acta ethol https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-017-0281-4 ORIGINAL PAPER Nest-dismantling behavior of yellow-bellied prinia in mainland andislandpopulations Longwu Wang1,2 & Shun-Jen Cheng3 & Yu-Cheng Hsu3 & Wei Liang2 Received: 7 February 2017 /Accepted: 1 December 2017 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature and ISPA 2017 Abstract Nest-dismantling behavior in birds is considered a Introduction fitness-maximizing adaptive behavior. Here, we compared nest- dismantling behavior and associated predation rates and nest A nest is a temporary structure in which birds lay and hatch characteristics in yellow-bellied prinia (Prinia flaviventris)on eggs and brood nestlings. Usually, nests are abandoned after mainland China and the island of Taiwan during the breeding chicks fledge or new nests are built (Cavitt et al. 1999; Hansell season from 2010 to 2014. Our results indicated that the pro- 2000, 2007); however, some birds exhibit nest-dismantling portion of individuals showing nest-dismantling behavior was behavior. For example, the hair-crested drongo Dicrurus higher on the island than on the mainland (29.3 vs. 0.8%). Nest- hottentottus removes all nesting materials after a successful dismantling behavior was most frequent at the peak of the reproduction and disposes the materials far from the original breeding season and mainly involved removing the upper nest site (Li et al. 2009). To date, this is the only bird species halves of the nests and reusing the materials to construct new reported to exhibit nest-dismantling behavior after a success- nests. The time taken to dismantle old nests and use the mate- ful reproduction. Nest-dismantling behavior has also been re- rials to build new ones was shorter than the time needed to build ported in other birds, such as the house wren Troglodytes completely new nests. Nest predation, fidelity to the nest site, aedon and sedge wren Cistothorus platensis, which dismantle distance between old and new nests, and the costs of searching nests of conspecifics or other species in their breeding areas to for nest materials could influence nest-dismantling behavior. avoid intraspecific or interspecific competition, respectively Our results suggested that saving time and energy searching (Picman and Picman 1980; Belles-Iisles and Picman 1986; for new nest materials was the primary motivation behind Pribil and Picman 1991). The polygynandrous acorn wood- nest-dismantling behavior in yellow-bellied prinia. pecker Melanerpes formicivorus is a cooperative breeder, and when a group experiences the loss of male helpers, some in- dividuals will dismantle the nests of their partners, forcing Keywords Island effect . Nest-dismantling . Predation . them to rebuild new nests (see Koenig 1990). The blue-gray Yellow-bellied prinia gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea dismantles old or abandoned nests in its territory and reuses the nesting materials to build new nests. Nest-dismantling behavior can prevent competition * Wei Liang from other nearby breeding pairs and save time and energy [email protected] searching for nesting materials (Picman and Picman 1980; 1 Belles-Iisles and Picman 1986). Some birds such as the Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Development Regulation, ochre-bellied flycatcher Mionectes oleaginea, Hawai‘icreeper School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, China Oreomystis mana, and cerulean warbler Dendroica cerulea save time and energy in nest building by stealing other birds’ 2 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, nesting materials (Snow and Snow 1979; VanderWerf 1998; Haikou 571158, China Jones et al. 2007). 3 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, The following hypotheses have been proposed for the evo- National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 97401, Taiwan lutionary origins and adaptation of bird nest-dismantling acta ethol behavior: (1) the Bpredation hypothesis^ states that by remov- open plains with a subtropical monsoon climate (for details, ing the nest materials, local predators cannot easily find newly see Yang et al. 2014). fledged chicks around the nests, thereby increasing the surviv- Yellow-bellied prinia belongs to the Passeriformes: al rates of chicks. In addition, removing nest materials from Cisticolidae. They build their nests in low bushes or small the old nest may reduce the predation risk for adult birds while shrubs, and both male and female birds are involved in the gathering new nesting materials elsewhere (Li et al. 2009; nest building process. The nests are mostly spherical, with Slager et al. 2012); (2) the Bnest site competition hypothesis^ side openings in the upper half (Lo and Cheng 2007;Ding states that birds dismantle old nests to conceal successful nest et al. 2008, 2017). Yellow-bellied prinia is a suitable host for sites that can be used