Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds
AU - Moller, Anders P.
AU - Adriaensen, Frank
AU - Artemyev, Alexandr
AU - Banbura, Jerzy
AU - Barba, Emilio
AU - Biard, Clotilde
AU - Blondel, Jacques
AU - Bouslama, Zihad
AU - Bouvier, Jean-Charles
AU - Camprodon, Jordi
AU - Cecere, Francesco
AU - Charmantier, Anne
AU - Charter, Motti
AU - Cichon, Mariusz
AU - Cusimano, Camillo
AU - Czeszczewik, Dorota
AU - Demeyrier, Virginie
AU - Doligez, Blandine
AU - Doutrelant, Claire
AU - Dubiec, Anna
AU - Eens, Marcel
AU - Eeva, Tapio
AU - Faivre, Bruno
AU - Ferns, Peter N.
AU - Forsman, Jukka T.
AU - Garcia-Del-Rey, Eduardo
AU - Goldshtein, Aya
AU - Goodenough, Anne E.
AU - Gosler, Andrew G.
AU - Gozdz, Iga
AU - Gregoire, Arnaud
AU - Gustafsson, Lars
AU - Hartley, Ian R.
AU - Heeb, Philipp
AU - Hinsley, Shelley A.
AU - Isenmann, Paul
AU - Jacob, Staffan
AU - Jaervinen, Antero
AU - Juskaitis, Rimvydas
AU - Korpimaeki, Erkki
AU - Krams, Indrikis
AU - Laaksonen, Toni
AU - Leclercq, Bernard
AU - Lehikoinen, Esa
AU - Loukola, Olli
AU - Lundberg, Arne
AU - Mainwaring, Mark C.
AU - Maend, Raivo
AU - Massa, Bruno
AU - Mazgajski, Tomasz D.
AU - Merino, Santiago
AU - Mitrus, Cezary
AU - Moenkkoenen, Mikko
AU - Morales-Fernaz, Judith
AU - Morin, Xavier
AU - Nager, Ruedi G.
AU - Nilsson, Jan-Ake
AU - Nilsson, Sven G.
AU - Norte, Ana C.
AU - Orell, Markku
AU - Perret, Philippe
AU - Pimentel, Carla S.
AU - Pinxten, Rianne
AU - Priedniece, Ilze
AU - Quidoz, Marie-Claude
AU - Remes, Vladimir
AU - Richner, Heinz
AU - Robles, Hugo
AU - Rytkoenen, Seppo
AU - Carlos Senar, Juan
AU - Seppaenen, Janne T.
AU - da Silva, Luis P.
AU - Slagsvold, Tore
AU - Solonen, Tapio
AU - Sorace, Alberto
AU - Stenning, Martyn J.
AU - Toeroek, Janos
AU - Tryjanowski, Piotr
AU - van Noordwijk, Arie J.
AU - von Numers, Mikael
AU - Walankiewicz, Wieslaw
AU - Lambrechts, Marcel M.
PY - 2014/9
Y1 - 2014/9
N2 - Nests are structures built to support and protect eggs and/or offspring from predators, parasites, and adverse weather conditions. Nests are mainly constructed prior to egg laying, meaning that parent birds must make decisions about nest site choice and nest building behavior before the start of egg-laying. Parent birds should be selected to choose nest sites and to build optimally sized nests, yet our current understanding of clutch size-nest size relationships is limited to small-scale studies performed over short time periods. Here, we quantified the relationship between clutch size and nest size, using an exhaustive database of 116 slope estimates based on 17,472 nests of 21 species of hole and non-hole-nesting birds. There was a significant, positive relationship between clutch size and the base area of the nest box or the nest, and this relationship did not differ significantly between open nesting and hole-nesting species. The slope of the relationship showed significant intraspecific and interspecific heterogeneity among four species of secondary hole-nesting species, but also among all 116 slope estimates. The estimated relationship between clutch size and nest box base area in study sites with more than a single size of nest box was not significantly different from the relationship using studies with only a single size of nest box. The slope of the relationship between clutch size and nest base area in different species of birds was significantly negatively related to minimum base area, and less so to maximum base area in a given study. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that bird species have a general reaction norm reflecting the relationship between nest size and clutch size. Further, they suggest that scientists may influence the clutch size decisions of hole-nesting birds through the provisioning of nest boxes of varying sizes.
AB - Nests are structures built to support and protect eggs and/or offspring from predators, parasites, and adverse weather conditions. Nests are mainly constructed prior to egg laying, meaning that parent birds must make decisions about nest site choice and nest building behavior before the start of egg-laying. Parent birds should be selected to choose nest sites and to build optimally sized nests, yet our current understanding of clutch size-nest size relationships is limited to small-scale studies performed over short time periods. Here, we quantified the relationship between clutch size and nest size, using an exhaustive database of 116 slope estimates based on 17,472 nests of 21 species of hole and non-hole-nesting birds. There was a significant, positive relationship between clutch size and the base area of the nest box or the nest, and this relationship did not differ significantly between open nesting and hole-nesting species. The slope of the relationship showed significant intraspecific and interspecific heterogeneity among four species of secondary hole-nesting species, but also among all 116 slope estimates. The estimated relationship between clutch size and nest box base area in study sites with more than a single size of nest box was not significantly different from the relationship using studies with only a single size of nest box. The slope of the relationship between clutch size and nest base area in different species of birds was significantly negatively related to minimum base area, and less so to maximum base area in a given study. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that bird species have a general reaction norm reflecting the relationship between nest size and clutch size. Further, they suggest that scientists may influence the clutch size decisions of hole-nesting birds through the provisioning of nest boxes of varying sizes.
KW - Hole nesting
KW - natural holes
KW - nest boxes
KW - reaction norm
U2 - 10.1002/ece3.1189
DO - 10.1002/ece3.1189
M3 - Journal article
VL - 4
SP - 3583
EP - 3595
JO - Ecology and Evolution
JF - Ecology and Evolution
SN - 2045-7758
IS - 18
ER -