Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cristina-Maria Valcu, Mihai Valcu, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: This study explored the geographical variation in the frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) among bird populations and species. The results showed that EPP frequency decreases with latitude, increases with distance from the breeding range boundary, is negatively associated with generation length and pair-bond duration among species, and decreases with latitude at the assemblage level. The latitudinal decline of EPP is consistent across zoogeographical realms.
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
Behavioral Sciences
Silje L. Rekdal, Jarl Andreas Anmarkrud, Jan T. Lifjeld, Arild Johnsen
Summary: This study shows that female bluethroats tend to choose a social mate that is MHCII-compatible in order to prevent other males from gaining paternity in their brood. However, this preference occurs only when the social male is young, as older males can override female preferences through higher sperm production. Additionally, offspring with MHC diversity close to the golden mean exhibit higher immune responsiveness.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
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
Ecology
S. Eryn McFarlane, Murielle Alund, Paivi M. Sirkia, Anna Qvarnstrom
Summary: This study found no significant heritability of resting metabolic rate in wild collared flycatcher nestlings, instead attributing the variation to the early-life environment provided by the parents. Consideration of specific parental effects is important in understanding how animals adapt (or fail to adapt) phenotypically to climate change.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Yating Liu, Zhengjun Wu, Wenbo Liao
Summary: This study examined the relationship between extra-pair paternity (EPP) and brain size, testis size, and life histories among bird species. The findings indicate that birds with larger brains, which are associated with enhanced cognitive abilities, are more inclined to maintain long-term stable relationships with their mates and engage in mutualism, rather than increasing the frequency of EPP.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hajime Yaguchi, Itaru Kobayashi, Kiyoto Maekawa, Christine A. Nalepa
Summary: Subsocial Cryptocercus cockroaches, believed to be socially monogamous, were found to have common extra-pair paternity in field-collected families. The study revealed that approximately half of young females exhibit serial monogamy and produce offspring with the last mated male, while pair males extend parental care to unrelated nymphs. This suggests genetic monogamy may not be a strict prerequisite for the evolution of termite eusociality.
Article
Ornithology
Mateusz Ledwon, Patricia Szczys
Summary: Patterns of extra pair paternity and intraspecific brood parasitism were studied in a Whiskered Tern population, with low rates observed due to the high male parental investment in the species. Intraspecific brood parasitism had a greater impact on chick proportions compared to extra pair paternity, the latter being relatively rare in this population.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jorgen S. Soraker, Jonathan Wright, Fredrik oglaend Hanslin, Michael Le Pepke
Summary: Extra-pair paternity negatively affects paternal care in bird species, as shown by our study on 271 socially monogamous species.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Huan Liu, Yun Fang, Yingqiang Lou, Yuehua Sun
Summary: This study found the presence of extra-pair paternity (EPP) in the wild Chestnut Thrush population, and the paternity was related to morphological traits of males and females.
Article
Ecology
Min Chen, Guopan Li, Jinlong Liu, Shaobin Li
Summary: The study suggests that pursuing extrapair copulations may be a natural instinct in birds, and the interaction between males and females for EPCs may lead to larger brains. However, larger brains may also restrict the EPC level for both sexes across bird species, as indicated by the negative association between relative brain size and EPP rates.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Jamie Dunning, Terry Burke, Julia Schroeder
Summary: The question of why socially monogamous females engage in extra-pair behavior is explored in this study. The results suggest that females who divorce their social partner are more likely to produce extra-pair offspring, but it does not demonstrate that these females also have a higher proportion of extra-pair offspring. Additionally, the number of broods initiated by females is positively correlated with the number of extra-pair males that father their offspring.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Juan Wang, Yanhui Wei, Lei Zhang, Yiting Jiang, Keke Li, Dongmei Wan
Summary: The research conducted in Xianrendong National Nature Reserve in Liaoning Province, China, revealed a high rate of extra-pair paternity in Marsh Tits. The study found that extra-pair mating behavior in this species is independent of the genetic compatibility hypothesis.
Article
Ecology
Yanina Poblete, Esteban Botero-Delgadillo, Pamela Espindola-Hernandez, Gabriela Sudel, Rodrigo A. Vasquez
Summary: The study found no evidence of a reduction in paternal care in male birds due to an increase in the percentage of extra-pair offspring. This may be explained by males' inability to assess genetic paternity and potential restrictions on behavioral flexibility. In this particular locality, the reduction in paternal care may not have evolved due to the low frequency of extra-pair paternity in the study population.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
Wenjie Li, Cuijuan Niu, Shijun Bian
Summary: Classic population regulation theories focus on immediate factors influencing current populations, while studies on parental environment factors and their effects on offspring populations are scarce. Maternal environments can influence offspring life-history traits across generations, potentially affecting population dynamics and serving as a mechanism for population regulation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
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
Ecology
Sandor Zsebok, Denes Schmera, Miklos Laczi, Gergely Nagy, Eva Vaskuti, Janos Torok, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi
Summary: Studying the diversity of animal signals is crucial for understanding the evolution of communication systems, but current methods for quantifying acoustic diversity have limitations. The authors propose a new framework that utilizes tools from community ecology to decompose acoustic diversity and characterize the complexity of animal communication systems. By applying different diversity estimates, they can reveal additional insights about the function and evolution of communication systems, beyond traditional methods.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Katalin Krenhardt, Gabor Marko, Monika Jablonszky, Janos Torok, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi
Summary: The study found that collared flycatcher parents exhibit different responses to different predators, with variations influenced by factors such as sex, breeding season, and study year. There is repeatability at the within-brood level and a correlation between the latency of parents attending the same nest, suggesting adjustment of risk-taking behavior to the brood value. Nest-specific effects also indicate consistent similar responses between parents due to environmental effects.
