Article
Behavioral Sciences
Peter Santema, Lotte Schlicht, Kristina B. Beck, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: Research shows that factors such as age, time of day, and other aspects of fledging behavior are not affected even in the presence of simulated predation risk. However, nestlings exposed to predator treatment are more likely to fledge alone rather than with siblings. Parents visited predator-treated nests less frequently, but this effect decreased over time.
Article
Ornithology
Peter Santema, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: The study observed 12 blue tits male providing food at nests that were not their own. Most of these males helped at other nests because their own breeding attempt had failed or they had no nestlings, while few successfully sired offspring in the helped nest. The findings suggest that females can benefit from extra-pair copulations by obtaining help in raising their brood when they do not receive help from their social mate.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Szymon M. Drobniak, Mariusz Cichon, Katarzyna Janas, Julia Barczyk, Lars Gustafsson, Magdalena Zagalska-Neubauer
Summary: The external environment plays a significant role in modulating microbiome diversity, with differences observed in the microbiomes of wild blue tits breeding in different habitat types. However, there was no differentiation in microbiome composition based on individual characteristics such as sex or age.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Adara C. Velasco, Esperanza S. Ferrer, Juan Jose Sanz
Summary: Territorial behavior is a strategy to ensure individuals' access to potentially limiting resources. This study explores the expression of different strategies of male-male aggressiveness and their role in establishing territories during breeding season. Results suggest that aggressiveness is context-specific and shaped by environmental and intrinsic factors.
Article
Ornithology
Peter Santema, Kim Teltscher, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: This study found that the number of sperm on the egg's perivitelline layers in female blue tits is consistent within clutches, but there was no evidence to suggest differences in copulation activity between females with or without extra-pair young.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Andre A. Dhondt
Summary: This article provides an overview of the debate on intra- and interspecific competition and emphasizes the need for long-term field experiments to draw firm conclusions. The study examines the factors that limit population size of secondary cavity nesting birds and the use of nestbox configurations to manipulate breeding densities. The results demonstrate the effects of competition on population size, body size, and behavior.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jose Roberto Rodrigues, Scott W. Roy, Ravinder N. M. Sehgal
Summary: Avian haemosporidian parasites can cause malaria-like symptoms and threaten bird species, and recently, new RNA viruses associated with these parasites have been discovered. Analysis of transcriptome data revealed the presence of two novel RNA viruses associated with different genera of avian haemosporidians.
Article
Ornithology
Alexander Wirth
Summary: In this study, the sleep-wake patterns and nocturnal activity of free-living Eurasian Blue Tits were analyzed using motion sensor-triggered IP cameras. The results revealed repetitive activity patterns during the night and a correlation between daylength and roosting times. Additionally, the roosting behavior of Eurasian Blue Tits was found to be comparable to that of Great Tits and Common Starlings in the same nest box structure.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Javier Sierro, Selvino R. de Kort, Katharina Riebel, Ian R. Hartley
Summary: In species with mutual mate choice, adaptive signaling is expected in both sexes. However, the role of female sexual signals is often overlooked. This study focuses on female birdsong in the well-studied blue tit species and reveals that females sing frequently but with lower output compared to males. Female and male songs have overlapping acoustic structures but differ in individual repertoires and vocal consistency. These findings highlight the need for further investigation into female singing, particularly in temperate zones where it may have been overlooked.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ornithology
Juan Manuel Peralta-Sanchez, Jan-Ake Nilsson
Summary: The study found that in blue tit nests where hen fleas were increased, males increased their feeding efforts to females, and feeding frequency was positively related to clutch size. Experimental evidence showed that males increase their reproductive effort to compensate for the costs of high ecto-parasite density and many nestlings in the nest.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Juliette Biquet, Suzanne Bonamour, Pierre De Villemereuil, Christophe De Franceschi, Celine Teplitsky
Summary: Research on early phenology induced by climate change shows that genetic changes may drive a part of observed advances. However, there is no genetic correlation between breeding date and fitness proxies, indicating no evolution of breeding time.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Lotte Schlicht, Peter Santema, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: Copulations outside the pair bond are common among socially monogamous birds, but males differ in their extrapair siring success. A large body of research has focused on the ultimate causes and consequences of this variation, but the behavioural mechanisms underlying extrapair siring success remain poorly understood. Previous work showed that male songbirds that start singing earlier at dawn sire more extrapair offspring, suggesting that early morning activity influences the likelihood of obtaining extrapair copulations.
