Linking anti-predator behaviour and habitat quality: group effect in nest defence of a passerine bird

Abstract

In habitats where the density of breeding individuals is higher, breeding success has been shown to increase with the number of close conspecific and heterospecific neighbours. However, the mechanisms linking habitat quality, group size of prey individuals and offspring defence are poorly known. In this field study, we examined the relationships between habitat quality and parental nest defence behaviour in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). We found that mobbing is more intense in unmanaged forests where birds breed in more dense and diverse communities than in heavily managed young forests where heterospecific densities are lower. We also found that the mobbing activities of pied flycatchers breeding in unmanaged mature boreal forests attracted more neighbouring prey individuals than in nearby managed forests. This study shows that habitat quality-mediated effects might be responsible for the decreased group size of mobbing birds in managed forests, which may lead to less effective communal defence.