TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental evidence for state-dependent nest weight in the blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
AU - Mainwaring, Mark C.
AU - Hartley, Ian R.
PY - 2009/5
Y1 - 2009/5
N2 - Parental investment in reproduction is generally limited by food availability, and so avian life-history research has traditionally focused on the brood rearing phase, when food requirements are greatest. Only relatively recently has the focus extended to the incubation phase, and even more recently to the nest-building phase, where observational and comparative evidence suggest that avian nest building is an energetically expensive and time-consuming activity. We aimed to experimentally test the limitations on this cost in a hole-breeding passerine, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), by providing supplementary food to experimental pairs during the nest-building period. In comparison with control females, that did not receive supplementary food, experimental females constructed heavier nests, with greater amounts of moss base but similar amounts of cup lining, despite there being no differences in the time taken to build the nest. This study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that avian nest building is a costly behaviour, limited by food availability.
AB - Parental investment in reproduction is generally limited by food availability, and so avian life-history research has traditionally focused on the brood rearing phase, when food requirements are greatest. Only relatively recently has the focus extended to the incubation phase, and even more recently to the nest-building phase, where observational and comparative evidence suggest that avian nest building is an energetically expensive and time-consuming activity. We aimed to experimentally test the limitations on this cost in a hole-breeding passerine, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), by providing supplementary food to experimental pairs during the nest-building period. In comparison with control females, that did not receive supplementary food, experimental females constructed heavier nests, with greater amounts of moss base but similar amounts of cup lining, despite there being no differences in the time taken to build the nest. This study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that avian nest building is a costly behaviour, limited by food availability.
KW - Blue tit
KW - Cyanistes caeruleus
KW - Nest construction
KW - Nest weight
KW - Reproductive costs
KW - Supplementary food
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=63349087821&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.02.001
DO - 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.02.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 19429209
AN - SCOPUS:63349087821
SN - 0376-6357
VL - 81
SP - 144
EP - 146
JO - Behavioural Processes
JF - Behavioural Processes
IS - 1
ER -