Competition for nest‐boxes among four vertebrate species: an experimental study in orange groves
The experiment was carried out in eastern Spain from 1986 to 1988. The nest‐boxes were placed at the height where natural holes occur, visited twice a week, and cleaned after every breeding season. Four vertebrate species used the nest‐boxes: great tit Parus major , house sparrow Passer domesticus ,...
| Published in: | Ecography |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1990
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1990.tb00606.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0587.1990.tb00606.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1990.tb00606.x |
| Summary: | The experiment was carried out in eastern Spain from 1986 to 1988. The nest‐boxes were placed at the height where natural holes occur, visited twice a week, and cleaned after every breeding season. Four vertebrate species used the nest‐boxes: great tit Parus major , house sparrow Passer domesticus , tree sparrow Passer montanus , and black rat Rattus rattus. The first species to occupy the nest‐boxes, the great tit, was the least able to defend them. During the third year breeding by the great tit in the nest‐boxes decreased markedly, probably due to the increase of house sparrow and black rat occupation. We suggest that differences among species in their ability to discover and use new holes could allow some inferior competitors to breed in a habitat along with more aggressive competing species. |
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