David Mandell ‘24 (New England, MS), Kat Lauer ‘20 (New England, MS), and Mike Akresh, core faculty in the MS in Environmental Studies program, co-director, Antioch Spatial Analysis Lab Environmental Studies (ASAL), and director of the Conservation Biology concentration published an article in Ecology and Evolution titled, “Differential use of nest materials and niche space among avian species within a single ecological community.”
The paper examines the niche space of bird nest materials. The research team assessed the structure and composition of nests in a group of co-existing passerine shrubland birds in Massachusetts. They found, measured, collected, and dissected nests, then weighed nest materials in morphological groups (e.g., bark, twigs, feathers) to determine if seven focal species were using different nest materials. Although some differences in nest composition could be partially explained by bird species size, nest materials differed even within the three larger-bodied species and within four smaller-bodied species.
This study builds upon previous studies that have shown species-specificity in avian nest composition and supports the notion that birds using the same environment have distinct niches in relation to the materials placed in their nests.
Read the paper here.
