| 1. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(författare)
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Benefits of extra-pair mating may depend on environmental conditions-an experimental study in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
- 2013
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5443 .- 1432-0762. ; 67:11, s. 1809-1815
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Extra-pair mating constitutes a relatively common reproductive strategy in many socially monogamous bird species. This strategy may considerably improve reproductive success of males, but female benefits from extra-pair matings still remain unclear and empirical evidence is scarce. This may be because genetic benefits of extra-pair mating are not always revealed. It is possible that they are shown only in unfavourable environmental conditions and hence problems arise with detecting differences between within- and extra-pair offspring whose performance is measured under favourable conditions. In order to test this prediction, we manipulated environmental conditions by altering brood sizes of blue tits and compared phenotypic characteristics of within- and extra-pair offspring in mixed-paternity broods. We found that extra-pair young exhibited a higher response to phytohemagglutinin in comparison to within-pair young, but this was only observed among nestlings from experimentally enlarged broods. These results indicate that genetic benefits may interact with the environment, and thus benefits of extra-pair mating are likely to become visible only when conditions are relatively unfavourable.
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| 2. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(författare)
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Extra-pair paternity in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) depends on the combination of social partners' age
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ibis. - : Wiley. - 0019-1019 .- 1474-919X. ; 164:2, s. 388-395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is growing evidence that engaging in extra-pair copulations may be a strategy by which females can modify their initial mate choice if they are constrained by primary choice of the social mate. Several factors such as genetic similarity and adult phenotypic traits can affect extra-pair paternity (EPP) patterns, but the relative importance of these factors may vary among species. Moreover, interactive effects of male and female characteristics have rarely been considered. Here, we aimed to study how multiple parameters characterizing a breeding pair (i.e. genetic similarity between mates, partners’ age and laying date) predict the occurrence of EPP at the brood level. The study uses 4 years of data from a wild population of Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus. Contrary to predictions of the inbreeding avoidance hypothesis, we did not find a positive relationship between the occurrence of EPP and the relatedness of social mates. We also found that the probability of EPP was unrelated to laying date. However, EPP was predicted by an interaction of social partners' ages. Specifically, EPP was less likely when old females were paired with old males in comparison to old females paired to young males. Our study suggests that the occurrence of EPP may be the result of behavioural interactions in which both male and female age are important for determining the outcome. Our results confirm the importance of considering the interactions of male and female characteristics in studies investigating EPP patterns.
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| 3. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(författare)
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Heterozygosity-fitness correlations in blue tit nestlings (Cyanistis caeruleus) under contrasting rearing conditions
- 2017
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Ecology. - : SPRINGER. - 0269-7653 .- 1573-8477. ; 31:5, s. 803-814
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the relation between genetic variation and fitness remains a key question in evolutionary biology. Although heterozygosity has been reported to correlate with many fitness-related traits, the strength of the heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFCs) is usually weak and it is still difficult to assess the generality of these associations in natural populations. It has been suggested that HFCs may become meaningful only under particular environmental conditions. Moreover, existing evidence suggests that HFCs may also differ between sexes. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between heterozygosity in neutral markers (microsatellites) and fitness-related traits in a natural population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Additionally, we tested whether sex and environmental conditions may influence the magnitude and direction of HFCs. We found a positive relationship between heterozygosity and body mass of 14 days post-hatching nestlings, but only among females. Our results suggest that the correlation between heterozygosity and nestling body mass observed among female offspring could be attributed to within-brood effects. We failed to find any evidence that environmental conditions as simulated by brood size manipulation affect HFCs.