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael Tobler, David Gomez-Blanco, Arne Hegemann, Mariana Lapa, Julio M. Neto, Maja Tarka, Ye Xiong, Dennis Hasselquist
Summary: Research on telomeres in ecology and evolution has led to the formulation of multiple hypotheses, but the differences between them are not always clear. This study aims to provide an overview of these hypotheses and two frameworks to help differentiate them, showing that there are parallel lines of thoughts in different research fields.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
David Canal, Monika Jablonszky, Katalin Krenhardt, Gabor Marko, Gergely Nagy, Eszter Szasz, Janos Torok, Sandor Zsebok, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi
Summary: This study revealed the relative importance of male and female identity in male courtship behavior, as well as the increased male responsiveness to stimulus females as the breeding season progressed. Furthermore, the results suggest that invitation latency is a consistent courtship attribute in males that can be adjusted plastically according to perceived female quality and environmental conditions.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jacob Roved, Bengt Hansson, Martin Stervander, Dennis Hasselquist, Helena Westerdahl
Summary: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a central role in the adaptive immune system and has long been of interest in evolutionary biology. This study used the mhctools package to genotype and analyze MHC in 559 great reed warblers, finding functional and genetic differences in MHC and substantial variation in haplotype diversity among families.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Monika Jablonszky, David Canal, Gergely Hegyi, Katalin Krenhardt, Miklos Laczi, Gabor Marko, Gergely Nagy, Balazs Rosivall, Eszter Szasz, Sandor Zsebok, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi
Summary: Individual animals can exhibit individual-specific behaviors as a reaction to changes in their environment, resulting in individual differences in phenotypic plasticity. However, there is limited research on the effect of multiple environmental factors on multiple traits. This study examined the adjustment of song traits to varying environmental conditions in the collared flycatcher and found population-level relationships between singing position and song length and complexity. Among-individual differences in plasticity of song length and maximum frequency were also observed, along with correlations between plastic responses across different song traits and environmental gradients. These results highlight the importance of considering individual differences and investigating multiple traits along multiple environmental axes when studying behavioral plasticity.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Monika Jablonszky, David Canal, Gergely Hegyi, Marton Herenyi, Miklos Laczi, Oscar Lao, Gabor Marko, Gergely Nagy, Balazs Rosivall, Eszter Szasz, Janos Torok, Sandor Zsebok, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi
Summary: This study investigated the heritability of song traits in the collared flycatcher. The results showed small additive genetic variance and heritability values in all song traits, highlighting the role of environmental factors in shaping bird song.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Eszter Szasz, Fanni Sarkadi, Eszter Szollosi, Renata Kopena, Janos Torok, Balazs Rosivall
Summary: Our study on collared flycatchers shows that brood sex ratios and experimentally altered sex ratios are unrelated to fitness components. Nestling growth is only related to background variables, while nestling mortality is only related to hatching asynchrony. Therefore, our results do not support the adaptive value of observed sex ratios.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Hongkai Zhang, Max Lundberg, Maja Tarka, Dennis Hasselquist, Bengt Hansson
Summary: Germline mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation and the raw material for organismal evolution. This study examined the frequency and genomic locations of mutations, as well as the potential sex bias, in great reed warblers. The researchers identified 82 de novo mutations and observed a pronounced sex bias, with male warblers exhibiting three times more mutations than females. The mutation rate was determined to be 7.16 x 10-9 mutations per site per generation for autosomes and 5.10 x 10-9 mutations per site per generation for the Z chromosome.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biology
Ye Xiong, Michael Tobler, Arne Hegemann, Dennis L. Hasselquist
Summary: This study tested the suitability of a portable biochemical analyser (Zoetis VetScan VS2) for ecological and evolutionary studies. The results showed that the analyser can capture biologically relevant variation in blood analytes using small blood samples, making it valuable for physiological measurements of small birds in field conditions.
Article
Ecology
Miklos Laczi, Gabor Herczeg, Gyula Szabo, Helga Gyarmathy, Fanni Sarkadi, Janos Torok, Gergely Hegyi
Summary: This study investigated sexual dichromatism in great tits. The results showed marked differences between the breast section of males and the throat and belly sections, with the female's breast appearing less bright. This sexual dichromatism is not easily detected by the human eye. Additionally, a hidden ultraviolet patch was discovered in the male's breast, which may serve as a sexual ornament or signal amplifier.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
David Gomez-Blanco, Michael Tobler, Dennis Hasselquist
Summary: Telomere length and shortening are important factors related to an individual's life span and fitness. While it is commonly believed that telomeres gradually decrease in length with age, recent studies have shown that telomeres can actually lengthen in some individuals. This suggests that telomere elongation may reflect individual strategies to optimize life histories and maximize fitness, which may not be reflected in overall telomere dynamics patterns. Further research is needed to understand the factors contributing to telomere elongation and its implications.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)