Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood
Abstract Background Floods and other extreme events have disastrous effects on wetland breeding birds. However, such events and their consequences are difficult to study due to their rarity and unpredictable occurrence. Methods Here we compared nest-sites chosen by Reed Parrotbills (Paradoxornis heu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0141-1 |
| _version_ | 1797966520998952960 |
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| author | Laikun Ma Jianwei Zhang Jianping Liu Canchao Yang Wei Liang Anders Pape Møller |
| author_facet | Laikun Ma Jianwei Zhang Jianping Liu Canchao Yang Wei Liang Anders Pape Møller |
| author_sort | Laikun Ma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Floods and other extreme events have disastrous effects on wetland breeding birds. However, such events and their consequences are difficult to study due to their rarity and unpredictable occurrence. Methods Here we compared nest-sites chosen by Reed Parrotbills (Paradoxornis heudei) during June‒August 2016 in Yongnianwa Wetlands, Hebei Province, China, before and after an extreme flooding event. Results Twenty-three nests were identified before and 13 new nests after the flood. There was no significant difference in most nest-site characteristics, such as distance from the road, height of the reeds in which nests were built, or nest volume before or after the flood. However, nests after the flood were located significantly higher in the vegetation compared to before the flood (mean ± SE: 1.17 ± 0.13 m vs. 0.75 ± 0.26 m, p < 0.01). However, predation rate also increased significantly after the flood (67% vs. 25%, p = 0.030). Conclusions Our results suggested that Reed Parrotbills demonstrated behavioral plasticity in their nest-site selection. Thus, they appeared to increase the height of their nests in response to the drastically changing water levels in reed wetlands, to reduce the likelihood that their nests would be submerged again by flooding. However, predation rate also increased significantly after the flood, suggesting that the change in nest height to combat the threat of flooding made the nests more susceptible to other threats, such as predation. Animals’ response to rare climatic events, such as flooding, may produce ecological traps if they make the animals more susceptible to other kinds of threats they are more likely to continue to encounter. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:16:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa2aff923469463fa75c52f1e3ca68f7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:16:45Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa2aff923469463fa75c52f1e3ca68f72023-01-03T01:05:53ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662019-01-011011810.1186/s40657-019-0141-1Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme floodLaikun Ma0Jianwei Zhang1Jianping Liu2Canchao Yang3Wei Liang4Anders Pape Møller5Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal UniversityMinistry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal UniversityMinistry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal UniversityMinistry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal UniversityMinistry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal UniversityEcologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-SaclayAbstract Background Floods and other extreme events have disastrous effects on wetland breeding birds. However, such events and their consequences are difficult to study due to their rarity and unpredictable occurrence. Methods Here we compared nest-sites chosen by Reed Parrotbills (Paradoxornis heudei) during June‒August 2016 in Yongnianwa Wetlands, Hebei Province, China, before and after an extreme flooding event. Results Twenty-three nests were identified before and 13 new nests after the flood. There was no significant difference in most nest-site characteristics, such as distance from the road, height of the reeds in which nests were built, or nest volume before or after the flood. However, nests after the flood were located significantly higher in the vegetation compared to before the flood (mean ± SE: 1.17 ± 0.13 m vs. 0.75 ± 0.26 m, p < 0.01). However, predation rate also increased significantly after the flood (67% vs. 25%, p = 0.030). Conclusions Our results suggested that Reed Parrotbills demonstrated behavioral plasticity in their nest-site selection. Thus, they appeared to increase the height of their nests in response to the drastically changing water levels in reed wetlands, to reduce the likelihood that their nests would be submerged again by flooding. However, predation rate also increased significantly after the flood, suggesting that the change in nest height to combat the threat of flooding made the nests more susceptible to other threats, such as predation. Animals’ response to rare climatic events, such as flooding, may produce ecological traps if they make the animals more susceptible to other kinds of threats they are more likely to continue to encounter.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0141-1Ecological trapFloodsNest-site selectionParadoxornis heudeiPhenotypic plasticity |
| spellingShingle | Laikun Ma Jianwei Zhang Jianping Liu Canchao Yang Wei Liang Anders Pape Møller Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood Avian Research Ecological trap Floods Nest-site selection Paradoxornis heudei Phenotypic plasticity |
| title | Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood |
| title_full | Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood |
| title_fullStr | Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood |
| title_short | Adaptation or ecological trap? Altered nest-site selection by Reed Parrotbills after an extreme flood |
| title_sort | adaptation or ecological trap altered nest site selection by reed parrotbills after an extreme flood |
| topic | Ecological trap Floods Nest-site selection Paradoxornis heudei Phenotypic plasticity |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0141-1 |
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