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Wild S, Alarcón-Nieto G, Aplin LM. The ontogeny of social networks in wild great tits ( Parus major). Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae011. [PMID: 38495730 PMCID: PMC10941318 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Sociality impacts many biological processes and can be tightly linked to an individual's fitness. To maximize the advantages of group living, many social animals prefer to associate with individuals that provide the most benefits, such as kin, familiar individuals, or those of similar phenotypes. Such social strategies are not necessarily stable over time but can vary with changing selection pressures. In particular, young individuals transitioning to independence should continuously adjust their social behavior in light of developmental changes. However, social strategies exhibited during adolescence in animals are understudied, and the factors underlying social network formation during ontogeny remain elusive. Here, we tracked associations of wild great tits (Parus major) during the transition to independence and across their first year of life. Both spatial and social factors predicted dyadic associations. During the transition to independence in spring, fledglings initially preferred to associate with siblings and peers over non-parent adults. We found no evidence for preferred associations among juveniles of similar age or fledge weight during that time but weak evidence for some potential inheritance of the parental social network. By autumn, after juveniles had reached full independence, they exhibited social strategies similar to those of adults by establishing stable social ties based on familiarity that persisted through winter into the next spring. Overall, this research demonstrates dynamic changes in social networks during ontogeny in a species with a fast life history and limited parental care, which likely reflect changes in selective pressures. It further highlights the importance of long-term social bonds based on familiarity in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Wild
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA-95616, USA
| | - Gustavo Alarcón-Nieto
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Quantitative Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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Dhondt AA. Effects of competition and predation operating at individual and population levels: an overview of results from a long-term field experiment. Oecologia 2023; 203:277-296. [PMID: 37773450 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05448-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
After an overview of the discussion about the existence of intra- and interspecific competition that illustrates the contradictory opinions I conclude that long-term field experiments are needed for firm conclusions. I discuss in some detail the role of two factors that limit population size of secondary cavity nesting birds e.g. territorial behavior and adequate cavities. This is followed by an overview of experimental long-term field studies in Belgium showing that intra- and interspecific competition in a great tit-blue tit system exists. By using nestbox configurations with high densities of nestboxes that differ in the diameter of their entrance hole in replicate study plots it is possible to manipulate the breeding densities of great tit Parus major and blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus independently, thereby varying the intensity of intra- and interspecific competition between these two coexisting species. When blue tit densities are experimentally increased local recruitment of great tits increases, and adult great tit post-breeding dispersal to other study plots decreases, implying that great tits use blue tit density to evaluate habitat quality and that high blue tit density results in heterospecific attraction. The reverse is not true. An experimental increase in great tit density leading to an increase in interspecific competition in a plot where blue tit density was already high leads to a decrease in blue tit nestling mass (illustrating interspecific competition for food), but to a gradual increase in blue tit body size. Both are primarily caused by an increase in the body size of immigrants (caused by intraspecific competition for protected roosting holes) in contrast to the control plot, where neither is observed. I also summarize behavioral, ecological and possible evolutionary effects of sparrowhawks on blue tits after sparrowhawks settled in an isolated study plot halfway through the study: adult survival substantially decreased for both sexes, but more for females that laid large clutches, leading to selection for females that laid a smaller clutch. This led to a change in the reproduction/survival life-history trade-off. Adult winter weights and nestling weights decreased, and the heaviest fledglings were selected against. Furthermore the frequency of polygyny increased. The long-term experiments also document the role of the use of public information and that species that compete can be attracted to sites in which competitor density is high.
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Affiliation(s)
- André A Dhondt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
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Hukkanen M, Hsu B, Cossin‐Sevrin N, Crombecque M, Delaunay A, Hollmen L, Kaukonen R, Konki M, Lund R, Marciau C, Stier A, Ruuskanen S. From maternal glucocorticoid and thyroid hormones to epigenetic regulation of offspring gene expression: An experimental study in a wild bird species. Evol Appl 2023; 16:1753-1769. [PMID: 38020869 PMCID: PMC10660793 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Offspring phenotype at birth is determined by its genotype and the prenatal environment including exposure to maternal hormones. Variation in both maternal glucocorticoids and thyroid hormones can affect offspring phenotype, but the underlying molecular mechanisms, especially those contributing to long-lasting effects, remain unclear. Epigenetic changes (such as DNA methylation) have been postulated as mediators of long-lasting effects of early-life environment. In this study, we determined the effects of elevated prenatal glucocorticoid and thyroid hormones on handling stress response (breath rate) as well as DNA methylation and gene expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and thyroid hormone receptor (THR) in great tits (Parus major). Eggs were injected before incubation onset with corticosterone (the main avian glucocorticoid) and/or thyroid hormones (thyroxine and triiodothyronine) to simulate variation in maternal hormone deposition. Breath rate during handling and gene expression of GR and THR were evaluated 14 days after hatching. Methylation status of GR and THR genes was analyzed from the longitudinal blood cells sampled 7 and 14 days after hatching, as well as the following autumn. Elevated prenatal corticosterone level significantly increased the breath rate during handling, indicating an enhanced metabolic stress response. Prenatal corticosterone manipulation had CpG-site-specific effects on DNA methylation at the GR putative promoter region, while it did not significantly affect GR gene expression. GR expression was negatively associated with earlier hatching date and chick size. THR methylation or expression did not exhibit any significant relationship with the hormonal treatments or the examined covariates, suggesting that TH signaling may be more robust due to its crucial role in development. This study provides some support to the hypothesis suggesting that maternal corticosterone may influence offspring metabolic stress response via epigenetic alterations, yet their possible adaptive role in optimizing offspring phenotype to the prevailing conditions, context-dependency, and the underlying molecular interplay needs further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikaela Hukkanen
- Institute for Molecular Medicine FinlandUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Bin‐Yan Hsu
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | | | | | - Axelle Delaunay
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM)Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHEMontpellierFrance
| | - Lotta Hollmen
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | - Riina Kaukonen
- Turku Bioscience CentreUniversity of Turku and Åbo Akademi UniversityTurkuFinland
| | - Mikko Konki
- Turku Bioscience CentreUniversity of Turku and Åbo Akademi UniversityTurkuFinland
- Turku Doctoral Programme of Molecular MedicineUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | - Riikka Lund
- Turku Bioscience CentreUniversity of Turku and Åbo Akademi UniversityTurkuFinland
| | - Coline Marciau
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTasmaniaAustralia
| | - Antoine Stier
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, UMR 7178University of Strasbourg, CNRSStrasbourgFrance
| | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
- Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
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McGlade CLO, Capilla-Lasheras P, Womack RJ, Helm B, Dominoni DM. Experimental light at night explains differences in activity onset between urban and forest great tits. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230194. [PMID: 37670610 PMCID: PMC10480697 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is rapidly increasing and so is scientific interest in its ecological and evolutionary consequences. In wild species, ALAN can modify and disrupt biological rhythms. However, experimental proof of such effects of ALAN in the wild is still scarce. Here, we compared diel rhythms of incubation behaviour, inferred from temperature sensors, of female great tits (Parus major) breeding in urban and forest sites. In parallel, we simulated ALAN by mounting LED lights (1.8 lx) inside forest nest-boxes, to determine the potentially causal role of ALAN affecting diel patterns of incubation. Urban females had an earlier onset of activity compared to forest females. Experimentally ALAN-exposed forest females were similar to urban females in their advanced onset of activity, compared to unexposed forest birds. However, forest females exposed to experimental ALAN, but not urban females, were more restless at night than forest control females. Our findings demonstrate that ALAN can explain the early activity timing in incubating urban great tits, but its effects on sleep disturbance in the forest are not reflected in urban females. Consequently, future research needs to address potential effects of ALAN-induced timing on individual health, fitness and population dynamics, in particular in populations that were not previously affected by light pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pablo Capilla-Lasheras
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Robyn J. Womack
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Barbara Helm
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Davide M. Dominoni
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
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Beck KB, Sheldon BC, Firth JA. Social learning mechanisms shape transmission pathways through replicate local social networks of wild birds. eLife 2023; 12:85703. [PMID: 37128701 PMCID: PMC10154030 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence and spread of novel behaviours via social learning can lead to rapid population-level changes whereby the social connections between individuals shape information flow. However, behaviours can spread via different mechanisms and little is known about how information flow depends on the underlying learning rule individuals employ. Here, comparing four different learning mechanisms, we simulated behavioural spread on replicate empirical social networks of wild great tits and explored the relationship between individual sociality and the order of behavioural acquisition. Our results reveal that, for learning rules dependent on the sum and strength of social connections to informed individuals, social connectivity was related to the order of acquisition, with individuals with increased social connectivity and reduced social clustering adopting new behaviours faster. However, when behavioural adoption depends on the ratio of an individuals' social connections to informed versus uninformed individuals, social connectivity was not related to the order of acquisition. Finally, we show how specific learning mechanisms may limit behavioural spread within networks. These findings have important implications for understanding whether and how behaviours are likely to spread across social systems, the relationship between individuals' sociality and behavioural acquisition, and therefore for the costs and benefits of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina B Beck
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Josh A Firth
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Dimitrov D, Bobeva A, Marinov MP, Ilieva M, Zehtindjiev P. First evidence for development of Plasmodium relictum (Grassi and Feletti, 1891) sporozoites in the salivary glands of Culex modestus Ficalbi, 1889. Parasitol Res 2023:10.1007/s00436-023-07853-z. [PMID: 37099049 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-023-07853-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
The competence of insect vectors to transmit diseases plays a key role in host-parasite interactions and in the dynamics of avian malaria and other haemosporidian infections (Apicomplexa, Haemosporida). However, the presence of parasite DNA in the body of blood-sucking insects does not always constitute evidence for their competence as vectors. In this study, we investigate the susceptibility of wild-caught mosquitoes (Culex spp.) to complete sporogony of Plasmodium relictum (cyt b lineage SGS1) isolated from great tits (Parus major L., 1758). Adult female mosquitoes were collected with a CO2 bait trap overnight. A set of 50 mosquitoes was allowed to feed for 3 h at night on a single great tit infected with P. relictum. This trial was repeated on 6 different birds. The bloodfed mosquitoes that survived (n = 68) were dissected within 1-2 days (for ookinetes, n = 10) and 10-33 days post infection (for oocysts and sporozoites, n = 58) in order to confirm the respective parasite stages in their organs. The experiment confirmed the successful development of P. relictum (cyt b lineage SGS1) to the stage of sporozoites in Culex pipiens L., 1758 (n = 27) and in Culex modestus (n = 2). Our study provides the first evidence that C. modestus is a competent vector of P. relictum isolated from great tits, suggesting that this mosquito species could also play a role in the natural transmission of avian malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitar Dimitrov
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria.
