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37 results for “nest box”
Chickadee breeding and parasite survey from Boulder, Sugarloaf, and MRS nest boxes, 2019 - 2021.
Between the years 2019 and 2021 chickadees were sampled at the NWT LTER as part of a broader study encompassing multiple projects (The Boulder Chickadee Study). Here we provide data on the presence of infections with haemosporidian parasites for Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and Mountain Chickadees (P. gambeli). Haemosporidian parasites are a diverse group of apicomplexans that infect vertebrate hosts during a portion of their life cycle (Valkiunas, G. 2004). We screened chickadees for infections with three haemosporidian genera: Leucocytozoon, Plasmodium, and Haemoproteus using a nested PCR protocol (Hellgren et al. 2004). Both nestlings and adults were screened for parasites in 2019 and 2020 but we only screened adults in 2021. Chickadees sampled at NWT LTER did not have detectable infections with Haemoproteus or Plasmodium, however, we found multiple infections with Leucocytozoon. In conjunction with findings at other field sites, infections with Leucocytozoon parasites appear more common for adult chickadees sampled at higher elevation, while Plasmodium parasites were almost exclusively found in the city of Boulder (Theodosopoulos et al. 2023).
Do nest boxes breed the target species or its competitors? A case study of a critically endangered bird
<p>Nest boxes are widely used for habitat restoration. Unfortunately, competitors of the target species may exploit nest boxes, creating perverse outcomes. Avoiding habitats preferred by nontarget species, while favoring those of the target species, requires an adaptive management approach if limited information about species preferences is available when deploying boxes. Using nest boxes intended for Swift Parrots Lathamus discolor, we identify factors associated with nontarget species occupancy (Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris and Tree Martin Petrochelidon nigricans) in newly deployed boxes in 2016, and then again after 3 years had elapsed in 2019. Box occupancy by different species depended on the interaction between distance of individual boxes to the forest edge and year. Although the target species exploited similar numbers of nest boxes in both years, competitors were the main beneficiaries of established boxes. A subordinate native nest competitor increased box occupancy likelihood at greater distances from forest edges in both years, but the relationship was stronger in 2019. Introduced Common Starlings S. vulgaris were most likely to occupy boxes close to forest edges, but the magnitude of this relationship was much greater for established than newly deployed boxes. We suggest that permanent box deployments for Swift Parrots may produce perverse outcomes by increasing nesting habitat for Common Starlings. We suggest that for species that only use cavities for part of their life cycle, managers should limit access to boxes outside of critical times to reduce the likelihood that pest populations can exploit restoration efforts and create new problems.</p>
Efficacy of intervention to relieve nest box competition for Orange‐bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster
<p><span>We use an experimental approach to evaluate the effectiveness of removing nests of a dominant competitor to create vacant nest boxes for a critically endangered parrot. We compared the number of times that Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans – the dominant competitor at nest boxes) perched at or entered nest boxes intended for Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster – the subordinate nest competitor) over three time periods (before, immediately after and one week after experimental nest destruction). In the before period, rates of nest attendance by martins in treatment and control nests were not explained by treatment group. After experimental nest destruction, total attendance at boxes by martins rose to a mean of 6.1 visits over three five-minute surveys in the treatment group, compared with 3.3 visits at control boxes. Within individual surveys, martins visited treatment boxes 4.4 times per survey one week after nest destruction, compared with only 1.6 visits in the control group. Martins in the treatment group rapidly rebuilt their nests and laid replacement clutches, and within a week, all boxes were reoccupied. Nest destruction did not increase nesting opportunities for the parrot, and increased vigilance of the dominant competitor may in fact reduce nesting opportunities in nearby boxes. Our study suggests that removing martin nests is an ineffective management action for alleviating nest competition for this parrot.</span></p>
Fig. 2 in Nest Predation In The African Blue Tit, Cyanistes Teneriffae (Aves, Paridae), Using Nest-Boxes And Artificial Nests
Fig. 2. Predation rates versus years, %.
Fig. 1 in Nest Predation In The African Blue Tit, Cyanistes Teneriffae (Aves, Paridae), Using Nest-Boxes And Artificial Nests
Fig. 1. Location of the study area.
Fig. 3 in Nest Predation In The African Blue Tit, Cyanistes Teneriffae (Aves, Paridae), Using Nest-Boxes And Artificial Nests
Fig. 3. Predation typology in nest-boxes, %.
Nest-boxes alter the reproductive ecology of urban cavity-nesters in a species-dependent way
<p><span>Human-provided nesting shelters such as nest-boxes mitigate the shortage of natural breeding sites. Since artificial nests are not where animals evolved and optimised their reproductive performance, it remains inconclusive if these are adequate substitutes, ensuring equivalent fitness returns while breeding. In particular, most knowledge on the ecology of cavity-nesting birds comes from nest-box populations, but no study has directly compared fitness consequences of breeding inside nest-boxes in relation to natural cavities in cities. We directly compare the reproductive performance, life-history trait variation and fitness consequences for two small passerines, blue and great tits, breeding in nest-boxes as opposed to natural cavities in an urban deciduous forest. We use a quasi-experimental setting to comprehend the conservation potential of these artificial cavities and to support/question generalisations stemming from nest-box studies. We show that the effects of cavity type vary between species: in blue tits, fitness proxies were negatively affected by nest-boxes (lower fledging success and fledgling numbers, longer time spent in the nest and later fledging date relative to natural cavities), while in great tits, the fitness proxies were unaffected by cavity type. Importantly, we detected accelerated incubation in both species breeding in nest-boxes. No differences in pre-hatching traits (lay date, clutch size, hatching rates) between cavity types suggest that the fitness deterioration occurred because of post-hatching effects. We highlight the ecological importance of old-growth tree stands, providing natural cavities for city-breeding animals and the need for quantifying alterations of reproductive ecology in other taxa using human-provided nests. Due to the detected cavity type-dependent variation in reproductive performance, we support the criticism regarding the unconditional extrapolation of evolutionary and ecological interpretations of nest-box studies to general populations.</span></p>
Data for: Microclimate shifts in nest-boxes and natural cavities throughout reproduction
<p>Animals breeding in nest-boxes experience nesting environments in which they did not originally evolve. Despite the central importance of nesting microclimate for offspring fitness, little is known about the thermal properties of human-provided nest sites compared to natural ones. In particular, comparisons with offspring in the nest are lacking. Here, we compare microclimate (temperature and absolute humidity) from the onset of breeding, thus starting with nest-site choice and ending with the post-fledging stage, quantified in natural cavities and nest-boxes used by several species of hollow-nesting birds in a temperate deciduous forest. We confirm that across all nesting stages, nest-boxes were thermally unstable when compared to natural cavities, with higher temperature maximums, larger amplitudes and worse insulation from maximum ambient temperatures relative to natural cavities. Surprisingly, as average humidity of natural cavities was previously shown to be higher than in nest-boxes, in the presence of actively thermoregulating young, nest-boxes were more humid than natural cavities. When offspring were in the nest, internal microclimatic shifts were mitigated three times more effectively in natural cavities than in nest-boxes (in terms of mean daily differences from ambient temperature). Artificial cavity microclimate is likely to amplify the adverse effects of projected temperature increases by compromising thermoregulation of developing animals. We stress that conservation efforts should focus on the protection of areas offering natural breeding-hollows to reduce the potential impacts of climate change on breeding animals.</p>
Data from: Falcons using orchard nest boxes reduce fruit-eating bird abundances and provide economic benefits for a fruit-growing region
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Data from: Associations between human non-motorized recreational activity on nest box occupation, exploratory behaviour, and breeding success in a passerine bird
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Do nest boxes breed the target species or its competitors? A case study of a critically endangered bird
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Efficacy of intervention to relieve nest box competition for Orange‐bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster
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Data for: Microclimate shifts in nest-boxes and natural cavities throughout reproduction
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Nest-boxes alter the reproductive ecology of urban cavity-nesters in a species-dependent way
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Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds
