scholarly journals Manipulation of photoperiod perception advances gonadal growth but not laying date in the great tit

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Salis ◽  
Samuel P. Caro ◽  
Roelof A. Hut ◽  
Louis Vernooij ◽  
Marcel E. Visser
Keyword(s):  
Great Tit ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Gonadal Growth

scholarly journals No evidence that nest site choice in Pied Flycatchers is mediated by assessing the clutch size of a heterospecific, the Great Tit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Slagsvold ◽  
Karen L. Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Nest Choice ◽  
Nest Site Choice

AbstractAmong species that use similar resources, an individual may benefit by observing and copying the behavioural decision of a heterospecific. We tested the hypothesis of heterospecific social learning in passerine birds, namely that a migrant species, the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, uses external markings on the nest cavities of a resident species, the Great Tit Parus major, as cues when choosing a nest site. Others have suggested that prospecting flycatchers assess the clutch size of tit “demonstrators” by entering their nest boxes and, assuming that a large clutch indicates a high-quality individual, will copy the nest appearance of tits with large, but not small clutches. During a 4-year period in Norway, we designed a similar study but did not find that flycatchers based their nest choice on the clutch size of tits. Neither were there any relationships between clutch size of the tit and its laying date, incubation behaviour, or the number of eggs visible through nest material during egg-laying so Pied Flycatchers did not use these indirect cues to assess quality of the tutor. Filming of tit nests showed that prospecting flycatchers did not enter tit nest boxes to assess the content. Indeed, incubating female tits only left their nest boxes for short bouts of unpredictable duration so there was little opportunity for flycatchers to inspect the nest contents unnoticed. Our study calls into question the mechanism of using the content of tit nests as public information for choosing traits of nest sites based on external characteristics. We suggest that similar studies of nest site choice in relation to possible social information transfer be replicated more widely.

scholarly journals Extreme temperature drop alters hatching delay, reproductive success, and physiological condition in great tits

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Glądalski ◽  
Mirosława Bańbura ◽  
Adam Kaliński ◽  
Marcin Markowski ◽  
Joanna Skwarska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physiological Condition ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Fledging Success ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Moment

AbstractIt has been suggested that extreme weather events may be treated as natural experiments that may unravel the mechanisms by which birds adjust their phenology and breeding parameters to environmental variability. In 2017, a sudden and heavy drop of temperatures for several days affected many European bird populations. This event occurred during the laying–early incubation period in the great tit (Parus major) population in central Poland, causing a large delay in hatching and had sustained reproductive consequences. This cold snap occurring once breeding activity had already started in 2017 was followed by the warm and invariable breeding season of 2018. This natural experiment had an essential influence on great tit reproductive parameters. We found a significant difference in hatching date, number of fledglings, hatching success, and fledging success between 2017 and 2018. In 2017, there were about two fledglings per nest fewer than in 2018. Fledging success was positively associated with hatching delay in 2017, while the relation was negative in 2018. Hatching success differed significantly between both years, being higher in 2018. Mean level of hemoglobin (used as index of body, physiological condition) in the blood of nestling great tits was higher in 2017 than in 2018. We argue that the moment of hatching may be (at least in some years) more tightly related to the moment of maximum food demand of tit nestlings than the traditionally used laying date. Also in extreme years, phenotypic plasticity of hatching delays may be insufficient to adjust the timing of breeding to the upcoming extreme weather events. Further examining its limits may be an important goal for future research.

scholarly journals Exotic tree plantations and avian conservation in northern Iberia: a view from a nest–box monitoring study

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. De la Hera ◽  
◽  
J. Arizaga ◽  
A. Galarza ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Tree Plantations ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Eucalyptus Species ◽  
Exotic Tree

The spread of exotic tree plantations on the North Atlantic coast of the Iberian peninsula raises concern regarding the conservation of avian biodiversity as current trends suggest this region might become a monoculture of Australian Eucalyptus species. To shed more light on the factors promoting differences in avian communities between and within exotic tree (Monterey Pine Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus spp.) plantations and native forests in the Urdaibai area (northern Spain), this study aimed to explore (1) how the type of habitat and vegetation characteristics affect bird species richness and the settlement of some particular species during the breeding period, (2) if some reproductive parameters (i.e. egg–laying date and clutch size) vary among habitats in a generalist bird species (the Great Tit Parus major), and (3) the existence of differences among habitats in the abundance of a key food resource on which some insectivorous birds are expected to rely upon for breeding (i.e. caterpillars). Our results confirmed that Eucalyptus stands house the poorest bird communities, and identified understory development as an important determinant for the establishment of titmice species. Furthermore, we found that exotic trees showed lower caterpillar abundance than native Oak trees (Quercus robur), which might contribute to explain observed differences among habitats in bird abundance and richness in this region. However, we did not find differences among habitats in egg–laying date and clutch size for the Great Tit, suggesting that the potential costs of breeding in exotic tree plantations would occur in later stages of the reproductive period (e.g. number of nestlings fledged), a circumstance that will require further research.

Experimental increase in female mass during the fertile phase leads to enhanced extra-pair paternity in pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Plaza ◽  
Alejandro Cantarero ◽  
Juan Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Fertile Phase ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity

Female mass in most altricial birds reaches its maximum during breeding at egg-laying, which coincides temporally with the fertile phase when extra-pair paternity (EPP) is determined. Higher mass at laying may have two different effects on EPP intensity. On the one hand, it would lead to increased wing loading (body mass/wing area), which may impair flight efficiency and thereby reduce female’s capacity to resist unwanted extra-pair male approaches (sexual conflict hypothesis). On the other hand, it would enhance female condition, favouring her capacity to evade mate-guarding and to search for extra-pair mates (female choice hypothesis). In both cases, higher female mass at laying may lead to enhanced EPP. To test this prediction, we reduced nest building effort by adding a completely constructed nest in an experimental group of female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Our treatment caused an increase in mass and thereby wing loading and this was translated into a significantly higher EPP in the manipulated group compared with the control group as expected. There was also a significant negative relationship between EPP and laying date and the extent of the white wing patch, an index of female dominance. More body reserves at laying mean not only a higher potential fecundity but a higher level of EPP as well. This interaction had not previously received due attention but should be considered in future studies of avian breeding strategies.

Great Tit (Parus major)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Gosler ◽  
Peter Clement ◽  
David Christie
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit

Environmental Stochasticity and Extinction Risk in a Population of a Small Songbird, the Great Tit

1998 ◽  
Vol 151 (5) ◽  
pp. 441
Author(s):  
Saether ◽  
Engen ◽  
Islam ◽  
McCleery ◽  
Perrins
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Environmental Stochasticity
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