| | - Aneliya Bobeva
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Martin P Marinov
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Mihaela Ilieva
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Pavel Zehtindjiev
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria
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Liukkonen M, Hukkanen M, Cossin-Sevrin N, Stier A, Vesterinen E, Grond K, Ruuskanen S. No evidence for associations between brood size, gut microbiome diversity and survival in great tit ( Parus major) nestlings. Anim Microbiome 2023; 5:19. [PMID: 36949549 PMCID: PMC10031902 DOI: 10.1186/s42523-023-00241-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The gut microbiome forms at an early stage, yet data on the environmental factors influencing the development of wild avian microbiomes is limited. As the gut microbiome is a vital part of organismal health, it is important to understand how it may connect to host performance. The early studies with wild gut microbiome have shown that the rearing environment may be of importance in gut microbiome formation, yet the results vary across taxa, and the effects of specific environmental factors have not been characterized. Here, wild great tit (Parus major) broods were manipulated to either reduce or enlarge the original brood soon after hatching. We investigated if brood size was associated with nestling bacterial gut microbiome, and whether gut microbiome diversity predicted survival. Fecal samples were collected at mid-nestling stage and sequenced with the 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and nestling growth and survival were measured. RESULTS Gut microbiome diversity showed high variation between individuals, but this variation was not significantly explained by brood size or body mass. Additionally, we did not find a significant effect of brood size on body mass or gut microbiome composition. We also demonstrated that early handling had no impact on nestling performance or gut microbiome. Furthermore, we found no significant association between gut microbiome diversity and short-term (survival to fledging) or mid-term (apparent juvenile) survival. CONCLUSIONS We found no clear association between early-life environment, offspring condition and gut microbiome. This suggests that brood size is not a significantly contributing factor to great tit nestling condition, and that other environmental and genetic factors may be more strongly linked to offspring condition and gut microbiome. Future studies should expand into other early-life environmental factors e.g., diet composition and quality, and parental influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martta Liukkonen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyvaskyla, Finland.
| | - Mikaela Hukkanen
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Antoine Stier
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, 69622, Lyon, France
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, UMR7178, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Kirsten Grond
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA
| | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyvaskyla, Finland
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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Jensen JK, Ekroos J, Watson H, Salmón P, Olsson P, Isaksson C. Urban tree composition is associated with breeding success of a passerine bird, but effects vary within and between years. Oecologia 2023; 201:585-597. [PMID: 36681784 PMCID: PMC10038977 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05319-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Birds breeding in urban environments have lower reproductive output compared to rural conspecifics, most likely because of food limitation. However, which characteristics of urban environments may cause this deficiency is not clear. Here, we investigated how tree composition within urban territories of passerine birds is associated with breeding probability and reproductive success. We used 7 years of data of breeding occupancy for blue and great tits (Cyanistes caeruleus; Parus major) and several reproductive traits for great tits, from 400 urban nest boxes located in 5 parks within the city of Malmö, Sweden. We found that tits, overall, were less likely to breed in territories dominated by either non-native trees or beech trees. Great tit chicks reared in territories dominated by non-native trees weighed significantly less, compared to territories with fewer non-native trees. An earlier onset of breeding correlated with increased chick weight in great tits. Increasing number of common oak trees (Quercus robur) was associated with delayed onset of breeding in great tits. Notably, as offspring survival probability generally increased by breeding earlier, in particular in oak-dominated territories, our results suggest that delayed onset of breeding induced by oak trees may be maladaptive and indicate a mismatch to this food source. Our results demonstrate that tree composition may have important consequences on breeding success of urban birds, but some of these effects are not consistent between years, highlighting the need to account for temporal effects to understand determinants of breeding success and inform optimal management in urban green spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Kjellberg Jensen
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Johan Ekroos
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hannah Watson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Pablo Salmón
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Peter Olsson
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Solís I, Álvarez E, Barba E. Global warming modifies the seasonal distribution of clutches on a Mediterranean great tit population. Int J Biometeorol 2023; 67:367-376. [PMID: 36508038 PMCID: PMC9886653 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-022-02415-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Global warming has multiple effects on phenological events on a wide range of plants and animals. Specifically, many bird species have advanced the start of their breeding season, which could also imply an extension in its duration and also a change in the distribution of clutches throughout the breeding season. We have tested whether this occurred in a population of Great Tits (Parus major), in Sagunto (eastern Spain). The increase of March temperatures between 1986 and 2019 was related to an advancement of the breeding season. Although the breeding season was longer in years with higher June temperatures, the length did not show a temporal trend throughout the study period. The clutches were more concentrated at the beginning of the season (increase in the skewness), while the kurtosis ("tailedness" of the distribution) or the modality did not change significantly. Finally, the number of "equally good months" for breeding (a combined measure of length and distribution) has not changed throughout the years. Overall, all these phenological changes probably caused the observed increased proportion of pairs laying two clutches per year. It remains to be studied whether this increase in reproductive effort has positive or negative impact on fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Solís
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, C/ Catedrático José, Beltrán 2, 46980, Paterna, Spain.
| | - Elena Álvarez
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, C/ Catedrático José, Beltrán 2, 46980, Paterna, Spain
| | - Emilio Barba
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, C/ Catedrático José, Beltrán 2, 46980, Paterna, Spain
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Solís I, Álvarez E, Barba E. No Apparent Immediate Reproductive Costs of Overlapping Breeding and Moult in a Mediterranean Great Tit Population. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13030409. [PMID: 36766298 PMCID: PMC9913589 DOI: 10.3390/ani13030409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Some phenological events in birds, such as breeding and moulting, are being affected by rising temperatures due to global warming, and many species have undergone temporary changes in these energetically demanding phases that are often separated in time. This has led to an increased overlap between breeding and moulting in some populations. This overlap causes conflicts in resource allocation and may impose fitness costs that could affect immediate reproductive performance. We tested whether this occurs in a great tit (Parus major) population in eastern Spain. In 71% of 390 pairs, in which both parents were captured during the period of overlap between moulting and breeding, at least one parent was moulting when feeding the chicks of its second brood. Later breeders were more likely to overlap breeding and moulting, and when both parents overlapped, clutch size was smaller, fewer eggs hatched and fewer fledglings in poorer body condition were produced. Some results were intermediate when only one parent moulted. However, all these differences between moulting and non-moulting pairs disappeared when the seasonal trend in reproductive parameters was taken into account, as moulting birds bred later and reproductive performance decreased seasonally. Therefore, the overlap of breeding and moulting does not impose additional reproductive costs in this population.
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Fracasso G, Heylen D, Van Dongen S, Elst J, Matthysen E. Predictors of individual performance and evolutionary potential of life-history traits in a hematophagous ectoparasite. Evolution 2022; 76:799-816. [PMID: 35238032 PMCID: PMC9314103 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the intraspecific variation of parasite life-history traits and how this variation may affect parasite fitness and evolution. We investigated how life-history traits predict success of individual tree-hole ticks Ixodes arboricola and estimated their evolutionary potential, as well as genetic correlations within stages and phenotypic correlations within and across stages. Ticks were followed individually over two generations while allowed to feed on great tits Parus major. After accounting for host and tick maternal effects, we found that short feeding times and high engorgement weights strongly increased molting success. Molting time was also positively correlated with feeding success in adults. In larvae and nymphs, we found negative phenotypic correlations between engorgement weight and both feeding and molting time, the latter supported by a negative genetic correlation. We found sex-related differences in feeding time (longer in male nymphs) and molting time (longer in male larvae but shorter in male nymphs). Also, time since the last feeding event (set experimentally) reduced larval and nymphal fitness, whereas it increased adult female fitness. Furthermore, we found significant heritability and evolvability, that is, the potential to respond to selection, for engorgement weight and molting time across all stages but no significant heritability for feeding time. Our findings suggest that variation in tick fitness is shaped by consistent individual differences in tick quality, for which engorgement weight is a good proxy, rather than by life-history trade-offs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Fracasso
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of AntwerpWilrijkB‐2610Belgium
| | - Dieter Heylen
- Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical BioinformaticsHasselt UniversityDiepenbeekB‐3590Belgium
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew Jersey08544
- Eco‐Epidemiology Group, Department of Biomedical SciencesInstitute of Tropical MedicineAntwerpB‐2000Belgium
| | - Stefan Van Dongen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of AntwerpWilrijkB‐2610Belgium
| | - Joris Elst
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of AntwerpWilrijkB‐2610Belgium
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of BiologyUniversity of AntwerpWilrijkB‐2610Belgium
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12
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Riyahi S, Carrillo-Ortiz JG, Uribe F, Calafell F, Senar JC. Risk-taking coping style correlates with SERT SNP290 polymorphisms in free-living great tits. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274842. [PMID: 35332918 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The coping style of an individual in relation to potentially dangerous situations has been suggested to be inherited in a polygenic fashion, being SERT one of the candidate genes. In this paper, we assessed in free-living great tits Parus major the association between SNP290 in the SERT promoter and three standard fear-related behaviors, namely the response of the birds to a black and white flag fixed to the top of the nest-box, distress calling rate of the birds in the hand once captured and the hissing call of incubating females when approached by a predator. We found a strong association between SNP290 polymorphism and the three risk-taking behaviors, with birds with genotype CT entering faster to the nest box with the flag and displaying more distress calls and less hissing calls. CT birds could therefore be described as more proactive than CC individuals. These results also suggest that hissing behavior should be regarded as a fear-induced shy behavior, and confirm that SERT has an important function in relation to risk aversion behaviors and coping style.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepand Riyahi
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Psseig Picasso s/n, Parc Ciutadella, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.,Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - José G Carrillo-Ortiz
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Psseig Picasso s/n, Parc Ciutadella, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc Uribe
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Psseig Picasso s/n, Parc Ciutadella, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc Calafell
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Senar
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Psseig Picasso s/n, Parc Ciutadella, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
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13
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Wild S, Chimento M, McMahon K, Farine DR, Sheldon BC, Aplin LM. Complex foraging behaviours in wild birds emerge from social learning and recombination of components. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200307. [PMID: 34894740 PMCID: PMC8666913 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent well-documented cases of cultural evolution towards increasing efficiency in non-human animals have led some authors to propose that other animals are also capable of cumulative cultural evolution, where traits become more refined and/or complex over time. Yet few comparative examples exist of traits increasing in complexity, and experimental tests remain scarce. In a previous study, we introduced a foraging innovation into replicate subpopulations of great tits, the 'sliding-door puzzle'. Here, we track diffusion of a second 'dial puzzle', before introducing a two-step puzzle that combines both actions. We mapped social networks across two generations to ask if individuals could: (1) recombine socially-learned traits and (2) socially transmit a two-step trait. Our results show birds could recombine skills into more complex foraging behaviours, and naïve birds across both generations could learn the two-step trait. However, closer interrogation revealed that acquisition was not achieved entirely through social learning-rather, birds socially learned components before reconstructing full solutions asocially. As a consequence, singular cultural traditions failed to emerge, although subpopulations of birds shared preferences for a subset of behavioural variants. Our results show that while tits can socially learn complex foraging behaviours, these may need to be scaffolded by rewarding each component. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Wild
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - M. Chimento
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - K. McMahon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3SZ Oxford, UK
| | - D. R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Universitätstrasse 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - B. C. Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3SZ Oxford, UK
| | - L. M. Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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14
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Tomotani BM, Muijres FT, Johnston B, van der Jeugd HP, Naguib M. Great tits do not compensate over time for a radio-tag-induced reduction in escape-flight performance. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:16600-16617. [PMID: 34938460 PMCID: PMC8668726 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of biologging and tracking devices is widespread in avian behavioral and ecological studies. Carrying these devices rarely has major behavioral or fitness effects in the wild, yet it may still impact animals in more subtle ways, such as during high power demanding escape maneuvers. Here, we tested whether or not great tits (Parus major) carrying a backpack radio-tag changed their body mass or flight behavior over time to compensate for the detrimental effect of carrying a tag. We tested 18 great tits, randomly assigned to a control (untagged) or one of two different types of a radio-tag as used in previous studies in the wild (0.9 g or 1.2 g; ~5% or ~6-7% of body mass, respectively), and determined their upward escape-flight performance 1, 7, 14, and 28 days after tagging. In between experiments, birds were housed in large free-flight aviaries. For each escape-flight, we used high-speed 3D videography to determine flight paths, escape-flight speed, wingbeat frequency, and actuator disk loading (ratio between the bird weight and aerodynamic thrust production capacity). Tagged birds flew upward with lower escape-flight speeds, caused by an increased actuator disk loading. During the 28-day period, all groups slightly increased their body mass and their in-flight wingbeat frequency. In addition, during this period, all groups of birds increased their escape-flight speed, but tagged birds did so at a lower rate than untagged birds. This suggests that birds may increase their escape-flight performance through skill learning; however, tagged birds still remained slower than controls. Our findings suggest that tagging a songbird can have a prolonged effect on the performance of rapid flight maneuvers. Given the absence of tag effects on reproduction and survival in most songbird radio-tagging studies, tagged birds in the wild might adjust their risk-taking behavior to avoid performing rapid flight maneuvers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara M. Tomotani
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of EcologyWageningenThe Netherlands
- Experimental Zoology GroupWageningen University & ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Florian T. Muijres
- Experimental Zoology GroupWageningen University & ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Bronwyn Johnston
- Experimental Zoology GroupWageningen University & ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Henk P. van der Jeugd
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of EcologyWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Marc Naguib
- Behavioural Ecology GroupWageningen University & ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
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15
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Abstract
The hippocampal formation (HF) processes spatial memories for cache locations in food-hoarding birds. Hoarding is a seasonal behavior, and seasonal changes in the HF have been described in some studies, but not in others. One potential reason is that birds may have been sampled during the seasonal hoarding peak in some studies, but not in others. In this study, we investigate the seasonal changes in hoarding and HF in willow tits (Poecile montanus). We compare this to seasonal changes in HF in a closely related non-hoarding bird, the great tit (Parus major). Willow tits near Oulu, Finland, show a seasonal hoarding peak in September and both HF volume and neuron number show a similar peak. HF neuronal density also increases in September, but then remains the same throughout winter. Unexpectedly, the great tit HF also changes seasonally, although in a different pattern: the great tit telencephalon increases in volume from July to August and decreases again in November. Great tit HF volume follows suit, but with a delay. Great tit HF neuron number and density also increase from August to September and stay high throughout winter. We hypothesize that seasonal changes in hoarding birds’ HF are driven by food-hoarding experience (e.g., the formation of thousands of memories). The seasonal changes in great tit brains may also be due to experience-dependent plasticity, responding to changes in the social and spatial environment. Large-scale experience-dependent neural plasticity is therefore probably not an adaptation of food-hoarding birds, but a general property of the avian HF and telencephalon.
