Bryophytes as a material to build birds’ nests in Brazil.

Abstract

Resumen: Briofitos como material para la construcción de los nidos de pájaros en Brasil. Los nidos de aves son construcciones complejas, hechas para proporcionar un ambiente protegido y seguro para que los huevos y las crías de pájaros se desarrollen. Las ramas y hojas representan materiales comunes de anidación, transportados por las aves en sus picos. En algunas oportunidades los materiales transportados son mayores que las propias aves. Además de las ramas y hojas, las aves también usan otros materiales (aunque menos frecuentemente), como las briofitas. Así, en el presente estudio examinamos la prevalencia de bryophytes en los nidos de las aves en Brasil. Se analizó la composición de nidos de 21 nidos de aves de la colección brasileña de bryophyte en el Instituto de Botánica (Herbario SP) y se encontró que los briófitos eran un material de anidación ampliamente utilizado. Las hepáticas eran dominantes en términos de riqueza de especies y los principales componentes estructurales de los nidos eran musgos porque representan el grupo principal de briofitas estructuralmente mayores y constitutivas en el hábitat que se criaron las aves. Palabras clave: Brasil, briofitos, composición nido, pájaros.Summary: Birds' nests are elaborate constructions that are built to provide a safe and secure environment for the eggs and hatchlings of birds to develop. Twigs and leaves represent common nesting materials in birds' nests globally and with their beaks, they can carry materials, sometimes larger than the birds themselves, to construct their nests. In addition to twigs and leaves, birds also use various other materials less frequently, such as bryophytes, and in this study we examined the prevalence of bryophytes in birds' nests in Brazil. We analyzed the nest composition of 21 birds' nests from the Brazilian bryophyte collection at the Institute of Botany (SP Herbarium) and found that bryophytes were a widely used nesting material. The liverworts were dominant in terms of the species richness and the main structural components of the nests were mosses because they represent the main group of structurally bigger and constitutive bryophytes in the habitat in which the birds bred.

Bryophytes Present in the Nests of Birds in Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador

“…Supporting our results, Calvelo et al [4] have shown that mosses and liverwort are the dominant components in nest construction. However, De Almeida et al [10] report a higher number, with 57 species of bryophytes in 21 birds' nests, but the bird's nest does not contain any information regarding the specific species of bird responsible for constructing it. Thus, the researchers point out that liverworts present a higher number of species; however, mosses are the structural elements of nest building.…”

“…Bryophytes increase water retention, thermal insulation, and antimicrobial activity [3,8,9]. There are many studies on nests constructed with vascular plants, but few on nests constructed with bryophytes [7,10].…”

“…In Chile, the species Sephanoides sephaniodes, selects scales from the leaves of the fern Lophosoria quadripinnata and moss species (Ancistrodes genuflexa, Weymouthia mollis, and Weymouthia cochlearifolia) for nest building [6,11]. In Brazil, 57 bryophyte species have been reported associated with 21 nests of different species [10]. Likewise, 22 bryophyte species (16 mosses and 6 liverworts) were cited in nests of two bird species (Sephanoides sephaniodes and Oreotrochilus leucopleurus) in Argentina [4].…”

Do birds disperse mosses? Evidence of endozoochory in upland geese Chloephaga picta and white-bellied seedsnipes Attagis malouinus in sub-Antarctic Chile

“…However, because some birds and bryophytes share the same habitats, these birds may serve as animal vectors that allow these small plants to reach areas that they would not reach otherwise, or help reach them quicker. The behavior of birds can aid in directed and long-distance movement of bryophytes as they may act as dispersers in local sites through foraging and nesting (Calvelo et al, 2006;Parnikoza et al, 2012;Amélio et al, 2017;Parnikoza et al, 2018), and transcontinentally through migratory movements (Chmielewski & Eppley, 2019). Birds can disperse bryophytes long distances via ectozoochory, by external transportation (Lewis et al, 2014), and may be able to do this via endozoochory, through internal ingestion, as has also been shown with ferns and other herbs (Lovas-Kiss et al, 2018;Blanco et al, 2019;Hervías-Parejo et al, 2019;Silva et al, 2020).…”

Evidence of endozoochory in upland geese Chloephaga picta and white‐bellied seedsnipes Attagis malouinus in sub‐Antarctic Chile

“…However, because some birds and bryophytes share the same habitats, these birds may serve as animal vectors that allow these small plants to reach areas that they would not reach otherwise, or help reach them quicker and more frequently. The behavior of birds can aid in directed and longdistance movement of bryophytes as they may act as dispersers in local sites through foraging and nesting (Amélio et al, 2017;Calvelo et al, 2006;Parnikoza et al, 2012Parnikoza et al, , 2018, and transcontinentally through migratory movements (Chmielewski & Eppley, 2019). There has been evidence of migratory birds carrying bryophytes via ectozoochory, by external transportation (Lewis et al, 2014).…”