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| 4. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(författare)
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Parental genetic similarity and offspring performance in blue tits in relation to brood size manipulation
- 2019
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : WILEY. - 2045-7758. ; 9:18, s. 10085-10091
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In birds, as in many other taxa, higher genetic similarity of mates has long been known to reduce offspring fitness. To date, the majority of avian studies have focused on examination whether the genetic similarity of social mates predicts hatching success. Yet, increased genetic similarity of mates may also reduce offspring fitness during later life stages, including the nestling period and beyond. Here, we investigated whether parental genetic similarity influences offspring performance using data from free-living blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) collected across three breeding seasons. Additionally, we tested whether brood size manipulation affects the magnitude and direction of the relationship between genetic similarity of mates and offspring performance. Sixteen microsatellite markers were used to measure genetic similarity between biological parents. We found that the genetic similarity of parents negatively affects offspring immune response and this effect was independent of the experimental brood size manipulation.
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| 5. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(författare)
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Temperature variability is associated with the occurrence of extrapair paternity in blue tits
- 2024
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology. - : Oxford University Press. - 1045-2249 .- 1465-7279. ; 35:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In birds, extrapair paternity (EPP) constitutes an alternative mating strategy, with potentially important fitness consequences for both males and females and their offspring. Several factors have been identified that can influence the occurrence of EPP, but the role of environmental variability has so far received relatively little attention. Using long-term data set from a wild population of the blue tit (Cyanistes cearuleus), we assess the importance of ambient temperature in modulating the levels of extrapair paternity. Here, we showed that the variability of local thermal conditions affects the occurrence of EPP. Specifically, we found that the probability of EPP increased with rising variability in ambient temperature experienced by females prior to egg laying. This pattern is consistent with an idea of plastic female responses to unpredictable environments. Our results suggest that extrapair mating may represent an adaptive behavioral strategy to compensate for the potential negative effects of unstable environmental conditions.
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| 6. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(författare)
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The interactive effect of ambient temperature and brood size manipulation on nestling body mass in blue tits : an exploratory analysis of a long-term study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Zoology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1742-9994. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Relatively few studies have examined the interactive effects of ecological factors on physiological responses in wild animals. Nearly all of them have been short-term investigations that did not include experimental manipulations, limiting our ability to understand how climate change will affect natural populations. Using a 10-year brood size manipulation experiment in wild blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), we quantified the impact of weather conditions and brood competition on the body mass and structural size (tarsus length) of nestlings just prior to leaving the nest. Results We found that variation in nestling body mass on day 14 after hatching was explained by an interactive effect between average ambient temperature experienced during nestling period and brood size treatment. Specifically, in control broods nestling body mass was correlated with temperature in a non-linear manner (concave) with the vertex point (maximum body mass) at ca. 13 degrees C. In contrast, in enlarged broods nestling body mass permanently increased (also non-linearly) as temperature advanced. Conclusions Our results highlight the importance of considering the effects of brood rearing conditions alongside other environmental factors experienced during growth while investigating early-life environmental effects on body condition.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Culina, Antica, et al.
(författare)
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Connecting the data landscape of long-term ecological studies : The SPI-Birds data hub
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 90:9, s. 2147-2160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The integration and synthesis of the data in different areas of science is drastically slowed and hindered by a lack of standards and networking programmes. Long-term studies of individually marked animals are not an exception. These studies are especially important as instrumental for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. Furthermore, their number and global distribution provides a unique opportunity to assess the generality of patterns and to address broad-scale global issues (e.g. climate change). To solve data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long-term studies of birds, we have created the SPI-Birds Network and Database ()-a large-scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of individually recognizable (usually ringed) birds. Within year and a half since the establishment, SPI-Birds has recruited over 120 members, and currently hosts data on almost 1.5 million individual birds collected in 80 populations over 2,000 cumulative years, and counting. SPI-Birds acts as a data hub and a catalogue of studied populations. It prevents data loss, secures easy data finding, use and integration and thus facilitates collaboration and synthesis. We provide community-derived data and meta-data standards and improve data integrity guided by the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), and aligned with the existing metadata languages (e.g. ecological meta-data language). The encouraging community involvement stems from SPI-Bird's decentralized approach: research groups retain full control over data use and their way of data management, while SPI-Birds creates tailored pipelines to convert each unique data format into a standard format. We outline the lessons learned, so that other communities (e.g. those working on other taxa) can adapt our successful model. Creating community-specific hubs (such as ours, COMADRE for animal demography, etc.) will aid much-needed large-scale ecological data integration.
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| 9. |
- Drobniak, Szymon M., et al.
(författare)
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Differential effects of steroid hormones on levels of broad-sense heritability in a wild bird : possible mechanism of environment x genetic variance interaction?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Heredity. - : Springer Nature. - 0018-067X .- 1365-2540. ; 128:1, s. 63-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic variation is one of the key concepts in evolutionary biology and an important prerequisite of evolutionary change. However, we know very little about processes that modulate its levels in wild populations. In particular, we still are to understand why genetic variances often depend on environmental conditions. One of possible environment-sensitive modulators of observed levels of genetic variance are maternal effects. In this study we attempt to experimentally test the hypothesis that maternally transmitted agents (e.g. hormones) may influence the expression of genetic variance in quantitative traits in the offspring. We manipulated the levels of steroid hormones (testosterone and corticosterone) in eggs laid by blue tits in a wild population. Our experimental setup allowed for full crossing of genetic and rearing effects with the experimental manipulation. We observed that birds treated with corticosterone exhibited a significant decrease in broad-sense genetic variance of tarsus length, and an increase in this component in body mass on the 2nd day post-hatching. Our study indicates, that maternally transmitted substances such as hormones may have measurable impact on the levels of genetic variance and hence, on the evolutionary potential of quantitative traits.
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| 10. |
- Drobniak, Szymon M., et al.
(författare)
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Habitat shapes diversity of gut microbiomes in a wild population of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Avian Biology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 2022:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microbiome constitutes an important axis of individual variation that, together with genes and the environment, influences an individual's physiology and fitness. Microbiomes are dependent not only on an individual's body condition but also on external factors, such as diet or stress levels, and as such can be involved into feedbacks between the external ecological factors and internal physiology. In our study, we used a wild population of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus to investigate the impact of external habitat composition on the microbiome of adult birds. We hypothesized that - through differences in plant composition, potentially affecting diet complexity - habitat type may impact the diversity and structure of the gut microbiome. Blue tits breeding in dense deciduous forests tended to have more diverse microbiomes and be significantly different in terms of microbiome composition from birds breeding in open, sparsely forested hay meadows. Distinct study plots also tended to differ in a number of parameters describing microbiome diversity. We observed no microbiome differentiation according to individual characteristics such as sex or age. The study emphasizes that external environment is one of the important modulators of microbiome diversity and calls for more such studies in wild animal populations.
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| 11. |
- Drobniak, Szymon M., et al.
(författare)
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Low Cross-Sex Genetic Correlation in Carotenoid-Based Plumage Traits in the Blue Tit Nestlings (Cyanistes caeruleus)
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:7, s. e69786-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In some bird species, both adult and juvenile individuals are often brightly coloured. It has been commonly assumed that identical plumage colouration present in both sexes results from strong intersexual genetic correlations in colour-related traits. Here, we aimed at testing this hypothesis in juvenile individuals and looked at genetic parameters describing carotenoid-based colouration of blue tit nestlings in a wild population. To separate genetic and environmental sources of phenotypic variation we performed a cross-fostering experiment. Our analyses confirmed the existence of sexual dichromatism in blue tit nestlings and revealed a significant, although low, genetic component of carotenoid-based colouration. However, genetic effects are expressed differently across sexes as indicated by low cross-sex genetic correlations (r(mf)). Thus our results do not support the prediction of generally high rmf and suggest that intersexual constraints on the evolution of colouration traits may be weaker than expected. We hypothesise that observed patterns of genetic correlations result from sex-specific selective pressures acting on nestling plumage colouration.
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| 12. |
- Drobniak, Szymon M., et al.
(författare)
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Maternal Age-Related Depletion of Offspring Genetic Variance in Immune Response to Phytohaemagglutinin in the Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
- 2015
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Ingår i: Evolutionary biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0071-3260 .- 1934-2845. ; 42:1, s. 88-98
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies examining age-specific patterns in genetic variance have focussed primarily on changes in the genetic variance within cohorts. It remains unclear whether parental age may affect the genetic variance among offspring. To date, such an effect has been reported only in a single study performed in a wild bird population. Here, we provide experimental evidence that the additive genetic variance (V-A) observed among offspring may be related to parental age in a wild passerine-the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). To separate genetic and environmental components of phenotypic variance in nestling body size and immune function we cross-fostered nestlings between pairs of broods born to young and old mothers and used an animal model to estimate V-A. We show that the genetic variance in immune response to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and body weight among offspring depends on maternal age. V-A in response to PHA appeared to be lower among nestlings of older mothers. Such a tendency was not observed for tarsus length. We argue that the lower V-A may result either from depletion of additive genetic variation due to selection acting on parents across age classes or from environmental effects confounded with parental age. Thus, our study suggests that parental age may significantly affect estimates of quantitative genetic parameters in the offspring.
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| 13. |
- Dubiec, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Differential prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites in two sympatric closely related nonmigratory passerines
- 2016
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Ingår i: Parasitology. - 0031-1820 .- 1469-8161. ; 143:10, s. 1320-1329
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Haemosporidian parasites infecting birds show distinct heterogeneity in their distribution among host species. However, despite numerous studies on the prevalence and diversity of parasite communities across species, very little is known on patterns of differences between them. Such data is lacking because up to date the majority of studies explored the patterns of variation in infections in different years, different time of sampling within a year or a breeding cycle, different study sites or was based on a small sample size, all of which may affect the estimates of prevalence and parasite diversity. Here, the prevalence, richness and diversity of haemosporidian parasites from the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus were studied in two closely related non-migratory hole-nesting passerines: Great Tits and Blue Tits. Birds were sampled in sympatrically breeding populations during two seasons at the same stage of their breeding cycle - late nestling care. Great Tits were more prevalently infected with Plasmodium and Haemoproteus parasites (97.1 vs 71.2%), harboured a higher proportion of multiple infections (26.2 vs 3.2%) and had a more diverse parasite community (11 vs 5 parasite lineages) than Blue Tits. Observed differences between two host species are discussed with reference to their breeding densities and immunological and behavioural characteristics.
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| 14. |
- Griffith, Simon C., et al.
(författare)
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Variation in reproductive success across captive populations: Methodological differences, potential biases and opportunities
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ethology. - : Wiley. - 1439-0310 .- 0179-1613. ; 123:1, s. 1-29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our understanding of fundamental organismal biology has been disproportionately influenced by studies of a relatively small number of ‘model’ species extensively studied in captivity. Laboratory populations of model species are commonly subject to a number of forms of past and current selection that may affect experimental outcomes. Here, we examine these processes and their outcomes in one of the most widely used vertebrate species in the laboratory – the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). This important model species is used for research across a broad range of fields, partly due to the ease with which it can be bred in captivity. However despite this perceived amenability, we demonstrate extensive variation in the success with which different laboratories and studies bred their subjects, and overall only 64% of all females that were given the opportunity, bred successfully in the laboratory. We identify and review several environmental, husbandry, life-history and behavioural factors that potentially contribute to this variation. The variation in reproductive success across individuals could lead to biases in experimental outcomes and drive some of the heterogeneity in research outcomes across studies. The zebra finch remains an excellent captive animal system and our aim is to sharpen the insight that future studies of this species can provide, both to our understanding of this species and also with respect to the reproduction of captive animals more widely. We hope to improve systematic reporting methods and that further investigation of the issues we raise will lead both to advances in our fundamental understanding of avian reproduction as well as to improvements in future welfare and experimental efficiency.
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| 15. |
- Janas, Katarzyna, et al.
(författare)
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Carotenoid-based coloration correlates with the hatching date of Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusnestlings
- 2020
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Ingår i: Ibis. - : WILEY. - 0019-1019 .- 1474-919X. ; 162:3, s. 645-654
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carotenoid-based coloration occurs predominantly in adult birds, yet in some species from the family Paridae, this trait is also present at the nestling stage. One of the factors proposed to affect the expression of this trait in immature birds is hatching date. Here, using the avian tetrahedral colour space model, we examined the influence of hatching date on the breast carotenoid-based plumage coloration of the Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusnestlings. Because Blue Tits are sexually dichromatic, we also investigated the potential interaction between hatching date and sex that could arise from differences in condition dependence of this trait between males and females. We found a positive relationship betweenUVchroma of breast feathers and hatching date. The amount ofUVreflectance is thought to be negatively related to carotenoid content in feathers. The observed increase ofUVchroma through the breeding season might therefore be caused by a seasonal decline in the availability and quality of Lepidoptera larvae - the main source of carotenoids in food of the Tits. We also observed a sex difference in the relationship between brightness of breast feathers (achromatic, structural component) and hatching date, which in males was negative and in females not significant. Our study provides further evidence that the timing of breeding is related to the expression of nestling carotenoid-based coloration, a potentially meaningful element of offspring-parent communication, and suggests a sex-specific effect of hatching date on its structural component.
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| 16. |
- Janas, Katarzyna, et al.
(författare)
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Differential effects of early growth conditions on colour-producing nanostructures revealed through small angle X-ray scattering and electron microscopy
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Biology. - : COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD. - 0022-0949 .- 1477-9145. ; 223:18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The costs associated with the production and maintenance of colour patches is thought to maintain their honesty. Although considerable research on sexual selection has focused on structurally coloured plumage ornaments, the proximate mechanisms of their potential condition dependence, and thus their honesty, is rarely addressed, particularly in an experimental context. Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings have ultraviolet (UV)-blue structurally coloured tail feathers, providing a unique opportunity for investigation of the causes of variation in their colour. Here, we examined the influence of early growing conditions on the reflectance and structural properties of UV-blue-coloured tail feathers of blue tit nestlings. We applied a two-stage brood size manipulation to determine which stage of development more strongly impacts the quality of tail feather colouration and microstructure. We used small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and electron microscopy to characterise the nanoscale and microscale structure of tail feather barbs. Nestlings from the broods enlarged at a later stage of growth showed a sex-specific rectrix development delay, with males being more sensitive to this manipulation. Contrary to predictions, treatment affected neither the quality of the barbs' nanostructures nor the brightness and UV chroma of feathers. However. at the microscale. barbs' keratin characteristics were impaired in late-enlarged broods. Our results suggest that nanostructure quality, which determines the UV-blue colour in tail feathers, is not sensitive to early rearing conditions. Furthermore, availability of resources during feather growth seems to impact the quality of feather microstructure more than body condition, which is likely to be determined at an earlier stage of nestling growth.
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| 17. |
- Janas, Katarzyna, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of haemosporidian infection status on structural and carotenoid-based colouration in the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Avian Biology. - : Wiley. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 49:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hypotheses postulating parasite-mediated mate choice intrinsically assume that parasitic infections deteriorate the quality of male ornamentation. Although this assumption has often been studied in the context of carotenoid-based colouration, only few studies investigated this with reference to structural feather colouration, which in many species plays a vital role in sexual selection. Here, using a three-years dataset from a wild blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus population, we examined the relationship between the haemosporidian infection status and the structural as well as the carotenoid-based colouration of adult birds. Furthermore, we investigated potential differences in the impact on feather colouration between two examined parasite genera: Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. For analysis of the feathers spectral reflectance we used both the tristimulus model and the avian tetrahedral colour space model, incorporating visual phenotype of the blue tit. Contrary to expectations we found that infected birds showed higher brightness, in both the structural and the carotenoid-based colours. We also found no differences in the feather colouration between birds infected with Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. Observed pattern might be best explained by the parasite-mediated selection hypothesis, as only individuals of superior quality should be able to survive the acute stage of infection and therefore they could produce more elaborate ornamental colouration.
