First description of nest-decoration behaviour in a wild sub-Antarctic shorebird

International audience A wide range of animal species accumulate objects in, on, and/or around structures they build. Sometimes, these accumulations serve specific functions (e.g. structural or isolating features) or are purely incidental, while in other cases the materials are deliberately displaye...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioural Processes
Main Authors: Danel, Samara, Zidat, Timothée, Lucas, Annick, Biro, Dora, Bonadonna, Francesco
Other Authors: Department of Zoology Oxford, University of Oxford, School of Biosciences Cardiff, Cardiff University, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-03324982
https://hal.science/hal-03324982/document
https://hal.science/hal-03324982/file/chionis%20pour%20hall.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104408
Description
Summary:International audience A wide range of animal species accumulate objects in, on, and/or around structures they build. Sometimes, these accumulations serve specific functions (e.g. structural or isolating features) or are purely incidental, while in other cases the materials are deliberately displayed to serve signalling purposes (extended phenotype signals). In this pilot study, we employed systematic in situ observations and camera trapping to describe for the first time that both partners of a territorial shorebird, the black-faced sheathbill (Chionis minor ssp minor) collect, carry, and arrange colourful marine shells and dry twigs within and around their nest cavity. Our observations expand the taxonomic breadth of avian extended phenotype signals, by showing that at least one species within a largely understudied group i.e., Charadriiformes, exhibits nest-decoration behaviour. Multiple manipulative experiments are needed to explore further the signalling function of these decorations, which opens new exciting avenues for animal communication and cognition research.