Effects of Nest Characteristics on Breeding Success of Great Tits<i>Parus major</i>

Alabrudzińska, Jagna; Kaliński, Adam; Słomczyński, Robert; Wawrzyniak, Jarosław; Zieliński, Piotr; Bańbura, Jerzy

doi:10.3161/068.038.0202

Cited by 71 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(9 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), and closely related Great Tits (Parus major), there is significant variation in the structure of the nest, even within relatively small study sites (Alabrudzińska et al 2003;Á lvarez and Barba 2008;Hartley 2008, 2009;Mennerat et al 2009a, b;Britt and Deeming 2011). In these species, nests usually consist of a layer of moss mixed with dry grass or other plant material placed at a base of a natural or artificial nest cavity (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Nest size and breeding success in first and replacement clutches: an experimental study in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bird nests function to protect parents, eggs or offspring against fluctuations in the environment. In Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) producing first or replacement clutches, we examined relationships between nest height (a measure of nest size) and several parameters of breeding performance that are often quantified in long-term avian field studies. We artificially increased the cost of reproduction in randomly selected females by removing the whole first clutch and nest material after about 5 days of incubation. This experiment resulted in replacement nests. Experimentally increasing the range of breeding conditions across females, we expected to have more power to detect a positive correlation between nest height and breeding success. However, we found that nest height was not significantly related to any of the breeding traits investigated (clutch size, number of hatchlings, number of fledglings, hatching success, fledging success, chick mass), after controlling for factors frequently investigated in long-term monitoring programs and known to influence breeding performance (female age, year, clutch type as a proxy of egg-laying date). We conclude that the identification of the exact underlying mechanisms causing relationships between nest characteristics and breeding performance will require more experimental study and the exploitation of larger datasets, both within and across avian model systems.Zusammenfassung Vogelnester schützen Elternvögel, Eier oder Jungvögel vor Schwankungen in der Umwelt. Wir haben bei Blaumeisen (Cyanistes caeruleus), die Erst-oder Ersatzgelege produzierten, die Beziehungen zwischen Nesthöhe (einem Maß für Nestgröße) und mehreren Bruterfolgsparametern, die oftmals in Langzeitfeldstudien an Vögeln quantifiziert werden, untersucht. Wir haben für zufällig ausgewählte Weibchen die Kosten der Fortpflanzung experimentell erhöht, indem wir das gesamte Erstgelege sowie Nistmaterial nach etwa fünf Tagen Bebrütung entfernt haben. Dieses Experiment hatte Ersatznester zur Folge. Unsere Erwartung war, dass wir eine positive Korrelation zwischen Nesthöhe und Bruterfolg eher entdecken können, wenn wir die Brutbedingungen für Weibchen experimentell variabler machen. Wir fanden jedoch, dass die Nestgröße nicht signifikant mit irgendeinem der untersuchten Brutparameter (Gelegegröße, Anzahl geschlüpfter und ausgeflogener Jungvögel, Schlupf-und Ausfliegeerfolg, Körpermasse der Küken) zusammenhing, nachdem wir Faktoren, die in Langzeitstudien häufig untersucht werden und bekanntermaßen die Fortpflanzungleistung beeinflussen (Weibchenalter, Jahr, Gelegetyp als Maß für Legedatum), berücksichtigt hatten. Wir schlussfolgern, dass für die Ermittlung der genauen Mechanismen, die Zusammenhänge zwischen Nestmerkmalen und Fortpflanzungleistung verursachen, mehr experimentelle Untersuchungen und grö-ßere Datensätze benötigt werden, sowohl innerhalb als auch zwischen verschiedenen Vogel-Modellsystemen.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Nest size and breeding success in first and replacement clutches: an experimental study in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Meanwhile, there is also some evidence that females differentially allocate (Sheldon, 2000) their investment in nest building in accordance with the attractiveness of their social partner (Broggi and Senar, 2009; but see although given the mixed findings to date, then this is an area where further studies are required before robust conclusions can be drawn. Nevertheless, there is good evidence that the nest building behaviors of blue tits and great tits are associated with sexual selection and this may explain why levels of hatching and fledging success are higher in taller nests than in lower nests (Alabrudzińska et al, 2003;Mazgajski and Rykowska, 2008). This suggests that the height of blue tit and great tits nests reflects the outcome of contradictory pressures associated with the need for nests to be low enough to reduce the risk of predation and yet high enough to confer thermoregulatory benefits and/or act as a sexual signal that influences paternal provisioning rates (Alabrudzińska et al, 2003).…”

