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opencc-by-4.0Jul 2024View details →

Supplementary material for "Playback experiments highlight the importance of nearest-neighbor distance and social information for nest site selection in the House Martin (Delichon urbicum)"

Abstract Understanding nest site selection is crucial for species conservation. Bird conservation often involves installing nesting aids to increase nest site availability and induce colonization of unoccupied sites. However, prospecting individuals must find nesting aids, which may be facilitated by social information. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of artificial nests and playback in the declining, migratory House Martin Delichon urbicum. We selected unoccupied sites with artificial nests along a distance gradient to occupied sites and broadcasted conspecific vocalizations during prospection times of House Martins in both the post- and the following pre-breeding periods. Visitation and colonization rates increased considerably in proximity to occupied sites. Playback during the post-breeding and pre-breeding periods enhanced visitation rates, while pre-breeding-only and post-breeding-only playback had smaller positive effects. Colonization rate increased exclusively with pre-breeding-only playback. Colonized playback and non-playback sites had similar breeding success, indicating that playback did not create ecological traps by attracting House Martins to suboptimal sites. Hence, broadcasting conspecific vocalizations informs prospecting birds of nest site availability, thereby increasing visitation, and to some degree, colonization of unoccupied House Martin sites. To boost colonization, we recommend installing artificial House Martin nests within approximately 500 meters of occupied sites and using playback of conspecific vocalizations.

Fig. 4 in Changes In The Structure Of Nest Complexes Of The Red Wood Ants Formica Rufa And F. Polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) In Urban Forests

Fig. 4. Degradation of the Formica rufa complex No. 1 (Feofaniya) in terms of average height (4, A) and diameter (4, B) under conditions of intensive construction and recreation; 4, С, D — diameter and height near the nest complex of F. polyctena No. 4 (surroundings of the Observatory), under conditions of felling of the shrub layer and processing of fallen trunks and branches into wood chips.

Figure 4 in Changes In The Structure Of Nest Complexes Of The Red Wood Ants Formica Rufa And F. Polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) In Urban Forests

Figure 4 shows the degradation trends for the nest complexes of F. rufa No. 1 (4, A, B), F. polyctena No. 4 (4, C, D). For F. rufa No. 1, there was a sharp decrease in the average diameter of anthills in 2014, and on the contrary, an increase since 2015 (fig. 4, A). In 2016, this indicator remained at approximately the same level, and in 2021 it decreased again. In 2022, this nest complex

Fig. 1 in Changes In The Structure Of Nest Complexes Of The Red Wood Ants Formica Rufa And F. Polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) In Urban Forests

Fig. 1. Location of nest complexes of Formica rufa (diamonds), F. polyctena (triangles) on the territory of the city of Kyiv (Ukraine). The city limits are marked by a red line, the forest areas by dark grey. The numbers correspond to the serial number of each complex.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2009View details →

Figs 1-4 in Nesting behaviour, male territoriality and larval development of Eremnophila binodis (F ) from Brazil (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

Figs 1-4: Laval development of a female Eremnophila binodis consuming a caterpillar. 1 Newly emerged larva; 2 larva immobile feeding the prey probably by sucking; 3 larva in the fourth day of development consuming externally the prey; 4 full-grown larva, the head capsule was the only portion of the prey that was not consumed.

Monitor predation on zebra finch nest

Here, we report a detailed predation sequence, captured on film, of a sand goanna (Varanus gouldii) predating six zebra finch nestlings from a single nestbox in arid western New South Wales, Australia. The sand goanna made nine attempts to reach the nestbox by first climbing an adjacent bush and jumping onto the nestbox and eventually also by climbing up the steel post on which the box was attached.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

dryad40/100

Experimental evidence that nest orientation influences microclimate in a temperate grassland

Birds exhibit an assortment of behavioral strategies to cope with variable environmental conditions during reproduction, including altering nest construction behaviors. In species building enclosed domed nests, the microclimate within nests is influenced not only by its structure and the surrounding vegetation but also by the orientation of the nest opening. Many grassland-dependent birds build dome-shaped nests with clear directionality of openings. We studied two species in northeastern Kansas, United States that typically orient their nests east to northeast in this region. However, in a drought year, both Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) and Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella manga) shifted orientations of their nests southward toward prevailing winds. We hypothesized that this shift reduced the deleterious effects of heat stress on parents and developing young by diminishing morning solar radiation and increasing cooling due to the prevailing southerly winds. To test this hypothesis, we measured temperature, humidity, and wind speed at pairs of unoccupied, field-collected sparrow and meadowlark nests, experimentally placed to face south or east (control) in a non-drought year. Nest orientation affected the daily microclimate patterns, with south-facing nests warming later in the day relative to east-facing nests. The temperature differences depended upon humidity, with south-facing nests being relatively cooler under more humid conditions. This work provides the first experimental evidence of the benefits of plasticity in nest construction under challenging thermoregulatory conditions and shows how ground-nesting birds may reduce thermoregulatory demands during incubation under climate variation.

dryad40/100

Water depth influences survival and predator-specific patterns of nest loss in three secretive marsh bird species

Wetlands have become increasingly rare in the United States, negatively influencing wetland-dependent birds, and many remaining wetlands are intensively managed through seasonal dewatering mimicking historic flood pulses during spring and summer. However, water around nests may provide protection from terrestrial predators, and lowering water levels during the breeding season of wetland birds may increase predation risk and exacerbate marsh bird population declines. Understanding interactions between water depth, nesting marsh birds, and nest predators is critical to aid managers in developing a multi-species management approach in emergent wetlands. During the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons, we examined nest survival of 148 marsh bird nests (American Coot, Fulica americana, n = 1; Common Gallinule, Gallinula galeata, n = 64; and Least Bittern; Ixobrychus exilis, n = 83) and installed cameras at 78 nests to identify predators at a large, restored floodplain wetland in Illinois where the primary management technique is seasonal water removal to stimulate germination of moist soil plants. We found nest predation of, and abandonment by, Least Bittern and Common Gallinule were related to shallower water, and early season, high volume dewatering. Least Bitterns nested more commonly along wetland edges and nests farther from the shore were more likely to survive. Similarly, we found mammalian depredation of nests and nest abandonment decreased when deeper water was present around nests. Alternatively, snake predation was observed earlier in the year prior to water removal from inundated emergent vegetation. Our results demonstrate water depth may be an important deterrent of nest predators, especially mammals, during the breeding season. Further, we recommend managers delay dewatering until after the nesting season at sites where management for conservation-priority marsh birds is a focus.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

dryad40/100

Secondary Amazon rainforest partially recovers tree cavities suitable for nesting birds in 18–34 years

Passive restoration of secondary forests can partially offset loss of biodiversity following tropical deforestation. Tree cavities, an essential resource for cavity-nesting birds, are usually associated with old forest. We investigated the restoration time for tree cavities suitable for cavity-nesting birds in secondary forest at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) in central Amazonian Brazil. We hypothesized that cavity abundance would increase with forest age, but more rapidly in areas exposed to cutting only, compared to areas where forest was cut and burned. We also hypothesized that cavities would be lower, smaller, and less variable in secondary forest than in old-growth forest, which at the BDFFP is part of a vast lowland forest with no recent history of human disturbance. We used pole-mounted cameras and tree-climbing to survey cavities in 39 plots (each 200 × 40 m) across old-growth forests and 11–34 year-old secondary forests. We used generalized linear models to examine how cavity supply was related to forest age and land-use history (cut only vs cut-and-burn), and principal components analysis to compare cavity characteristics between old-growth and secondary forest. Cavity availability increased with secondary forest age, regardless of land-use history, but the oldest secondary forest (31–34 years) still had fewer cavities (mean ± SE = 9.8 ± 2.2 cavities/ha) than old-growth forest (20.5 ± 4.2 cavities/ha). Moreover, secondary forests lacked cavities that were high and deep, with large entrances – characteristics likely to be important for many species of cavity-nesting birds. Several decades may be necessary to restore cavity supply in secondary Amazonian forests, especially for the largest birds (e.g, forest-falcons and parrots > 190 g). Retention of legacy trees as forest is cleared might help maintain a supply of cavities that could allow earlier recolonization by some species of cavity-nesting birds when cleared areas are abandoned.

