Structure of tree vegetation may reduce costs of territory defence in Eurasian Nuthatch<i>Sitta europaea</i>

Kašová, Martina; Naďo, Ladislav; Kaňuch, Peter

doi:10.1080/00063657.2014.933771

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…For estimating territory quality, we employed three important variables, as found by Kašová et al. (), namely, tree and cavity densities and territory size (if a territory was observed more than 1 year and the territory borders were modified, the values were averaged). The range of tree density was 8.2–37.9 trees.ha −1 , cavity density 16.2–52.2 cavities.ha −1 and territory size 0.8–4.3 ha.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Territory Quality and Nest-site Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The optimal breeding habitat of the Eurasian nuthatch consists of mature and dense deciduous forests with developed undergrowth, which supplies food under various conditions (Bellamy et al, 1998;Kašová et al, 2014;Matthysen, 1998). Birds may have less energy expenditure during nest-site defence in high-quality territories, and this enhances the chance for survival of the species (Huhta et al, 1998;Kašová et al, 2014;Robles et al, 2011). On the other hand, in habitats with high tree and cavity densities, one would also expect higher breeding density of other cavity-nesters, increasing the nestsite competition frequency (e.g., Male et al, 2006;Newton, 1994;Vrublevska et al, 2015;Wiebe, 2011), although the intensity of nest defence may still not be driven by nest-site limitation (e.g., Wiebe, 2004).…”

Section: Territory Quality and Nest-site Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Eurasian nuthatch ( Sitta europaea ) is a small secondary cavity‐nesting socially monogamous passerine that lives in territorial pairs throughout the year and spends nearly all its time in its own territory (Matthysen, ). Breeding pairs are stable once they select a nest hole, and disintegration of a pair after the nest‐building phase is rarely observed (Kašová, Naďo, & Kaňuch, ). Defence of territory against neighbouring nuthatch pairs is known to be largely sex‐specific (Matthysen, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous results suggested that the structure of tree vegetation determines habitat selection in S . europaea , while higher tree and cavity densities may reduce territory‐defence costs, because birds need less energy during foraging, competition for nest hole and predation avoidance (Kašová et al., ). Therefore, we were interested in whether nuthatch pairs which occupy more favourable environment also show higher probability of cooperative behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cooperative nest‐defence behaviour and territory quality in a resident and socially monogamous passerine

et al. 2018

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Nest defence is a fundamental aspect of parental care in secondary cavity‐nesting birds, and predation or competition for nesting sites can involve different defensive behaviours. Because habitat quality determines breeding success, we were interested in whether breeding pairs of the Eurasian nuthatch, Sitta europaea, established in more favourable environment also manifest higher probability of cooperative behaviour during their nest‐site defence. To explore this relationship, we quantified behavioural displays of both parents and analysed activity budget ethogram data from simulated territorial intrusions performed in the chick‐feeding phase with one conspecific and two different heterospecific stimuli (dummies of nuthatch, starling and woodpecker). We found that paired individuals shared their roles during nest‐site defence to a considerable extent. Males had a significantly higher number of attacks on intruders than females, and females performed more threat displays and controls of the brood than males. Multinomial analysis of the cooperative behaviour suggested that pairs in a high‐quality territory had higher probability of reciprocal substitution of different roles towards a balance between attacks, threat displays and nest controls. Contrary to this, pairs in a low‐quality territory had less likely pairwise combinations of simultaneous behavioural states that are associated with effective nest‐site defence. The difference in response probability according to territory quality was, however, highly variable in view of the stimulus that was used in simulated territorial intrusion. Because individual roles and the complex behavioural repertoire of pairs altered in response to territory quality and potential nest‐site competitor or brood predator, our results suggest that the cooperative nest‐defence behaviour could be linked to the breeding success of this year‐round territorial species living in a heterogeneous forest habitat.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Territory Quality and Nest-site Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Territory Quality and Nest-site Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cooperative nest‐defence behaviour and territory quality in a resident and socially monogamous passerine

et al. 2018

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Multi-scale habitat requirements of forest bird species in a highly fragmented landscape

et al. 2019

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Evaluating interactions between space‐use sharing and defence under increasing density conditions for the group‐territorial Red‐cockaded Woodpecker Leuconotopicus borealis

Garabedian

Moorman

Peterson

et al. 2018

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Information about how bird species respond to increasing density conditions through either space‐use sharing or increased territoriality, and how those changes affect fitness, is essential for effective conservation planning. We used a case study of endangered Red‐cockaded Woodpeckers Leuconotopicus borealis (RCW) to address these questions. We documented over 36 000 locations from 44 RCW groups in three density conditions on two sites in South Carolina, USA, between April 2013 and March 2015. The frequency of neighbouring group interactions differed among density conditions and was highest for high‐density groups. RCW home‐ranges and core‐areas were larger under low‐density conditions (x¯normalHome‐normalrange = 88.4 ha, x¯normalCore‐normalarea = 21.0 ha) than under medium (x¯normalHome‐normalrange = 68.29 ha, x¯normalCore‐normalarea = 16.6 ha) and high‐density (x¯normalHome‐normalrange = 76.3 ha, x¯normalCore‐normalarea = 18.6 ha) conditions. Neighbouring RCWs maintained overlapping home‐ranges with nearly exclusive core‐areas across density conditions, but overlap tended to increase as neighbouring group density increased. Under high‐density conditions, home‐range overlap correlated inversely with clutch size (β ± se = −0.19 ± 0.09), nestling production (β ± se = −0.37 ± 0.09) and fledgling production (β ± se = −0.34 ± 0.08). Our results indicate that RCWs dedicate more effort to territorial defence under high‐density conditions, potentially at the expense of greater foraging efficiency and time allocated to reproduction, as evidenced by reduced fitness. Large home‐range overlap indicated limited territoriality farther away from cavity trees, but the existence of exclusive core‐areas suggests that RCW groups defend habitat closer to cavity trees. Thiessen partitions used to allocate critical foraging habitat offered comprehensive habitat protection for RCW but appear flawed for spatially explicit habitat assessments because they do not accurately delineate space used by individual RCW groups.

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Structure of tree vegetation may reduce costs of territory defence in Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Cooperative nest‐defence behaviour and territory quality in a resident and socially monogamous passerine

Cooperative nest‐defence behaviour and territory quality in a resident and socially monogamous passerine

Multi-scale habitat requirements of forest bird species in a highly fragmented landscape

Evaluating interactions between space‐use sharing and defence under increasing density conditions for the group‐territorial Red‐cockaded Woodpecker Leuconotopicus borealis

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