title: Food supplementation mitigates dispersal-dependent differences in nest defence in a passerine bird.
abstract: Dispersing and non-dispersing individuals often differ in phenotypic traits (e.g. physiology, behaviour), but to what extent these differences are fixed or driven by external conditions remains elusive. We experimentally tested whether differences in nest-defence behaviour between dispersing and non-dispersing individuals changed with local habitat quality in collared flycatchers, by providing additional food during the nestling rearing period. In control (non-food-supplemented) nests, dispersers were less prone to defend their brood compared with non-dispersers, whereas in food-supplemented nests, dispersing and non-dispersing individuals showed equally strong nest defence. We discuss the importance of dispersal costs versus adaptive flexibility in reproductive investment in shaping these differences in nest-defence behaviour between dispersing and non-dispersing individuals. Irrespective of the underlying mechanisms, our study emphasizes the importance of accounting for environmental effects when comparing traits between dispersing and non-dispersing individuals, and in turn assessing the costs and benefits of dispersal.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1-CNRS, Villeurbanne, France Département d'Ecologie et d'Evolution, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland charlotte.recapet@normalesup.org.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5415-8412
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Récapet
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1-CNRS, Villeurbanne, France Evolutionary Biology Centre, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.affiliation: Département d'Ecologie et d'Evolution, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Joëlle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taroni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bize
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1-CNRS, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Blandine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Doligez
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution / Q000502:physiology*; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D020308:Songbirds / Q000502:physiology*; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Ficedula albicollis; anti-predator behaviour; dispersal; habitat quality; parental care; personality