Geographic Variation in Nest Size Among Species of Peromyscus

King, John A.; Maas, D. L.; Weisman, Ronald G.

doi:10.2307/2406395

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…This pattern is not exclusive to birds. Several species of nest building rodents, including Peromyscus mice [38], Flying Squirrels, Glaucomys volans [39], Hispid Cotton Rats, Sigmodon hipidus [40], and other species (see [41]), build larger nests when breeding in colder regions. The repeated pattern of nest size increasing with elevation and latitude strongly suggests that selective pressures common to these locations favor larger nests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in the Structure of Bird Nests between Northern Manitoba and Southeastern Ontario

2011

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Traits that converge in appearance under similar environmental conditions among phylogenetically independent lineages are thought to represent adaptations to local environments. We tested for convergence in nest morphology and composition of birds breeding in two ecologically different locations in Canada: Churchill in northern Manitoba and Elgin in southeastern Ontario. We examined nests from four families of passerine birds (Turdidae: Turdus, Parulidae: Dendroica, Emberizidae: Passerculus and Fringillidae: Carduelis) where closely related populations or species breed in both locations. Nests of American Robins, Yellow Warblers, and Carduelis finches had heavier nest masses, and tended to have thicker nest-walls, in northern Manitoba compared with conspecifics or congenerics breeding in southeastern Ontario. Together, all species showed evidence for wider internal and external nest-cup diameters in northern Manitoba, while individual species showed varying patterns for internal nest-cup and external nest depths. American Robins, Yellow Warblers, and Carduelis finches in northern Manitoba achieved heavier nest masses in different ways. American Robins increased all materials in similar proportions, and Yellow Warblers and Common Redpolls used greater amounts of select materials. While changes in nest composition vary uniquely for each species, the pattern of larger nests in northern Manitoba compared to southeastern Ontario in three of our four phylogenetically-independent comparisons suggests that birds are adapting to similar selective pressures between locations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in the Structure of Bird Nests between Northern Manitoba and Southeastern Ontario

2011

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“…This pattern has also been shown in other taxa. For example, several rodents, including Peromyscus mice (King et al. , 1964), flying squirrels, Glaucomys volans (Muul, 1974), and hispid cotton rats, Sigmodon hispidus (Shump, 1978), build larger nests in colder, more northerly locations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latitudinal variation in blue tit and great tit nest characteristics indicates environmental adjustment

Mainwaring

Hartley

Bearhop

et al. 2012

Journal of Biogeography

122

144

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Aim The laying of eggs and the building of a nest structure to accommodate them are two of the defining characteristics of members of the class Aves. Nest structures vary considerably across avian taxa and for many species the design of the completed nest can have important consequences for both parents and their offspring. While nest characteristics are expected to vary adaptively in response to environmental conditions, large-scale spatial variation in nest characteristics has been largely overlooked. Here, we examined the effects of latitudinal variation in spring temperatures on nest characteristics, including insulatory properties, and reproductive success of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, and great tits, Parus major. \ud \ud Location Great Britain. \ud \ud Methods Nests and reproductive data were collected from seven study sites, spread over five degrees of latitude. Then, the nest insulatory properties were determined before the nests were separated into either nest base material or cup lining material. \ud \ud Results As spring temperatures increased with decreasing latitude, the mass of the nest base material did not vary in either species, whilst the mass of the cup lining material and nest insulatory properties decreased in both species. This suggests that in response to increasing temperatures the breeding female reduces the mass of the cup lining material thereby maintaining an appropriate microclimate for incubating and brooding. The mean laying dates of both species advanced with decreasing latitude and increasing spring temperatures, although reproductive success did not vary. \ud \ud Main conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that birds are systematically adjusting their nest structure in response to variation in ambient temperatures across large spatial scales. Therefore, nest composition reliably indicates environmental conditions and we suggest that studies of nest structure may be sentinels for the early signs of rapid climate change

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“…All these traits are considered to contribute to a behavioral phenotype adapted to cold ambient temperatures (Barnett, 1956;Barnett and Dickson, 1984a, b, 1986, 1989Barnett et al, 1975;Glaser and Lustick, 1975;Lynch, 1973Lynch, , 1977Lynch, , 1980Hegmarm, 1972, 1973;Lynch and Possidente, 1978;Lynch et al, 1976;Muul, 1968;Pearson, 1960). Natural populations ofMus domesticus (Lynch, 1992;Plomin and Manosevitz, 1974) and Peromyscus (King et al, 1964) show a geographic cline in nest-building behavior, in which northern populations build larger nests compared to southern populations. In these natural populations of Mus domesticus nest-building behavior is positively correlated with nest-building at 4~ and body weight (Lynch, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple selection responses in house mice bidirectionally selected for thermoregulatory nest-building behavior: Crosses of replicate lines

Bult

Lynch

1996

Behav Genet

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Replicate high-selected, control, and low-selected lines were crossed at generation 46 of bidirectional selection for thermoregulatory nest-building behavior. Previous analysis of the lines at their limits had revealed multiple responses to uniform selection, where each of the four selected lines responded differently to reverse selection (Laffan, 1989). The reciprocal F1 crosses showed significant heterosis for nest-building behavior compared to the contemporaneous generations of the parental lines. This pattern of heterosis in all three crosses is consistent with the finding that nest-building behavior in each of the four replicate lines had a different genetic basis, in spite of the phenotypic similarity between the two replicate lines in the high and low direction of nesting. This heterosis effect and the larger number of young weaned in all three crosses compared to their respective contemporaneous generation of the parental lines also support earlier findings that larger nests are closely related to fitness.

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Geographic Variation in Nest Size Among Species of Peromyscus

Cited by 25 publications

References 3 publications

Variation in the Structure of Bird Nests between Northern Manitoba and Southeastern Ontario

Variation in the Structure of Bird Nests between Northern Manitoba and Southeastern Ontario

Latitudinal variation in blue tit and great tit nest characteristics indicates environmental adjustment

Multiple selection responses in house mice bidirectionally selected for thermoregulatory nest-building behavior: Crosses of replicate lines

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