The roles of temperature, nest predators and information parasites for geographical variation in egg covering behaviour of tits (Paridae) Universiteit Antwerpen
Frank Adriaensen, Olli Loukola, Raivo Mänd, Petri Niemelä, Vladimir Remes, Juan, Carlos Senar, Tore Slagsvold, Alberto Sorace, Barbara Tschirren, János Török, Jukka Forsman, Peter Adamik, Emilio Barba, Blandine Doligez, Tapio Eeva, Sami Kivelä, Toni Laaksonen, Chiara Morisinotto
Aim: Nest building is widespread among animals. Nests may provide receptacles for eggs, developing offspring and the parents, and protect them from adverse environmental conditions. Nests may also indicate the quality of the territory and its owner and can be considered as an extended phenotype of its builder(s). Nests may, thus, function as a sexual and social signal. Here, we examined ecological and abiotic factors—temperature, nest predation and interspecific information utilization—shaping geographical variation in a specific nest structure—hair and feather cover of eggs— and its function ...