Human villages in deserts can provide resources in an otherwise stark environment, potentially buffering against extreme environmental conditions. It is thus expected that breeding within these villages would result in higher fitness. However, choosing to raise offspring in these resource-rich environments may have unintended negative consequences. Here, we studied the breeding success of a cooperative breeding bird nesting in habitats with different levels of human disturbance – the Arabian babbler (Argya squamiceps), in the Negev desert of Israel. We recorded 42 breeding attempts from 15 groups between March and July 2022. We examined overall breeding success, brood size, and causes of nest failure. When nestlings were 6-days old we also calculated daily change in body mass and adult provisioning rate. We found that despite higher resource abundance in villages, proximity to villages did not affect provisioning rate, and nestling gained less mass at higher temperatures for all nests. Currently, there is no evidence that human villages are providing oases for nesting babblers. Nevertheless, various conservation interventions (e.g. encouraging residents to keep cats indoors) could improve babblers' overall fitness. Ultimately, we highlight how for some desert specialists, additional resources provided by humans may not do enough to counter potential negative effects.

中文翻译：

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小规模土地利用变化对沙漠生活群居鸟类繁殖成功的影响

沙漠中的人类村庄可以在严酷的环境中提供资源，有可能缓冲极端的环境条件。因此，预计在这些村庄内繁殖将带来更高的适应性。然而，选择在这些资源丰富的环境中抚养后代可能会产生意想不到的负面后果。在这里，我们研究了以色列内盖夫沙漠中一种合作繁殖鸟——阿拉伯鹛（Argya squamiceps）在不同程度的人类干扰栖息地筑巢的繁殖成功情况。我们记录了 2022 年 3 月至 7 月期间 15 个群体的 42 次繁殖尝试。我们检查了总体繁殖成功率、巢群大小以及巢穴失败的原因。当雏鸟 6 天大时，我们还计算了体重和成鸟供给率的每日变化。我们发现，尽管村庄的资源丰富，但靠近村庄并不会影响供给率，而且所有巢穴在较高温度下，雏鸟的质量都会减少。目前，没有证据表明人类村庄为筑巢的鹛鹛提供绿洲。尽管如此，各种保护干预措施（例如鼓励居民将猫养在室内）可以改善鹛鹬的整体健康状况。最后，我们强调，对于一些沙漠专家来说，人类提供的额外资源可能不足以应对潜在的负面影响。