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Nest size and breeding success in first and replacement clutches: an experimental study in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

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Abstract

Bird nests function to protect parents, eggs or offspring against fluctuations in the environment. In Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) producing first or replacement clutches, we examined relationships between nest height (a measure of nest size) and several parameters of breeding performance that are often quantified in long-term avian field studies. We artificially increased the cost of reproduction in randomly selected females by removing the whole first clutch and nest material after about 5 days of incubation. This experiment resulted in replacement nests. Experimentally increasing the range of breeding conditions across females, we expected to have more power to detect a positive correlation between nest height and breeding success. However, we found that nest height was not significantly related to any of the breeding traits investigated (clutch size, number of hatchlings, number of fledglings, hatching success, fledging success, chick mass), after controlling for factors frequently investigated in long-term monitoring programs and known to influence breeding performance (female age, year, clutch type as a proxy of egg-laying date). We conclude that the identification of the exact underlying mechanisms causing relationships between nest characteristics and breeding performance will require more experimental study and the exploitation of larger datasets, both within and across avian model systems.

Zusammenfassung

Vogelnester schützen Elternvögel, Eier oder Jungvögel vor Schwankungen in der Umwelt. Wir haben bei Blaumeisen (Cyanistes caeruleus), die Erst-oder Ersatzgelege produzierten, die Beziehungen zwischen Nesthöhe (einem Maß für Nestgröße) und mehreren Bruterfolgsparametern, die oftmals in Langzeitfeldstudien an Vögeln quantifiziert werden, untersucht. Wir haben für zufällig ausgewählte Weibchen die Kosten der Fortpflanzung experimentell erhöht, indem wir das gesamte Erstgelege sowie Nistmaterial nach etwa fünf Tagen Bebrütung entfernt haben. Dieses Experiment hatte Ersatznester zur Folge. Unsere Erwartung war, dass wir eine positive Korrelation zwischen Nesthöhe und Bruterfolg eher entdecken können, wenn wir die Brutbedingungen für Weibchen experimentell variabler machen. Wir fanden jedoch, dass die Nestgröße nicht signifikant mit irgendeinem der untersuchten Brutparameter (Gelegegröße, Anzahl geschlüpfter und ausgeflogener Jungvögel, Schlupf-und Ausfliegeerfolg, Körpermasse der Küken) zusammenhing, nachdem wir Faktoren, die in Langzeitstudien häufig untersucht werden und bekanntermaßen die Fortpflanzungleistung beeinflussen (Weibchenalter, Jahr, Gelegetyp als Maß für Legedatum), berücksichtigt hatten. Wir schlussfolgern, dass für die Ermittlung der genauen Mechanismen, die Zusammenhänge zwischen Nestmerkmalen und Fortpflanzungleistung verursachen, mehr experimentelle Untersuchungen und größere Datensätze benötigt werden, sowohl innerhalb als auch zwischen verschiedenen Vogel-Modellsystemen.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the many students that participated in field work and the cefe members for discussion or administrative help. Elisa Lobato, and two referees provided constructive comments on an advanced version of the manuscript. This study has been funded by the Centre National de le Recherche Scientifique (France), l’Agence National de le Recherche (ANR, France), and the University of Montpellier. Bird rings were provided by the CRBPO, France.

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  1. UMR 5175 du CNRS, CEFE, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Marcel M. Lambrechts, Carla Aimé, Afiwa Midamegbe, Marie-Jo Galan, Philippe Perret, Arnaud Grégoire & Claire Doutrelant

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  1. Marcel M. Lambrechts
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  2. Carla Aimé
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  3. Afiwa Midamegbe
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  7. Claire Doutrelant
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Correspondence to Marcel M. Lambrechts.

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Communicated by T. Friedl.

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Lambrechts, M.M., Aimé, C., Midamegbe, A. et al. Nest size and breeding success in first and replacement clutches: an experimental study in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus . J Ornithol 153, 173–179 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0722-1

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