RT Journal Article
T1 Environmental conditions but not nest composition affect reproductive success in an urban bird
A1 Capilla-Lasheras, Pablo
A1 Bondía, Blanca
A1 Aguirre de Miguel, José Ignacio
AB Adjusting the composition of their nests, breeding birds can influence the environmental conditions that eggs and offspring experience. Birds often use feathers to build nests, presumably due to their insulating properties. The amount of feathers in nests is often associated with increased nestling survival and body condition. However, it is unclear whether these putative beneficial effects of adding feathers to nests are relevant in a wide range of environmental conditions. Here, we combine data on weather conditions and feathers in nests (i.e., nest composition) to investigate their relative contribution to reproductive success in the Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus). Specifically, we investigate whether the effect of weather conditions on breeding success is modulated by the amount of feathers added to the nest. We found a strong negative effect of rainfall on the number of nestlings that successfully fledged per breeding attempt, but this negative effect was not mitigated by the amount of feathers in nests. We also found that the amount of feathers in nests varied along the breeding season, with nests containing more feathers early in the breeding season, when temperatures were lower. Despite considerable variation in nest composition, our results do not suggest an important role of feathers in nests protecting eggs or nestling tree sparrows against fluctuations in environmental conditions.
PB Willey
SN 2045-7758
YR 2021
FD 2021-03-12
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8195
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8195
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
NO Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 30 abr 2024