communal nesting

Use of dead tree-fern trunks as oviposition sites by the terrestrial breeding frog Leiopelma archeyi

While most anurans lay their eggs in or near water, there is a wide diversity of species that lay their eggs on the ground, under rocks, or in burrows. For these terrestrial-breeding species, identifying the habitat requirements of oviposition sites is particularly useful for conservation and management planning, given that oviposition in anurans is strongly related to the environmental characteristics in which they live. Leiopelma archeyi is an endemic New Zealand frog that reproduces on moist substrates.

Information-Transfer in Pigeon Colonies

The hypothesis that communal roosts and breeding colonies of birds act as information centres for food-finding was tested using pigeons, Columba livia, in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The birds roosted and bred in lofts, but were free each day to search for food in the surrounding fields. Two of three experiments showed that naive pigeons could learn the location of a patch of food when with experienced birds. A fourth experiment showed that naive birds learned by following experienced ones to a good feeding area.