Factors affecting nest size in a population of Blackbirds<i>Turdus merula</i>

Wysocki, Dariusz; Jankowiak, Łukasz; Greño, José Luis; Cichocka, Anna; Sondej, Izabela; Michalska, B.

doi:10.1080/00063657.2015.1030722

Cited by 20 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…These include differences in latitude with nests constructed at cooler higher latitudes being thicker and heavier (Rohwer and Law, 2010;Crossman et al, 2011;Mainwaring et al, 2012Mainwaring et al, , 2014b. Also, nests constructed closer to the ground are also are larger (Wysocki et al, 2015). The functional aspects of this nest variability have yet to be fully explored but may reflect the mechanical, thermal and/or hydrological properties of the nest as a whole or its component parts.…”

Section: Nest Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition of Bird Nests is a Species-Specific Characteristic

Biddle

Broughton

Goodman

et al. 2018

Avian Biology Research

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Bird nests represent an extended phenotype of individuals expressed during reproduction and so exhibit variability in composition, structure and function. Descriptions of nests based on qualitative observations suggest that there is interspecific variation in size and composition but there are very few species in which this has been confirmed. For these species, data of the amounts of different materials indicate that nest construction behaviour is plastic and affected by a variety of factors, such as prevailing temperature, geographic location, and availability of materials. The lack of data on nest composition is hampering our understanding of how nests achieve their various functions and how different species solve the problem of building a nest that will accommodate incubation and allow successful hatching of eggs. This study deconstructed nests of four species of the Turdidae, four species of the Muscicapidae, and six species of the Fringillidae and quantified the size of the nests and their composition. These data were used to test: 1) whether nest size correlated with adult bird mass; 2) whether it was possible to distinguish between species on the basis of their nest composition; and 3) whether, within a species, it was possible to distinguish between the cup lining and the rest of the nest based on composition. Most but not all nest dimensions correlated with bird mass. Principal component analysis revealed species differences based on nest composition and discriminant analysis could distinguish cup lining from the outer nest based on material composition. Intraspecific variation in composition varied among species and in general fewer types of material were found in the cup lining than the outer nest. These data provide insight into how nests are constructed by the different species and in conjunction with studies of the mechanical, thermal and hydrological properties of a nest, will begin to reveal how and why individual species select particular combinations of materials to build a nest.

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Section: Nest Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition of Bird Nests is a Species-Specific Characteristic

Biddle

Broughton

Goodman

et al. 2018

Avian Biology Research

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“…Improvements in the speed of nest-building by females were observed until at least the 6th year of life (Wysocki et al 2015). Many nests were destroyed during the nest-building phase (D. Wyoscki pers.…”

Section: Reproductive Success and Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The breeding success of abandoned males decreases as a result (Desrochers & Magrath 1993). Improvements in nest-building efficiency (Wysocki et al 2015) shorten the time of nestbuilding, so corvids are less likely to find the nest. The decline of individual breeding success in both sexes after the 5th year of life does not support the residual reproductive value hypothesis (Pianka & Parker 1975), but given the correlational nature of our study it should not be rejected.…”

Section: Reproductive Success and Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…), nest‐building (Wysocki et al . ), finding a partner (Jarska et al . ) and duration of the breeding season (Jankowiak & Wysocki ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Desrochers (1992a,b) and Desrochers and Magrath (1993) demonstrated age-related improvements in the effectiveness of foraging and reproduction. Moreover, individual improvements took place in territory acquisition (Wysocki et al 2004), nestbuilding (Wysocki et al 2015), finding a partner (Jarska et al 2015) and duration of the breeding season . The phenotype decay hypothesis (Newton 1989) anticipates the disappearance of the poorest reproducers from the population.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Age‐specific reproduction and disposable soma in an urban population of Common BlackbirdsTurdus merula

Jankowiak

Zyskowski

Wysocki

2017

Ibis

Self Cite

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The mechanism of senescence is an important subject of current research, but our knowledge of the factors influencing the rate of ageing in naturally occurring populations remains rudimentary. Evolutionary theories of senescence predict that investment in reproduction in early life should come at the cost of reduced somatic maintenance and thus result in earlier or more rapid senescence. We use data on the complete reproductive histories of 431 Common Blackbirds (222 males and 209 females) collected during a 19‐year study of the ecology of an urban population of this species to test the main hypotheses addressing the issue of senescence. On average, the birds in this population survived for 3.7 (± 1.9 sd) years. Reproductive success in females peaked at the age of 4, but in males remained stable until the 5th year of life. We observed declines in reproductive success, indicative of senescence, after the peak years in both sexes. The mechanism of age‐related changes in the reproduction of females confirms the individual improvement and selective disappearance hypotheses. In the case of males, the increase in reproductive performance comes as a consequence of the disappearance of poor reproducers. The parental investment associated with early life fecundity (the first two breeding seasons in males and females) impairs the breeding success of females later on. Contrary to expectations, there was no negative impact of high early life fecundity on either mortality or lifespan. Individuals of both sexes with a high early life fecundity had a higher lifetime reproductive success than those in which early life fecundity was low. Hence, the most profitable strategy is to maximize reproductive effort in the early stages of life. This yields the highest lifetime reproductive success, despite the increased impact of senescence, especially in females. These results are consistent with the disposable soma hypothesis.

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Biogeographic history, egg colouration, and habitat selection in Turdus thrushes (Aves: Turdidae)

Nagy,

Fulmer,

Löki

et al. 2023

BIOLOGIA FUTURA

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Despite broad interest and recent experimentation, there is no single ecological model accounting for the adaptive significance of the diversity of avian eggshell colouration. The often blue-green eggs of Turdus thrushes are a charismatic example of this, having long captured cultural and scientific attention. Although the biology and evolutionary history of “true” thrushes is well understood, little is known about correlated evolution between shifts in habitat and eggshell pigmentation, and how these shifts map with Turdus biogeography. We applied phylogenetic comparative methods to assess the evolutionary timing of divergence and variation of life history traits and eggshell colouration and maculation presence in the genus. We found that eggshell colour diversified independently on several occasions in the past 11 million years, with much of the variation occurring within the last 4 million years. The majority of Turdus species lay blue-green eggs and also tend to be sedentary and forest-dwelling. Diet generalist species and species which have transitioned to a forest habitat are more likely to lay white eggs (10% of studied species). In turn, lineages in any habitat were more likely to transition to blue-green eggs. We found that variation in egg colour is increased in some clades, of which two lineages radiated in South America and the East Palearctic, in the past 2–4 million years. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that white eggs are more conspicuous to predators in open environments and that multiple, non-mutually exclusive constraints operate on the adaptive function of avian eggshell colour.

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Factors affecting nest size in a population of BlackbirdsTurdus merula

Cited by 20 publications

References 36 publications

Composition of Bird Nests is a Species-Specific Characteristic

Composition of Bird Nests is a Species-Specific Characteristic

Age‐specific reproduction and disposable soma in an urban population of Common BlackbirdsTurdus merula

Biogeographic history, egg colouration, and habitat selection in Turdus thrushes (Aves: Turdidae)

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