scholarly journals Learning the ecological niche

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1606) ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Slagsvold ◽  
Karen L Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Feeding Niche ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Cross Fostering ◽  
Blue Tits

A cornerstone of ecological theory is the ecological niche. Yet little is known about how individuals come to adopt it: whether it is innate or learned. Here, we report a cross-fostering experiment in the wild where we transferred eggs of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus , to nests of great tits, Parus major , and vice versa, to quantify the consequences of being reared in a different social context, but in an environment otherwise natural to the birds. We show that early learning causes a shift in the feeding niche in the direction of the foster species and that this shift lasts for life (foraging conservatism). Both species changed their feeding niches, but the change was greater in the great tit with its less specialized feeding behaviour. The study shows that cultural transmission through early learning is fundamental to the realization of ecological niches, and suggests a mechanism to explain learned habitat preference and sympatric speciation in animals.

scholarly journals Social learning in birds and its role in shaping a foraging niche

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1567) ◽  
pp. 969-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Slagsvold ◽  
Karen L. Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Foraging Niche ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Blue Tits

We briefly review the literature on social learning in birds, concluding that strong evidence exists mainly for predator recognition, song, mate choice and foraging. The mechanism of local enhancement may be more important than imitation for birds learning to forage, but the former mechanism may be sufficient for faithful transmission depending on the ecological circumstances. To date, most insights have been gained from birds in captivity. We present a study of social learning of foraging in two passerine birds in the wild, where we cross-fostered eggs between nests of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus and great tits, Parus major . Early learning causes a shift in the foraging sites used by the tits in the direction of the foster species. The shift in foraging niches was consistent across seasons, as showed by an analysis of prey items, and the effect lasted for life. The fact that young birds learn from their foster parents, and use this experience later when subsequently feeding their own offspring, suggests that foraging behaviour can be culturally transmitted over generations in the wild. It may therefore have both ecological and evolutionary consequences, some of which are discussed.

scholarly journals Social transmission in the wild can reduce predation pressure on novel prey signals

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liisa Hämäläinen ◽  
William Hoppitt ◽  
Hannah M. Rowland ◽  
Johanna Mappes ◽  
Anthony J. Fulford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Predation Pressure ◽  
Social Transmission ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Transmission Of Information ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Animal Communities

AbstractSocial transmission of information is taxonomically widespread and could have profound effects on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of animal communities. Demonstrating this in the wild, however, has been challenging. Here we show by field experiment that social transmission among predators can shape how selection acts on prey defences. Using artificial prey and a novel approach in statistical analyses of social networks, we find that blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tit (Parus major) predators learn about prey defences by watching others. This shifts population preferences rapidly to match changes in prey profitability, and reduces predation pressure from naïve predators. Our results may help resolve how costly prey defences are maintained despite influxes of naïve juvenile predators, and suggest that accounting for social transmission is essential if we are to understand coevolutionary processes.

Does the Threat of European Pine Marten (Martes Martes) Predation Influence the Height of Nests Built by Blue Tits(Cyanistes Caeruleus)and Great Tits (Parus Major)?

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kaliński ◽  
Jarosław Wawrzyniak ◽  
Mirosława Bańbura ◽  
Joanna Skwarska ◽  
Piotr Zieliński ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Martes Martes ◽  
Pine Marten ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
European Pine Marten

Supplementary Information – Chapter 2

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Marta Szulkin ◽  
Colin J. Garroway ◽  
Michela Corsini ◽  
Andrzej Z. Kotarba ◽  
Davide Dominoni
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing ◽  
Urban Sites ◽  
Blue Tits

Environmental variation was quantified at nestboxes monitored as part of a prospectively long-term project on the ecology and evolution of great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus in Warsaw, Poland. Nine axes of environmental variation were investigated across 9 different urban sites, for a total of 565 specific locations (here: nestboxes). Data was collected on the ground, with the use of GIS and remote sensing using the following methodology:...

