Development of nestling blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) is affected by experimental addition of aromatic plants

Abstract

Some passerines incorporate aromatic plants in their nest cups, and several hypotheses have been formulated to explain this behaviour. One of those, the Drug Hypothesis, states that aromatic plants present in nests have positive effects on nestlings’ development through increased immune function. In this study, we aimed to examine if experimental addition of aromatic plants had positive effects on reproductive performance (the number of fledglings produced and nestling survival rate) and nestling development (weight and tarsus length). In addition, we study whether those potential effects were more noticeable in different brood sizes–small and large–through an observational approach. We expect that large broods, due to increased resource competition between nestlings, will benefit more from aromatic plant incorporation, as compared to small broods. Nestlings were significantly heavier in 2015 as compared to 2016 and 2017 and in small broods. No effect of treatment was observed in nestling weight. Although there was no overall effect of treatment on nestling tarsus length, nestlings from aromatic nests had significantly longer tarsi as compared to nestlings from control nests, in large broods.