Search results for "Treecreeper"
showing 10 items of 15 documents
Habitat-related nest predation effect on the breeding success of the Eurasian treecreeper
2003
We studied the impact of habitat structure on the long-term breeding success of an old-growth forest passerine the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) assessed over a period of 7 years in the...
REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF EURASIAN TREECREEPERS,CERTHIA FAMILIARIS,LOWER IN TERRITORIES WITH WOOD ANTS
1999
Few studies have considered the effects of interspecific competition between distantly related taxa on the reproductive success of individuals. We compared the food supply, laying date, clutch size, and breeding success of a small double-brooded passerine bird, the Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) between territories with or without col- onies of red wood ants (Formica rufa group) during four years. Both the wood ants and Eurasian Treecreepers forage on tree trunks and utilize the same food resources. It has been shown that the wood ants are able to depress the available food supply for the treecreepers and interfere with their foraging behavior. We found that food abundance was lo…
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 …
Using change trajectories to study the impacts of multi-annual habitat loss on fledgling production in an old forest specialist bird
2017
The loss and subdivision of habitat into smaller and more spatially isolated units due to human actions has been shown to adversely affect species worldwide. We examined how changes in old forest cover during eight years were associated with the cumulative number of fledged offspring at the end of study period in Eurasian treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) in Central Finland. We were specifically interested in whether the initial level of old forest cover moderated this relation. We applied a flexible and powerful approach, latent growth curve modelling in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, to create trajectories describing changes in old forest cover through time, and studied h…
Forest Fragmentation Increases Nest Predation in the Eurasian Treecreeper
2004
We used long-term breeding data to monitor the influences of fragmentation and habitat composi- tion at different spatial scales on the reproductive success of Eurasian Treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) breeding in nest boxes. We collected data from the same forest patches (2.7-65.1 ha in size) during seven breeding sea- sons. Nest predation varied considerably over the years and was the primary cause of nesting failure (mean annual rate of 21.6 ± 12.8%). Nest predation explained most of the variation in fledgling production during the study period. Landscape-level fragmentation (radius of 500 m from territory center) affected nest predation more than did fragmentation on the territory scal…
Effects of male removal on female foraging behavior in the Eurasian treecreeper
1997
In old, spruce-dominated forests of central Finland, Eurasian treecreepers Certhia familiaris divide their territories spatially during the breeding season. Females forage primarily on the upper parts of the tree trunks, while males use the lower parts of the tree trunks. In this study we removed males from eight territories in the early nestling period to see if the mate's absence would change the foraging patterns of the resident female. Widowed females foraged at lower heights, thus behaving more like paired males. These females also spent less time on each tree and on each foraging bout than did paired females. We conclude that male removal facilitated the change in a female's foraging …
Forest fragmentation is associated with primary brood sex ratio in the treecreeper (Certhia familiaris).
2003
We studied the primary brood sex ratio of an old-growth forest passerine, the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), along a gradient of forest fragmentation. We found evidence that male nestlings were more costly to produce, since they suffered twofold higher nestling mortality and were larger in body size than females. Furthermore, the proportion of males in the brood was positively associated with the provisioning rate and the amount of food delivered to the nestlings. During the first broods, a high edge density and a high proportion of pine forests around the nests were related to a decreased production of males. The densities of spiders, the main food of the treecreeper, were 38% …
Effects of forest patch size on physiological stress and immunocompetence in an area-sensitive passerine, the Eurasian treecreeper ( Certhia familiar…
2004
We manipulated the primary brood size of Eurasian treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) breeding in different sized forest patches (0.5-12.8 ha) in moderately fragmented landscapes. We examined the effects of brood size manipulation (reduced, control, enlarged) and forest patch size on physiological stress (heterophil-lymphocyte ratios; H/L), body condition and cell-mediated immunocompetence (phytohaemagglutinin test). Nestlings' H/L ratios were negatively related to forest patch area in control and enlarged broods, whereas no effects were found in reduced broods. The effects of forest patch area were strongest in enlarged broods, which had, in general, twofold higher H/L ratios than control an…
Evolutionary history of treecreeper vocalisations (Aves: Certhia)☆
2008
AbstractSince the vocalisations of passerine birds are in general a good means to separate taxa when external morphological differences are few, song and call recordings of 33 treecreeper (Certhia) taxa were sonagraphed and their parameters analysed. The vocalisations show low intra-individual and intra-population variation. Phylogenetic evolutionary units at the population level were delimited by time, frequency and syntax parameters by means of principal-component and discriminant analyses. Traits of territorial song were traced on a phylogenetic tree based on cytochrome b sequences, and a mean acoustic character difference was calculated. All presently recognised nine species could be di…
Certhia tianquanensis Li, a treecreeper with relict distribution in Sichuan, China
2002
Certhia tianquanensis Li, 1995, is characterised as a distinct species and is combined withC. discolor in the superspeciesC. [discolor]. This probably relict species occupies an extremely small range, and has so far been found at only four sites in western Sichuan, China. It is characterised by a long tail (likeC. discolor), an extremely short bill (similar toC. nipalensis), the patterning on the underside, with white chin and throat and beige chest and abdomen (likeC. himalayana), a striking voice (clearly different fromC. discolor and all otherCerthia species), and a large genetic distance fromC. d. discolor in the cytochrome-b gene. Unlike its closest relativeC. discolor, C. tianquanensi…