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| 18. |
- Janas, Katarzyna, et al.
(författare)
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Sexual dichromatism, size dimorphism, and microscale anatomy of white wing stripe in blue tits
- 2021
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press. - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 67:6, s. 585-596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Achromatic patches are a common element of plumage patterns in many bird species and there is growing body of evidence that in many avian taxa they can play a signaling role in mate choice. Although the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus is a well-established model species in the studies on coloration, its white wing patch has never been examined in the context of sex-specific trait expression. In this exploratory study, we examined sexual size dimorphism and dichromatism of greater covert's dots creating white wing patch and analyzed its correlations with current body condition and crown coloration-a trait with established role in sexual selection. Further, we qualitatively analyzed microstructural barb morphology underlying covert's coloration. We found significant sexual dimorphism in the dot size independent of covert size and sexual dichromatism in both white dot and blue outer covert's vane spectral characteristics. Internal structure of covert barbs within the white dot was similar to the one found in barbs from the blue part that is, with a medullary area consisting of dead keratinocytes containing channel-type beta-keratin spongy nanostructure and centrally located air cavities. However, it lacked melanosomes which was the main observed difference. Importantly, UV chroma of covert's blue vane was positively correlated with crown UV chroma and current condition (the latter only in males), which should be a premise for further research on the signal function of the wing stripe.
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| 19. |
- Jones, William, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Interspecific transfer of parasites following a range-shift in Ficedula flycatchers
- 2018
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 8:23, s. 12183-12192
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human-induced climate change is expected to cause major biotic changes in species distributions and thereby including escalation of novel host-parasite associations. Closely related host species that come into secondary contact are especially likely to exchange parasites and pathogens. Both the Enemy Release Hypothesis (where invading hosts escape their original parasites) and the Novel Weapon Hypothesis (where invading hosts bring new parasites that have detrimental effects on native hosts) predict that the local host will be most likely to experience a disadvantage. However, few studies evaluate the occurrence of interspecific parasite transfer by performing wide-scale geographic sampling of pathogen lineages, both within and far from host contact zones. In this study, we investigate how haemosporidian (avian malaria) prevalence and lineage diversity vary in two, closely related species of passerine birds; the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca and the collared flycatcher F. albicollis in both allopatry and sympatry. We find that host species is generally a better predictor of parasite diversity than location, but both prevalence and diversity of parasites vary widely among populations of the same bird species. We also find a limited and unidirectional transfer of parasites from pied flycatchers to collared flycatchers in a recent contact zone. This study therefore rejects both the Enemy Release Hypothesis and the Novel Weapon Hypothesis and highlights the complexity and importance of studying host-parasite relationships in an era of global climate change and species range shifts.
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| 20. |
- Lemoine, Melissa, et al.
(författare)
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Low but contrasting neutral genetic differentiation shaped by winter temperature in European great tits
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0024-4066 .- 1095-8312. ; 118:3, s. 668-685
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gene flow is usually thought to reduce genetic divergence and impede local adaptation by homogenising gene pools between populations. However, evidence for local adaptation and phenotypic differentiation in highly mobile species, experiencing high levels of gene flow, is emerging. Assessing population genetic structure at different spatial scales is thus a crucial step towards understanding mechanisms underlying intraspecific differentiation and diversification. Here, we studied the population genetic structure of a highly mobile species - the great tit Parus major - at different spatial scales. We analysed 884 individuals from 30 sites across Europe including 10 close-by sites (< 50 km), using 22 microsatellite markers. Overall we found a low but significant genetic differentiation among sites (F-ST = 0.008). Genetic differentiation was higher, and genetic diversity lower, in south-western Europe. These regional differences were statistically best explained by winter temperature. Overall, our results suggest that great tits form a single patchy metapopulation across Europe, in which genetic differentiation is independent of geographical distance and gene flow may be regulated by environmental factors via movements related to winter severity. This might have important implications for the evolutionary trajectories of sub-populations, especially in the context of climate change, and calls for future investigations of local differences in costs and benefits of philopatry at large scales.