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16
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Sam K, Kovarova E, Freiberga I, Uthe H, Weinhold A, Jorge LR, Sreekar R. Great tits ( Parus major) flexibly learn that herbivore-induced plant volatiles indicate prey location: An experimental evidence with two tree species. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:10917-10925. [PMID: 34429890 PMCID: PMC8366880 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
When searching for food, great tits (Parus major) can use herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) as an indicator of arthropod presence. Their ability to detect HIPVs was shown to be learned, and not innate, yet the flexibility and generalization of learning remain unclear.We studied if, and if so how, naïve and trained great tits (Parus major) discriminate between herbivore-induced and noninduced saplings of Scotch elm (Ulmus glabra) and cattley guava (Psidium cattleyanum). We chemically analyzed the used plants and showed that their HIPVs differed significantly and overlapped only in a few compounds.Birds trained to discriminate between herbivore-induced and noninduced saplings preferred the herbivore-induced saplings of the plant species they were trained to. Naïve birds did not show any preferences. Our results indicate that the attraction of great tits to herbivore-induced plants is not innate, rather it is a skill that can be acquired through learning, one tree species at a time.We demonstrate that the ability to learn to associate HIPVs with food reward is flexible, expressed to both tested plant species, even if the plant species has not coevolved with the bird species (i.e., guava). Our results imply that the birds are not capable of generalizing HIPVs among tree species but suggest that they either learn to detect individual compounds or associate whole bouquets with food rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Sam
- Biology Centre of Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
- Faculty of SciencesUniversity of South BohemiaCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Eliska Kovarova
- Faculty of SciencesUniversity of South BohemiaCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Inga Freiberga
- Biology Centre of Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Henriette Uthe
- Molecular Interaction EcologyInstitute of BiodiversityFriedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
- Molecular Interaction EcologyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Alexander Weinhold
- Molecular Interaction EcologyInstitute of BiodiversityFriedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
- Molecular Interaction EcologyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Leonardo R. Jorge
- Biology Centre of Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Rachakonda Sreekar
- Biology Centre of Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
- School of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
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17
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Grunst ML, Grunst AS, Pinxten R, Eens M. Variable and consistent traffic noise negatively affect the sleep behavior of a free-living songbird. Sci Total Environ 2021; 778:146338. [PMID: 34030359 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a ubiquitous disturbance factor, which, owing to the extensive nature of transportation networks, and ability of sound waves to penetrate distances, has wide-reaching impacts on biological communities. Research effort on biological effects of anthropogenic noise is extensive, but has focused on waking behavior, and to our knowledge, no published experimental study exists on how noise affects sleep in free-living animals. Sleep plays vital functions in processes such as cellular repair and memory consolidation. Thus, understanding the potential for noise to disrupt sleep is a critical research objective. Whether different noise regimes exert distinct effects on behavior also remains poorly understood, as does intraspecific variation in noise sensitivity. To address these knowledge gaps, we used a repeated-measures field experiment involving broad-casting traffic noise recordings at great tit (Parus major) nest boxes over a series of consecutive nights. We evaluated whether increasing the temporal variability and amplitude of traffic noise increased deleterious effects on sleep behavior in free-living great tits, and whether individuals differed in the magnitude of responses. We found that traffic noise reduced sleep duration, proportion, and bout length, and induced birds to exit nest boxes earlier in the morning. There was some support for a stronger effect of more variable noise, and relative to lower amplitude noise, higher amplitude noise resulted in less and more fragmented sleep. Effects of noise on sleep duration were stronger in older adults, and substantial, repeatable variation existed in individual responses. We demonstrate for the first time that anthropogenic noise can have strong effects on sleep in free-living animals, which may have cascading effects on waking behavior, physiology and fitness. Results suggest that reducing the amplitude of traffic noise may be an effective mitigation strategy, and that differences in individual sensitivity are important to consider when evaluating effects of noise exposure. CAPSULE: Experimental exposure to temporally variable and consistent traffic noise negatively affected sleep behavior in a free-living songbird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Andrea S Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Faculty of Social Sciences, Didactica Research Group, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
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18
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Laine VN, Verschuuren M, van Oers K, Espín S, Sánchez-Virosta P, Eeva T, Ruuskanen S. Does Arsenic Contamination Affect DNA Methylation Patterns in a Wild Bird Population? An Experimental Approach. Environ Sci Technol 2021; 55:8947-8954. [PMID: 34110128 DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.08.415745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Pollutants, such as toxic metals, negatively influence organismal health and performance, even leading to population collapses. Studies in model organisms have shown that epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, can be modulated by various environmental factors, including pollutants, influencing gene expression, and various organismal traits. Yet experimental data on the effects of pollution on DNA methylation from wild animal populations are largely lacking. We here experimentally investigated for the first time the effects of early-life exposure to environmentally relevant levels of a key pollutant, arsenic (As), on genome-wide DNA methylation in a wild bird population. We experimentally exposed nestlings of great tits (Parus major) to arsenic during their postnatal developmental period (3 to 14 days post-hatching) and compared their erythrocyte DNA methylation levels to those of respective controls. In contrast to predictions, we found no overall hypomethylation in the arsenic group. We found evidence for loci to be differentially methylated between the treatment groups, but for five CpG sites only. Three of the sites were located in gene bodies of zinc finger and BTB domain containing 47 (ZBTB47), HIVEP zinc finger 3 (HIVEP3), and insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1). Further studies are needed to evaluate whether epigenetic dysregulation is a commonly observed phenomenon in polluted populations and what are the consequences for organism functioning and for population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika N Laine
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Mark Verschuuren
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Silvia Espín
- Area of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Pablo Sánchez-Virosta
- Area of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Tapio Eeva
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland
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19
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Laine V, Verschuuren M, van Oers K, Espín S, Sánchez-Virosta P, Eeva T, Ruuskanen S. Does Arsenic Contamination Affect DNA Methylation Patterns in a Wild Bird Population? An Experimental Approach. Environ Sci Technol 2021; 55:8947-8954. [PMID: 34110128 PMCID: PMC8277128 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c08621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Pollutants, such as toxic metals, negatively influence organismal health and performance, even leading to population collapses. Studies in model organisms have shown that epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, can be modulated by various environmental factors, including pollutants, influencing gene expression, and various organismal traits. Yet experimental data on the effects of pollution on DNA methylation from wild animal populations are largely lacking. We here experimentally investigated for the first time the effects of early-life exposure to environmentally relevant levels of a key pollutant, arsenic (As), on genome-wide DNA methylation in a wild bird population. We experimentally exposed nestlings of great tits (Parus major) to arsenic during their postnatal developmental period (3 to 14 days post-hatching) and compared their erythrocyte DNA methylation levels to those of respective controls. In contrast to predictions, we found no overall hypomethylation in the arsenic group. We found evidence for loci to be differentially methylated between the treatment groups, but for five CpG sites only. Three of the sites were located in gene bodies of zinc finger and BTB domain containing 47 (ZBTB47), HIVEP zinc finger 3 (HIVEP3), and insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1). Further studies are needed to evaluate whether epigenetic dysregulation is a commonly observed phenomenon in polluted populations and what are the consequences for organism functioning and for population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika
N. Laine
- Department
of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute
of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Mark Verschuuren
- Department
of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute
of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department
of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute
of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Silvia Espín
- Area
of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain
- Department
of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Pablo Sánchez-Virosta
- Area
of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain
- Department
of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Tapio Eeva
- Department
of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department
of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20500, Finland
- Department
of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland
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20
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Chimento M, Alarcón-Nieto G, Aplin LM. Population turnover facilitates cultural selection for efficiency in birds. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2477-2483.e3. [PMID: 33826905 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Culture, defined as socially transmitted information and behaviors that are shared in groups and persist over time, is increasingly accepted to occur across a wide range of taxa and behavioral domains.1 While persistent, cultural traits are not necessarily static, and their distribution can change in frequency and type in response to selective pressures, analogous to that of genetic alleles. This has led to the treatment of culture as an evolutionary process, with cultural evolutionary theory arguing that culture exhibits the three fundamental components of Darwinian evolution: variation, competition, and inheritance.2-5 Selection for more efficient behaviors over alternatives is a crucial component of cumulative cultural evolution,6 yet our understanding of how and when such cultural selection occurs in non-human animals is limited. We performed a cultural diffusion experiment using 18 captive populations of wild-caught great tits (Parus major) to ask whether more efficient foraging traditions are selected for, and whether this process is affected by a fundamental demographic process-population turnover. Our results showed that gradual replacement of individuals with naive immigrants greatly increased the probability that a more efficient behavior invaded a population's cultural repertoire and outcompeted an established inefficient behavior. Fine-scale, automated behavioral tracking revealed that turnover did not increase innovation rates, but instead acted on adoption rates, as immigrants disproportionately sampled novel, efficient behaviors relative to available social information. These results provide strong evidence for cultural selection for efficiency in animals, and highlight the mechanism that links population turnover to this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Chimento
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Lab, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Konstanz University, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Gustavo Alarcón-Nieto
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Lab, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Lab, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, Konstanz University, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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21
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Lindner M, Laine VN, Verhagen I, Viitaniemi HM, Visser ME, van Oers K, Husby A. Rapid changes in DNA methylation associated with the initiation of reproduction in a small songbird. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:3645-3659. [PMID: 33453134 PMCID: PMC8359384 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Species with a circannual life cycle need to match the timing of their life history events to the environment to maximize fitness. However, our understanding of how circannual traits such as timing of reproduction are regulated on a molecular level remains limited. Recent studies have implicated that epigenetic mechanisms can be an important part in the processes that regulate circannual traits. Here, we explore the role of DNA methylation in mediating reproductive timing in a seasonally breeding bird species, the great tit (Parus major), using genome‐wide DNA methylation data from individual females that were blood sampled repeatedly throughout the breeding season. We demonstrate rapid and directional changes in DNA methylation within the promoter region of several genes, including a key transcription factor (NR5A1) known from earlier studies to be involved in the initiation of timing of reproduction. Interestingly, the observed changes in DNA methylation at NR5A1 identified here are in line with earlier gene expression studies of reproduction in chicken, indicating that the observed shifts in DNA methylation at this gene can have a regulatory role. Our findings provide an important step towards elucidating the genomic mechanism that mediates seasonal timing of a key life history traits and provide support for the idea that epigenetic mechanisms may play an important role in circannual traits. see also the Perspective by Melanie J. Heckwolf and Britta S. Meyer
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Lindner
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Chronobiology Unit, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Veronika N Laine
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Irene Verhagen
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi M Viitaniemi
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme (OEB), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Chronobiology Unit, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Arild Husby
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme (OEB), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.,Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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22
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Grunst AS, Grunst ML, Pinxten R, Eens M. Sources of individual variation in problem-solving performance in urban great tits ( Parus major): Exploring effects of metal pollution, urban disturbance and personality. Sci Total Environ 2020; 749:141436. [PMID: 32841856 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Despite growing research effort, we have a limited understanding of how urban disturbance factors affect cognitive traits, such as innovative problem-solving. We performed an initial assessment of how metal pollution and urbanization levels on territories are related to problem-solving performance in urban great tits (Parus major), by presenting an obstacle removal test at nest boxes in three urban nest box populations that are exposed to different levels of metal pollution. We predicted that problem-solving capacity might be reduced within the most polluted population due to pollution-related neurological impairments. On the other hand, we predicted that problem-solving might positively correlate with urban disturbance levels on territories, because some past research suggests that problem-solving promotes persistence in urbanized habitats. We also assessed relationships between exploratory personality type, behavioral patterns during tests, and problem-solving performance, and examined the repeatability and fitness correlates of problem-solving. We found no evidence that behavioral patterns or problem-solving performance were related to metal exposure or exploratory personality, or that problem-solving promotes reproductive success. However, birds on territories exposed to more urban disturbance, as quantified by proximity to paths and roads, were more likely to problem-solve. Moreover, an aggressive problem-solving approach negatively predicted problem-solving success, and behavioral patterns during tests and problem-solving success were repeatable. Thus, rather than indicating negative effects of pollution or urban disturbance on problem-solving performance, our study provides preliminary support for the hypothesis that urbanization favors innovative problem-solving, and suggests that problem-solving could be associated with a personality dimension independent of exploratory personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Melissa L Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Faculty of Social Sciences, Didactica Research Group, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
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23
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Lambrechts MM, Caizergues AE, Perrier C, Charmantier A, Caro SP. Surface temperatures of non-incubated eggs in great tits ( Parus major) are strongly associated with ambient temperature. Int J Biometeorol 2020; 64:1767-1775. [PMID: 32594247 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-020-01958-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Temperature is one of the best investigated environmental factors in ecological life-history studies and is increasingly considered in the contexts of climate change and urbanization. In avian ecology, few studies have examined the associations between thermal dynamics in the nest environment and its neighbouring air. Here, we placed avian nests and non-incubated eggs inside nest boxes at various air temperatures that ranged from 0.3 to 33.1 °C, both in the field and in laboratory conditions. We measured how the design of the boxes, their compass orientation and their location in more or less urbanized environments affected the surface temperature of nests and eggs. We also assessed whether covering the eggs with lining material influenced their surface temperature. Overall, across all performed tests, we found that the surface temperature of nests and eggs strongly reflected the air temperature measured outside of the nest boxes. While the design of the nest boxes had little influence on the temperature of nests and eggs, orienting the nest boxes to the north or to the west significantly decreased their surface temperature. The presence of lining material also kept eggs slightly warmer when air temperatures were low. Altogether these results suggest that non-incubated eggs are not well protected against extreme air temperatures prior to the onset of incubation. From an evolutionary point of view, producers of ectotherm eggs need therefore to time egg-laying appropriately in order to avoid unfavourable thermal nest environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel M Lambrechts
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
| | - Aude E Caizergues
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Charles Perrier
- Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations UMR CBGP, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Samuel P Caro
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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24
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Al-Khafaji AM, Bell-Sakyi L, Fracasso G, Luu L, Heylen D, Matthysen E, Oteo JA, Palomar AM. Isolation of Candidatus Rickettsia vini from Belgian Ixodes arboricola ticks and propagation in tick cell lines. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2020; 11:101511. [PMID: 32993931 PMCID: PMC7545694 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Revised: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Candidatus Rickettsia vini was originally detected in Ixodes arboricola ticks from Spain, and subsequently reported from several other Western Palearctic countries including Belgium. Recently, the bacterium was isolated in mammalian (Vero) cell culture from macerated male I. arboricola from Czech Republic, but there have been no reports of propagation in tick cells. Here we report isolation in a tick cell line of three strains of Ca. R. vini from I. arboricola collected from nests of great tits (Parus major) in Belgium. Internal organs of one male and two engorged female ticks were dissected aseptically, added to cultures of the Rhipicephalus microplus cell line BME/CTVM23 and incubated at 28 °C. Rickettsia-like bacteria were first seen in Giemsa-stained cytocentrifuge smears between 2 and 15 weeks later. Two of the isolates grew rapidly, destroying the tick cells within 2–4 weeks of onward passage in BME/CTVM23 cells, while the third isolate grew much more slowly, only requiring subculture at 4−5-month intervals. PCR amplification of bacterial 16S rRNA and Rickettsia gltA, sca4, ompB, ompA and 17-kDa genes revealed that all three isolates were Ca. R. vini, with 100 % identity to each other and to published Ca. R. vini sequences from other geographical locations. Transmission electron microscopy revealed typical single Rickettsia bacteria in the cytoplasm of BME/CTVM23 cells. The Ca. R. vini strain isolated from the male I. arboricola tick, designated Boshoek1, was tested for ability to grow in a panel of Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes scapularis and R. microplus cell lines and in Vero cells. The Boshoek1 strain grew rapidly, causing severe cytopathic effect, in the R. microplus line BME26, the I. ricinus line IRE11 and Vero cells, more slowly in the I. ricinus line IRE/CTVM19, possibly established a low-level infection in the I. ricinus line IRE/CTVM20, and failed to infect cells of any of four I. scapularis lines over a 12-week observation period. This study confirmed the applicability of the simple tick organ-cell line co-cultivation technique for isolation of tick-borne Rickettsia spp. using BME/CTVM23 cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alaa M Al-Khafaji
- Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool Science Park IC2, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF, UK; College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Qadisiyah Province, Iraq.
| | - Lesley Bell-Sakyi
- Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool Science Park IC2, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF, UK.
| | - Gerardo Fracasso
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Lisa Luu
- Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool Science Park IC2, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF, UK.
| | - Dieter Heylen
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, M26 Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA; Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - José A Oteo
- Centre of Rickettsiosis and Arthropod-Borne Diseases, Hospital Universitario San Pedro-CIBIR, C/ Piqueras, 98, Logroño, 26006, La Rioja, Spain.
| | - Ana M Palomar
- Centre of Rickettsiosis and Arthropod-Borne Diseases, Hospital Universitario San Pedro-CIBIR, C/ Piqueras, 98, Logroño, 26006, La Rioja, Spain.
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Nielsen ME, Mappes J. Out in the open: behavior's effect on predation risk and thermoregulation by aposematic caterpillars. Behav Ecol 2020; 31:1031-1039. [PMID: 32760178 PMCID: PMC7390994 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Warning coloration should be under strong stabilizing selection but often displays considerable intraspecific variation. Opposing selection on color by predators and temperature is one potential explanation for this seeming paradox. Despite the importance of behavior for both predator avoidance and thermoregulation, its role in mediating selection by predators and temperature on warning coloration has received little attention. Wood tiger moth caterpillars, Arctia plantaginis, have aposematic coloration, an orange patch on the black body. The size of the orange patch varies considerably: individuals with larger patches are safer from predators, but having a small patch is beneficial in cool environments. We investigated microhabitat preference by these caterpillars and how it interacted with their coloration. We expected caterpillar behavior to reflect a balance between spending time exposed to maximize basking and spending time concealed to avoid detection by predators. Instead, we found that caterpillars preferred exposed locations regardless of their coloration. Whether caterpillars were exposed or concealed had a strong effect on both temperature and predation risk, but caterpillars in exposed locations were both much warmer and less likely to be attacked by a bird predator (great tits, Parus major). This shared optimum may explain why we observed so little variation in caterpillar behavior and demonstrates the important effects of behavior on multiple functions of coloration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Nielsen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9 C, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18b, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9 C, Jyväskylä, Finland
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26
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Lynton‐Jenkins JG, Bründl AC, Cauchoix M, Lejeune LA, Sallé L, Thiney AC, Russell AF, Chaine AS, Bonneaud C. Contrasting the seasonal and elevational prevalence of generalist avian haemosporidia in co-occurring host species. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6097-6111. [PMID: 32607216 PMCID: PMC7319113 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the ecology and evolution of parasites is contingent on identifying the selection pressures they face across their infection landscape. Such a task is made challenging by the fact that these pressures will likely vary across time and space, as a result of seasonal and geographical differences in host susceptibility or transmission opportunities. Avian haemosporidian blood parasites are capable of infecting multiple co-occurring hosts within their ranges, yet whether their distribution across time and space varies similarly in their different host species remains unclear. Here, we applied a new PCR method to detect avian haemosporidia (genera Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Plasmodium) and to determine parasite prevalence in two closely related and co-occurring host species, blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus, N = 529) and great tits (Parus major, N = 443). Our samples were collected between autumn and spring, along an elevational gradient in the French Pyrenees and over a three-year period. Most parasites were found to infect both host species, and while these generalist parasites displayed similar elevational patterns of prevalence in the two host species, this was not always the case for seasonal prevalence patterns. For example, Leucocytozoon group A parasites showed inverse seasonal prevalence when comparing between the two host species, being highest in winter and spring in blue tits but higher in autumn in great tits. While Plasmodium relictum prevalence was overall lower in spring relative to winter or autumn in both species, spring prevalence was also lower in blue tits than in great tits. Together, these results reveal how generalist parasites can exhibit host-specific epidemiology, which is likely to complicate predictions of host-parasite co-evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aisha C. Bründl
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
- Present address:
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Maxime Cauchoix
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
| | - Léa A. Lejeune
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
| | - Louis Sallé
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
| | - Alice C. Thiney
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
| | - Andrew F. Russell
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
| | - Alexis S. Chaine
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
- Institute for Advanced Studies in ToulouseToulouseFrance
| | - Camille Bonneaud
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UMR5321)CNRSUniversité Paul SabatierMoulisFrance
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27
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Grunst ML, Grunst AS, Pinxten R, Eens M. Anthropogenic noise is associated with telomere length and carotenoid-based coloration in free-living nestling songbirds. Environ Pollut 2020; 260:114032. [PMID: 32006886 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that anthropogenic noise has deleterious effects on the behavior and physiology of free-living animals. These effects may be particularly pronounced early in life, when developmental trajectories are sensitive to stressors, yet studies investigating developmental effects of noise exposure in free-living populations remain scarce. To elucidate the effects of noise exposure during development, we examined whether noise exposure is associated with shorter telomeres, duller carotenoid-based coloration and reduced body mass in nestlings of a common urban bird, the great tit (Parus major). We also assessed how the noise environment is related to reproductive success. We obtained long-term measurements of the noise environment, over a ∼24-h period, and characterized both the amplitude (measured by LAeq, LA90, LA10, LAmax) and variance in noise levels, since more stochastic, as well as louder, noise regimes might be more likely to induce stress. In our urban population, noise levels varied substantially, with louder, but less variable, noise characteristic of areas adjacent to a highway. Noise levels were also highly repeatable, suggesting that individuals experience consistent differences in noise exposure. The amplitude of noise near nest boxes was associated with shorter telomeres among smaller, but not larger, brood members. In addition, carotenoid chroma and hue were positively associated with variance in average and maximum noise levels, and average reflectance was negatively associated with variance in background noise. Independent of noise, hue was positively related to telomere length. Nestling mass and reproductive success were unaffected by noise exposure. Results indicate that multiple dimensions of the noise environment, or factors associated with the noise environment, could affect the phenotype of developing organisms, that noise exposure, or correlated variables, might have the strongest effects on sensitive groups of individuals, and that carotenoid hue could serve as a signal of early-life telomere length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Andrea S Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium; Faculty of Social Sciences, Antwerp School of Education, Research Group Didactica, University of Antwerp, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
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Bötsch Y, Tablado Z, Almasi B, Jenni L. Human recreation decreases antibody titre in bird nestlings: an overlooked transgenerational effect of disturbance. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb210930. [PMID: 32205358 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.210930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Outdoor recreational activities are booming and most animals perceive humans as predators, which triggers behavioural and/or physiological reactions [e.g. heart rate increase, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis]. Physiological stress reactions have been shown to affect the immune system of an animal and therefore may also affect the amount of maternal antibodies a female transmits to her offspring. A few studies have revealed that the presence of predators affects the amount of maternal antibodies deposited into eggs of birds. In this study, using Eurasian blue and great tit offspring (Cyanistes caeruleus and Parus major) as model species, we experimentally tested whether human recreation induces changes in the amount of circulating antibodies in young nestlings and whether this effect is modulated by habitat and competition. Moreover, we investigated whether these variations in antibody titre in turn have an impact on hatching success and offspring growth. Nestlings of great tit females that had been disturbed by experimental human recreation during egg laying had lower antibody titres compared with control nestlings. Antibody titre of nestling blue tits showed a negative correlation with the presence of great tits, rather than with human disturbance. The hatching success was positively correlated with the average amount of antibodies in great tit nestlings, independent of the treatment. Antibody titre in the first days of life in both species was positively correlated with body mass, but this relationship disappeared at fledging and was independent of treatment. We suggest that human recreation may have caused a stress-driven activation of the HPA axis in breeding females, chronically increasing their circulating corticosterone, which is known to have an immunosuppressive function. Either, lower amounts of antibodies are transmitted to nestlings or impaired transfer mechanisms lead to lower amounts of immunoglobulins in the eggs. Human disturbance could, therefore, have negative effects on nestling survival at early life-stages, when nestlings are heavily reliant on maternal antibodies, and in turn lead to lower breeding success and parental fitness. This is a so far overlooked effect of disturbance on early life in birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yves Bötsch
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Zulima Tablado
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Bettina Almasi
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Jenni
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland
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29
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Sánchez-Virosta P, Espín S, Ruiz S, Panda B, Ilmonen P, Schultz SL, Karouna-Renier N, García-Fernández AJ, Eeva T. Arsenic-related oxidative stress in experimentally-dosed wild great tit nestlings. Environ Pollut 2020; 259:113813. [PMID: 31896481 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Arsenic (As) is broadly distributed due to natural and anthropogenic sources, and it may cause adverse effects in birds. However, research on other elements (Pb, Hg and Cd) has been prioritized, resulting in scarce data on As exposure and related effects in wild birds. One of the mechanisms responsible for As toxicity is oxidative stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if environmentally relevant As levels affected oxidative stress biomarkers in great tits (Parus major). This is the first field experiment studying the effects of As on oxidative stress in wild passerines. Wild great tit nestlings were orally dosed with sodium arsenite (Control: water, Low dose: 0.2 μg g-1 d-1 and High dose: 1 μg g-1 d-1; from day 3 to day 13 post-hatching). We intended to reach As concentrations similar to those at which passerines are exposed to at actual polluted areas. We compared the responses to the experimental manipulations (High, Low and Control groups) with those in an As/metal-exposed population breeding close to a Cu-Ni smelter in Finland (Smelter group). A set of antioxidants (tGSH, GSH:GSSG ratio, CAT, SOD, GST and GPx), and oxidative damage biomarkers (lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine formation in DNA, and telomere length) were explored in blood. Arsenic administration had no significant effect on most of the biomarkers measured: only the CAT activity was lower in the High As group and the GPx activity was enhanced in the Smelter group compared to the Control. Our results suggest that the dose and duration of the As exposure was not enough to induce oxidative damage in red cells of great tit nestlings. In spite of this, nestlings dosed with 1 μg g-1 d-1 of sodium arsenite showed non-significantly higher oxidative stress biomarkers than controls, suggesting that we were close to an effect level for the redox-defense system. Oxidative effects at equivalent As levels combined with other stressors cannot be dismissed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Sánchez-Virosta
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland; Toxicology and Risk Assessment Group, Department of Health Sciences, IMIB-Arrixaca, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - Silvia Espín
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland; Toxicology and Risk Assessment Group, Department of Health Sciences, IMIB-Arrixaca, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - Sandra Ruiz
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Bineet Panda
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Petteri Ilmonen
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Sandra L Schultz
- U. S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | | | - Antonio J García-Fernández
- Toxicology and Risk Assessment Group, Department of Health Sciences, IMIB-Arrixaca, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Tapio Eeva
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
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30
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da Silva VH, Laine VN, Bosse M, Spurgin LG, Derks MFL, van Oers K, Dibbits B, Slate J, Crooijmans RPMA, Visser ME, Groenen MAM. The Genomic Complexity of a Large Inversion in Great Tits. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 11:1870-1881. [PMID: 31114855 PMCID: PMC6609730 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Chromosome inversions have clear effects on genome evolution and have been associated with speciation, adaptation, and the evolution of the sex chromosomes. In birds, these inversions may play an important role in hybridization of species and disassortative mating. We identified a large (≈64 Mb) inversion polymorphism in the great tit (Parus major) that encompasses almost 1,000 genes and more than 90% of Chromosome 1A. The inversion occurs at a low frequency in a set of over 2,300 genotyped great tits in the Netherlands with only 5% of the birds being heterozygous for the inversion. In an additional analysis of 29 resequenced birds from across Europe, we found two heterozygotes. The likely inversion breakpoints show considerable genomic complexity, including multiple copy number variable segments. We identified different haplotypes for the inversion, which differ in the degree of recombination in the center of the chromosome. Overall, this remarkable genetic variant is widespread among distinct great tit populations and future studies of the inversion haplotype, including how it affects the fitness of carriers, may help to understand the mechanisms that maintain it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinicius H da Silva
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Veronika N Laine
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University
| | - Mirte Bosse
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Martijn F L Derks
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Bert Dibbits
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jon Slate
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | | | - Marcel E Visser
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martien A M Groenen
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Fracasso G, Matthysen E, Dhondt AA, Heylen D. Experimental study of micro-habitat selection by ixodid ticks feeding on avian hosts. Int J Parasitol 2019; 49:1005-14. [PMID: 31734336 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Mechanisms of on-host habitat selection of parasites are important to the understanding of host-parasite interactions and evolution. To this end, it is important to separate the factors driving parasite micro-habitat selection from those resulting from host anti-parasite behaviour. We experimentally investigated whether tick infestation patterns on songbirds are the result of an active choice by the ticks themselves, or the outcome of songbird grooming behaviour. Attachment patterns of three ixodid tick species with different ecologies and host specificities were studied on avian hosts. Ixodes arboricola, Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes frontalis were put on the head, belly and back of adult great tits (Parus major) and adult domestic canaries (Serinus canaria domestica) which were either restricted or not in their grooming capabilities. Without exception, ticks were eventually found on a bird's head. When we gave ticks full opportunities to attach on other body parts - in the absence of host grooming - they showed lower attachment success. Moreover, ticks moved from these other body parts to the host's head when given the opportunity. This study provides evidence that the commonly observed pattern of ticks feeding on songbirds' heads is the result of an adaptive behavioural strategy. Experimental data on a novel host species, the domestic canary, and a consistent number of published field observations, strongly support this hypothesis. We address some proximate and ultimate causes that may explain parasite preference for this body part in songbirds. The link found between parasite micro-habitat preference and host anti-parasite behaviour provides further insight into the mechanisms driving ectoparasite aggregation, which is important for the population dynamics of hosts, ectoparasites and the micro-pathogens for which they are vectors.