<p>Ecological intensification in croplands aims to enhance biodiversity-based ecosystem services, helping to increase yield while reducing agricultural environmental impacts. Identifying ecological intensification tools of wide applicability and easily implemented by farmers is, therefore, an imperative. Here, we verify the efficiency of provisioning artificial nest boxes for insectivorous birds to reinforce pest biological control in apple orchards.</p> <p>The study was conducted in 24 cider-apple orchards in Asturias (NW Spain) over three years. We compared the effect of insectivorous birds between orchards with and without nest boxes occupied by different bird species, through insectivory estimates based on attack on a sentinel pest and measurements of arthropod abundance in apple trees. We also identified preys that birds of different species captured to feed nestlings.</p> <p>Bird occupancy of nest boxes was widespread, ranging 25.0-33.3% each year. Great tit was the dominant species, followed by blue tit and, occasionally, common redstart.</p> <p>Predation pressure on apple pests increased in orchards with nest boxes, as judged by the increased proportion of sentinel models attacked by birds (34.9% increase in 2018 and 41.1% in 2019), decreased biomass of tree-dwelling arthropods (-51.7%) and reduced probability of apple pest occurrence (from 57 to 40%), compared to orchards without nest boxes.</p> <p>Nesting species showed different predatory roles in apple orchards. Fewer attacks on sentinel pests but lower arthropod biomass was associated with blue tit rather than great tit. Besides, blue tit fed nestlings at a faster rate and included in their diet a higher proportion of apple pests than great tit, which preyed mostly on other herbivorous insects.</p> <p>Synthesis and applications. We demonstrated the usefulness of nest boxes for insectivorous birds in enhancing biological control of apple pests at a regional scale, identifying tit species as complementary predators of apple pests and herbivores. From the farmers' perspective, providing nest boxes in orchards may represent an efficient, easy to implement, cheap and attractive measure of ecological intensification, compatible with other actions fostering biodiversity in croplands.</p>
Data from: Nest boxes increase reproductive output for Tree Swallows in a forest grassland matrix in central British Columbia
Secondary cavity-nesting birds depend on tree cavities for nesting and roosting, but many studies of these birds are conducted using nest boxes. Implementation of effective conservation strategies for cavity-nesting species such as nest-site supplementation requires careful comparisons of fecundity and other vital rates for birds using both natural and artificial nest site types. We compared breeding phenology, clutch and brood sizes, and fledging success of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in tree cavities and nest boxes during 2001–2003 in British Columbia, Canada. Swallows using nest boxes initiated egg-laying and hatched young at approximately the same time as those in tree cavities (2 June, 23 June, respectively). Female Tree Swallows in boxes laid larger clutches (5.9 ± 0.9 eggs, N = 76) than those in tree cavities (4.2 ± 1.6 eggs, N = 67). The mean number of nestlings hatched was greater in nest boxes (5.2 ± 1.1 nestlings, N = 67) than in tree cavities (2.6 ± 2.0 nestlings, N = 58). Pairs in boxes were over twice as successful in producing fledglings (93.4%; 57 of 61 pairs fledged > 1 young) than those in tree cavities (35.8%; 19 of 53 pairs). Of those successful nests, pairs nesting in boxes fledged 5.1 ± 1.1 young (N = 57), whereas those in tree cavities fledged 3.5 ± 1.2 young (N = 18). Because cavities in nest boxes averaged 60% larger in volume and 1.8 cm wider internally than tree cavities, we suggest that increased reproductive output was correlated with boxes enabling a larger clutch size. In previous research, we found that Tree Swallows were a poor competitor with other cavity-nesting passerines for tree cavities. The addition of nest boxes may serve as an effective way to supplement local reproduction for secondary cavity-nesting bird populations by reducing competition for limited nest sites. This is especially true in regions where the availability of natural nesting sites is highly variable, and where species compete with many other cavity-nesting passerines using a similar ecological niche and nesting cavities.
Data from: Nest-box temperature affects clutch size, incubation initiation, and nestling health in great tits
Prenatal maternal effects can be a source of phenotypic plasticity and may play a role in adaptation to climate change. However, we do not know how far temperature could influence such effects, if at all. We studied the influence of temperature during egg laying on maternal reproductive investment and on the phenotype of adult females, adult males, and nestlings. We expected temperature to have an effect, as it influences maintenance costs for females, who can also use it as a cue of the advancement of the breeding season. We experimentally increased night-time nest-box temperatures by approximately 1 °C throughout the entire laying period in great tits (Parus major). Clutch size was negatively correlated with laying date in heated females. Heated females did not delay incubation after clutch completion as frequently as control females did. Finally, blood sedimentation rate, which is an indicator of acute infections and inflammatory diseases, was positively correlated with hatching date in control broods. This suggests that nestlings were of lower quality in late-hatched broods than in early-hatched broods. This seasonal effect was not detected in heated nests. Our results show that a small increase in temperature during laying can influence breeding strategy and nestling characteristics. These results suggest that birds used temperature as a cue of seasonal advancement to adjust breeding phenology, with beneficial effects on nestling health. To better understand the consequences of maternal adjustments during egg laying, it would be interesting to combine studies with heating treatment during different periods of the breeding cycle.
