Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function

The European starling Sturnus vulgaris is a hole-nesting bird in which the male builds a voluminous nest using a wide variety of materials such as twigs, grass, leaves, feathers, and lichens. The function of lichens in starling nests has not been assessed until now and we hypothesize that this mater...

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Autores principales: Ibañez, L.M., García, R.A., Fiorini, V.D., Montalti, D.
Formato: JOUR
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_13000179_v42_n3_p316_Ibanez
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spelling todo:paper_13000179_v42_n3_p316_Ibanez2023-10-03T16:09:18Z Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function Ibañez, L.M. García, R.A. Fiorini, V.D. Montalti, D. Egg-laying onset Insecticide Mate attraction Nesting material Philornis Ramalina Reproduction egg production lichen mate attraction nest structure nesting behavior passerine reproductive behavior Europe Aves Diptera Philornis Ramalina Ramalina celastri Sturnus vulgaris The European starling Sturnus vulgaris is a hole-nesting bird in which the male builds a voluminous nest using a wide variety of materials such as twigs, grass, leaves, feathers, and lichens. The function of lichens in starling nests has not been assessed until now and we hypothesize that this material is related to a mate attraction function or is used to protect nestlings from parasites due to the presence of secondary compounds with insecticidal effects with the lichens. We aimed to identify the lichen species and frequency of lichen use in European starling nests, and to determine if the presence of this material is correlated with mate attraction or with an insecticidal function. We found lichens in 45% of nests, mainly represented by Ramalina celastri. The lichens were added to the nests mainly before the beginning and at the end of nest building and egg-laying started earlier in nests with lichens than those without lichens. No association was found between the presence of lichen and the intensity of Philornis larvae (Diptera), a parasite that infests starling nestlings. Our results suggest that the addition of lichens could be related to mate attraction and a stimulus for the beginning of egg-laying but did not have an antiparasitic function in European starling nests. © TÜBİTAK. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_13000179_v42_n3_p316_Ibanez
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Egg-laying onset
Insecticide
Mate attraction
Nesting material
Philornis
Ramalina
Reproduction
egg production
lichen
mate attraction
nest structure
nesting behavior
passerine
reproductive behavior
Europe
Aves
Diptera
Philornis
Ramalina
Ramalina celastri
Sturnus vulgaris
spellingShingle Egg-laying onset
Insecticide
Mate attraction
Nesting material
Philornis
Ramalina
Reproduction
egg production
lichen
mate attraction
nest structure
nesting behavior
passerine
reproductive behavior
Europe
Aves
Diptera
Philornis
Ramalina
Ramalina celastri
Sturnus vulgaris
Ibañez, L.M.
García, R.A.
Fiorini, V.D.
Montalti, D.
Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
topic_facet Egg-laying onset
Insecticide
Mate attraction
Nesting material
Philornis
Ramalina
Reproduction
egg production
lichen
mate attraction
nest structure
nesting behavior
passerine
reproductive behavior
Europe
Aves
Diptera
Philornis
Ramalina
Ramalina celastri
Sturnus vulgaris
description The European starling Sturnus vulgaris is a hole-nesting bird in which the male builds a voluminous nest using a wide variety of materials such as twigs, grass, leaves, feathers, and lichens. The function of lichens in starling nests has not been assessed until now and we hypothesize that this material is related to a mate attraction function or is used to protect nestlings from parasites due to the presence of secondary compounds with insecticidal effects with the lichens. We aimed to identify the lichen species and frequency of lichen use in European starling nests, and to determine if the presence of this material is correlated with mate attraction or with an insecticidal function. We found lichens in 45% of nests, mainly represented by Ramalina celastri. The lichens were added to the nests mainly before the beginning and at the end of nest building and egg-laying started earlier in nests with lichens than those without lichens. No association was found between the presence of lichen and the intensity of Philornis larvae (Diptera), a parasite that infests starling nestlings. Our results suggest that the addition of lichens could be related to mate attraction and a stimulus for the beginning of egg-laying but did not have an antiparasitic function in European starling nests. © TÜBİTAK.
format JOUR
author Ibañez, L.M.
García, R.A.
Fiorini, V.D.
Montalti, D.
author_facet Ibañez, L.M.
García, R.A.
Fiorini, V.D.
Montalti, D.
author_sort Ibañez, L.M.
title Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
title_short Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
title_full Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
title_fullStr Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
title_full_unstemmed Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
title_sort lichens in the nests of european starling sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_13000179_v42_n3_p316_Ibanez
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AT garciara lichensinthenestsofeuropeanstarlingsturnusvulgarisserveamateattractionratherthaninsecticidalfunction
AT fiorinivd lichensinthenestsofeuropeanstarlingsturnusvulgarisserveamateattractionratherthaninsecticidalfunction
AT montaltid lichensinthenestsofeuropeanstarlingsturnusvulgarisserveamateattractionratherthaninsecticidalfunction
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