550). Considering newly established pairs in old territories, the rate of nest building was higher in booted eagles (21.62%) than in common buzzards (10.00%), although this difference was not significant (P = 0.140). For reoccupied territories, the rate of nest building was quite similar for booted eagles and common buzzards (6.38 vs. 6.67%), with no significant differences (P = 0.917). Contrary to our prediction that there is a reproductive output cost when forest raptors build a nest, our results show that nest building did not result in a lower reproductive output than nest reuse. Indeed, breeding success (Fig. 3a) and productivity (Fig. 3b) were slighter

selleck chemical higher when both species built nests than when they reused old nests. For new establishments, booted eagle pairs which built new nests had a probability of breeding success and productivity that was significantly higher than for the

pairs which reused old nests NVP-BGJ398 purchase (success: 58.33 vs. 25.86%, P = 0.01; productivity: 0.87 vs. 0.41, P = 0.010; Table 2). This high reproductive output was due to breeding pairs establishing new territories, since the reproductive output of pairs that built new nests in old territories showed no significant differences with respect to nest reuse (success: 43.75 vs. 25.86%, P = 0.168; productivity: 0.69 vs. 0.41, P = 0.109; Table 2). Newly established common buzzards pairs had the same tendency as booted eagle pairs, although with no significant differences (successful: 71.43 vs. 50.00%, P = 0.309; productivity: 1.14 vs. 1.06, P = 0.780; Table 2). Unlike booted eagle, this high reproductive output was not due to breeding pairs establishing new territories. As regards the effects of nest building on reproductive output see more cost in reoccupied territories, contrary to the reproductive pattern of new establishments, both the probability of breeding success and productivity

of booted eagle were lower when breeding pairs built a nest, although with no significant differences in any case (successful: 46.67 vs. 57.73%, P = 0.420; productivity: 0.67 vs. 0.90, P = 0.362; Table 2). A similar pattern was observed for common buzzard (successful: 25.00 vs. 35.71%, P = 0.830; productivity: 0.50 vs. 0.73, P = 0.730; Table 2). Memories from previous breeding attempts, public information and social and non-social cues are among the factors that influence breeding site selection. The potential cue analysed in most studies is public information (Doligez et al., 2004), in which individuals are believed to prospect for nest sites of their conspecifics at the end of one breeding season to use them in the following one. However, Nocera et al. (2006) proposed that when public information is inaccessible (e.g.