Whittaker Benjamin A, Nolet-Mulholland Liam, Nevoit Anna, Yun Deborah, Lambert Connor T, Blunk Sara C, Guillette Lauren M
Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
iScience. 2023 Oct 12;26(11):108194. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108194. eCollection 2023 Nov 17.
We investigated whether birds build nests in repeatable styles and, if so, whether styles were associated with past nest-building experience. Laboratory, captive bred zebra finches in an Experimental group were given nest-building experience, whereas, birds in a Control group were not. Each pair (n = 20) then built four nests that underwent image analyses for nest size, geometric shape and entrance orientation. Birds built nests in repeatable styles, with lower morphometric variation among nests built by the same pair and higher morphometric variation among nests built by different pairs. Morphology was not associated with construction time, body weight, nor age of birds. We found lower morphometric variation among nests built by the Experimental group, which also used less material to build nests compared to the Control group. Prior experience may therefore have been advantageous, as learning to reduce material usage while achieving a similar product (nest) may have lowered building costs.
我们研究了鸟类是否以可重复的方式筑巢，如果是，这些方式是否与过去的筑巢经验有关。在实验室中，实验组的圈养繁殖斑马雀有筑巢经验，而对照组的鸟类则没有。然后，每对（n = 20）建造了四个巢穴，并对巢穴大小、几何形状和入口方向进行了图像分析。鸟类以可重复的方式筑巢，同一对建造的巢穴之间形态测量变化较小，而不同对建造的巢穴之间形态测量变化较大。形态与建造时间、体重和鸟类年龄无关。我们发现实验组建造的巢穴之间形态测量变化较小，与对照组相比，实验组建造巢穴时使用的材料也更少。因此，先前的经验可能是有利的，因为学会在制造类似产品（巢穴）的同时减少材料使用可能会降低建造成本。