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| 21. |
- Moller, Anders Pape, et al.
(författare)
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Clutch-size variation in Western Palaearctic secondary hole-nesting passerine birds in relation to nest box design
- 2014
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Ingår i: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. - 2041-210X. ; 5:4, s. 353-362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Secondary hole-nesting birds that do not construct nest holes themselves and hence regularly breed in nest boxes constitute important model systems for field studies in many biological disciplines with hundreds of scientists and amateurs involved. Those research groups are spread over wide geographic areas that experience considerable variation in environmental conditions, and researchers provide nest boxes of varying designs that may inadvertently introduce spatial and temporal variation in reproductive parameters. We quantified the relationship between mean clutch size and nest box size and material after controlling for a range of environmental variables in four of the most widely used model species in the Western Palaearctic: great tit Parus major, blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca and collared flycatcher F.albicollis from 365 populations and 79610 clutches. Nest floor area and nest box material varied non-randomly across latitudes and longitudes, showing that scientists did not adopt a random box design. Clutch size increased with nest floor area in great tits, but not in blue tits and flycatchers. Clutch size of blue tits was larger in wooden than in concrete nest boxes. These findings demonstrate that the size of nest boxes and material used to construct nest boxes can differentially affect clutch size in different species. The findings also suggest that the nest box design may affect not only focal species, but also indirectly other species through the effects of nest box design on productivity and therefore potentially population density and hence interspecific competition.
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| 22. |
- Moller, Anders Pape, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of interspecific coexistence on laying date and clutch size in two closely related species of hole-nesting birds
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : WILEY. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 87:6, s. 1738-1748
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coexistence between great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus, but also other hole-nesting taxa, constitutes a classic example of species co-occurrence resulting in potential interference and exploitation competition for food and for breeding and roosting sites. However, the spatial and temporal variations in coexistence and its consequences for competition remain poorly understood. We used an extensive database on reproduction in nest boxes by great and blue tits based on 87 study plots across Europe and Northern Africa during 1957-2012 for a total of 19,075 great tit and 16,729 blue tit clutches to assess correlative evidence for a relationship between laying date and clutch size, respectively, and density consistent with effects of intraspecific and interspecific competition. In an initial set of analyses, we statistically controlled for a suite of site-specific variables. We found evidence for an effect of intraspecific competition on blue tit laying date (later laying at higher density) and clutch size (smaller clutch size at higher density), but no evidence of significant effects of intraspecific competition in great tits, nor effects of interspecific competition for either species. To further control for site-specific variation caused by a range of potentially confounding variables, we compared means and variances in laying date and clutch size of great and blue tits among three categories of difference in density between the two species. We exploited the fact that means and variances are generally positively correlated. If interspecific competition occurs, we predicted a reduction in mean and an increase in variance in clutch size in great tit and blue tit when density of heterospecifics is higher than the density of conspecifics, and for intraspecific competition, this reduction would occur when density of conspecifics is higher than the density of heterospecifics. Such comparisons of temporal patterns of means and variances revealed evidence, for both species, consistent with intraspecific competition and to a smaller extent with interspecific competition. These findings suggest that competition associated with reproductive behaviour between blue and great tits is widespread, but also varies across large spatial and temporal scales.
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| 23. |
- Moller, Anders P., et al.
