Nest sanitation behavior of altricial birds has been selected to reduce the exposure of young to pathogens,parasites,or predators,and thus to maintain the health and safety of nestlings(Guigueno and Sealy 2012).During...Nest sanitation behavior of altricial birds has been selected to reduce the exposure of young to pathogens,parasites,or predators,and thus to maintain the health and safety of nestlings(Guigueno and Sealy 2012).During the process of nest sanitation,caregivers either carry away the fecal sacs of nestlings or directly eat them.Given that adults endure higher risk of being infected by pathogens during fecal consumption(Potti et al.2007),it remains a puzzle about why adults consume the nestling feces when they can transport them.Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the fecal consumption behavior of altricial birds,including the nutrition hypothesis(Gliick 1988),economic hypothesis(Hurd et al.1991),and predation hypothesis(Ibanez-Alamo et al.2013).展开更多
基金Financial support was provided by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China(Grant 31572271,31672299,and 31772465).
文摘Nest sanitation behavior of altricial birds has been selected to reduce the exposure of young to pathogens,parasites,or predators,and thus to maintain the health and safety of nestlings(Guigueno and Sealy 2012).During the process of nest sanitation,caregivers either carry away the fecal sacs of nestlings or directly eat them.Given that adults endure higher risk of being infected by pathogens during fecal consumption(Potti et al.2007),it remains a puzzle about why adults consume the nestling feces when they can transport them.Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the fecal consumption behavior of altricial birds,including the nutrition hypothesis(Gliick 1988),economic hypothesis(Hurd et al.1991),and predation hypothesis(Ibanez-Alamo et al.2013).
