Abstract
All birds construct nests in which to lay eggs and/or raise offspring. Traditionally, it was thought that natural selection and the requirement to minimize the risk of predation determined the design of completed nests. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that sexual selection also influences nest design. This is an important development as while species such as bowerbirds build structures that are extended phenotypic signals whose sole purpose is to attract a mate, nests contain eggs and/or offspring, thereby suggesting a direct trade-off between the conflicting requirements of natural and sexual selection. Nest design also varies adaptively in order to both minimize the detrimental effects of parasites and to create a suitable microclimate for parents and developing offspring in relation to predictable variation in environmental conditions. Our understanding of the design and function of birds' nests has increased considerably in recent years, and the evidence suggests that nests have four nonmutually exclusive functions. Consequently, we conclude that the design of birds' nests is far more sophisticated than previously realized and that nests are multifunctional structures that have important fitness consequences for the builder/s.
Highlights
Nest building is a taxonomically widespread activity, with birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and insects all constructing nests of some description in which to lay eggs and/or raise offspring (Hansell 2000)
There is a huge amount of variation in nest design across taxa, with nests varying from underground burrows dug by mammals, minimal nest scrapes on the ground in which game birds lay their eggs, the craters constructed by fish on the bed of water bodies, the huge mounds constructed by termites through to the cup-shaped nests of song birds in trees and bushes (Collias and Collias 1984; Reichman and Smith 1990; Hansell 2005)
There is a great deal of variation in nest design and in birds, nests range from the small but elaborate cupshaped nests built by passerine birds through to the huge mounds built by megapodes (Hansell 2000)
Summary
Nest building is a taxonomically widespread activity, with birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and insects all constructing nests of some description in which to lay eggs and/or raise offspring (Hansell 2000). Observational studies have shown that male-built nests play a role in sexual selection (Andersson 1982; Soler et al 1998a,b) as there is often a positive correlation between some aspect of nest size or design and some aspect of the male’s phenotype.
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