(författare)
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Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:18, s. 3583-3595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nests are structures built to support and protect eggs and/or offspring from predators, parasites, and adverse weather conditions. Nests are mainly constructed prior to egg laying, meaning that parent birds must make decisions about nest site choice and nest building behavior before the start of egg-laying. Parent birds should be selected to choose nest sites and to build optimally sized nests, yet our current understanding of clutch size-nest size relationships is limited to small-scale studies performed over short time periods. Here, we quantified the relationship between clutch size and nest size, using an exhaustive database of 116 slope estimates based on 17,472 nests of 21 species of hole and non-hole-nesting birds. There was a significant, positive relationship between clutch size and the base area of the nest box or the nest, and this relationship did not differ significantly between open nesting and hole-nesting species. The slope of the relationship showed significant intraspecific and interspecific heterogeneity among four species of secondary hole-nesting species, but also among all 116 slope estimates. The estimated relationship between clutch size and nest box base area in study sites with more than a single size of nest box was not significantly different from the relationship using studies with only a single size of nest box. The slope of the relationship between clutch size and nest base area in different species of birds was significantly negatively related to minimum base area, and less so to maximum base area in a given study. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that bird species have a general reaction norm reflecting the relationship between nest size and clutch size. Further, they suggest that scientists may influence the clutch size decisions of hole-nesting birds through the provisioning of nest boxes of varying sizes.
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| 24. |
- Pape Møller, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Interaction of climate change with effects of conspecific and heterospecific density on reproduction
- 2020
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 129:12, s. 1807-1819
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the relationship between temperature and the coexistence of great tit Parus major and blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, breeding in 75 study plots across Europe and North Africa. We expected an advance in laying date and a reduction in clutch size during warmer springs as a general response to climate warming and a delay in laying date and a reduction in clutch size during warmer winters due to density‐dependent effects. As expected, as spring temperature increases laying date advances and as winter temperature increases clutch size is reduced in both species. Density of great tit affected the relationship between winter temperature and laying date in great and blue tit. Specifically, as density of great tit increased and temperature in winter increased both species started to reproduce later. Density of blue tit affected the relationship between spring temperature and blue and great tit laying date. Thus, both species start to reproduce earlier with increasing spring temperature as density of blue tit increases, which was not an expected outcome, since we expected that increasing spring temperature should advance laying date, while increasing density should delay it cancelling each other out. Climate warming and its interaction with density affects clutch size of great tits but not of blue tits. As predicted, great tit clutch size is reduced more with density of blue tits as temperature in winter increases. The relationship between spring temperature and density on clutch size of great tits depends on whether the increase is in density of great tit or blue tit. Therefore, an increase in temperature negatively affected the coexistence of blue and great tits differently in both species. Thus, blue tit clutch size was unaffected by the interaction effect of density with temperature, while great tit clutch size was affected in multiple ways by these interactions terms.
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| 25. |
- Podmokla, Edyta, et al.
(författare)
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Avian malaria is associated with increased reproductive investment in the blue tit
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Avian Biology. - 0908-8857 .- 1600-048X. ; 45:3, s. 219-224
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Haemosporidians causing avian malaria are very common parasites among bird species. Their negative effects have been repeatedly reported in terms of deterioration in survival prospects or reproductive success. However, a positive association between blood parasites and avian fitness has also been reported. Here, we studied a relationship between presence of malaria parasites and reproductive performance of the host, a hole-breeding passerine - the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus. Since the malaria parasites might affect their hosts differently depending on environmental conditions, we performed brood size manipulation experiment to differentiate parental reproductive effort and study the potential interaction between infection status and brood rearing conditions on reproductive performance. We found individuals infected with malaria parasites to breed later in the season in comparison with uninfected birds, but no differences were detected in clutch size. Interestingly, infected parents produced heavier and larger offspring with stronger reaction to phytohemagglutinin. More importantly, we found a significant interaction between infection status and brood size manipulation in offspring tarsus length and reaction to phytohemagglutinin: presence of parasites had stronger positive effect among birds caring for experimentally enlarged broods. Our results might be interpreted either in the light of the parasite-mediated selection or terminal investment hypothesis.
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