Abstract
The use of nestboxes to study secondary cavity nesting avian species has greatly improved the knowledge related to many fields of environmental sciences. The aim of this study has been to compare the breeding performance of Great Tits (Parus major) and Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in two types of nestboxes that differ with regard to their shape and thermal properties. Both nestbox types were placed in the same area to avoid confounding factors. There were significant differences between the extreme values of temperature and relative humidity obtained for the two nestbox types, and this was also the case in their daily patterns. Secondary hole-nesting birds appear to prefer breeding in woodcrete nestboxes. Nest predation was, however, significantly greater in woodcrete nestboxes. The nest height was significantly higher in woodcrete nestboxes, as was the danger distance between the nest cup and the entrance hole, which could account for the fact that Great Tits prefer this type of nestbox. The laying date was earlier in woodcrete boxes, but nestbox type did not influence clutch size. However, the eggs of both species were significantly smaller in woodcrete boxes. Breeding success was worse in woodcrete nestboxes. Nestbox type also affected the incubation pattern in both species, and attentiveness was significantly diminished in woodcrete nestboxes. This study reinforces the idea that the type of nestbox used in avian studies is not a trivial issue and may have strong biological effects on avian populations. It is important to take this into account when nestboxes are used as management measures for bird conservation.
Zusammenfassung
Auswirkungen des Nistkastentyps auf die Brutleistung der sekundären Höhlenbrüter Kohlmeise und BlaumeiseDie Benutzung von Nistkästen für Studien über sekundäre Höhlenbrüter hat zur Weiterentwicklung vieler Bereiche der Biowissenschaften beigetragen. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war der Vergleich der Brutleistung der Kohlmeise (Parus major) und der Blaumeise (Cyanistes caeruleus) in zwei Nistkastentypen mit unterschiedlicher Form und thermischen Eigenschaften. Beide Nistkastentypen wurden in derselben Gegend positioniert, um verfälschende Faktoren zu vermeiden. Es wurden signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den maximalen und minimalen Temperaturen sowie zwischen der relativen Luftfeuchtigkeit gemessen, und dies betraf auch deren Tageschwankungen. Beide Arten bevorzugten die Holzbetonnistkästen. Nestraub war aber signifikant höher in den Holzbetonkästen. Die Nesthöhe war in Holzbetonkästen signifikant größer, ebenso die Distanz zwischen Eingang und das Nest. Dies könnte einer der Gründe sein, dass Kohlmeisen diesen Typ von Nistkasten präferieren. Der Legebeginn war in Holzbetonkästen früher; der Nistkastentyp hatte aber keinen Einfluss auf die Gelegegröße. Allerdings waren die Eier beider Arten in den Holzbetonkästen signifikant kleiner und der Bruterfolg war geringer in den Holzbetonkästen. Der Nistkastentyp beeinflusste auch das Bebrütungsmuster beider Arten und die Aufmerksamkeit der Brutvögel am Nest war geringer bei Holzbetonkästen. Diese Studie unterstützt die Annahme, dass der Typ des Nistkastens keine triviale Rolle in ornithologischen Studien spielt und große biologische Einflüsse haben kann. Dies ist zu berücksichtigen, wenn Nistkästen im Vogelschutz eingesetzt werden.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ardia DR, Pérez JH, Chad EK, Voss MA, Clotfelter ED (2009) Temperature and life history: experimental heating leads female tree swallows to modulate egg temperature and incubation behavior. J Anim Ecol 78:4–13
Barrientos R, Bueno-Enciso J, Serrano-Davies E, Sanz JJ (2015) Facultative interspecific brood parasitism in tits: a last resort to coping with nest-hole shortage. Behav Ecol Sociobio 69:1603–1615
Browne SJ (2006) Effect of nest box construction and colour on the occupancy and the breeding success of nesting tits Parus spp. Bird Study 53:187–192
Chalfoun AD, Martin TE (2007) Latitudinal variation in avian incubation attentiveness and a test of the food limitation hypothesis. Anim Behav 73:579–585
Charif RA, Strickman LM, Waack AM (2010) Raven Pro 1.5 User´s Manual. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, NY
Conway CJ, Martin TE (2000) Effects of ambient temperatures on avian incubation behavior. Behav Ecol 11:178–188
Cooper CB, Mills H (2005) New software for quantifying incubation behavior from time-series recordings. J Field Ornithol 76:352–356
Cooper CB, Voss MA (2013) Avian Incubation Patterns Reflect Temporal Changes in Developing Clutches. PlosOne 8:e65521
Dhondt AA, Adriaensen F (1999) Experiments on competition between great and blue tit: effects on blue tit reproductive success and population processes. Ostrich 70:39–48
DuRant SE, Hopkins WA, Hepp GR, Walters JR (2013) Ecological, evolutionary, and conservation implications of incubation temperature dependent phenotypes in birds. Biol Rev 88:499–509
García-Navas V, Arroyo L, Sanz JJ, Díaz M (2008) Effect of nestbox type on the occupancy and the breeding biology of Tree Sparrow Passer montanus in central Spain. Ibis 150:356–364
Greño JL, Belda EJ, Barba E (2008) Influence of temperatures during the nestling period on post-fledging survival of great tit Parus major in a Mediterranean habitat. J Avian Biol 39:41–49
Haftorn S, Reinertsen RE (1985) The effect of temperature and clutch size on the energetic costs of incubation in a free-living Blue tit (Parus caeruleus). Auk 102:470–478
Haftorn S, Reinertsen RE (1990) Thermoregulatory and behavioural responses during incubation of free-living Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. Ornis Scand. 21:255–264
Hoyt DF (1979) Practical methods of estimating volume and fresh weight of bird egg. Auk 96:73–77
Lambrechts MM, Adriaensen F, Ardia DR, Artemyev AV, Atiénzar F, Bańbura J et al (2010) The design of artificial nestboxes for the study of secondary hole-nesting birds: a review of methodological inconsistencies and potential biases. Acta Ornithol 45:1–26
Lambrechts MM, Demeyrier V, Fargevieille A, Giovannini P, Lucas A, Marrot P, Midamegbe A, Perret P, Charmantier A, Doutrelant C, Grégoire A (2014) Great tits build shallower nests than Blue tits. Avian Biol Res 7:251–254
Mazgajski TD, Rykowska Z (2008) Dependence of nest mass on nest hole depth in the Great tit Parus major. Acta Ornithol 43:49–55
Mertens JAL (1977) Thermal conditions for successful breeding in Great Tits (Parus major L.). Oecologia 28:1–29
Møller AP (1989) Parasites, predators and nest boxes: facts and artefacts in nest box studies of birds? Oikos 56:421–423
Møller AP, Adriaensen F, Artemyev A, Bańbura J, Barba E, Biard C et al (2014a) Clutch size in European secondary hole-nesting passerines in relation to nest-box floor area, habitat, geographic location and study year. Methods Ecol Evol 5:353–362
Møller AP, Adriansen F, Artemyev A, Bańbura J, Barba E, Biard C et al (2014b) Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds. Ecol Evol 4:3583–3595
Moreno J, Sanz JJ (1994) The relationship between the energy expenditure during incubation and the clutch size in the Pied Flycatchers. J Avian Biol 25:125–130
Nager RG, van Noordwijk AJ (1992) Energetic limitation in the egg-laying period of great tits. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 249:259–263
Nilsson JF, Stjernman M, Nilsson JÅ (2008) Experimental reduction of incubation temperature affects both nestling and adult blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus. J Avian Biol 39:553–559
Nord A, Nilsson JÅ (2011) Incubation temperature affects growth and energy metabolism in Blue Tit nestlings. Am Nat 5:639–651
Salvador A, Pleguezuelos JM (2002) Reptiles Españoles. Identificación, historia natural y distribución. In Sfagnos. Canseco Editores S.L. Talavera de la Reina, Toledo
Sanz JJ, García-Navas V (2009) Eggshell pigmentation pattern in relation to breeding performance of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus. J Anim Ecol 78:31–41
Sorace A, Carere C (1996) Occupation and breeding parameters in the great tit Parus major and the Italian sparrow Passer italiae in nest-boxes of different size. Ornis Svecica 6:173–177
Tinbergen JM, Williams JB (2002) Energetics of incubation. In: Deeming DC (ed) Avian Incubation: Behavior, Environment and Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 299–313
van Balen JH (1973) A comparative study of the breeding ecology of the Great Tit Parus major in different habitats. Ardea 61:1–93
Yom-Tov Y, Wright J (1993) Effect of heating nest-boxes on egg-laying in the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus). Auk 110:95–99
Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Walker NJ, Saveliev AA, Smith GM (2009) Mixed Effects Models and Extensions in Ecology with R. Series: Statistics for Biology and Health. ed. Springer
Acknowledgments
We thank the council of San Pablo de los Montes for the facilities provided during field work. The English was reviewed by S. Newton. Funding was provided by the MINECO (CGL2010-21933-C02-01; CGL2013-48001-C02-1P), the JCCM and the European Social Fund (POIC10-0269-7632). ESF and JBE are both supported by a doctoral scholarship from the JCCM-European Social Fund and RB is part of the JCCM-FSE 2007/2013 postdoctoral programme and has a “Juan de la Cierva” post-doctoral contract (JCI-2011-10945).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.
Additional information
Communicated by F. Bairlein.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bueno-Enciso, J., Ferrer, E.S., Barrientos, R. et al. Effect of nestbox type on the breeding performance of two secondary hole-nesting passerines. J Ornithol 157, 759–772 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1339-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1339-1