Citation: Benítez, Á.; Jaramillo, E.; Yangua-Solano, E.; Greeney, H.F. Bryophytes Present in the Nests of Birds in Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador. Diversity 2023, 15, 1123. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15111123 Academic Editors: Jan Riegert and Michal Budka Received: 26 September 2023 Revised: 13 October 2023 Accepted: 24 October 2023 Published: 31 October 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). diversity Brief Report Bryophytes Present in the Nests of Birds in Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador Ángel Benítez 1, * , Edison Jaramillo 2 , Erika Yangua-Solano 1 and Harold F. Greeney 3 1 Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Tropicales-BIETROP, Herbario HUTPL, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador; enyangua@utpl.edu.ec 2 Fundación para la Innovación e Investigación Ambiental 2Ia, Quito 170102, Ecuador; bioedijara78@gmail.com 3 Yanayacu Biological Station & Center for Creative Studies, Cosanga 150751, Ecuador; antpittanest@gmail.com * Correspondence: arbenitez@utpl.edu.ec 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. Keywords: liverworts; mosses; nest; diversity; Turdidae 1. Introduction The functioning and structure of communities depend on ecological interactions, as they play a crucial role in the generation and preservation of biodiversity [1]. In this case, a large number of birds globally use plant material to build their nests to allow the reproduction and development of nestlings [2,3]. Most bird species build their nests with vegetation, such as vascular species (e.g., ferns), bryophytes, and lichens [4–7]. Bryophytes increase water retention, thermal insulation, and antimicrobial activity [3,8,9]. There are many studies on nests constructed with vascular plants, but few on nests constructed with bryophytes [7,10]. In Chile, the species Sephanoides sephaniodes, selects scales from the leaves of the fern Lophosoria quadripinnata and moss species (Ancistrodes genuflexa, Weymouthia mollis, and Weymouthia cochlearifolia) for nest building [6,11]. In Brazil, 57 bryophyte species have been reported associated with 21 nests of different species [10]. Likewise, 22 bryophyte species (16 mosses and 6 liverworts) were cited in nests of two bird species (Sephanoides sephaniodes and Oreotrochilus leucopleurus) in Argentina [4]. Despite this, our knowledge of the diversity of bryophytes associated with bird nests in Ecuador has not been documented to date. Therefore, the construction of bird nests with the available bryophyte species in tropical forests remains largely unexplored. Myadestes ralloides and Catharus fuscater are two species of blackbirds (Turdidae) com- monly distributed in Ecuador [12], where most studies have focused on understanding their reproductive biology [13–15]. The nests of these species are typically built using mosses and Diversity 2023, 15, 1123. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15111123 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity