10.5061/DRYAD.XKSN02VDG
Schwartz, Timothée
0000-0001-8338-5601
A Rocha
Genouville, Arnaud
UniLaSalle
Besnard, Aurélien
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive
Increased microclimatic variation in artificial nests does not create
ecological traps for a secondary cavity breeder, the European roller
Dryad
dataset
2020
2021-09-16T00:00:00Z
2021-09-16T00:00:00Z
en
202117 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Artificial devices are increasingly used in conservation measures to
mitigate the disappearance of natural habitats. However, few studies have
demonstrated their benefits for the target species, and they may pose a
risk of creating ecological traps. This occurs when lower individual
fitness is found in artificial habitats that are more attractive than
their natural equivalents. In this study, we tested the ecological trap
hypothesis on a dense population of European rollers Coracias garrulus
breeding in both natural cavities and nest-boxes. Our initial prediction
was that the more stressful microclimatic conditions of nest-boxes would
lead to reduced fitness of European rollers, thus creating an ecological
trap. The results showed that nest-boxes were preferred over natural
cavities. Despite significantly more extreme microclimatic conditions in
nest-boxes, we found similar breeding parameters between artificial and
natural nest types. Our results also suggest that European rollers
selected the nest-boxes which best buffered the temperature, thus avoiding
potential ecological traps. Overall our results led to the conclusion that
nest-boxes do not create ecological traps for European rollers in this
study area. However, other species may be more sensitive to microclimatic
variations or less able to avoid the least favourable nest-boxes. These
findings could help to inform the placement of nest-boxes in order to
reduce extreme temperatures and variation in humidity rates. Future
studies could compare nest types for other fitness parameters, such as
juvenile body condition or survival. We also recommend the ecological trap
hypothesis as a useful framework to evaluate the outcomes of artificial
devices used for conservation.
See paper (open access)
Meaning of each column: ##########################
alldata_microclimate_15days.csv Name of the column Description Daily
microclimate variables MaxTint Maximal temperature in the nest (°C)
MinTint Minimal temperature in the nest (°C) MoyTint Mean temperature in
the nest (°C) DiffTint Difference between maximal and minimal temperature
in the nest (°C) Dtmoyabs Mean over a day of the absolute delta between
interior and exterior temperature (°C) Dtmaxabs Absolute value of the
daily maximum delta between interior and exterior temperature (°C) Maxhum
Maximum humidity level in the nest (%RH) Minhum Minimum humidity level in
the nest (%RH) Moyhum Mean humidity level in the nest (%RH) DiffHum
Difference between maximal and minimal humidity level in the nest (%RH)
Name Name of the nest-box or cavity Type Nest type : either nest-box or
cavity occupation Occupation of the nest by rollers during the breeding
season : 1 for roller nests, 0 otherwise OccR Real occupation of the nest
during monitoring (roller or starling) : 1 for occupied nests sensor
measurements, 0 for empty nests during sensor measurements Developmental
stage Number of days between the day of measurement and the first
egg-laying date (0 for nests not occupied by rollers) First egg-laying
date Day of the laying of the first egg (for roller nests only) (Julian
calendar date) CH Cavity height (m) CBH Circumference of the tree at
breast height (1.30m) (cm) (natural cavities only) CCH Circumference of
the tree at cavity height (cm) (natural cavities only) Orientation
Entrance orientation of the nest (degrees) Ori Simplified orientation of
the nest (either N, E, S or W with N: 316°-45°; E: 46°-135°; S: 136°-225°;
W: 226°-315°) EH Entrance height (cavity) (mm) (natural cavities only) EW
Entrance width (cavity) (mm) (natural cavities only) CL Cavity length (cm)
(vertical) : minimum distance from the bottom of entrance hole to the
bottom of the chamber (natural cavities only) CD Cavity depth (cm)
(horizontal) : minimum distance from the entrance hole to the back wall of
the cavity (natural cavities only) Date Day of the measurement (Julian
calendar date) ############################
reproduction_data_2016-2019.csv Name of the column Description Name Name
of the nest-box or cavity Type Nest type : either nest-box or cavity year
Year of monitoring of the nest eggs Size of the clutch (complete clutches
only) chicks Number of hatched eggs in complete clutches fledglings Number
of fledglings success 1 if at least 1 fledgling, 0 otherwise n_failed_eggs
Number of eggs that did not produce a fledgling
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average_microclimate_&_characteristics_NB_CAV.csv Name of the
column Description Mean microclimate variables over 15 consecutive days
MAXTint Maximal temperature in the nest (°C) MINTint Minimal temperature
in the nest (°C) MOYTint Mean temperature in the nest (°C) DIFFTint
Difference between maximal and minimal temperature in the nest (°C)
DTMOYabs Mean over a day of the absolute delta between interior and
exterior temperature (°C) DTMAXabs Absolute value of the daily maximum
delta between interior and exterior temperature (°C) MAXHum Maximum
humidity level in the nest (%RH) MINHum Minimum humidity level in the nest
(%RH) MOYHum Mean humidity level in the nest (%RH) DIFFHum Difference
between maximal and minimal humidity level in the nest (%RH) Name Name
of the nest-box or cavity Type Nest type : either nest-box or cavity
occupation Occupation of the nest by rollers during the breeding season :
1 for roller nests, 0 otherwise OccR Real occupation of the nest during
monitoring (roller or starling) : 1 for occupied nests sensor
measurements, 0 for empty nests during sensor measurements CH Cavity
height (m) CBH Circumference of the tree at breast height (1.30m) (cm)
(natural cavities only) CCH Circumference of the tree at cavity height
(cm) (natural cavities only) Orientation Entrance orientation of the nest
(degrees) Ori Simplified orientation of the nest (either N, E, S or W with
N: 316°-45°; E: 46°-135°; S: 136°-225°; W: 226°-315°) EH Entrance height
(cavity) (mm) (natural cavities only) EW Entrance width (cavity) (mm)
(natural cavities only) CL Cavity length (cm) (vertical) : minimum
distance from the bottom of entrance hole to the bottom of the chamber
(natural cavities only) CD Cavity depth (cm) (horizontal) : minimum
distance from the entrance hole to the back wall of the cavity (natural
cavities only)