Data from: Smart nest box: a tool and methodology for monitoring of cavity-dwelling animals
1.Camera recording and video analysis have emerged as a successful non-invasive method for collecting a wide range of biological data on many different taxa of animals. However, camera monitoring has rarely been applied to long term surveillance of cavity or box-nesting species and ordinary off-the-shelf cameras are employed. 2.We present methodology and data on the effectiveness of nest box monitoring using a camera system embedded in four "smart nest boxes" (SNBoxes). We applied the SNBoxes to eight Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus) nests in the Czech Republic during a five-month period in 2014. Each SNBox consisted of a pair of cameras with infrared lighting, an event detector, a radio-frequency identification reader, auxiliary sensors, and a 60 Ah 12 V battery to power the whole system. All devices used were centrally managed by an embedded computer with specifically developed software. 3.Using four SNBoxes, we observed owl nesting continually during the incubation, nestling, and fledgling phases, in total 309 days, resulting in 3382 owl video events. Batteries were changed every 6.5 days. A memory of 4 GB was found sufficient to store monthly data. We identified 12 types of male and female parental activities and their timing, the diet composition and frequency of prey delivery, the manner of prey storage, the light intensity at the time of each parental activity, the temperature inside the clutch and outside the box, and the duration of nestling period of each young. We also produced a video on owl nesting for the general public. 4.The SNBox and related methodology show enormous potential as a non-invasive tool for monitoring animals using boxes or natural cavities. The main advantage of the SNBox is the possibility to study both nocturnal and diurnal animal species and great flexibility in use of the software and hardware for different tasks. As a result, the SNBox provides an opportunity for novel insights into the breeding, roosting, hibernating, and food storage activities of a wide range of cavity-living birds, mammals, and reptiles.
Determinants of nest box local recruitment and natal dispersal in a declining bird population
<p>Recruitment and dispersal are important demographic rates and studying their determinants is particularly important in the current context of global anthropogenic perturbations. In birds, and especially for migratory species, assessing these rates is challenging because of the difficulties involved in tracking individuals beyond fledging. Here we assessed the determinants of nest box local recruitment and natal dispersal distances in a declining aerial insectivore, the Tree swallow (<em>Tachycineta bicolor</em>). We used a 16-year dataset obtained from the long-term monitoring of a population breeding within a 10,200-km<sup>2</sup> study system located along a gradient of agricultural intensification in southern Québec, Canada. Yearly nest box local recruitment rates ranged there in between 1.0% and 3.2%. Heavier nestlings who fledged earlier were more likely to recruit. Natal dispersal distances were generally short (mean ± SD = 12.7 ± 13.8 km) in the study system and were influenced by different factors depending on sex. Females dispersed over shorter distances when conspecific occupancy on breeding site was high, while males dispersed farther in the presence of competing House sparrows (<em>Passer domesticus</em>) and when their mother was young. Selection of breeding locations appeared to take place at multiple scales and individuals recruited in sites with characteristics similar to their natal sites. Our results provide important information concerning the factors influencing nest box local recruitment and natal dispersal dynamics of this migratory species. These factors should be considered in conservation practices for this species in order to support production of recruits in habitats favorable to their survival.</p>
FIG. 4 in Nest-Site Fidelity and Sex-Biased Dispersal Affect Spatial Genetic Structure of Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) at Their Northern Range Edge
FIG. 4. Analysis of global structure along the river corridor from the first principal component of the sPCA represented by (A) interpolation of lagged principal scores showing genetic clines and (B) colors indicating individual scores. Coordinates have been deliberately omitted to deter poachers.
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