'Green incubation': avian offspring benefit from aromatic nest herbs through improved parental incubation behaviour.

ABSTRACT: Development of avian embryos requires thermal energy, usually from parents. Parents may, however, trade off catering for embryonic requirements against their own need to forage through intermittent incubation. This dynamically adjusted behaviour can be affected by properties of the nest. Here, we experimentally show a novel mechanism by which parents, through incorporation of aromatic herbs into nests, effectively modify their incubation behaviour to the benefit of their offspring. Our study species, the European starling, includes in its nest aromatic herbs which promote offspring fitness. We provided wild starlings with artificial nests including or excluding the typically selected fresh herbs and found strong support for our prediction of facilitated incubation. Herb effects were not ex

SUBMITTER: Gwinner H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6015870 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature