Article
Environmental Sciences
Kevin B. Briggs, D. Charles Deeming, Mark C. Mainwaring
Summary: This study found that plastic and other anthropogenic materials were present in 35% of pied flycatcher nests in rural woodlands throughout Great Britain. In an experimental test, the flycatchers preferred natural materials and one type of anthropogenic material. Additionally, they showed a preference for white plastic and avoided orange, blue, and yellow plastic.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Joanna Skwarska, Agnieszka Podstawczynska, Miroslawa Banbura, Michal Gladalski, Adam Kalinski, Marcin Markowski, Jaroslaw Wawrzyniak, Piotr Zielinski, Jerzy Banbura
Summary: Our research found that temperature significantly influenced the health of nestling pied flycatchers, with the daily minimum temperature during the first 12 days of nestling life having the strongest impact on the H:L ratio. Precipitation had no significant influence on the stress response in nestling pied flycatchers.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Paivi M. Sirkia, Anna Qvarnstrom
Summary: This review examines the adaptive function and differentiation of plumage coloration in male pied flycatchers, highlighting the importance of environmental heterogeneity and context-dependent selection in explaining color variation within species.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Marc Gilles, Rienk W. Fokkema, Peter Korsten, Barbara A. Caspers, Tim Schmoll
Summary: Preen oil, secreted by the uropygial gland, may contribute to body odor in birds. This study aims to characterize the chemical composition of preen oil and investigate its role in sexual signaling and chemical communication. The researchers analyzed the preen oil of European Pied Flycatchers and found evidence of sex differences, changes across breeding stages, and similarity between pair mates. The results suggest a potential function of preen oil in sexual signaling and indicate the importance of understanding avian odors in mate choice and sexual selection.
Article
Ecology
Remi Fay, Pierre-Alain Ravussin, Daniel Arrigo, Jan A. C. von Roenn, Michael Schaub
Summary: Through 40 years of monitoring, research on age-related variation in five reproductive traits of female pied flycatchers revealed evidence for age-specific performance, including early-life improvement and late-life decline. The aging patterns varied significantly among reproductive traits, both in terms of the age of peak performance and the rates of early-life improvement and late-life decline.
Article
Ornithology
Peter Adamik, Stanislav Bures, Steffen Hahn, Graeme Oatley, Martins Briedis
Summary: Using light-level geolocators, the migration patterns of European Pied Flycatchers from Czechia were tracked, revealing overlapping migration and non-breeding locations. The birds left Czech breeding grounds in August and crossed the Sahara in September. The arrival at African non-breeding grounds varied between early September and early October.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jose Ignacio Morales-Mata, Jaime Potti, Carlos Camacho, Jesus Martinez-Padilla, David Canal
Summary: Most studies on phenotypic selection have focused on morphological and life-history traits, with climatic variation being the main driver of selection. However, the effects of biotic environmental variation on phenotypic selection of sexual traits are poorly understood. Using data from a population of pied flycatchers, researchers found that breeding density did not mediate phenotypic selection on male dorsal plumage colouration. This study provides insights into the importance of biotic factors in sexual trait selection.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Vladimir G. Grinkov, Andreas Bauer, Helmut Sternberg, Michael Wink
Summary: Extra-pair copulation (EPC) is common in socially monogamous bird species, but its mechanisms and functions are still debated. This study on European pied flycatchers in Western Siberia found that about 20% of birds engage in extra-pair paternity (EPP), with loss of paternity more common in young males. EPCs can involve multiple partners, and the mates are mainly neighbors. The occurrence of EPP is higher in females nesting in high-quality territories. Fitness of within-pair offspring, EPO, and half-siblings did not differ significantly. This suggests that EPCs may be incidental side effects of selection.
Article
Biology
A. E. Bastrikova, S. Gashkov, N. S. Moskvitina
Summary: The study found that the frequency and structural parameters of the advertising song of Ficedula hypoleuca males in natural habitats and urban environments vary with age. Urban birds showed age-related changes in their songs earlier than those in natural habitats, with higher minimum song frequencies increasing with age to adapt to noise pollution.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Elena N. Melekhina, Andrey N. Korolev, Natalia P. Selivanova
Summary: The authors have obtained original material on the fauna and population structure of oribatid mites inhabiting nests of the European Pied Flycatcher in the taiga zone of the European North-East of Russia. The research provides important insights into the species composition and distribution of oribatid mites in this region.
Article
Ornithology
Justine Le Vaillant, Jaime Potti, Carlos Camacho, David Canal, Jesus Martinez-Padilla
Summary: Individual flexibility in breeding time is crucial for responding to unpredictable environmental changes. A study on a population of Pied flycatchers monitored for three decades in central Spain revealed low repeatability in breeding date, hatching date, and pre-breeding event timing. This suggests that female Pied flycatchers are adaptable and can adjust their breeding schedule based on current conditions.
ARDEOLA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ornithology
Manuel Fuertes-Recuero, Davide Longhin, Leonardo Chiesurin, Samuele Tusini, Juan Carlos Fontanillas Perez, Alejandro Cantarero
Summary: This article reports a rare case of abnormal development called polymelia in a European Pied Flycatcher. The researchers observed and studied a nestling with two extra limbs fused at the pelvis, using X-rays, CT scans, and MRI. The malformation could be caused by embryonic factors or genetic mutations.
Article
Ornithology
Tore Slagsvold, Karen L. Wiebe
Summary: The study found that Pied Flycatchers did not choose nest sites based on the clutch size of Great Tits, nor did they use indirect cues from the tit's nest content to assess quality. This calls into question the mechanism of using nest content as public information for nest site selection based on external characteristics. More studies on nest site choice in relation to social information transfer are recommended.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Wender Bil, Asso Armel Asso, Pam van Eekelen, Christiaan Both, Janne Ouwehand
Summary: This study reveals that migratory songbirds exhibit different habitat use strategies in response to seasonal dynamics in the non-breeding environment. European Pied Flycatchers show a shift from occupying both savannah and forest habitats to favoring savannah as foliation progresses. This behavior is associated with changes in food availability, and individuals may track seasonal changes by moving between habitats on a small spatial scale. Establishing territories on the forest edge allows them to explore a wider variety of resources.
Article
Zoology
V. G. Grinkov, H. Sternberg
Summary: Using the European pied flycatcher as a model species, this study calculated key demographic parameters and compared them with previous research. The study found that on average, 87.6% of nestlings successfully left their nests, and the age distribution differed between genders. The study also revealed that the birds could start nesting as young as one year old and as old as six years.
ZOOLOGICHESKY ZHURNAL
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Carlos Alonso-Alvarez, Alejandro Cantarero, Ana Angela Romero-Haro, Olivier Chastel, Lorenzo Perez-Rodriguez
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Alejandro Cantarero, Rafael Mateo, Pablo R. Camarero, Daniel Alonso, Blanca Fernandez-Eslava, Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
Article
Ecology
Antica Culina, Frank Adriaensen, Liam D. Bailey, Malcolm D. Burgess, Anne Charmantier, Ella F. Cole, Tapio Eeva, Erik Matthysen, Chloe R. Nater, Ben C. Sheldon, Bernt-Erik Saether, Stefan J. G. Vriend, Zuzana Zajkova, Peter Adamik, Lucy M. Aplin, Elena Angulo, Alexandr Artemyev, Emilio Barba, Sanja Barisic, Eduardo Belda, Cemal Can Bilgin, Josefa Bleu, Christiaan Both, Sandra Bouwhuis, Claire J. Branston, Juli Broggi, Terry Burke, Andrey Bushuev, Carlos Camacho, Daniela Campobello, David Canal, Alejandro Cantarero, Samuel P. Caro, Maxime Cauchoix, Alexis Chaine, Mariusz Cichon, Davor Cikovic, Camillo A. Cusimano, Caroline Deimel, Andre A. Dhondt, Niels J. Dingemanse, Blandine Doligez, Davide M. Dominoni, Claire Doutrelant, Szymon M. Drobniak, Anna Dubiec, Marcel Eens, Kjell Einar Erikstad, Silvia Espin, Damien R. Farine, Jordi Figuerola, Pinar Kavak Gulbeyaz, Arnaud Gregoire, Ian R. Hartley, Michaela Hau, Gergely Hegyi, Sabine Hille, Camilla A. Hinde, Benedikt Holtmann, Tatyana Ilyina, Caroline Isaksson, Arne Iserbyt, Elena Ivankina, Wojciech Kania, Bart Kempenaers, Anvar Kerimov, Jan Komdeur, Peter Korsten, Miroslav Kral, Milos Krist, Marcel Lambrechts, Carlos E. Lara, Agu Leivits, Andras Liker, Jaanis Lodjak, Marko Magi, Mark C. Mainwaring, Raivo Mand, Bruno Massa, Sylvie Massemin, Jesus Martinez-Padilla, Tomasz D. Mazgajski, Adele Mennerat, Juan Moreno, Alexia Mouchet, Shinichi Nakagawa, Jan-Ake Nilsson, Johan F. Nilsson, Ana Claudia Norte, Kees van Oers, Markku Orell, Jaime Potti, John L. Quinn, Denis Reale, Tone Kristin Reiertsen, Balazs Rosivall, Andrew F. Russell, Seppo Rytkonen, Pablo Sanchez-Virosta, Eduardo S. A. Santos, Julia Schroeder, Juan Carlos Senar, Gabor Seress, Tore Slagsvold, Marta Szulkin, Celine Teplitsky, Vallo Tilgar, Andrey Tolstoguzov, Janos Torok, Mihai Valcu, Emma Vatka, Simon Verhulst, Hannah Watson, Teru Yuta, Jose M. Zamora-Marin, Marcel E. Visser
Summary: The lack of standards and networking programmes significantly hinders the integration and synthesis of data in various scientific fields. Long-term studies of individually marked animals play a crucial role in understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. The SPI-Birds Network and Database have been established to address data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long-term studies of birds.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Juan Moreno, Jimena Lopez-Arrabe
Summary: This study investigates the impact of corticosterone concentration in feathers on sexually selected traits in birds, finding that breeding females with lower CORTf levels exhibit larger unpigmented patches, suggesting they experienced lower stress levels during the winter moult period, or that strongly signaling individuals show a lower level of activation of the HPA axis.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tiia Karkkainen, Toni Laaksonen, Malcolm Burgess, Alejandro Cantarero, Jesus Martinez-Padilla, Jaime Potti, Juan Moreno, Robert L. Thomson, Vallo Tilgar, Antoine Stier
Summary: Telomere length and shortening rate are biomarkers increasingly used in ecological and evolutionary studies due to their relationships with survival and fitness. Migration distance and nestling growth can affect telomere dynamics in different populations. Population differences in telomere biology highlight the need for further between-population studies.
Article
Ornithology
Alejandro Corregidor-Castro, Matteo Griggio, Alessandro Grapputo, Toni Mingozzi, Andrea Pilastro, Mireia Plaza, Alejandro Cantarero
Summary: Extra-pair paternity (EPP) is common in socially monogamous bird species. Females engage in extra-pair copulations to increase genetic variability and reduce the risk of inbreeding. This study compared a high EPP population with a low EPP population and found that genetic variability was lower in the high EPP population.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carlos Alonso-Alvarez, Pedro Andrade, Alejandro Cantarero, Judith Morales, Miguel Carneiro
Summary: This study investigates the evolutionary mechanism of red ornaments and suggests that the ornament type and production costs may lead to tissue-specific gene relocation. The research data on birds show that species with red bare parts are less likely to have strong hepatic CYP2J19 expression compared to species with only red plumages.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David Wheatcroft, Louis Bliard, Myriam El Harouchi, David Lopez-Idiaquez, Tiia Karkkainen, Fanny-Linn H. Kraft, Jaime Muriel, Samyuktha Rajan, Tomas Tuvillo, Malcolm D. Burgess, Alejandro Cantarero, Toni Laaksonen, Jesus Martinez-Padilla, Marcel E. Visser, Anna Qvarnstrom
Summary: Oscine birds preferentially respond to certain sounds from an early age, which is shaped by selection to avoid cross-species learning and promote learning of local dialects. This leads to distinct geographic patterns in song responses in juvenile birds.
