Nests in the cities: adaptive and non-adaptive phenotypic plasticity and convergence in an urban bird.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity plays a critical role in adaptation to novel environments. Behavioural plasticity enables more rapid responses to unfamiliar conditions than evolution by natural selection. Urban ecosystems are one such novel environment in which behavioural plasticity has been documented. However, whether such plasticity is adaptive, and if plasticity is convergent among urban populations, is poorly understood. We studied the nesting biology of an 'urban-adapter' species, the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), to understand the role of plasticity in adapting to city life. We examined (i) whether novel nesting behaviours are adaptive, (ii) whether pairs modify nest characteristics in response to prior outcomes, and (iii) whether two urban populations exhibit similar nesting beha

SUBMITTER: Bressler SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7779513 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature