scholarly journals Personality predicts spatial responses to food manipulations in free-ranging great tits ( Parus major )

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thijs van Overveld ◽  
Erik Matthysen
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Abrupt Change ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Spatial Response ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Free Ranging

Personality differences measured under standardized lab-conditions are assumed to reflect differences in the way individuals cope with spatio-temporal changes in their natural environment, but few studies have examined how these are expressed in the field. We tested whether exploratory behaviour in a novel environment predicts how free-living individual great tits ( Parus major ) react to a change in food supply. We temporarily removed food at feeding stations during two summers and recorded the behavioural response of juvenile birds to these food manipulations using radio-tracking. When challenged by an abrupt change in food supply, fast-exploring individuals more rapidly switched to different foraging areas at longer distances from the feeder. This study is the first to show that personality traits predict the spatial response to experimentally induced changes in their natural environment.

scholarly journals Predictability of food supply modulates nocturnal hypothermia in a small passerine

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 20200133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan F. Nilsson ◽  
Jan-Åke Nilsson ◽  
Juli Broggi ◽  
Hannah Watson
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Cold Winter ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Supplementary Food ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Sufficient Energy ◽  
Short Days

The combination of short days and long cold winter nights, in temperate regions, presents a major challenge for small diurnal birds. Small birds regularly employ heterothermy and enter rest-phase hypothermia during winter nights to conserve energy. However, we know little about how environmental conditions, such as food availability, shape these strategies. We experimentally manipulated food availability in winter to free-living great tits Parus major . A ‘predictable' and constant food supply was provided to birds in one area of a forest, while birds in another area did not have access to a reliable supplementary food source. We found that predictability of food affected the extent of nocturnal hypothermia, but the response differed between the sexes. Whereas male nocturnal body temperature was similar regardless of food availability, females exposed to a naturally ‘unpredictable' food supply entered deeper hypothermia at night, compared with females that had access to predictable food and compared with males in both treatment groups. We suggest that this response is likely a consequence of dominance, and subdominant females subject to unpredictable food resources cannot maintain sufficient energy intake, resulting in a higher demand for energy conservation at night.

scholarly journals Molecular survey of Besnoitia spp. (Apicomplexa) in faeces from European wild mesocarnivores in Spain. Short running title: Molecular survey of Besnoitia spp in faeces from wild carnivores.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David González-Barrio ◽  
Pamela C. Köster ◽  
Miguel Habela ◽  
Manuel Martín-Pérez ◽  
José Fernández-García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Definitive Host ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Besnoitia Besnoiti ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Wild Carnivores ◽  
Molecular Survey ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
Bovine Besnoitiosis ◽  
Western Spain ◽  
Free Ranging

Numerous studies have unsuccessfully tried to unravel the definitive host of the coccidian parasite Besnoitia besnoiti. Cattle infections by B. besnoiti cause a chronic and debilitating condition called bovine besnoitiosis that has emerged in Europe during the last two decades, mainly due to limitations in its control associated to the absence of vaccines and therapeutical tools. Although the exact transmission pathway of B. besnoiti is currently unknown, it is assumed that the parasite might have an indirect life cycle with a carnivore as definitive host. Current lack of studies in wildlife might underestimate the importance of free-living species in the epidemiology of B. besnoiti. Thus, the aim of the present study is to assess the presence of Besnoitia spp. in free-ranging mesocarnivores in Spain. DNA was searched by PCR on faeces collected from wild carnivores as a first approach to determine which species could be considered as potential definitive host candidates in further research. For this purpose, a total of 352 faecal samples from 12 free-living wild carnivore species belonging to the Canidae, Felidae, Herpestidae, Mustelidae, Procyonidae, and Viverridae families were collected in seven Spanish regions. PCR testing showed that Besnoitia spp. DNA was present in four faecal samples from red foxes collected in western Spain, an area with the greatest density of extensively reared cattle and associated to high incidence of bovine besnoitiosis in the country. To date, this is the first report of a Besnoitia besnoiti-like sequence (99.57% homology) from carnivore faeces in a worldwide context. Red foxes might contribute to the epidemiology of B. besnoiti, although further studies, mostly based on bioassay, would be needed to elucidate the accuracy and extent of these interesting findings.

scholarly journals The incursion of free-ranging dogs into protected areas: A spatio-temporal analysis in a network of giant panda reserves

2022 ◽  
Vol 265 ◽  
pp. 109423
Author(s):  
Yue Weng ◽  
William McShea ◽  
Yixin Diao ◽  
Hongbo Yang ◽  
Xiaofeng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Antimicrobial Resistance in Indicator Escherichia coli Isolates from Free-Ranging Livestock and Sympatric Wild Ungulates in a Natural Environment (Northeastern Spain)

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (19) ◽  
pp. 6184-6186 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Navarro-Gonzalez ◽  
M. C. Porrero ◽  
G. Mentaberre ◽  
E. Serrano ◽  
A. Mateos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Wild Ungulates ◽  
Capra Pyrenaica ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Iberian Ibex ◽  
Game Reserve ◽  
Free Ranging

ABSTRACTAntimicrobial resistance was assessed in indicatorEscherichia coliisolates from free-ranging livestock and sympatric wild boar (Sus scrofa) and Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) in a National Game Reserve in northeastern Spain. The frequency of antimicrobial resistance was low (0% to 7.9%). However, resistance to an extended-spectrum cephalosporin and fluoroquinolones was detected.

scholarly journals Diet induces parallel changes to the gut microbiota and problem solving performance in a wild bird

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle L. Davidson ◽  
Niamh Wiley ◽  
Amy C. Cooke ◽  
Crystal N. Johnson ◽  
Fiona Fouhy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Problem Solve ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Host Behaviour ◽  
Problem Solving Task

AbstractThe microbial community in the gut is influenced by environmental factors, especially diet, which can moderate host behaviour through the microbiome-gut-brain axis. However, the ecological relevance of microbiome-mediated behavioural plasticity in wild animals is unknown. We presented wild-caught great tits (Parus major) with a problem-solving task and showed that performance was weakly associated with variation in the gut microbiome. We then manipulated the gut microbiome by feeding birds one of two diets that differed in their relative levels of fat, protein and fibre content: an insect diet (low content), or a seed diet (high content). Microbial communities were less diverse among individuals given the insect compared to those on the seed diet. Individuals were less likely to problem-solve after being given the insect diet, and the same microbiota metrics that were altered as a consequence of diet were also those that correlated with variation in problem solving performance. Although the effect on problem-solving behaviour could have been caused by motivational or nutritional differences between our treatments, our results nevertheless raise the possibility that dietary induced changes in the gut microbiota could be an important mechanism underlying individual behavioural plasticity in wild populations.

scholarly journals Personality is associated with dominance in a social feeding context in the great tit

Behaviour ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 156 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1419-1434
Author(s):  
Nehafta Bibi ◽  
Yusheng Wei ◽  
Hongwei Xu ◽  
Jingnan Liang ◽  
Ijaz Hussain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Novel Environment ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Behavioural Types ◽  
Fitness Consequence ◽  
Feeding Context

Abstract Despite the growing interest in consistent individual differences in behaviour (animal personality), the influence of social context on different behavioural types remains poorly understood. The suite of correlated behaviours within and across contexts is called behavioural syndromes. Most personality studies have investigated consistent individual behavioural types and their consequences in a asocial context, however few studies have considered the influence of social context on individual behaviour. In addition, the evolutionary and ecological consequences of personality differences in social context remain unknown. In the present study, we confirm individual personality in Great tits (Parus major) using room exploration and neophobia tests. As a result of these two tests, repeatability and correlational structure of two personality traits were investigated. Additionally we assessed the extent to which personality influences dominance in a social feeding context. Great tits remained consistent in their personality traits (exploration and neophobia). Individuals who explored a novel environment faster also approached a novel object faster, while those who spent more time exploring a novel environment were also slower to approach a novel object. In a social feeding context personality was linked to dominance: with proactive individuals being more likely to be dominant. Our result provides evidence of the importance of social context in a wild population of birds and may have fitness consequence, both for focal individuals and their conspecifics.

Flight Energetics of Free-Living Sooty Terns

The Auk ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth N. Flint ◽  
Kenneth A. Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Standard Metabolic Rate ◽  
Co2 Production ◽  
Doubly Labeled Water ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Aspect Ratios ◽  
Flight Energetics ◽  
Flight Metabolism ◽  
Sooty Tern ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract The CO2 production of free-ranging Sooty Terns (Sterna fuscata) was measured using doubly labeled water (HTO-18). Metabolic rate during flight was determined to be 4.8 times standard metabolic rate (SMR). This value is much lower than estimates of flight metabolism predicted from previously published equations. Observations of these birds at sea indicate that flapping flight predominated at the windspeeds (0-5 m/s) that prevailed during our measurement periods, so factors other than gliding must account for the comparatively low flight metabolism we measured. Sooty Tern flight metabolism is similar to that of some other birds, such as swallows and swifts, that also have high aspect ratios and low wing loadings.

scholarly journals Spatio-temporal variability of amphipod assemblages associated with rhodolith seabeds

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Navarro-Mayoral ◽  
Victoria Fernandez-Gonzalez ◽  
Francisco Otero-Ferrer ◽  
Fernando Tuya
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Gran Canaria ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Diversity Structure ◽  
Ecological Pattern

Rhodolith seabeds are habitats underpinned by free-living calcareous macroalgae. We partitioned the relevance of the scale of temporal (four seasons throughout two successive years) and spatial (three depth strata: 18, 25 and 40m) variation on the diversity, structure and abundance of amphipod assemblages living in rhodolith seabeds from Gran Canaria Island. In total, 3996 individuals, belonging to 32 taxa, were identified. Multivariate analyses showed consistent differences in assemblage structure among seasons and depths; more diverse and abundant amphipod assemblages were often observed during spring at 18- and 25-m than at 40-m depth. Ovigerous females of Gammaropsis ostroumowi and Ampithoe ramondi were observed mainly at 18 and 25m. Juveniles of both species were exclusively recorded at 18 and 25m, so denoting a clear segregation in their population structure with depth. In summary, this study has demonstrated that the ecological pattern of amphipods associated with rhodolith seabeds can vary greatly across both time (seasons) and space (depth).

scholarly journals Evolution of trust and trustworthiness: social awareness favours personality differences

2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1657) ◽  
pp. 605-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M McNamara ◽  
Philip A Stephens ◽  
Sasha R.X Dall ◽  
Alasdair I Houston
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Evolutionary Game ◽  
Social Awareness ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
Selective Force ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Public Goods Games ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Individual

Interest in the evolution and maintenance of personality is burgeoning. Individuals of diverse animal species differ in their aggressiveness, fearfulness, sociability and activity. Strong trade-offs, mutation–selection balance, spatio-temporal fluctuations in selection, frequency dependence and good-genes mate choice are invoked to explain heritable personality variation, yet for continuous behavioural traits, it remains unclear which selective force is likely to maintain distinct polymorphisms. Using a model of trust and cooperation, we show how allowing individuals to monitor each other's cooperative tendencies, at a cost, can select for heritable polymorphisms in trustworthiness. This variation, in turn, favours costly ‘social awareness’ in some individuals. Feedback of this sort can explain the individual differences in trust and trustworthiness so often documented by economists in experimental public goods games across a range of cultures. Our work adds to growing evidence that evolutionary game theorists can no longer afford to ignore the importance of real world inter-individual variation in their models.

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