Nidicolous beetle species richness is driven by Barn Owl’s nests occupancy and landscape structure

Abstract

Bird nests are specialized habitats because of their particular composition including nest detritus and bird droppings. In consequence, they attract a specialized arthropod community considered as nidicolous, which includes species only found in bird nests (strictly nidicolous) or sometimes found in bird nests (facultatively nidicolous). Because the factors influencing the entomofauna in bird nests are poorly understood, in autumn 2019, we collected nest material in 86 Barn Owl (Tyto alba) nest boxes. We investigated whether the invertebrate species richness was related to Barn Owl nest box occupancy, the density of available nest boxes and the landscape structure. We found 3,321 nidicolous beetle specimens belonging to 24 species. Species richness of strictly nidicolous beetles was 2.7 times higher in nest boxes occupied by a family of Barn Owls the previous spring compared to unoccupied nest boxes. It was also higher in sites that were more often occupied by Barn Owls in the five previous years and in areas surrounded by a higher proportion of crop fields. For facultatively nidicolous beetles, the density of Barn Owl nest boxes enhanced the species richness. In conclusion, our study suggests that the strictly nidicolous beetles benefit from occupied nest boxes of Barn Owls, whereas facultatively nidicolous beetles look for nest boxes independently of whether Barn Owls occupy them. Our study highlights the importance of bird nests for a suite of invertebrates.

Songbird nests on the ground as islands of diversity of ptyctimous mites (Acari: Oribatida) in the primeval Białowieża Forest (Poland)

“…However, due to limited knowledge of the biology of ptyctimous mites, it is not clear what specific conditions typical of bird nests may attract the mites to colonise them. Nevertheless, the findings confirmed that bird nests could contribute to increasing the local diversity of mite species, as previously highlighted for other invertebrates (Watt 1980 ; Svatoň 1985 ; Haemig 2001 ; Maziarz et al 2018 , 2021 ; Boyes and Lewis 2019 ; Cosandey et al 2021 ).…”

“…The invertebrate fauna inhabiting bird nests is represented by numerous taxonomic groups, which coexist with the host birds or use nests after they had been abandoned by the hosts. The most common invertebrate groups include spiders (Svatoň 1985 ; Heneberg 2018 ; Machač 2021 ), ants (Haemig 2001 ; Maziarz et al 2018 , 2021 ), beetles (Norman 1906 ; Watt 1980 ; Cosandey et al 2021 ; Pushkin et al 2021 ), moths (Nasu et al 2012 ; Boyes 2018 ; Boyes and Lewis 2019 ), flies (Gold and Dahlsten 1983 ; Sabrosky et al 1989 ; Hori et al 1990 ; Eeva et al 2015 ) and fleas (Harper et al 1992 ; Heeb et al 1996 ; Kędra et al 1996 ). Mites (Acari) are also commonly recorded in bird nests, represented by many orders and families that occur in large numbers.…”

Changes in arthropod communities between breeding stages in nests of Great Tits

“…The increase in adult numbers from egg to nestling stage is probably due to active immigration and reflects the increase in available prey, such as flea larvae Jur ık 1980, Frank andThomas 1999). After nestlings fledge, adult beetles probably start leaving nests, whereas predatory larvae remain and continue their development because abundant prey such as scavenger fly larvae are still present ( Sustek and Kri stof ık 2003, Cosandey et al 2021).…”

“…After nestlings fledge, adult beetles probably start leaving nests, whereas predatory larvae remain and continue their development because abundant prey such as scavenger fly larvae are still present (Šustek and Krištofík 2003, Cosandey et al. 2021).…”

Type of Material, Not Tree Hole Characteristics Shapes Uropodina Mites’ Species Composition in Excavated Tree Holes

“…Bird nests in tree holes constitute an attractive microenvironment for invertebrates from different ecological and systematic groups. In terms of foraging strategies alone, one may find the following organisms: saprophagous species feeding on decomposing nest materials and the prey and dropping remains of birds and mammal [18,19], scavengers and carnivores feeding on all the developmental stages of other invertebrates living commonly in the nest [20][21][22] or vertebrate ectoparasites [23,24].…”