NDLI: Is nest predation an important selective pressure determining fecal sac removal? The effect of olfactory cues

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Ibáñez Álamo, Juan Diego Ruiz Raya, Francisco Roncalli, Gianluca Soler, Manuel
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	The removal of nestling feces by adults is a common parental behavior in birds. However, this behavior is still poorly understood despite being an important component of parental care, especially in altricial bird species. The threat of nest predation is a major factor that influences many parental activities at the nest and, therefore, it could also be an important selective pressure determining fecal sac removal. To date, this ‘Nest Predation Hypothesis’ has not been tested despite being proposed more than a century ago. Furthermore, it is important to determine whether it is the olfactory and/or visual components of fecal sacs that attract predators. In this study, we have manipulated the presence of real droppings of Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) nestlings in active nests by hiding fresh fecal sacs (experimental), mud (control) or nothing (manipulation control) in a commercial Canary nest attached below natural nests. Our results showed that the presence of fecal sacs did not reduce the daily survival rate of experimental nests in comparison with the other two treatments. It would therefore appear that predation risk is not a selection pressure that maintains feces removal in nests of the Common Blackbird, at least in relation to the olfactory component of the feces. To date, all evidence suggests that this aspect of parental behavior could be affected by other selective pressures (i.e. parasitism) rather than nest predation. Nevertheless, the effect of the visual cues produced by fecal sacs should be further investigated before the Nest Predation Hypothesis is completely discarded. Stellt Nestprädation einen wichtigen Selektionsdruck für die Entfernung von Kotballen dar? Die Auswirkungen olfaktorischer Signale Die Entfernung des Nestlingskots durch die Eltern ist eine bei Vögeln verbreitete Verhaltensweise. Obwohl diese also, besonders bei Nesthockern, ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Brutpflege ist, wurde sie bislang noch kaum erforscht. Nestprädation beeinflusst bekanntermaßen das Verhalten der Altvögel hinsichtlich der Brutpflegeaktivitäten am Nest und könnte daher auch einen wichtigen Selektionsdruck für die Entfernung der Kotballen darstellen. Jedoch gibt es bisher noch keine richtigen Tests der “Nestprädationshypothese”, obwohl diese bereits vor über einem Jahrhundert formuliert wurde. Des Weiteren ist es wichtig zu unterscheiden, ob die potenzielle Anlockung der Prädatoren durch die Kotballen auf deren olfaktorischen und/oder visuellen Komponenten beruht. In dieser Untersuchung manipulierten wir das Vorhandensein echten Nestlingskots an aktiven Nestern der Amsel (Turdus merula), indem wir frische Kotballen (Experiment), Schlamm (Kontrolle) oder nichts (Manipulationskontrolle) in handelsüblichen Kanariennestern versteckten, die unter den Naturnestern angebracht wurden. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigten, dass Kotballen die tägliche Nestüberlebensrate der Versuchsnester im Vergleich mit den beiden anderen Gruppen nicht herabsetzten. Daher scheint es sich beim Prädationsrisiko nicht um einen Selektionsdruck zu handeln, der der die Kotentfernung bei Amselnestern begünstigt, zumindest bezogen auf die olfaktorische Komponente des Kots. Bislang deuten alle Hinweise darauf, dass dieser Aspekt des elterlichen Verhaltens anderen Selektionsfaktoren (z. B. Parasitismus) unterliegt als der Nestprädation. Dennoch sollte der Einfluss der von den Kotballen ausgehenden visuellen Signale genauer untersucht werden, bevor die Nestprädationshypothese endgültig verworfen werden kann.
Starting Page	491
Ending Page	496
Page Count	6
File Format	PDF
ISSN	21937192
Journal	Journal für Ornithologie
Volume Number	155
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	21937206
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2013-12-07
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Fecal sacs Nest predation Nest sanitation Turdus merula Zoology Animal Ecology Evolutionary Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
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4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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