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Evaluation of disruptive camouflage of avian cup-nests

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Mulder_2020_Ibis_Disruptive_CC.pdf (390.2Kb)
Date
01/2021
Author
Mulder, Tom
Campbell, Cori
Ruxton, Graeme Douglas
Keywords
Contrast
Lichens
PAT-GEOM
Spider cocoons
QH301 Biology
DAS
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Abstract
Parent birds employ various strategies to protect their offspring against nest predators. Two well‐researched anti‐nest‐predation strategies involve visual concealment of the nest by way of parental camouflage and egg camouflage. By contrast, camouflage of nest structures is relatively under‐researched, particularly in the case of cup‐nests in trees and bushes. We explored how birds camouflage cup‐nests in nature. Specifically, we tested Hansell’s hypothesis that birds use externally applied pale and white objects such as spider cocoons and lichens to achieve cup‐nest camouflage. To test Hansell’s hypothesis, three complementary experiments were performed: (1) an in situ nest predation experiment; (2) a photo‐based visual search experiment; and (3) contrast analyses using PAT‐GEOM software in IMAGEJ. White paper and chalk spots were used to mimic white objects used by birds in nature. Whereas predation rates in Experiment 1 were not affected by white spots, location rates in Experiment 2 were lower for natural nests with white spots than without white spots. Experiment 3 demonstrated that white spots significantly increased the contrast between different visual elements of nests. It was concluded that white objects can potentially camouflage nests against some nest predators, and that any improved camouflage was probably achieved via disruptive camouflage.
Citation
Mulder , T , Campbell , C & Ruxton , G D 2021 , ' Evaluation of disruptive camouflage of avian cup-nests ' , Ibis , vol. 163 , no. 1 , pp. 150-158 . https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12848
Publication
Ibis
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12848
ISSN
0019-1019
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Ibis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ornithologists' Union. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/20011

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