Egg-Covering Behaviour of the White-Fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus

Summers, Ron W.; Hockey, Philip A. R.

doi:10.2307/3676086

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Previous studies on invertebrates and vertebrates have concluded that facultative egg-covering renders the clutches better camouflaged (Summers & Hockey, 1981;Keller, 1989;Shimoda et al, 1994;Opermanis, 2004;Kreisinger & Albrecht, 2008). Prokop & Trnka (2011) also found that, in the laboratory, cooling rates were higher in grebe nests with uncovered eggs than in nests with covered eggs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Optimal egg temperature for embryo development in most Charadriiformes is 35-38°C (Drent, 1975;Grant, 1982;Rahn, 1991). Many shorebird species nest on small scrapes on the ground, in sites with little or no cover (Grant, 1982;Koivula & Rönkä, 1998;Brown & Downs, 2003;Amat & Masero, 2004a;AlRashidi et al, 2011), in which unattended nests may be easy to locate by visual searching predators and, thus, egg-covering may make the nests better camouflaged than if eggs remain uncovered (Summers & Hockey, 1981). On the other hand, if the function of egg-covering is to maintain an optimal thermal environment for embryos, then egg-covering should occur when it allows egg temperatures to be within those limits, i.e., 35-38°C, and should be avoided if it does not contribute to keep egg temperature within optimal limits for embryogenesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most studies on birds have interpreted egg-covering as an anti-predation tactic (Summers & Hockey, 1981;Keller, 1989;Kreisinger & Albrecht, 2008;Prokop & Trnka, 2011), and few studies have addressed the effects of egg-covering on egg temperature, or whether egg-covering may reduce the requirements of contact incubation (Howell, 1979;Grant, 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dual function of egg-covering in the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Amat

Monsa²,

Masero

et al. 2012

Behav

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Many bird species take recesses during incubation, and while the nests are unattended, the eggs may both be vulnerable to predation and reach suboptimal temperatures for embryo development. Perhaps to avoid these negative possibilities, some birds cover their eggs with materials when they depart from nests. We examined experimentally, using the ground-nesting Kentish plover as model species, whether egg-covering allows egg temperatures to remain within optimal limits for embryogenesis in unattended nests, thus reducing the requirements of contact incubation, and simultaneously maintain the eggs' camouflage. There was a negative relationship between nest attendance and ambient temperature, but only during mid-morning, the period of the day when eggcovering was most frequent. Indeed, during mid-morning egg-covering not only served to better camouflage the eggs, but also to maintain egg temperatures within optimal thermal thresholds for embryogenesis while the nests remained unattended. During other periods of the day, covered eggs in unattended nests overheated (e.g., afternoon) or did not reach the optimal temperature for embryogenesis (e.g., early morning). During periods in which eggs may be uncovered to alleviate overheating, unattended nests may be easier to locate by predators, because the eggs are less well camouflaged. Therefore, camouflage and appropriate thermal environment are inseparable functions of egg-covering in the ground-nesting Kentish plover.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dual function of egg-covering in the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Amat

Monsa²,

Masero

et al. 2012

Behav

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“…Regarding the former, it is questionable whether grebes always cover their clutches or whether this behaviour is restricted to the presence of a predator. For example, White-fronted Plovers (Charadrius marginatus) cover their eggs only when incubation is interrupted by an approaching human, but not before other interruptions in incubation (Summers and Hockey 1981). In this case, it would be suggested that covering eggs primarily evolved as an antipredator strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Nests may contain nonstructural cryptic material (Hansell 1996;Schuetz 2005), can be placed in less visible microhabitats (Martin 1992(Martin , 1993Clark and Shutler 1999;Flaspohler et al 2000;Martin et al 2000;Albrecht and Klvaňa 2004;Weidinger 2004;Colombelli-Negrel and Kleindorfer 2009) or clutches in the nests can be covered by nest material or down (Mickelson 1975;Summers and Hockey 1981;Götmark and Ahlund 1984;Salonen and Penttinen 1988;White and Kennedy 1997;Kreisinger and Albrecht 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Why do grebes cover their nests? Laboratory and field tests of two alternative hypotheses

Prokop

Trnka

2010

J Ethol

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Egg predation is a common feature influencing the reproductive success of open nesting birds. Evolutionary pressure therefore favours building cryptic, inconspicuous nests. However, these antipredatory pressures may be in conflict with thermoregulatory constraints, which select for dry nest material maintaining optimum temperature inside a nest cup during the absence of incubating parents. Here we examined possible trade-offs between nest crypsis and thermoregulation in Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis), which lay their eggs in floating nests built from wet plant material. As this species regularly covers its eggs with nest material, we experimentally examined (1) the rates of egg predation on covered and uncovered artificial nests and (2) possible thermoregulatory costs from nest covering by comparing temperature and relative humidity changes inside the nest cup. Results revealed that covering clutches is beneficial in terms of deterring predators, because uncovered eggs were more vulnerable to predation. Moreover, covering clutches also had thermoregulatory benefits because the mean temperature and relative humidity inside nest cups covered by dry or wet materials were significantly higher for covered compared to uncovered treatments. Covering clutches in Little Grebes therefore does not pose thermoregulatory costs.

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Nest covering in plovers: How modifying the visual environment influences egg camouflage

Troscianko

Wilson‐Aggarwal

Spottiswoode

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Camouflage is one of the most widespread antipredator defences, and its mechanistic basis has attracted considerable interest in recent years. The effectiveness of camouflage depends on the interaction between an animal's appearance and its background. Concealment can therefore be improved by changes to an animal's own appearance, by behaviorally selecting an optimal background, or by modifying the background to better match the animal's own appearance. Research to date has largely focussed on the first of these mechanisms, whereas there has been little work on the second and almost none on the third. Even though a number of animal species may potentially modify their environment to improve individual‐specific camouflage, this has rarely if ever been quantitatively investigated, or its adaptive value tested. Kittlitz's plovers (Charadrius pecuarius) use material (stones and vegetation) to cover their nests when predators approach, providing concealment that is independent of the inflexible appearance of the adult or eggs, and that can be adjusted to suit the local surrounding background. We used digital imaging and predator vision modeling to investigate the camouflage properties of covered nests, and whether their camouflage affected their survival. The plovers' nest‐covering materials were consistent with a trade‐off between selecting materials that matched the color of the eggs, while resulting in poorer nest pattern and contrast matching to the nest surroundings. Alternatively, the systematic use of materials with high‐contrast and small‐pattern grain sizes could reflect a deliberate disruptive coloration strategy, whereby high‐contrast material breaks up the telltale outline of the clutch. No camouflage variables predicted nest survival. Our study highlights the potential for camouflage to be enhanced by background modification. This provides a flexible system for modifying an animal's conspicuousness, to which the main limitation may be the available materials rather than the animal's appearance.

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Egg-Covering Behaviour of the White-Fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

Dual function of egg-covering in the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Dual function of egg-covering in the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Why do grebes cover their nests? Laboratory and field tests of two alternative hypotheses

Nest covering in plovers: How modifying the visual environment influences egg camouflage

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