Research activity does not affect nest predation rates of the Silver-throated Tit, a passerine bird building domed\xa0nests

Qian Hu,Jiangnan Yin,Haohui Guan,Yong Wang,Jiliang Xu,Jianqiang Li,Pengcheng Wang,Gaoyang Yu,Lei Lv,Zhengwang Zhang,Ye Wen

doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00214-9

Abstract

BackgroundResearch activities have often been thought to potentially influence avian nesting success by increasing nest predation rates. Although recent studies of species building open nests and cavity nests suggest that research disturbance does not generally induce nest predation, whether it is also the case in species building domed-nests remains unknown. In birds, domed-nest species exist in about half of the passerine families, and research disturbance to the domed nests may differ from that to the nests of other types for their different nest structures.MethodsWe investigated if research activities affected nest predation rate by analyzing the relationships of the daily nest survival rate with the research activities at the egg and nestling stages of a domed-nest species, the Silver-throated Tit (Aegithalos glaucogularis).ResultsOur results showed that nest daily survival rate was significantly affected by the laying date and nest age during the egg stage, and by the hatching date only during the nestling stage. By contrast, there were no significant effects of research activities, in terms of visiting nests and filming nests, on the nest survival of the Silver-throated Tit at both the egg and nestling stages.ConclusionsOur results coincide with the findings in species building other types of nests that research activities do not always have negative effects on avian nesting success.

Highlights

Research activities have often been thought to potentially influence avian nesting success by increasing nest predation rates
Our study examines the relationship between nest visit activities by researchers and the daily nest survival rate (DSR) of a domed-nest species, the Silver-throated Tit (Aegithalos glaucogularis), for both the egg stage and the nestling stage, respectively
Our study represents the first to test the effect of research disturbance on the DSR of the birds that build domed nests

Summary

Introduction

Research activities have often been thought to potentially influence avian nesting success by increasing nest predation rates. Human activities may cause habitat fragmentations, which can elevate nest predation rates by increasing edge effects (Chalfoun et al 2002; Batáry and Báldi 2004). The researches on wild birds, as one type of the most direct human activities toward birds, have received a lot of attention about whether they influence birds’ nesting success, by the public and the researchers themselves (e.g., Ibáñez-Álamo et al 2012; Gibson et al 2015; Stein et al 2017).

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Conclusion