Relationship between Blood Haemoglobin and Glucose Concentrations in Adult Great Tits (Parus Major) and Blue Tits (Cyanistes Caeruleus)

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kaliñski ◽  
Mirostawa Bańbura ◽  
Michat Glądalski ◽  
Marcin Markowski ◽  
Joanna Skwarska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Blood Chemistry ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Common Value ◽  
Blood Haemoglobin ◽  
The Common ◽  
Blue Tits

Haematological and blood chemistry variables are widely used in ecophysiological research as physiological indices of body condition in various vertebrate taxa. In this study, we analysed relationships between blood glucose and blood haemoglobin concentrations of adult birds in wild populations of Blue Tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tits ( Parus major) during the breeding season in central Poland. We found that blood glucose and blood haemoglobin concentrations are negatively correlated. We also show that individual Blue Tits have higher mean haemoglobin levels adjusted for the common value of glucose concentration than individual Great Tits and that females of both species have higher mean haemoglobin concentrations than males. Our results suggest that haematological as well as biochemical variables may be used in tune as complementary indices of body condition in wild bird populations.

scholarly journals Determining Spatial Parameters of the Ecological Niche of Parus Major (Passeriformes, Paridae) on the Base of Remote Sensing Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-258
Author(s):  
А. A. Zimaroeva ◽  
O. V. Zhukov ◽  
O. L. Ponomarenko
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Water Index ◽  
Preference Map

Abstract Using factor analysis of ecological niches, we found that Parus major has high marginality to such ecogeographical variables (EGVs), as normalized difference vegetation index, the altitude above sea level, the diffuse insolation, activity of chlorophyll, normalized difference water index. This species is highly specialized in relation to various vegetation indices. Based on the type of habitat preference map, we found that Parus major doesn’t implement all its potential pro-spatial niche. Considering the ecological niche of great tit on different levels of scale, we noticed certain features: first, a list of factors that influence the distribution of great tit significantly altered by changing the scale, secondly, the factors that play a significant role in spreading Parus major on level of total consideration losing their weight and relevance on closer inspection (when the scale down); third, although specialization of great tits changes with the scale of consideration but Parus major mostly specialized by vegetation index.

scholarly journals Testing for effects of climate change on competitive relationships and coexistence between two bird species

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1807) ◽  
pp. 20141958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Chr. Stenseth ◽  
Joël M. Durant ◽  
Mike S. Fowler ◽  
Erik Matthysen ◽  
Frank Adriaensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Relative Equilibrium ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Statistical Modelling ◽  
Climate Variation ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Threshold Time ◽  
Blue Tits

Climate change is expected to have profound ecological effects, yet shifts in competitive abilities among species are rarely studied in this context. Blue tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) and great tits ( Parus major ) compete for food and roosting sites, yet coexist across much of their range. Climate change might thus change the competitive relationships and coexistence between these two species. Analysing four of the highest-quality, long-term datasets available on these species across Europe, we extend the textbook example of coexistence between competing species to include the dynamic effects of long-term climate variation. Using threshold time-series statistical modelling, we demonstrate that long-term climate variation affects species demography through different influences on density-dependent and density-independent processes. The competitive interaction between blue tits and great tits has shifted in one of the studied sites, creating conditions that alter the relative equilibrium densities between the two species, potentially disrupting long-term coexistence. Our analyses show that long-term climate change can, but does not always, generate local differences in the equilibrium conditions of spatially structured species assemblages. We demonstrate how long-term data can be used to better understand whether (and how), for instance, climate change might change the relationships between coexisting species. However, the studied populations are rather robust against competitive exclusion.

scholarly journals Does mist-netting provide reliable data to determine the sex and age ratios of migrating birds? A case study involving the Great Tit (Parus major) and the Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarosław K. Nowakowski ◽  
Jacek Chruściel ◽  
Krzysztof Muś
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Reliable Data ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Baltic Coast ◽  
Migrating Birds ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
Age And Sex

AbstractNowakowski J.K., Chruściel J., Muś K.: Does mist-netting provide reliable data to determine the sex and age ratios of migrating birds? A case study involving the Great Tit (Parus major) and the Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). Ekologia (Bratislava), Vol. 32, No. 2, p. 173-185 , 2013.Ringing results of tits caught at two stations on the Polish Baltic coast were used to check if mistnetting could be successfully used to analyse the composition of sex and age classes of migrating birds. Four hypotheses are discussed, describing the distribution of age and sex classes during migration, and the consequences these distributions might have for the catching results. We analysed records of 59 000 Blue Tits and more than 84 000 Great Tits that were caught and we found a similarity in the results of catches at stations 188 km apart, and a higher similarity among catching sites 0.5-16 km apart. These results proved that mist-netting provides reliable data on the sex and age structure of migrating flocks, and that these data can generally be interpreted as representative for at least the area in a radius of more than 10 km. The results also showed a migratory divide through the central part of the Polish Baltic coastline between irruptive Blue Tits in the west and regular partial migrants in the east. Great Tits showed no tendency for irruptions anywhere in the study area. A high correspondence in the age and sex ratio was found for Great Tits and Blue Tits, in particular where both species are regular migrants. We found that the ratios of females and immatures did not differ by more than 1% over many years of study in these areas.

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