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Kalb N, Anger F, Randler C. Great tits encode contextual information in their food and mobbing calls. R Soc Open Sci 2019; 6:191210. [PMID: 31827857 PMCID: PMC6894574 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The calling behaviour of Paridae species (i.e. titmice, tits and chickadees) in a predator-related context is well-studied. Parid species are known to alter call types, note composition or call duration according to predation risk. However, how these species encode information about a non-threatening context, such as food sources, has been subject to only few studies. Studies in Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) have shown that this species alters the ratio of C and D notes to encode information about the presence of food and/or the flight behaviour of the signaller. This suggests that parids also use graded signals to encode information about non-predatory contexts. No study to date has directly compared the calls of a feeding context with those of a predation (i.e. mobbing) context. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare the calling behaviour of these two situations in great tits (Parus major). Calls uttered at a feeder were recorded, analysed and compared with calls uttered in front of taxidermy mounts of sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus). In the food context, great tits reduced the number of D notes and increased the number of B, C and E notes compared with the mobbing context. Furthermore, tits produced calls with longer D notes and shorter intervals between D notes than in the mobbing context. This indicates that great tits use two mechanisms of graded signals (i.e. note type and acoustic structure of D calls) to inform conspecifics about the nature of a situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Kalb
- Department of Biology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 24, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Verhagen I, Laine VN, Mateman AC, Pijl A, de Wit R, van Lith B, Kamphuis W, Viitaniemi HM, Williams TD, Caro SP, Meddle SL, Gienapp P, van Oers K, Visser ME. Fine-tuning of seasonal timing of breeding is regulated downstream in the underlying neuro-endocrine system in a small songbird. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.202481. [PMID: 31371403 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.202481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The timing of breeding is under selection in wild populations as a result of climate change, and understanding the underlying physiological processes mediating this timing provides insight into the potential rate of adaptation. Current knowledge on this variation in physiology is, however, mostly limited to males. We assessed whether individual differences in the timing of breeding in females are reflected in differences in candidate gene expression and, if so, whether these differences occur in the upstream (hypothalamus) or downstream (ovary and liver) parts of the neuroendocrine system. We used 72 female great tits from two generations of lines artificially selected for early and late egg laying, which were housed in climate-controlled aviaries and went through two breeding cycles within 1 year. In the first breeding season we obtained individual egg-laying dates, while in the second breeding season, using the same individuals, we sampled several tissues at three time points based on the timing of the first breeding attempt. For each tissue, mRNA expression levels were measured using qPCR for a set of candidate genes associated with the timing of reproduction and subsequently analysed for differences between generations, time points and individual timing of breeding. We found differences in gene expression between generations in all tissues, with the most pronounced differences in the hypothalamus. Differences between time points, and early- and late-laying females, were found exclusively in the ovary and liver. Altogether, we show that fine-tuning of the seasonal timing of breeding, and thereby the opportunity for adaptation in the neuroendocrine system, is regulated mostly downstream in the neuro-endocrine system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Verhagen
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Veronika N Laine
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - A Christa Mateman
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Agata Pijl
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ruben de Wit
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Bart van Lith
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Willem Kamphuis
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN-KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam-Zuidoost, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi M Viitaniemi
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tony D Williams
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6
| | - Samuel P Caro
- Departement d'Ecologie Evolutive, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive, 34293 Montpellier 5, France
| | - Simone L Meddle
- Department of Behavioural Neuroendocrinology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK
| | - Phillip Gienapp
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Kalb N, Randler C. Behavioral responses to conspecific mobbing calls are predator-specific in great tits ( Parus major). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:9207-9213. [PMID: 31463016 PMCID: PMC6706190 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
When facing a predator, animals need to perform an appropriate antipredator behavior such as escaping or mobbing to prevent predation. Many bird species exhibit distinct mobbing behaviors and vocalizations once a predator has been detected. In some species, mobbing calls transmit information about predator type, size, and threat, which can be assessed by conspecifics. We recently found that great tits (Parus major) produce longer D calls with more elements and longer intervals between elements when confronted with a sparrowhawk, a high‐threat predator, in comparison to calls produced in front of a less‐threatening tawny owl. In the present study, we conducted a playback experiment to investigate if these differences in mobbing calls elicit different behavioral responses in adult great tits. We found tits to have a longer latency time and to keep a greater distance to the speaker when sparrowhawk mobbing calls were broadcast. This suggests that tits are capable of decoding information about predator threat in conspecific mobbing calls. We further found a tendency for males to approach faster and closer than females, which indicates that males are willing to take higher risks in a mobbing context than females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Kalb
- Department of Biology Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Christoph Randler
- Department of Biology Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Tübingen Germany
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Ulgezen ZN, Käpylä T, Meerlo P, Spoelstra K, Visser ME, Dominoni DM. The preference and costs of sleeping under light at night in forest and urban great tits. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190872. [PMID: 31213184 PMCID: PMC6599990 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasing phenomenon associated with worldwide urbanization. In birds, broad-spectrum white ALAN can have disruptive effects on activity patterns, metabolism, stress response and immune function. There has been growing research on whether the use of alternative light spectra can reduce these negative effects, but surprisingly, there has been no study to determine which light spectrum birds prefer. To test such a preference, we gave urban and forest great tits (Parus major) the choice where to roost using pairwise combinations of darkness, white light or green dim light at night (1.5 lux). Birds preferred to sleep under artificial light instead of darkness, and green was preferred over white light. In a subsequent experiment, we investigated the consequence of sleeping under a particular light condition, and measured birds' daily activity levels, daily energy expenditure (DEE), oxalic acid as a biomarker for sleep debt and cognitive abilities. White light affected activity patterns more than green light. Moreover, there was an origin-dependent response to spectral composition: in urban birds, the total daily activity and night activity did not differ between white and green light, while forest birds were more active under white than green light. We also found that individuals who slept under white and green light had higher DEE. However, there were no differences in oxalic acid levels or cognitive abilities between light treatments. Thus, we argue that in naive birds that had never encountered light at night, white light might disrupt circadian rhythms more than green light. However, it is possible that the negative effects of ALAN on sleep and cognition might be observed only under intensities higher than 1.5 lux. These results suggest that reducing the intensity of light pollution as well as tuning the spectrum towards long wavelengths may considerably reduce its impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep N. Ulgezen
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Teemu Käpylä
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Peter Meerlo
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kamiel Spoelstra
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel E. Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Davide M. Dominoni
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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Grunst ML, Raap T, Grunst AS, Pinxten R, Eens M. Artificial light at night does not affect telomere shortening in a developing free-living songbird: A field experiment: Artificial light at night and telomere dynamics. Sci Total Environ 2019; 662:266-275. [PMID: 30690361 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2018] [Revised: 12/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasingly pervasive anthropogenic disturbance factor. ALAN can seriously disrupt physiological systems that follow circadian rhythms, and may be particularly influential early in life, when developmental trajectories are sensitive to stressful conditions. Using great tits (Parus major) as a model species, we experimentally examined how ALAN affects physiological stress in developing nestlings. We used a repeated-measure design to assess effects of ALAN on telomere shortening, body mass, tarsus length and body condition. Telomeres are repetitive nucleotide sequences that protect chromosomes from damage and malfunction. Early-life telomere shortening can be accelerated by environmental stressors, and has been linked to later-life declines in survival and reproduction. We also assayed nitric oxide, as an additional metric of physiological stress, and determined fledging success. Change in body condition between day 8 and 15 differed according to treatment. Nestlings exposed to ALAN displayed a trend towards a decline in condition, whereas control nestlings displayed a trend towards increased condition. This pattern was driven by a greater increase in tarsus length relative to mass in nestlings exposed to ALAN. Nestlings in poorer condition and nestlings that were smaller than their nest mates had shorter telomeres. However, exposure to ALAN was unrelated to telomere shortening, and also had no effect on nitric oxide concentrations or fledging success. Thus, exposure to ALAN may not have led to sufficient stress to induce telomere shortening. Indeed, plasticity in other physiological systems could allow nestlings to maintain telomere length despite moderate stress. Alternatively, the cascade of physiological and behavioral responses associated with light exposure may have no net effect on telomere dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Thomas Raap
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Andrea S Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Faculty of Social Sciences, Antwerp School of Education, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
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Atema E, Mulder E, van Noordwijk AJ, Verhulst S. Ultralong telomeres shorten with age in nestling great tits but are static in adults and mask attrition of short telomeres. Mol Ecol Resour 2019; 19:648-658. [PMID: 30672119 PMCID: PMC6849772 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Telomere length (TL) is increasingly being used as a biomarker of senescence, but measuring telomeres remains a challenge. Within tissue samples, TL varies between cells and chromosomes. Class I telomeres are (presumably static) interstitial telomeric sequences, while terminal telomeres have been divided in shorter (Class II) telomeres and ultralong (Class III) telomeres, and the presence of the latter varies strongly between species. Class II telomeres typically shorten with age, but little is known of Class III telomere dynamics. Using multiple experimental approaches, we show great tits to have ultralong telomeres, and we investigated age effects on Class II and III telomeres using a longitudinal approach (our method excludes Class I telomeres). In adults, TL averaged over the whole distribution did not significantly change with age. However, more detailed analyses showed that Class II TL did shorten with age, and, as in other species, the longest Class II telomeres within individuals shortened more quickly with age. In contrast, Class III TL did not shorten with age within individual adults. Surprisingly, we found the opposite pattern in nestlings: Class III TL shortened significantly with age, while the age effect on Class II TL was close to zero. Thus, Class III TL may provide information on developmental history, while Class II TL provides information on telomere dynamics in adulthood. These findings have practical implications for telomere studies and raise the interesting question of what causes variation in TL dynamics between chromosomes within individuals and how this is related to development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Els Atema
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ellis Mulder
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Arie J van Noordwijk
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Gamelon M, Vriend SJG, Engen S, Adriaensen F, Dhondt AA, Evans SR, Matthysen E, Sheldon BC, Saether BE. Accounting for interspecific competition and age structure in demographic analyses of density dependence improves predictions of fluctuations in population size. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:797-806. [PMID: 30816630 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Understanding species coexistence has long been a major goal of ecology. Coexistence theory for two competing species posits that intraspecific density dependence should be stronger than interspecific density dependence. Great tits and blue tits are two bird species that compete for food resources and nesting cavities. On the basis of long-term monitoring of these two competing species at sites across Europe, combining observational and manipulative approaches, we show that the strength of density regulation is similar for both species, and that individuals have contrasting abilities to compete depending on their age. For great tits, density regulation is driven mainly by intraspecific competition. In contrast, for blue tits, interspecific competition contributes as much as intraspecific competition, consistent with asymmetric competition between the two species. In addition, including age-specific effects of intra- and interspecific competition in density-dependence models improves predictions of fluctuations in population size by up to three times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlène Gamelon
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Stefan J G Vriend
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Steinar Engen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Frank Adriaensen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium
| | - André A Dhondt
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Simon R Evans
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Bernt-Erik Saether
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
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Andreasson F, Nord A, Nilsson JÅ. Age-dependent effects of predation risk on night-time hypothermia in two wintering passerine species. Oecologia 2019; 189:329-37. [PMID: 30607504 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-04331-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Small animals that winter at northern latitudes need to maximize energy intake and minimize energy loss. Many passerine birds use night-time hypothermia to conserve energy. A potential cost of night-time hypothermia with much theoretical (but little empirical) support is increased risk of night-time predation, due to reduced vigilance and lower escape speed in hypothermic birds. This idea has never been tested in the wild. We, therefore, increased perceived predation risk in great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) roosting in nest boxes during cold winter nights to measure any resultant effect on their use of night-time hypothermia. Roosting birds of both species that experienced their first winter were less prone to use hypothermia as an energy-saving strategy at low ambient temperatures when exposed to increased perceived predation risk either via handling (great tits) or via predator scent manipulation (blue tits). However, we did not record such effects in birds that were in their second winter or beyond. Our results suggest that effects of increased predation risk are age- and temperature specific. This could be caused by age-related differences in experience and subsequent risk assessment, or by dominance-related variation in habitat quality between young and old birds. Predation risk could, through its effect on use and depth of night-time hypothermia, be important for total energy management and winter survival for resident birds at northern latitudes.
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Andersson MN, Nilsson J, Nilsson JÅ, Isaksson C. Diet and ambient temperature interact to shape plasma fatty acid composition, basal metabolic rate and oxidative stress in great tits. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.186759. [PMID: 30361459 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.186759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Diet and ambient temperature affect animal physiology, survival and reproductive success. However, knowledge of how these environmental factors interact to shape physiological processes and life-history traits of birds and other animals is largely lacking. By exposing adult great tits (Parus major) to two contrasting diets (saturated or unsaturated fatty acids; SFAs and UFAs, respectively) and ambient temperatures (3°C versus 20°C) that the birds encounter in nature, we investigated the effects of these two factors on several physiological parameters. Our results show that diet and ambient temperature interact to affect the composition of plasma fatty acids, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and oxidative stress, which are thought to affect the life-history and survival of individuals. Specifically, birds provided the SFA-rich diet had higher mass-specific BMR and oxidative stress (levels of lipid peroxidation) after exposure to low compared with high ambient temperature, whereas the opposite pattern was evident for birds with a UFA-rich diet. Surprisingly, birds on the SFA diet had higher relative levels of monounsaturated fatty acids compared with the UFA-fed birds at low ambient temperature, whereas the opposite, and expected, pattern was found at the high temperature. Although the present study focuses on the physiological implications of the diet×temperature interaction, our results might also be important for the leading theories of ageing, which currently do not take interactions between environmental factors into account. In addition, the present results are important for wildlife management, especially with regards to anthropogenic feeding of wild animals across variable and changing climatic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Johan Nilsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Jan-Åke Nilsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
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Pigeault R, Cozzarolo CS, Choquet R, Strehler M, Jenkins T, Delhaye J, Bovet L, Wassef J, Glaizot O, Christe P. Haemosporidian infection and co-infection affect host survival and reproduction in wild populations of great tits. Int J Parasitol 2018; 48:1079-1087. [PMID: 30391229 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Theoretical studies predict that parasitic infection may impact host longevity and ultimately modify the trade-off between reproduction and survival. Indeed, a host may adjust its energy allocation in current reproduction to balance the negative effects of parasitism on its survival prospects. However, very few empirical studies tested this prediction. Avian haemosporidian parasites provide an excellent opportunity to assess the influence of parasitic infection on both host survival and reproduction. They are represented by three main genera (Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) and are highly prevalent in many bird populations. Here we provide the first known long-term field study (12 years) to explore the effects of haemosporidian parasite infection and co-infection on fitness in two populations of great tits (Parus major), using a multistate modeling framework. We found that while co-infection decreased survival probability, both infection and co-infection increased reproductive success. This study provides evidence that co-infections can be more virulent than single infections. It also provides support for the life-history theory which predicts that reproductive effort can be adjusted to balance one's fitness when survival prospects are challenged.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Pigeault
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - C-S Cozzarolo
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - R Choquet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, Montpellier, France
| | - M Strehler
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - T Jenkins
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland; Musée cantonal de zoologie, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - J Delhaye
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland; Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Université Toulouse 3, France
| | - L Bovet
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - J Wassef
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - O Glaizot
- Musée cantonal de zoologie, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - P Christe
- Département d'Ecologie & Evolution, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Gamelon M, Grøtan V, Engen S, Bjørkvoll E, Visser ME, Saether BE. Density dependence in an age-structured population of great tits: identifying the critical age classes. Ecology 2018; 97:2479-2490. [PMID: 27859080 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2015] [Revised: 03/01/2016] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Classical approaches for the analyses of density dependence assume that all the individuals in a population equally respond and equally contribute to density dependence. However, in age-structured populations, individuals of different ages may differ in their responses to changes in population size and how they contribute to density dependence affecting the growth rate of the whole population. Here we apply the concept of critical age classes, i.e., a specific scalar function that describes how one or a combination of several age classes affect the demographic rates negatively, in order to examine how total density dependence acting on the population growth rate depends on the age-specific population sizes. In a 38-yr dataset of an age-structured great tit (Parus major) population, we find that the age classes, including the youngest breeding females, were the critical age classes for density regulation. These age classes correspond to new breeders that attempt to take a territory and that have the strongest competitive effect on other breeding females. They strongly affected population growth rate and reduced recruitment and survival rates of all breeding females. We also show that depending on their age class, females may differently respond to varying density. In particular, the negative effect of the number of breeding females was stronger on recruitment rate of the youngest breeding females. These findings question the classical assumptions that all the individuals of a population can be treated as having an equal contribution to density regulation and that the effect of the number of individuals is age independent. Our results improve our understanding of density regulation in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlène Gamelon
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, Norway
| | - Vidar Grøtan
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, Norway
| | - Steinar Engen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, Norway
| | - Eirin Bjørkvoll
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, Norway
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, 6700 AB, The Netherlands
| | - Bernt-Erik Saether
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, Norway
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Appelgren ASC, Saladin V, Richner H, Doligez B, McCoy KD. Gene flow and adaptive potential in a generalist ectoparasite. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:99. [PMID: 29921216 PMCID: PMC6009953 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1205-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In host-parasite systems, relative dispersal rates condition genetic novelty within populations and thus their adaptive potential. Knowledge of host and parasite dispersal rates can therefore help us to understand current interaction patterns in wild populations and why these patterns shift over time and space. For generalist parasites however, estimates of dispersal rates depend on both host range and the considered spatial scale. Here, we assess the relative contribution of these factors by studying the population genetic structure of a common avian ectoparasite, the hen flea Ceratophyllus gallinae, exploiting two hosts that are sympatric in our study population, the great tit Parus major and the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis. Previous experimental studies have indicated that the hen flea is both locally maladapted to great tit populations and composed of subpopulations specialized on the two host species, suggesting limited parasite dispersal in space and among hosts, and a potential interaction between these two structuring factors. Results C. gallinae fleas were sampled from old nests of the two passerine species in three replicate wood patches and were genotyped at microsatellite markers to assess population genetic structure at different scales (among individuals within a nest, among nests and between host species within a patch and among patches). As expected, significant structure was found at all spatial scales and between host species, supporting the hypothesis of limited dispersal in this parasite. Clustering analyses and estimates of relatedness further suggested that inbreeding regularly occurs within nests. Patterns of isolation by distance within wood patches indicated that flea dispersal likely occurs in a stepwise manner among neighboring nests. From these data, we estimated that gene flow in the hen flea is approximately half that previously described for its great tit hosts. Conclusion Our results fall in line with predictions based on observed patterns of adaptation in this host-parasite system, suggesting that parasite dispersal is limited and impacts its adaptive potential with respect to its hosts. More generally, this study sheds light on the complex interaction between parasite gene flow, local adaptation and host specialization within a single host-parasite system. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1205-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anaïs S C Appelgren
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, Bern, Switzerland. .,CNRS; Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon; Université Lyon 1; Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, LBBE UMR 5558, Bâtiment Gregor Mendel, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France. .,Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, LBBE UMR 5558, Bâtiment Gregor Mendel, Université Lyon 1, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France. .,Maladies Infectieuses & Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution & Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Université de Montpellier - CNRS - IRD, Centre IRD, 911 avenue, Agropolis, BP 64501, F-34000, Montpellier, France.
| | - Verena Saladin
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Heinz Richner
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Blandine Doligez
- CNRS; Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon; Université Lyon 1; Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, LBBE UMR 5558, Bâtiment Gregor Mendel, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.,Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, LBBE UMR 5558, Bâtiment Gregor Mendel, Université Lyon 1, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.,Department of Ecology and Genetics/Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), University of Uppsala, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Karen D McCoy
- Maladies Infectieuses & Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution & Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Université de Montpellier - CNRS - IRD, Centre IRD, 911 avenue, Agropolis, BP 64501, F-34000, Montpellier, France
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Martyka R, Śliwińska EB, Martyka M, Cichoń M, Tryjanowski P. The effect of pre-laying maternal immunization on offspring growth and immunity differs across experimentally altered postnatal rearing conditions in a wild songbird. Front Zool 2018; 15:25. [PMID: 29946341 PMCID: PMC6006776 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-018-0272-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Prenatal antibody transfer is an immune-mediated maternal effect by which females can shape postnatal offspring resistance to pathogens and parasites. Maternal antibodies passed on to offspring provide primary protection to neonates against diverse pathogenic antigens, but they may also affect offspring growth and influence the development of an offspring’s own immune response. The effects of maternal antibodies on offspring performance commonly require that the disease environment experienced by a mother prior to breeding matches the environment encountered by her offspring after hatching/birth. However, other circumstances, like postnatal rearing conditions that affect offspring food availability, may also determine the effects of maternal antibodies on offspring growth and immunity. To date, knowledge about how prenatal immune-mediated maternal effects interact with various postnatal rearing conditions to affect offspring development and phenotype in wild bird population remains elusive. Here we experimentally studied the interactive effects of pre-laying maternal immunization with a bacterial antigen (lipopolysaccharide) and post-hatching rearing conditions, altered by brood size manipulation, on offspring growth and humoral immunity of wild great tits (Parus major). Results We found that maternal immunization and brood size manipulation interactively affected the growth and specific humoral immune response of avian offspring. Among nestlings reared in enlarged broods, only those that originated from immunized mothers grew better and were heavier at fledging stage compared to those that originated from non-immunized mothers. In contrast, no such effects were observed among nestlings reared in non-manipulated (control) broods. Moreover, offspring of immunized females had a stronger humoral immune response to lipopolysaccharide during postnatal development than offspring of non-immunized females, but only when the nestling was reared in control broods. Conclusions This study demonstrates that offspring development and their ability to cope with pathogens after hatching are driven by mutual influences of pathogen-induced prenatal maternal effects and post-hatching rearing conditions. Our findings suggest that immune-mediated maternal effects may have context-dependent influences on offspring growth and immune function, related to the postnatal environmental conditions experienced by the progeny. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12983-018-0272-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafał Martyka
- 1Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Ewa B Śliwińska
- 1Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Mirosław Martyka
- 1Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Mariusz Cichoń
- 2Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Piotr Tryjanowski
- 3Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
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45
