Nest architecture is linked with ecological success in songbirds

Abstract

Bird nests are essential structures that directly determine the fitness of an organism. While there is theory and evidence predicting an association between species nest traits and their habitat, few studies have comprehensively examined the macroevolutionary patterns driving nest evolution, species niche and their interrelation. Using information on 3174 species of songbirds, we show that species that build domed nests (i.e. nests with a roof) have smaller ranges, narrower thermal niches, are less likely to colonise urban environments and have potentially higher extinction rates compared to species that build open nests. Moreover, we show that these macroevolutionary patterns could be driven by the higher energetic demands when building domed nests, which consumes more time and might restrict breeding opportunities. These diverse strands of evidence suggest that the transition from domed to open nests in passerines represents an important evolutionary innovation behind the success of the largest radiation of birds.

Linking ecological specialization to its macroevolutionary consequences: An example with passerine nest type

“…This comparison emphasizes that phylogenetic studies of specialization that do not account for hidden states may need to reevaluate their null hypotheses of diversification. For example, a recent study by Medina et al (2022) concluded that there are differences in extinction rates between cup and dome nesters, but hidden state models in this study were not presented due to failed convergence, and extinction rates cannot be interpreted independently from speciation rates (Helmstetter et al 2021), so the link between nest type and diversification remained untested. Our results, in combination with recent tests of the evolutionary dead end hypothesis, show that there is growing evidence that specialization rarely leads to an evolutionary dead end (Stern et al 2017; Villastrigo et al 2020).…”