Data from: Experimentally provided conspecific cues boost bird territory density but not breeding performance

Decision-making during different life-history stages requires information, which is obtained through own or others’ experience and interaction with the environment. In birds, song is important for territory defense and mate attraction. Although song has evolved to purposely convey information, it can be inadvertently exploited by conspecifics. Experiments attempting to attract focal species by playing back their song are numerous, yet the consequences for reproductive performance remain little understood. In 2013 and 2014, settlement, reproduction, and extrapair paternity of Phylloscopus sibilatrix were assessed in a randomized experiment. We hypothesized that territory number, reproductive performance, and extrapair paternity would be higher on song plots (wood warbler song playbacks during prebreeding periods) than on control plots (no wood warbler song playback). On song plots, 3 times more territories were established, settlement occurred faster, and maximum plot occupancy was higher compared with control plots. Pairing rate, daily nest survival rate, mean clutch size, mean number of nestlings and fledglings, rates of extrapair young, nest abandonment, and nest predation did not differ between treatments, but fledging success was lower on song plots compared with control plots. This study shows the important role social cues can play for territory selection of birds, but also exemplifies the necessity for postattraction evaluation of reproduction to rule out negative effects of artificial attraction. Decreased fledging success on song plots and ambiguity about consequences of artificial attraction for distribution and settling dynamics of the species give reason to further evaluate whether acoustic attraction represents a suitable method for songbird conservation.生物在不同生活史阶段开展决策时，需依托通过自身经验、他者经验及与环境交互所获取的信息。在鸟类类群中，鸣唱行为对于领域防御与配偶吸引具有关键作用。尽管鸣唱的演化初衷是主动传递信息，但却可能被同种个体无意利用。当前已有大量研究通过回放目标物种鸣唱的方式开展吸引实验，但其对目标物种繁殖表现的影响仍鲜有研究阐明。2013年与2014年，我们针对林柳莺（Phylloscopus sibilatrix）的种群定居、繁殖活动及配偶外父权（extrapair paternity）开展了一项随机对照实验。我们提出研究假说：相较于对照样地（未开展林柳莺鸣唱回放），鸣唱样地（繁殖前期开展林柳莺鸣唱回放）的领域数量、繁殖表现与配偶外父权比例均会更高。实验结果显示，鸣唱样地的新建领域数量为对照样地的3倍，种群定居速度更快，样地最大占有率也显著更高。两组样地的配对率、每日巢存活率、平均窝卵数、平均雏鸟数与离巢幼鸟数、配偶外幼鸟比例、弃巢率以及巢捕食率均无显著差异，但鸣唱样地的离巢成功率显著低于对照样地。本研究既证实了社会线索在鸟类领域选择中发挥的重要作用，也表明在开展人工吸引干预后，需对目标物种的繁殖表现进行后评估，以排除人工吸引可能带来的负面影响。鸣唱样地的离巢成功率下降，且人工吸引对该物种种群分布与定居动态的影响仍存在不确定性，这提示我们需进一步评估声学吸引是否可作为鸣禽保护的适宜手段。