en los que éstos fueron emprendidos, 20 tuvieron éxito atrayendo a las aves. Aunque muchos experimentos han tenido éxito atrayendo individuos coespecíficos usando varias señales, esbozamos algunos asuntos que deben considerarse antes de manipular a las aves canoras mediante métodos de atracción. Además, resaltamos áreas en las que es necesario realizar investigaciones para mejorar el entendimiento de la atracción de individuos coespecíficos y su uso en conservación.

Numerous environmental pressures have precipitated long-term population reductions of many insect species. Population declines in aerially foraging insectivorous birds have also been detected, but the cause remains unknown partly because of a dearth of long-term monitoring data on avian diets. Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are a model aerial insectivore to fill such information gaps because their roosting behaviour makes them easy to sample in large numbers over long time periods. We report a 48-year-long (1944 -1992) dietary record for the chimney swift, determined from a well-preserved deposit of guano and egested insect remains in Ontario (Canada). This unique archive of palaeo-environmental data reflecting past chimney swift diets revealed a steep rise in dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites, which were correlated with a decrease in Coleoptera remains and an increase in Hemiptera remains, indicating a significant change in chimney swift prey. We argue that DDT applications decimated Coleoptera populations and dramatically altered insect community structure by the 1960s, triggering nutritional consequences for swifts and other aerial insectivores.

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We review the role of biogeochemical signatures, such as stable isotopes and trace elements, in the cornified claw tissue as a means of studying movement and foraging behaviour of vertebrates because this approach is noninvasive and can capture contemporary and historic signatures. Because biogeochemical techniques are still relatively new in studies of animal movement, we are only beginning to understand how the growth patterns of the cornified claw sheath may affect our ability to interpret the biogeochemical signals in these tissues. To move towards resolving this, we review the morphology of the epidermal cornified claw sheath in several taxa that illustrate substantial variation in growth patterns both between taxa and between individual distinct claw regions. For instance, in mammalian claws, deposition of keratinizing cells from the epidermis is nonlinear because the claw tip is composed of old and new cornified epidermal cells, whereas the cornified blade horn covering the claw’s lateral walls is deposited continuously and without assortment, providing unbroken time-series data. We also consider patterns of growth in mammalian hooves, as well as reptilian, avian, and amphibian cornified claw sheaths, and address the need for expanded research in this field. We conclude this synthesis by describing a noninvasive technique for monitoring growth rates in a model mammal, the American badger ( Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777)), and provide guidelines for future sampling of claw keratin, which will improve our ability to back-calculate the time of biogeochemical integration into this tissue.