Search results for "great tit"
showing 7 items of 17 documents
Disappearance rates of old nest material from tree cavities : an experimental study
2013
Numerous forest organisms critically depend on availability of tree cavities. Some birds and rodents fill their cavities with bulky nests, which – if not removed – could accumulate and render cavities unusable, as recorded in nest-box studies. Data from earlier studies indicate that old nests can disappear from tree cavities so fast that practically no remnants are detectable the following spring. Rapid decomposition of nests in situ, augmented by physical removal of nest material by the cavity-users have been proposed as possible causative mechanisms. We tested these hypotheses in cavities used by tits (Parus major L., Poecile palustris L.) in the Białowieża National Park (E Poland). To mi…
Connecting the data landscape of long-term ecological studies: the SPI-Birds data hub
2021
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 eco-logical 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).
Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots
2015
Large conspicuous eyespots on butterfly wings have been shown to deter predators. This has been traditionally explained by mimicry of vertebrate eyes, but recently the classic eye-mimicry hypothesis has been challenged. It is proposed that the conspicuousness of the eyespot, not mimicry, is what causes aversion due to sensory biases, neophobia or sensory overloads. We conducted an experiment to directly test whether the eye-mimicry or the conspicuousness hypothesis better explain eyespot efficacy. We used great tits ( Parus major ) as model predator, and tested their reaction towards animated images on a computer display. Birds were tested against images of butterflies without eyespots, wi…
Data from: Predators’ consumption of unpalatable prey does not vary as a function of bitter taste perception
2019
Many prey species contain defensive chemicals that are described as tasting bitter. Bitter taste perception is therefore assumed to be important when predators are learning about prey defenses. However, it is not known how individuals differ in their response to bitter taste, and how this influences their foraging decisions. We conducted taste perception assays in which wild-caught great tits (Parus major) were given water with increasing concentrations of bitter-tasting chloroquine diphosphate until they showed an aversive response to bitter taste. This response threshold was found to vary considerably among individuals, ranging from chloroquine concentrations of 0.01 mmol/l to 8 mmol/l. W…
Research data supporting "Social information use about novel aposematic prey is not influenced by a predator’s previous experience with toxins"
2019
This data is from the experiment investigating social avoidance learning in wild-caught great tits, conducted at Konnevesi Research Station in Central Finland during winter 2017. Sheet 1 (���main data���) contains data from the main avoidance learning experiment, including individual attributes (sex, age, weight etc.), experimental treatments and individuals��� foraging choices in the learning trials. Sheet 2 (���preference test���) contains data from the initial preference test of the symbols that were used in the experiment, and Sheet 3 (���visibility test���) data from the initial visibility test of the same symbols.
Data from: The role of partial incubation and egg repositioning within the clutch in hatching asynchrony and subsequent effects on breeding success
2019
The main mechanism to achieve hatching asynchrony (HA) for incubating birds is to start heating the eggs before clutch completion. This might be achieved through partial incubation and/or early incubation. Even in the absence of incubation behaviour during the laying phase, clutches still experience a certain degree of asynchrony. Recent studies have shown that eggs located in the centre of the nest receive more heat than peripheral ones during incubation. Since eggs receiving more heat would develop faster, we hypothesised that HA should be shorter in nests where eggs were moved homogeneously along the centre-periphery space during incubation compared to those nests where eggs repeatedly r…
Seeing red? Colour biases of foraging birds are context dependent.
2020
Funder: Suomen Kulttuurirahasto; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003125