Section: Sexual Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, there is good evidence that the nest building behaviors of blue tits and great tits are associated with sexual selection and this may explain why levels of hatching and fledging success are higher in taller nests than in lower nests (Alabrudzińska et al, 2003;Mazgajski and Rykowska, 2008). This suggests that the height of blue tit and great tits nests reflects the outcome of contradictory pressures associated with the need for nests to be low enough to reduce the risk of predation and yet high enough to confer thermoregulatory benefits and/or act as a sexual signal that influences paternal provisioning rates (Alabrudzińska et al, 2003). Further empirical and modeling studies that examine the resolution of this trade-off would be useful as the optimal height of nests is likely to vary both temporally and spatially and in this regard, empirical studies examining how the height of nests vary in relation to the occurrence of nest predators at the landscape scale may be particularly informative.…”

Section: Sexual Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Mainwaring

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nest building is an important and yet under-studied stage of the reproductive cycle in many taxa, including birds, and whilst we have a decent understanding of interspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors, our understanding of intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors is much less developed. This is largely because an insufficient number of studies have been performed on any one species to draw robust conclusions. Fortunately, though, the amount of research on the nesting behaviors of nestbox-breeding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) has increased dramatically in recent years and their nesting behaviors are now sufficiently well-studied to offer useful insights into intraspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors. Studies show that individuals of both species select nest sites based on the presence and/or absence of conspecifics and heterospecifics and whilst neighbors were assumed to adversely affect focal individuals by competing for resources, they are now considered beneficial as they provide information about habitat quality and contribute to anti-predator defenses. Nest-building females accurately gauge local weather conditions and respond to predictable variation in environmental conditions by building nests with variable amounts of cup lining material to create suitable nest microclimates for nestlings. Meanwhile, both species vary the amount of aromatic plant materials in their nests in relation to the abundance of nest-dwelling parasites and pathogens and as aromatic plant materials also play a role in sexual selection then nest materials can have multiple functions. The height of nests is negatively correlated with the local risk of predation but whilst predator avoidance favors lower nests, sexual selection favors taller nests. In fact, higher quality females build taller nests that contain more green plant material which in turn influences the amount of care provided by males. This suggests there is considerable intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors in blue and great tits, and in birds generally, and highlights that birds are adept at adaptively varying their nesting behaviors in response to multiple factors. There is, however, a paucity of evidence directly linking such variation in nest building behaviors to reproductive success or fitness more broadly and so further studies could usefully examine such links because trade-offs between competing selection pressures may constrain adaptive nesting behaviors.

show abstract

“…Alabrudzińska et al 2003), for instance, due to better thermoinsulation or better water absorption in the cavity , the presence of old nest material could benefit birds. Those pairs of hole nesters that are able to reuse old material may build nests more quickly.…”

Section: Time and Energy Savings And Other Benefits During New Nest Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Old Nest Material on Nest Site Selection and Breeding Parameters in Secondary Hole Nesters — a Review

Mazgajski¹

2007

Acta Ornithologica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Effects of Nest Characteristics on Breeding Success of Great TitsParus major

Cited by 71 publications

References 12 publications

Nest size and breeding success in first and replacement clutches: an experimental study in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Nest size and breeding success in first and replacement clutches: an experimental study in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Effect of Old Nest Material on Nest Site Selection and Breeding Parameters in Secondary Hole Nesters — a Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About