Search results for "Passer"

Behavioural evidence for ultraviolet vision in a tetraonid species - foraging experiment with black grouse Tetrao tetrix

2002

In addition to wavelengths visible to humans (400-700 nm), many birds are able to detect near ultraviolet light (320-400 nm). Most studies of ultraviolet (UV) vision in birds have concentrated on the importance of UV vision in intraspecific signalling, especially in passerine birds. However, birds may also use UV vision for other purposes, e.g. foraging. We performed a laboratory experiment to test whether a tetraonid species, black grouse Tetrao tetrix, could detect the difference between UV-reflecting and non-UV-reflecting food items (two colour morphs of bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus). Black grouse preferred UV-reflecting berries when UV light was used for illumination, but showed no pref…

The effect of experimental lead pollution on DNA methylation in a wild bird population

2021

Anthropogenic pollution is known to negatively influence an organism’s physiology, behaviour, and fitness. Epigenetic regulation, such as DNA methylation, has been hypothesized as a potential mechanism to mediate such effects, yet studies in wild species are lacking. We first investigated the effects of early-life exposure to the heavy metal lead (Pb) on DNA methylation levels in a wild population of great tits (Parus major), by experimentally exposing nestlings to Pb at environmentally relevant levels. Secondly, we compared nestling DNA methylation from a population exposed to long-term heavy metal pollution (close to a copper smelter), where birds suffer from pollution-related decrease in…

Phylogeny of long-tailed tits and allies inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers (Aves: Passeriformes, Aegithalidae)

2010

Abstract In this paper we provide a molecular phylogeny based on three mitochondrial and three nuclear markers for all long-tailed tit species of the genus Aegithalos including several doubtful subspecies (17 taxa) plus three close allies of SE Asian Leptopoecile and North American Psaltriparus . Genus Aegithalos is divided into three major clades, two of them showing only minor differentiation. Separation of two mitchondrial haploytpe clusters in the N Palearctic Long-tailed Tit, Ae. caudatus , was dated back to the Late Pleistocene, however, descendants from both lineages underwent a rapid post-Pleistocene range expansion and largely mixed over the entire distribution area. The Chinese po…

Forest management is associated with physiological stress in an old–growth forest passerine

2003

We investigated how physiological stress in an area-sensitive old-growth forest passerine, the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), is associated with forest fragmentation and forest structure. We found evidence that the concentrations of plasma corticosterone in chicks were higher under poor food supply in dense, young forests than in sparse, old forests. In addition, nestlings in large forest patches had lower corticosterone levels and a better body condition than in small forest patches. In general, corticosterone levels were negatively related to body condition and survival. We also found a decrease in corticosterone levels within the breeding season, which may have been a result …

Social transmission in the wild can reduce predation pressure on novel prey signals

2021

Funder: Suomen Kulttuurirahasto (Finnish Cultural Foundation); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003125

GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION IN ANTIBODY AND T-CELL MEDIATED RESPONSES IN THE GREAT TIT

2006

Host parasite coevolution assumes pathogen specific genetic variation in host immune defense. Also, if immune function plays a role in the evolution of life history, allocation to immune function should be heritable. We conducted a cross-fostering experiment to test the relative importance of genetic and environmental sources of variation in T-cell mediated inflammatory response and antigen specific antibody responses in the great tits Parus major. Cell mediated response was measured during the nestling period and antibody response against two novel antigens was measured in two-month-old juveniles raised in a laboratory. We found no effect of nest of origin, but a strong effect of rearing e…

Population changes in Czech passerines are predicted by their life-history and ecological traits

2010

A species’ susceptibility to environmental change might be predicted by its ecological and life-history traits. However, the effects of such traits on long-term bird population trends have not yet been assessed using a comprehensive set of explanatory variables. Moreover, the extent to which phylogeny affects patterns in the interspecific variability of population changes is unclear. Our study focuses on the interspecific variability in long-term population trends and annual population fluctuations of 68 passerine species in the Czech Republic, assessing the effects of eight life-history and five ecological traits. Ordination of life-history traits of 68 species revealed a life-history grad…

2015

Songs in passerine birds are important for territory defense and mating. Speciation rates in oscine passerines are so high, due to cultural evolution, that this bird lineage makes up half of the extant bird species. Leaf warblers are a speciose Old-World passerine family of limited morphological differentiation, so that songs are even more important for species delimitation. We took 16 sonographic traits from song recordings of 80 leaf warbler taxa and correlated them with 15 potentially explanatory variables, pairwise, and in linear models. Based on a well-resolved molecular phylogeny of the same taxa, all pairwise correlations were corrected for relatedness with phylogenetically independe…

The use of blue tit eggs as a biomonitoring tool for organohalogenated pollutants in the European environment

2010

In the present study, large scale geographical variation in the occurrence of organohalogenated pollutants (OHPs) was investigated throughout Europe using eggs of a terrestrial resident passerine species, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). Blue tit eggs from 10 sampling locations, involving suburban, rural and remote areas, in 7 European countries were collected and analysed. Sum polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels ranged from 150 ng/g lipid weight (lw) to 2003 ng/g lw. Sum polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) ranged from 3.95 ng/g lw to 114 ng/g lw. As expected, PCB and PBDE concentrations were significantly higher in the sampled suburban locations compared to the rural and remote loc…

Effects of migratory status and habitat on the prevalence and intensity of infection by haemoparasites in passerines in eastern Spain

2013

Efectos del estatus migratorio y del tipo de habitat sobre la prevalencia y la intensidad de la infeccion por hemoparasitos en paseriformes en el este de Espana La peninsula iberica es un sitio idoneo para estudiar los efectos de la condicion migratoria en la prevalencia de hemoparasitos en comunidades de aves, dado que convergen poblaciones residentes locales con especies migratorias y abundantes poblaciones de vectores. En este trabajo examinamos la incidencia de hemoparasitos presentes en aves de tres localidades de la region mediterranea (este de Espana), con respecto del estatus migratorio. Examinamos 333 frotis sanguineos de 11 especies, y encontramos una prevalencia global del 9,6%. …