Article
Parasitology
Zaida Renteria-Solis, Martin Peters, Sandra Gawlowska, Ronald Schmaeschke
Summary: This study reports the first finding of Diplotriaena obtusa in blue tits in Germany, and the parasite was identified through PCR and phylogenetic analysis, ruling out other infectious pathogens.
VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Andrea Miranda Paez, Kayleigh Chalkowski, Sarah Zohdy, Janna R. Willoughby
Summary: This article provides an overview of avian malaria, including its transmission, impact on ecosystems, and management strategies for vulnerable bird populations.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Zoology
M. Gladalski, G. J. Wolski, M. Banbura, A. Kalinski, M. Markowski, J. Skwarska, J. Wawrzyniak, J. Banbura
Summary: The study found that both Blue Tits and Great Tits are selective in the bryophytes they use for nest construction. The composition of bryophytes in nests varied between urban parkland and forest environments. Overall, the bryophyte species composition in nests seems to be influenced more by the site rather than the specific tit species.
EUROPEAN ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Victor Noguerales, Pedro J. Cordero, L. Lacey Knowles, Joaquin Ortego
Summary: The study revealed the existence of two North African cryptic lineages in the genetic evolution of the saltmarsh band-winged grasshopper and supported the divergence of trans-Mediterranean populations of the species in the Pleistocene, with evidence suggesting the permeability of the Strait of Gibraltar to gene flow post-Messinian. Spatial patterns of genetic differentiation are best explained by the configuration of emerged landmasses and environmentally suitable habitats during glacial periods.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Joaquin Ortego, Jorge Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Victor Noguerales
Summary: The study used genomic data to infer the consequences of dispersal-related trait variation in short-winged and long-winged Corsican grasshoppers, revealing that reduced dispersal has fueled geographical diversification in the short-winged taxon and increased the opportunity for allopatric speciation in topographically complex landscapes.
Article
Ornithology
David Diez-Mendez, Juan Jose Sanz, Emilio Barba
Summary: The study found that increasing ambient temperatures during the egg-laying period advanced diurnal partial incubation in passerines. Additionally, females lengthened nocturnal partial incubation and delayed the onset of other incubation behaviors when laying larger clutches.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Esperanza S. Ferrer, Francesc Uribe, Juan Jose Sanz, Joan Carles Senar
Summary: The study found that in male great tits, the size of the black tie correlated with singing abilities and song characteristics, but did not correlate with the hue and chroma of the yellow breast coloration.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Adara C. Velasco, Esperanza S. Ferrer, Juan Jose Sanz
Summary: Territorial behavior is a strategy to ensure individuals' access to potentially limiting resources. This study explores the expression of different strategies of male-male aggressiveness and their role in establishing territories during breeding season. Results suggest that aggressiveness is context-specific and shaped by environmental and intrinsic factors.
Article
Ornithology
David Diez-Mendez, Caren B. Cooper, Juan Jose Sanz, Jose Verdejo, Emilio Barba
Summary: Female birds adjusting their incubation effort and self-maintenance time in response to ambient temperature changes, with different populations showing potential variations in incubation behavior. Further research is needed to understand the factors behind the transitions between these behaviors.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
I Solis, J. J. Sanz, L. Imba, E. Alvarez, E. Barba
Summary: Global warming may lead to a higher incidence of moult-breeding overlap in great tits in two Spanish populations, potentially due to increased second clutch frequency and a lengthening of the breeding season. The study found that the proportion of individuals overlapping moult and breeding increased in one population, with factors such as sex and age influencing the probability of overlap in late-breeding individuals.
ANIMAL BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Joaquin Ortego, Maria Jose Gonzalez-Serna, Victor Noguerales, Pedro J. Cordero
Summary: This study investigated the biogeographic history of the Maghrebian-Levantine crested grasshopper and its colonization of semiarid habitats in southeastern Iberia using genomic data. The results showed genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships, with populations in Iberia nested within a Maghrebian clade. Molecular dating analyses suggested divergence during the Pleistocene and palaeodistribution modeling indicated range contractions during colder stages of the Pleistocene. The findings highlight the relevance of the Maghreb region as a source of European biodiversity and support biogeographic connections between northern Africa and southern Europe despite the barrier effect of the Mediterranean Sea.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joaquin Ortego, L. Lacey Knowles
Summary: The genomic data confirm a Pleistocene origin of the species complex in the flightless alpine grasshoppers of the genus Podisma from the Iberian Peninsula, with multiple analytical approaches revealing limited asymmetric historical hybridization between two taxa. In the divergence in isolation model, rapid evolution of reproductive isolation was observed.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Adara C. Velasco, Esperanza S. Ferrer, Juan Jose Sanz
Summary: Breeding performance and survival are influenced by animal personality, specifically exploration behavior. In this study, we examined the exploration behavior of blue tits and found sex differences, with males being slower explorers. Slower-exploring males had shorter incubation periods and timid males had higher local return ratios, suggesting the importance of exploration behavior in reproductive success. Additionally, disassortative pairs had higher breeding success than assortative pairs. Further research is needed to explore the evolutionary implications of intersexual exploration behavior differences.
Article
Ecology
Victor Noguerales, Joaquin Ortego
Summary: Research shows that postdivergence gene flow can lead to various creative evolutionary outcomes, such as the transfer of beneficial alleles and the formation of new species through hybridization. By combining genomic and phenotypic data, this study confirmed that a grasshopper's dual feeding regime resulted from hybridization between sister taxa and proposed a model for hybrid speciation.
Article
Ecology
Jorge Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Adrian Nieto-Montes de Oca, Joaquin Ortego, Alejandro Zaldivar-Riveron
Summary: This study provides insights into the geographical diversification of a complex of arboreal alligator lizards in neotropical montane cloud forests. The genomic data reveals a marked genetic structure within the complex, and the demographic reconstructions support the impact of Pleistocene geologic and climatic changes on the distribution of their habitats. The results suggest a model of divergence with introgression, indicating multiple opportunities for both allopatric isolation and secondary contact during Quaternary climatic oscillations.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Adara C. Velasco, Esperanza S. Ferrer, Juan Jose Sanz
Summary: This study assessed the exploratory behavior and foraging strategies of Mediterranean blue tits and found that gender, provisioning rates of mates, and exploratory behavior phenotypes influence foraging behavior and prey choice.
ANIMAL BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jose Alberto Ramirez-Valiente, Aida Sole-Medina, Juan Jose Robledo-Arnuncio, Joaquin Ortego
Summary: This study demonstrates the importance of climate-driven selection in Mediterranean oaks, even in the presence of high rates of gene flow. Ecophysiological traits related to leaf morphology, physiology, and growth have evolved in drought-prone environments.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joaquin Ortego, Josep Maria Espelta, Dolors Armenteras, Maria Claudia Diez, Alberto Munoz, Raul Bonal
Summary: This study examines the demographic trajectories of montane oak forests in the Colombian Andes through genomic data and environmental niche modeling. The results show that the genetic characteristics of these forests have been shaped by geographical barriers and Quaternary climatic oscillations, with geographically separated populations regularly exchanging gene flow. The study emphasizes the importance of landscape heterogeneity on the spatial patterns of genomic variation in montane oak forests.