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2023View details →

263 MAG annotations for three nested metagenomic studies describe crop-shrub-microbe interactions in an agroecology system in the Sahel

The Sahel region of West Africa is a vulnerable eco-region, where climate change induced drought and a rapidly growing population pose serious threats to food security and contribute to soil degradation. Local and biologically based systems are necessary to maintain crop yields and soil health, and intercropping with native woody shrubs Guiera senegalensis has been discovered as a solution. We have previously shown that soil microbial communities are significantly altered by the presence of shrubs, and that these organisms may have plant growth promoting properties. Here, we augment those data with metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data across three nested experiments: a landscape scale experiment across a rainfall and soil type gradient, a long-term experimental site, and a growth chamber simulated drought experiment.  We  recovered 263 95% ANI dereplicated metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs)  of medium and high quality to evaluate their relative enrichment and what their encoded metabolisms reveal about mechanisms of microbiome millet support. These data contribute to our understanding of the role of the microbial community crop drought resilience in the Sahel and in semi-arid cropping systems globally. Here we present the DRAM annotations of each MAG, all associated metadata, viral genes and vOTUs from the Optimized Shrub Intercropping Study (OSS), and eukaryotic contigs from the OSS

FIGURE 33 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 33. Histological sections of IGM/1004. Specimens are viewed using polarized petrographic light microscopy under oil- immersion. White circles denote growth lines.

FIGURE 32. A in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 32. A. Radial thin section of IGM 100/1004 eggshell under plain polarized light. Scale bar equals 0.5 mm. B. Radial view of IGM 100/1004 eggshell under SEM. Scale bar equals 0.1 mm. The double-headed arrow indicates a pore. Accretion lines are visible to either side of the pore in the upper third of the eggshell (marked with triangles).

FIGURE 34 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 34. The hind limb of a small oviraptorid (AMNH FARB 33092) associated with the Oviraptor philoceratops holotype (AMNH FARB 6517).

FIGURE 7. A in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 7. A dinosaur nest being excavated at Ukhaa Tolgod in July 2013. Left to right: Suzann Goldberg, Maraal Bayra, and Jian-Ye Chen.

FIGURE 16 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 16. The uncinate processes of: A. Conchoraptor gracilis (IGM 100/1203) and B. Citipati osmolskae (IGM 100/978).

FIGURE 14 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 14. Close up of cervical vertebrae of: A. the Citipati osmolskae holotype (IGM 100/978); B. Conchoraptor gracilis (IGM 100/1203); and C, the Oviraptor philoceratops holotype (AMNH FARB 6517). Note how long the vertebrae of Citipati are relative to their widths compared to the other taxa.

FIGURE 6 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 6. Michael Novacek (left) and Mark Norell (right) excavating IGM 100/1004. Courtesy of Louis Psihoyos.

FIGURE 8 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 8. An unsuccessful poaching attempt that resulted in the destruction of an oviraptorid nest, summer of 2014. Fragments of bone suggest that an adult may have been associated. Apparently the nest fell out of a jacket as it was being flipped.

FIGURE 5 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 5. Death Row sub locality of the Camels Humps. Arrow signifies where IGM 100/1004 was excavated.

FIGURE 4. IGM 100 in A Second Specimen of Citipati osmolskae Associated with a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia

FIGURE 4. IGM 100/1004. An adult Citipati osmolskae collected in 1995 from the Death Row sublocality at Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia, in dorsal view (opposite page and above).