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
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
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
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
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
Genetics & Heredity
Kathryn S. Burch, Kangcheng Hou, Yi Ding, Yifei Wang, Steven Gazal, Huwenbo Shi, Bogdan Pasaniuc
Summary: Recent research shows that SNP heritability may not be the most relevant quantity for localizing high-effect/critical disease genes. By estimating gene-level heritability, we found that approximately 2.5% of genes have a rare-variant component, and only about 0.8% of genes have heritability exclusively from rare variants. These additional genes include 114 gene-trait pairs that were not detected by existing methods. The rare-variant component of gene-level heritability exhibits different trends compared to common-variant gene-level heritability.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Ornithology
Juli Broggi, Esa Hohtola, Kari Koivula
Summary: The study found that winter feeding has species-specific effects on the energy management strategies of Willow Tits and Blue Tits, with fed birds showing differences in energy cost of living and body mass.
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
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
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
Ornithology
Emmi Schlicht, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: In a population of Blue Tits, social turnover, individual familiarity, and reduced paternal care were found to be key factors in determining the occurrence of facultative social polygyny. Females settled as secondary mates with familiar males, leading to decreased paternal care and potentially lower survival rates.