Plasticity in nesting adaptations of a tidal marsh endemic bird.

ABSTRACT: If individuals can perceive and manage risks, they may alter their behaviors based on prior experience. This expectation may apply to nest site selection of breeding birds, for which adaptive behavioral responses may enhance fitness. Birds that nest in tidal marshes have adapted to the challenges posed primarily by periodic, monthly tidal flooding and secondarily by predation. We investigated adaptive responses in nesting behavior of the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacutus), an obligate tidal-marsh-breeding bird, using 536 nests monitored across 5 years. Using linear mixed effects models, we tested whether nest characteristics differed among nests that were successful, depredated, or flooded, and we investigated whether females made changes in nest structure and placement accord

SUBMITTER: Benvenuti B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6262926 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature