Inadvertent social information in breeding site selection of natal dispersing birds

Several species use the number of young produced as public information (PI) to assess breeding site quality. PI is inaccessible for synchronously breeding birds because nests are empty by the time the young can collect this information. We investigate if location cues are the next best source of ina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2006-02, Vol.273 (1584), p.349-355
Main Authors: Nocera, Joseph J, Forbes, Graham J, Giraldeau, Luc-Alain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammodramus nelsoni
Animals
Aves
Aviculture
Behavior, Animal
Bird nesting
Breeding
Breeding seasons
Breeding sites
Conspecific Attraction
Dispersal
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Environment
Female
Habitat Selection
Inadvertent Social Information
Logistic Models
Male
Male animals
Prospecting
Public Information
Songbirds - growth & development
Songbirds - physiology
Sparrows
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Summary:Several species use the number of young produced as public information (PI) to assess breeding site quality. PI is inaccessible for synchronously breeding birds because nests are empty by the time the young can collect this information. We investigate if location cues are the next best source of inadvertent social information (ISI) used by young prospectors during breeding site choice. We experimentally deployed ISI as decoys and song playbacks of breeding males in suitable and sub-optimal habitats during pre- and post-breeding periods, and monitored territory establishment during the subsequent breeding season for a social, bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), and a more solitary species, Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni). The sparrows did not respond to treatments, but bobolinks responded strongly to post-breeding location cues, irrespective of habitat quality. The following year, 17/20 sub-optimal plots to which bobolink males were recruited were defended for at least two weeks, indicating that song heard the previous year could exert a 'carry-over attraction' effect on conspecifics the following year. Sixteen recruited males were natal dispersers, as expected when animals have little opportunity to directly sample their natal habitat quality. We suggest that differences in breeding synchronicity may induce an equivalent clinal distribution of ISI use.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2005.3318