in the next breeding season (Li et al. the Oriental cuckoo Cuculus optatus (see Xia et al. 2016)and 2009;Cantrelletal.2016). This hypothesis also states that the brood parasitism has been observed in the field (La Touche cost of building a new nest in a new territory is greater than the 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934; Zhang 1980;Yangetal.2014). cost of building a new nest at the old site after dismantling the old nest; therefore, birds usually choose the latter to avoid intense competition for territories (Belles-Iisles and Picman Field data collection 1986; Pribil and Picman 1991); (3) the Bevolutionary relic hypothesis^ states that nest-dismantling behavior was benefi- KOWA (8 × 30) Binoculars (Kowa Company, Ltd., cial to the breeding success of parent birds in the past, so nest- Nagoya, Japan) were used to systematically search for dismantling behavior is an adaptive reproductive strategy (Li nest habitats in the field. Located nests were marked and et al. 2009); (4) the Btime and energy hypothesis^ states that observed over the entire breeding season and the output of dismantling nests of conspecifics or other species and reusing each nest was recorded from the start of nest building to the nest materials to build new nests save time and reduce the the successful fledging of the young birds. We began re- energetic costs of searching for new nest materials (Jones et al. cording observations when the birds began to dismantle 2007). their nests and continued until the nests were completely The yellow-bellied prinia Prinia flaviventris is a small, dismantled or until the dismantling behavior ceased. The passerine bird that is widely distributed in Southern China extent of nest dismantling was quantified in increments of (MacKinnon and Phillipps 1999;Zhao2001). During the 10% from 10 to 100%. We divided the nest into ten equal breeding season, male and female birds build nests together portions from the top to the bottom, and each portion and males reduce the lengths of their tails, which are longer in equivalent to 10% was considered one unit. If the birds the wintering period (Ding et al. 2007; Zhang et al. 2007;Ding used materials from old nests to build new nests, the dis- et al. 2008). We found that the proportion of nest-dismantling tance between the two nests was measured using a laser behavior in yellow-bellied prinia was high and inconsistent rangefinder (TAJIMA LKT-F03, TJM Design between populations on mainland China and the island of Corporation, Tokyo, Japan; range 0–30 m, precision Taiwan. Therefore, we compared the nest-dismantling behav- 0.001 m). To compare the nest size and nest materials ior of yellow-bellied prinia in two study areas representing between the two study areas, we randomly selected 30 these two regions and investigated the adaptation of nest- nests from each area and measured the height, width, dismantling behavior of yellow-bellied prinia. and diameter of the opening and depth of the nests and recorded the type of nest material (Table 1). Methods Data analysis Study areas A one-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to analyze This study was conducted on mainland China and the island of the normality of the data. When the data were normally dis- Taiwan. In mainland China, the study was conducted in tributed, a t test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) Nonggang National Nature Reserve (23°39′ N, 107°04′ E) in was used to compare the mean values; Welch’s t test was used Guangxi Province from April to July, 2010–2014. The area when variance was heterogenous. If the data were not normal- had a wide-open terrain with sugarcane Saccharum ly distributed, a non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was officinarum as the main crop. The study area in Taiwan was conducted. All tests were two-tailed; differences were consid- in Shoufeng Township, Hualien County (23°51′ N, 121°31′ ered significant at P < 0.05, highly significant at P < 0.01, and E), and was studied during the same time as the area in main- not significant at P > 0.05. Statistical analysis was conducted land China. The area was mainly wild, weedy wasteland, and using IBM SPSS Version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, the main plant species included Miscanthus floridulus, Bidens USA), and unless otherwise specified, all results are presented pilosa, and Pennisetum purpureum. Both study areas were as mean ± SD. acta ethol Table 1 Comparison of nest parameters between mainland and Study Height (mm) Width (mm) Hole diameter Depth (mm) Number of plant N island prinia populations. Values area (mm) species are means ± SD Mainland 134.95 ± 6.71 70.05 ± 3.83 51.67 ± 2.08 51.96 ± 2.47 1 30 Island 136.32 ± 3.18 71.76 ± 4.35 52.03 ± 2.23 52.47 ± 2.75 9 30 t − 1.013 − 1.621 df 58 58 58 58 P 0.315 0.110 0.523 0.451 Results simple. The nest sizes did not differ between the two study areas (Table 1).