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Jun

4

2008
 
 

Flight from an evolutionary trap



Island birds adjust nesting behaviour in response to alien predators

bellbird... not at the nest!Island life for many species was easy until we showed up with our various commensal hangers-on in tow. The arrival of rats, mice, cats, hedgehogs, stoats and even brush tail possums was a disaster for New Zealand’s birds, but a study published today in PLoS ONE shows it’s not all doom and gloom. University of Canterbury researcher Melanie Massaro and colleagues found that the endemic bellbird Anthornis melanura copes with perceived predator threat by altering its nesting behavior, making fewer, more lengthy incubating visits. Massaro interprets this as an adaptation to reduce activity around the nest in an effort to avoid being spotted by hungry predators. The behavioral shift has probably evolved within the last 700 or so years, because that’s when the first boatload of horrible mammals arrived. And the rats, mice, cats, hedgehogs, stoats and brush tail possums… Source: Massaro M, Starling-Windhof A, Briskie JV & Martin TE (2008) Introduced mammalian predators induce behavioural changes in parental care in an endemic New Zealand bird. PLoS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002331

Image: © Dave Ozanne

Filed Under Endangered species, Invasive species, Restoration | 

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