Bryophytes Present in the Nests of Birds in Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador

Abstract

Bryophytes are one of the main resources for bird nest construction; however, studies are limited and have been oriented to preliminary species lists. We evaluated for the first time in Ecuador the changes in the richness and composition of bryophytes in 17 nests of the species Myadestes ralloides and Catharus fuscater, of the family Turdidae. The presence/absence of bryophytes was recorded in each nest. A total of 25 bryophyte species were recorded (13 mosses and 12 liverworts). The most frequent species in the nests of the two species were the mosses Thuidium tomentosum and Meteoridium remotifolium and the liverworts Trichocolea flaccida and Frullania peruviana. The results indicated that bryophyte species’ richness and composition did not differ between the nests of the two studied bird species, because they select similar bryophyte species for nest elaboration. In general, our study showed that for the two species of birds of the family Turdidae, mosses and liverworts are key components in the elaboration of nests both internally and externally. On the other hand, we would suggest that further investigations should focus on analyzing the relation between bird nests and bryophyte phytochemistry, as well as the functional traits of bryophytes.