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Chen C, Biere A, Gols R, Halfwerk W, van Oers K, Harvey JA. Responses of insect herbivores and their food plants to wind exposure and the importance of predation risk. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1046-1057. [PMID: 29672852 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Wind is an important abiotic factor that influences an array of biological processes, but it is rarely considered in studies on plant-herbivore interactions. Here, we tested whether wind exposure could directly or indirectly affect the performance of two insect herbivores, Plutella xylostella and Pieris brassicae, feeding on Brassica nigra plants. In a greenhouse study using a factorial design, B. nigra plants were exposed to different wind regimes generated by fans before and after caterpillars were introduced on plants in an attempt to separate the effects of direct and indirect wind exposure on herbivores. Wind exposure delayed flowering, decreased plant height and increased leaf concentrations of amino acids and glucosinolates. Plant-mediated effects of wind on herbivores, that is effects of exposure of plants to wind prior to herbivore feeding, were generally small. However, development time of both herbivores was extended and adult body mass of P. xylostella was reduced when they were directly exposed to wind. By contrast, wind-exposed adult P. brassicae butterflies were significantly larger, revealing a trade-off between development time and adult size. Based on these results, we conducted a behavioural experiment to study preference by an avian predator, the great tit (Parus major) for last instar P. brassicae caterpillars on plants that were exposed to either control (no wind) or wind (fan-exposed) treatments. Tits captured significantly more caterpillars on still than on wind-exposed plants. Our results suggest that P. brassicae caterpillars are able to perceive the abiotic environment and to trade off the costs of extended development time against the benefits of increased size depending on the perceived risk of predation mediated by wind exposure. Such adaptive phenotypic plasticity in insects has not yet been described in response to wind exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Chen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Arjen Biere
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rieta Gols
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Halfwerk
- Department of Ecological Science, Section Animal Ecology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jeffrey A Harvey
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Ecological Science, Section Animal Ecology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Abstract
The microbiota has a broad range of impacts on host physiology and behaviour, pointing out the need to improve our comprehension of the drivers of host-microbiota composition. Of particular interest is whether the microbiota is acquired passively, or whether and to what extent hosts themselves shape the acquisition and maintenance of their microbiota. In birds, the uropygial gland produces oily secretions used to coat feathers that have been suggested to act as an antimicrobial defence mechanism regulating body feather microbiota. However, our comprehension of this process is still limited. In this study, we for the first time coupled high-throughput sequencing of the microbiota of both body feathers and the direct environment (i.e., the nest) in great tits with chemical analyses of the composition of uropygial gland secretions to examine whether host chemicals have either specific effects on some bacteria or nonspecific broad-spectrum effects on the body feather microbiota. Using a network approach investigating the patterns of co-occurrence or co-exclusions between chemicals and bacteria within the body feather microbiota, we found no evidence for specific promicrobial or antimicrobial effects of uropygial gland chemicals. However, we found that one group of chemicals was negatively correlated to bacterial richness on body feathers, and a higher production of these chemicals was associated with a poorer body feather bacterial richness compared to the nest microbiota. Our study provides evidence that chemicals produced by the host might function as a nonspecific broad-spectrum antimicrobial defence mechanism limiting colonization and/or maintenance of bacteria on body feathers, providing new insight about the drivers of the host's microbiota composition in wild organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Staffan Jacob
- EDB (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique), CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFA UMR 5174, Toulouse, France.,Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS, UMR5321, Moulis, France.,Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Louis Sallé
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS, UMR5321, Moulis, France
| | - Lucie Zinger
- EDB (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique), CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFA UMR 5174, Toulouse, France.,Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Alexis S Chaine
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS, UMR5321, Moulis, France.,Toulouse School of Economics, Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Christine Ducamp
- EDB (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique), CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFA UMR 5174, Toulouse, France
| | - Léa Boutault
- EDB (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique), CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFA UMR 5174, Toulouse, France.,Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS, UMR5321, Moulis, France
| | - Andrew F Russell
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Philipp Heeb
- EDB (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique), CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFA UMR 5174, Toulouse, France
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da Silva VH, Laine VN, Bosse M, Oers KV, Dibbits B, Visser ME, M A Crooijmans RP, Groenen MAM. CNVs are associated with genomic architecture in a songbird. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:195. [PMID: 29703149 PMCID: PMC6389189 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-4577-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Understanding variation in genome structure is essential to understand phenotypic differences within populations and the evolutionary history of species. A promising form of this structural variation is copy number variation (CNV). CNVs can be generated by different recombination mechanisms, such as non-allelic homologous recombination, that rely on specific characteristics of the genome architecture. These structural variants can therefore be more abundant at particular genes ultimately leading to variation in phenotypes under selection. Detailed characterization of CNVs therefore can reveal evolutionary footprints of selection and provide insight in their contribution to phenotypic variation in wild populations. Results Here we use genotypic data from a long-term population of great tits (Parus major), a widely studied passerine bird in ecology and evolution, to detect CNVs and identify genomic features prevailing within these regions. We used allele intensities and frequencies from high-density SNP array data from 2,175 birds. We detected 41,029 CNVs concatenated into 8,008 distinct CNV regions (CNVRs). We successfully validated 93.75% of the CNVs tested by qPCR, which were sampled at different frequencies and sizes. A mother-daughter family structure allowed for the evaluation of the inheritance of a number of these CNVs. Thereby, only CNVs with 40 probes or more display segregation in accordance with Mendelian inheritance, suggesting a high rate of false negative calls for smaller CNVs. As CNVRs are a coarse-grained map of CNV loci, we also inferred the frequency of coincident CNV start and end breakpoints. We observed frequency-dependent enrichment of these breakpoints at homologous regions, CpG sites and AT-rich intervals. A gene ontology enrichment analyses showed that CNVs are enriched in genes underpinning neural, cardiac and ion transport pathways. Conclusion Great tit CNVs are present in almost half of the genes and prominent at repetitive-homologous and regulatory regions. Although overlapping genes under selection, the high number of false negatives make neutrality or association tests on CNVs detected here difficult. Therefore, CNVs should be further addressed in the light of their false negative rate and architecture to improve the comprehension of their association with phenotypes and evolutionary history. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4577-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinicius H da Silva
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands. .,Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands.
| | - Veronika N Laine
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands.,Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Ulls väg 26, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Mirte Bosse
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands
| | - Bert Dibbits
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands
| | - Richard P M A Crooijmans
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands
| | - Martien A M Groenen
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708PB, The Netherlands
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Sánchez-Virosta P, Espín S, Ruiz S, Salminen JP, García-Fernández AJ, Eeva T. Experimental manipulation of dietary arsenic levels in great tit nestlings: Accumulation pattern and effects on growth, survival and plasma biochemistry. Environ Pollut 2018; 233:764-773. [PMID: 29127934 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.10.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Revised: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Arsenic (As) is a ubiquitous metalloid classified as one of the most hazardous substances, but information about its exposure and effects in free-living passerines is lacking. The aim of this study is to elucidate the effect of an As manipulation experiment on survival, growth and physiology of great tits (Parus major). Wild P. major nestlings inhabiting an unpolluted area were dosed with water, 0.2 or 1 μg g-1 d-1 of sodium arsenite (Control, Low and High As groups), whereas those living in a metal-polluted area were dosed with water (Smelter group). Birds accumulated As in tissues (liver, bone and feathers) in a dose-dependent way. Nestlings exposed to 1 μg g-1 d-1 of sodium arsenite showed reduced number of fledglings per successful nest, and those exposed to 0.2 μg g-1 d-1 had reduced wing growth, which could have post-fledging consequences such as increased predation risk. These results suggest that the LOAEL for effects on nestling survival and development in great tits is likely equal to or below 1 μg g-1 d-1. However, limited effects on the biochemical parameters evaluated were found. It has been shown that As may produce oxidative stress and tissue damage, so further research exploring this issue will be carried out in a future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Sánchez-Virosta
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland; Area of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - Silvia Espín
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland; Area of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - Sandra Ruiz
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland.
| | - Juha-Pekka Salminen
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland.
| | - Antonio J García-Fernández
- Area of Toxicology, Department of Socio-Sanitary Sciences, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - Tapio Eeva
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland.
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Glądalski M, Kaliński A, Wawrzyniak J, Bańbura M, Markowski M, Skwarska J, Bańbura J. Physiological condition of nestling great tits Parus major in response to experimental reduction in nest micro- and macro-parasites. Conserv Physiol 2018; 6:coy062. [PMID: 30483402 PMCID: PMC6249426 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coy062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Revised: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Most passerines use nests as the exclusive place to lay and incubate eggs and bring nestlings up to fledging. Nests of secondary cavity nesters, like tits, provide a moist, warm and protected habitat for reproduction of blood parasites. Offspring fitness depends on interactions between parental care and environmental constraints. Life-history theory suggests that macro- and micro-parasites may generate selection pressures by affecting host health. In the present study, we replaced natural great tit Parus major nests in two, structurally and floristically contrasting sites (an urban parkland and a rich deciduous forest, located 10 km apart in Łódź, central Poland), with fresh, sterilized, artificial moss-cotton wool nests, twice, on the fifth and tenth day of nestlings life. We then examined haematological condition indicators (haemoglobin and glucose concentrations) of about 14-day-old nestlings. Nestlings that were developing in treated nests improved their health status in comparison with control nestlings. The mean haemoglobin and glucose concentrations (treated and control) also varied between both study areas. Our study confirms that the level of haemoglobin and especially the level of glucose may be treated as reliable indicator of environmental characteristics in great tits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Glądalski
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
- Corresponding author: Michał Glądalski. Tel: +48 42 635 44 90.
| | - Adam Kaliński
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
| | - Jarosław Wawrzyniak
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
| | - Mirosława Bańbura
- Museum of Natural History, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Kilińskiego 101, 90-011 Łódź, Poland
| | - Marcin Markowski
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
| | - Joanna Skwarska
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
| | - Jerzy Bańbura
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland
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50
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Lambrechts MM, Charmantier A, Demeyrier V, Lucas A, Perret S, Abouladzé M, Bonnet M, Canonne C, Faucon V, Grosset S, le Prado G, Lidon F, Noell T, Pagano P, Perret V, Pouplard S, Spitaliéry R, Bernard C, Perret P, Blondel J, Grégoire A. Nest design in a changing world: great tit Parus major nests from a Mediterranean city environment as a case study. Urban Ecosyst 2017; 20:1181-90. [PMID: 29230087 DOI: 10.1007/s11252-017-0670-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Investigations of urbanization effects on birds have focused mainly on breeding traits expressed after the nest-building stage (e.g. first-egg date, clutch size, breeding success, and offspring characteristics). Urban studies largely ignored how and why the aspects of nest building might be associated with the degree of urbanization. As urban environments are expected to present novel environmental changes relative to rural environments, it is important to evaluate how nest-building behavior is impacted by vegetation modifications associated with urbanization. To examine nest design in a Mediterranean city environment, we allowed urban great tits (Parus major) to breed in nest boxes in areas that differed in local vegetation cover. We found that different measures of nest size or mass were not associated with vegetation cover. In particular, nests located adjacent to streets with lower vegetation cover were not smaller or lighter than nests in parks with higher vegetation cover. Nests adjacent to streets contained more pine needles than nests in parks. In addition, in nests adjacent to streets, nests from boxes attached to pine trees contained more pine needles than nests from boxes attached to other trees. We suggest that urban-related alterations in vegetation cover do not directly impose physical limits on nest size in species that are opportunistic in the selection of nesting material. However, nest composition as reflected in the use of pine needles was clearly affected by habitat type and the planted tree species present, which implies that rapid habitat change impacts nest composition. We do not exclude that urbanization might impact other aspects of nest building behaviour not covered in our study (e.g. costs of searching for nest material), and that the strengths of the associations between urbanization and nest structures might differ among study populations or species.
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