Beak shape and nest material use in birds

Sheard, Catherine; Street, Sally E.; Evans, Caitlin; Lala, Kevin N.; Healy, Susan D.; Sugasawa, Shoko

Abstract

The evolution of behaviour can both influence, and be influenced by, morphology. Recent advances in methods and data availability have facilitated broad-scale investigations of physical form and behavioural function in many contexts, but the relationship between animal morphology and object manipulation—particularly objects used in construction—remains largely unknown. Here, we employ a new global database of nest materials used by 5924 species of birds together with phylogenetically informed random forest models to evaluate the link between beak shape and these nest-building materials. We find that beak morphology, together with species diet and access to materials, can predict nest-material use above chance and with high accuracy (68–97%). Much of this relationship, however, is driven by phylogenetic signal and sampling biases. We therefore conclude that while variation in nest material use is linked with that of beak shape across bird species, these correlations are modulated by the ecological context and evolutionary history of these species.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach’.

Citation

Sheard, C., Street, S. E., Evans, C., Lala, K. N., Healy, S. D., & Sugasawa, S. (2023). Beak shape and nest material use in birds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 378(1884), https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0147

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 6, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Publication Date: Aug 28, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 3, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 3, 2024
• Journal: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0962-8436
• Electronic ISSN: 1471-2970
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 378
• Issue: 1884
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0147
• Keywords: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2078806