Article
Zoology
Alejandro Cantarero, Olga Dolnik, Matteo Griggio, Herbert Hoi, Rudiger Riesch
Summary: This study found that the parasite burden affects the mate preference of female house sparrows. Infested females avoided highly infested males after manipulation, possibly due to the impact of parasites on their health condition.
Article
Zoology
Blanca Fernandez-Eslava, Alejandro Cantarero, Daniel Alonso, Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
Summary: This study aimed to explore the link between red carotenoid-based ornament expression and flight metabolism by increasing flying effort in wild male common crossbills. The results indicated that individuals with experimentally impaired flying capacity showed body mass loss and redder feathers in the regrown area, suggesting that flying metabolism may influence the conversion of yellow dietary carotenoids to red ketocarotenoids.
Article
Ornithology
Matteo Beccardi, Mireia Plaza, Juan Moreno, Alejandro Cantarero
Summary: During the fertile period of females, aggression between males becomes more frequent and important, possibly related to their reproductive success. Research has shown that males with higher aggressiveness are more proactive in defending their territory against intrusions and can reduce paternity losses.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Manuel Fuertes-Recuero, Davide Longhin, Leonardo Chiesurin, Samuele Tusini, Juan Carlos Fontanillas Perez, Alejandro Cantarero
Summary: This article reports a rare case of abnormal development called polymelia in a European Pied Flycatcher. The researchers observed and studied a nestling with two extra limbs fused at the pelvis, using X-rays, CT scans, and MRI. The malformation could be caused by embryonic factors or genetic mutations.
Article
Ornithology
Mireia Plaza, Alejandro Cantarero, Annie Machordom, Eva Serrano-Davies, Juan Moreno
Summary: Extra-pair paternity (EPP) is the result of interactions between a social pair and extra-pair males, influenced by the social context and ecological environment. This study found no repeatability in EPP in both male and female Pied Flycatchers. It was found that EPP was associated with laying date and male plumage and morphological traits, but not with female characteristics. The results suggest that the variable social environment plays a significant role in EPP patterns.
Article
Ornithology
Manuel Fuertes-Recuero, Alejandro Cantarero, Alberto J. J. Redondo, Nuria Sanchez-Sanchez, Tomas Redondo
Summary: Some theoretical models predict that begging behavior in nestlings is costly and oxidative stress could be one of the costs. However, an experiment on Barn Swallow nestlings found that those with impaired oxidative status did not decrease begging compared to controls. Vitamin E supplementation increased begging rates, suggesting that oxidative costs of begging may be minor in this species and alternative explanations involving glucocorticoids should be considered.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Davide Baldan, Matteo Beccardi, Manuel Fuertes-Recuero, Matteo Schiavinato, Lia Zampa, Andrea Pilastro, Alejandro Cantarero
Summary: This study used a reaction norm approach to investigate the repeatability of compensatory offspring provisioning of parents in the pied flycatcher after temporary removal of their partner. The study found that only female birds partially compensated for the partner's short-term absence and their response was significantly repeatable across different partners and breeding seasons. This study highlights the importance of considering individual differences and negotiation rules in understanding the role of negotiation mechanisms in the evolution of parental care strategies.