Background: Nest construction is a key element of avian reproductive behaviour and the result is often a complex structure that is used for incubation of eggs, which represents an extended phenotype. It is known that ...Background: Nest construction is a key element of avian reproductive behaviour and the result is often a complex structure that is used for incubation of eggs, which represents an extended phenotype. It is known that nest construction is a plastic behaviour but the extent to which plasticity is observed in a single species with a wide geographical distribution is largely unknown. This study sought to better understand variation in nest size and composition across a very wide geographical area. The hypothesis suggested that location would affect size but not composition of nests of the European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Methods: Nests and reproductive data were collected from seventeen study sites, spread over 6° of latitude and 3.3° of longitude on the island of Great Britain. Dimensions of nests were measured before they were deconstructed to determine the masses and types materials used in the outer nest and the cup lining. Results: Geographical variation was observed in base thickness of nests but not many other dimensions. Nests varied in composition but were mainly made of leaf, moss, bark, grass, root and fern. Moss was used more to the north and east of the study area compared with more leaf mass towards the south and west. The species of leaf and bark used in the nests varied between geographical locations. Additionally, the use of leaves or bark from a particular tree species did not reflect the incidence of the tree species in the immediate territory. Conclusions: This study showed that nest composition was affected by geographical location over a wide area. Variation between nests at each location was high and so it was concluded that differences in nest composition reflect individual selection of materials but evidence is such that it remains unclear whether this is deliberate to fulfil a specific role in the nest, or simply opportunistic with birds simply picking up materials with the appropriate characteristics as they find them outside their nestbox.展开更多
Helwingia japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. papillosa Fang et Soong was reduced as a new synonym of H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. hypoleuca Hemsl. ex Rehd. Helwingia zhejiangensis Fang et Soong was combined into H. jap...Helwingia japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. papillosa Fang et Soong was reduced as a new synonym of H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. hypoleuca Hemsl. ex Rehd. Helwingia zhejiangensis Fang et Soong was combined into H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. and renamed H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. zhejiangensis (Fang et Soong) M. B. Deng et Y. Zhang.展开更多
Conserving species relies upon acquiring an understanding of their use of habitat,yet our understanding of the use of habitat by co-existing species of different guilds at microgeographic scales remains poor.In partic...Conserving species relies upon acquiring an understanding of their use of habitat,yet our understanding of the use of habitat by co-existing species of different guilds at microgeographic scales remains poor.In particular,the use of habitat by woodland species is of conservation concern because of widespread declines in woodland biodiversity.Woodland bird declines have been ascribed,in part,to high deer densities because their browsing reduces the availability of nesting sites and food.We quantify the microgeographic use of habitat by Roe Deer(Capreolus capreolus)and of Great Tits(Parus major),Blue Tits(Cyanistes caeruleus)and Pied Flycatchers(Ficedula hypoleuca)in a heterogenous woodland landscape.We examined the use of habitat at microgeographic scales by the deer and the three bird species in relation to whether the local habitat was flat or wet or had a path,fence or wall within a 25-m radius of 206 randomly selected locations.We first examined if the occupancy rates of nestboxes in those locations were correlated with the number of Roe Deer lays and second,examined if the use of habitat by the Roe Deer and the bird species were associated with each of the habitat features that we quantified.We begin by showing that the use of habitat by Roe Deer is incongruent with the use of habitat by Great Tits,Blue Tits and Pied Flycatchers during the breeding season.Also,whilst all three bird species showed no,or weak,habitat preferences,the Roe Deer preferred daytime lay sites that were in flat areas of wet woodland close to paths,whilst there were no significant effects of the presence of fences and walls.These findings show that the Roe Deer and the three bird species differ in the use of habitat within a heterogenous woodland landscape,meaning that their use of habitat did not overlap at microgeographic scales.Meanwhile,the deer showed preferences for flat areas of wet woodland,whilst none of the bird species exhibited such preferences,and we discuss the implications of our findings for the management of woodlands.展开更多
The study of host–parasite co-evolution is a central topic in evolutionary ecology.However,research is still fragmented and the extent to which parasites influence host life history is debated.One reason for this inc...The study of host–parasite co-evolution is a central topic in evolutionary ecology.However,research is still fragmented and the extent to which parasites influence host life history is debated.One reason for this incomplete picture is the frequent omission of environmental conditions in studies analyzing host–parasite dynamics,which may influence the exposure to or effects of parasitism.To contribute to elucidating the largely unresolved question of how environmental conditions are related to the prevalence and intensity of infestation and their impact on hosts,we took advantage of 25 years of monitoring of a breeding population of pied flycatchers,Ficedula hypoleuca,in a Mediterranean area of central Spain.We investigated the influence of temperature and precipitation during the nestling stage at a local scale on the intensity of blowfly(Protocalliphora azurea)parasitism during the nestling stage.In addition,we explored the mediating effect of extrinsic and intrinsic factors and blowfly parasitism on breeding success(production of fledglings)and offspring quality(nestling mass on day 13).The prevalence and intensity of blowfly parasitism were associated with different intrinsic(host breeding date,brood size)and extrinsic(breeding habitat,mean temperature)factors.Specifically,higher average temperatures during the nestling phase were associated with lower intensities of parasitism,which may be explained by changes in blowflies’activity or larval developmental success.In contrast,no relationship was found between the prevalence of parasitism and any of the environmental variables evaluated.Hosts that experienced high parasitism intensities in their broods produced more fledglings as temperature increased,suggesting that physiological responses to severe parasitism during nestling development might be enhanced in warmer conditions.The weight of fledglings was,however,unrelated to the interactive effect of parasitism intensity and environmental conditions.Overall,our results highlight the temperature dependence of parasite–host interactions and the importance of considering multiple fitness indicators and climate-mediated effects to understand their complex implications for avian fitness and population dynamics.展开更多
文摘Background: Nest construction is a key element of avian reproductive behaviour and the result is often a complex structure that is used for incubation of eggs, which represents an extended phenotype. It is known that nest construction is a plastic behaviour but the extent to which plasticity is observed in a single species with a wide geographical distribution is largely unknown. This study sought to better understand variation in nest size and composition across a very wide geographical area. The hypothesis suggested that location would affect size but not composition of nests of the European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Methods: Nests and reproductive data were collected from seventeen study sites, spread over 6° of latitude and 3.3° of longitude on the island of Great Britain. Dimensions of nests were measured before they were deconstructed to determine the masses and types materials used in the outer nest and the cup lining. Results: Geographical variation was observed in base thickness of nests but not many other dimensions. Nests varied in composition but were mainly made of leaf, moss, bark, grass, root and fern. Moss was used more to the north and east of the study area compared with more leaf mass towards the south and west. The species of leaf and bark used in the nests varied between geographical locations. Additionally, the use of leaves or bark from a particular tree species did not reflect the incidence of the tree species in the immediate territory. Conclusions: This study showed that nest composition was affected by geographical location over a wide area. Variation between nests at each location was high and so it was concluded that differences in nest composition reflect individual selection of materials but evidence is such that it remains unclear whether this is deliberate to fulfil a specific role in the nest, or simply opportunistic with birds simply picking up materials with the appropriate characteristics as they find them outside their nestbox.
文摘Helwingia japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. papillosa Fang et Soong was reduced as a new synonym of H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. hypoleuca Hemsl. ex Rehd. Helwingia zhejiangensis Fang et Soong was combined into H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. and renamed H. japonica (Thunb.) Dietr. var. zhejiangensis (Fang et Soong) M. B. Deng et Y. Zhang.
