Diel timing of nest predation changes across breeding season in a subtropical shorebird

Sládeček, Martin; Brynychová, Kateřina; Elhassan, Esmat; Šálek, Miroslav; Janatová, Veronika; Vozabulová, Eva; Chajma, Petr; Firlová, Veronika; Pešková, Lucie; Almuhery, Aisha; Bulla, Martin

doi:10.1002/ece3.8025

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Red-wattled lapwing (RWL) was investigated in the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve, located about 30 km from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (24.83°N 55.36°E). The study area (6.63 km 2 ) consisted of a mixture of desert, artificial lakes supplied with desalinated water from the sea, and sparse tree plantations [ 31 , 35 ]. The study area was inhabited by a population of ~ 80 pairs of the model species.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Offspring thermal demands and parental brooding efficiency differ for precocial birds living in contrasting climates

et al. 2023

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Background Chicks of precocial birds hatch well-developed and can search actively for food but their homeothermy develops gradually during growth. This makes them dependent on heat provided by parents (“brooding”), which is then traded off against other activities, mainly foraging. Although brooding has been documented in many precocial birds, little is known about the differences in the amount and efficiency of brooding care, brooding diel rhythmicity, and impact on the chick’s growth, particularly between species living in different climatic conditions. Results We used multisensory dataloggers to evaluate brooding patterns in two congeneric species inhabiting contrasting climate zones: temperate Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and desert Red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus). In accordance with our expectation, the adult desert lapwings brooded the chicks slightly less compared to the adult temperate lapwings. However, the desert lapwings brooded their chicks in higher ambient temperatures and less efficiently (i.e. they could not reach the same brooding temperature as the temperate lapwings), which are new and hitherto unknown brooding patterns in precocial birds. In both species, night brooding prevailed even during warm nights, suggesting a general brooding rule among birds. Although the high rates of brooding can reduce the time spent by foraging, we found no negative effect of the high brooding rate on the growth rate in either species. Conclusions Our data suggest that the chicks of species breeding in colder climates may reduce their thermal demands, while their parents may increase the efficiency of parental brooding care. More research is however needed to confirm this as a rule across species.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Offspring thermal demands and parental brooding efficiency differ for precocial birds living in contrasting climates

et al. 2023

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“…The nests where both parents were ringed with a unique color combination were selected for the experiment. The incubation stages of the treated nests ranged from 1 to 28 days (median = 14 days, mean = 14.3 days, SD= 6.2 days), which is 3%-93% of the total incubation time (30 days; Sládeček et al, 2021). The experiment consisted of three 15-min trials at each nest with each of the three stuffed models (cat, raven, and moorhen).…”

Section: Design Of the Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lagoons also provide suitable habitats for other species, many of which are potential predators of adult lapwings, for example, feral cat, Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica), and Desert Monitor (Varanus griseus), or potential predators of lapwing nests, for example, Brown-Necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis) and Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus). The studied population faces predation pressure spread throughout the day and night (Sládeček et al, 2021).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Incubating adults were readily visible from a distance, and we were, therefore, able to find nearly all active nests (Elhassan et al, 2021;Sládeček et al, 2021). Whenever a nest was found, the GPS position was recorded and the incubation start date was estimated based on an egg flotation test (van Paassen et al, 1984).…”

Section: General Field Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we experimentally investigated the nest defense behavior of subtropical Red-Wattled Lapwings (Vanellus indicus aigneri) in an arid and hot environment in the Arabian desert. Since predator visits to nests are rarely observed in the field (Sládeček et al, 2021), stuffed models were used to ensure standardized conditions similar to previous experimental studies (e.g., Elliot, 1985;Hinde, 1954;Kis et al, 2000). Specifically, we monitored the reactions of breeding adults to stuffed models placed near the nest.…”

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Aggressiveness in a subtropical shorebird's nest defense is adjusted to the predator species and shared by conspecifics

Brynychová

Sládeček

Pešková

et al. 2022

Aggressive Behavior

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Aggression is an important component of an animal's defense when protecting offspring from predators. Ground nesting birds use a variety of defense strategies.However, their choice according to situation context is poorly known, especially in nonpasserines and in the subtropics and tropics. The ability to distinguish between differently dangerous predator species and the opportunity to share defense with conspecifics are potentially important but little-studied aspects of nest defense strategy. We experimentally studied the nest defense of Red-Wattled Lapwing in an individually marked population in a desert area near Dubai, UAE. We used three stuffed models representing 1) a predator dangerous both to adults and to nests (a cat), 2) a nest predator (a raven), and 3) a harmless reference model (a moorhen).We confirmed that the lapwings distinguished between predator species (being most aggressive toward the cat, and least aggressive toward the moorhen) and adjusted their defense strategy accordingly. In addition, conspecific visitors play a variety of roles in parents' defense strategy. They can strengthen the parental reaction, or they can assist in distracting a predator. The visitors included not only nesting neighbors but also nonbreeding floaters. Both parents participated in nest defense to a similar extent, regardless of incubation stage and ambient temperature. This study provides new insight into the complexity of the defensive patterns in ground-nesting birds inhabiting a hot environment. Comparative experimental research on a range of environments, with various bird species and predator models, can help us to understand the drivers of these defensive behavioral patterns.

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Defense Strategies in Birds of Charadriidae Family

Gupta

Aujayeb²,

Saxena

2022

Proc Zool Soc

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Diel timing of nest predation changes across breeding season in a subtropical shorebird

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 4 publications

References 79 publications

Offspring thermal demands and parental brooding efficiency differ for precocial birds living in contrasting climates

Offspring thermal demands and parental brooding efficiency differ for precocial birds living in contrasting climates

Aggressiveness in a subtropical shorebird's nest defense is adjusted to the predator species and shared by conspecifics

Defense Strategies in Birds of Charadriidae Family

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