文摘Conserving species relies upon acquiring an understanding of their use of habitat,yet our understanding of the use of habitat by co-existing species of different guilds at microgeographic scales remains poor.In particular,the use of habitat by woodland species is of conservation concern because of widespread declines in woodland biodiversity.Woodland bird declines have been ascribed,in part,to high deer densities because their browsing reduces the availability of nesting sites and food.We quantify the microgeographic use of habitat by Roe Deer(Capreolus capreolus)and of Great Tits(Parus major),Blue Tits(Cyanistes caeruleus)and Pied Flycatchers(Ficedula hypoleuca)in a heterogenous woodland landscape.We examined the use of habitat at microgeographic scales by the deer and the three bird species in relation to whether the local habitat was flat or wet or had a path,fence or wall within a 25-m radius of 206 randomly selected locations.We first examined if the occupancy rates of nestboxes in those locations were correlated with the number of Roe Deer lays and second,examined if the use of habitat by the Roe Deer and the bird species were associated with each of the habitat features that we quantified.We begin by showing that the use of habitat by Roe Deer is incongruent with the use of habitat by Great Tits,Blue Tits and Pied Flycatchers during the breeding season.Also,whilst all three bird species showed no,or weak,habitat preferences,the Roe Deer preferred daytime lay sites that were in flat areas of wet woodland close to paths,whilst there were no significant effects of the presence of fences and walls.These findings show that the Roe Deer and the three bird species differ in the use of habitat within a heterogenous woodland landscape,meaning that their use of habitat did not overlap at microgeographic scales.Meanwhile,the deer showed preferences for flat areas of wet woodland,whilst none of the bird species exhibited such preferences,and we discuss the implications of our findings for the management of woodlands.
基金support from projects CGL2006-07481/BOS(to J.C.Senar),CGL2009-10652(to J.C.Senar),CGL2011-29694(to J.Potti),and CGL2014-55969-P(to F.Valera)from the Spanish Ministry of Educationwell as project PAC05-006-2(to J.A.Dávila)from the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha(Spain)+6 种基金During the writing process,E.G.B.was supported by a Margarita Salas Contract financed by the European Union-NextGenerationEU and the Recovery,Transformation,and Resilience Plan(Spanish Ministry of Universities)D.C.received support through a Talent Attraction fellowship from the Autonomous Community of Madrid(CAM),Spain(2022-T1_AMB-24025)the projects PID2022-141763NA-I00,CGL2015-70639-P,and PID2019-104835GB-I00funded by MCIN/AEI(doi:10.13039/501100011033)C.C.was supported by the grant ref.RYC2021-033977-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033the European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR.J.M.P.was supported by the ARAID FoundationFunding for open access charge:Universidad de Granada/CBUA.
文摘The study of host–parasite co-evolution is a central topic in evolutionary ecology.However,research is still fragmented and the extent to which parasites influence host life history is debated.One reason for this incomplete picture is the frequent omission of environmental conditions in studies analyzing host–parasite dynamics,which may influence the exposure to or effects of parasitism.To contribute to elucidating the largely unresolved question of how environmental conditions are related to the prevalence and intensity of infestation and their impact on hosts,we took advantage of 25 years of monitoring of a breeding population of pied flycatchers,Ficedula hypoleuca,in a Mediterranean area of central Spain.We investigated the influence of temperature and precipitation during the nestling stage at a local scale on the intensity of blowfly(Protocalliphora azurea)parasitism during the nestling stage.In addition,we explored the mediating effect of extrinsic and intrinsic factors and blowfly parasitism on breeding success(production of fledglings)and offspring quality(nestling mass on day 13).The prevalence and intensity of blowfly parasitism were associated with different intrinsic(host breeding date,brood size)and extrinsic(breeding habitat,mean temperature)factors.Specifically,higher average temperatures during the nestling phase were associated with lower intensities of parasitism,which may be explained by changes in blowflies’activity or larval developmental success.In contrast,no relationship was found between the prevalence of parasitism and any of the environmental variables evaluated.Hosts that experienced high parasitism intensities in their broods produced more fledglings as temperature increased,suggesting that physiological responses to severe parasitism during nestling development might be enhanced in warmer conditions.The weight of fledglings was,however,unrelated to the interactive effect of parasitism intensity and environmental conditions.Overall,our results highlight the temperature dependence of parasite–host interactions and the importance of considering multiple fitness indicators and climate-mediated effects to understand their complex implications for avian fitness and population dynamics.
