Between-population differences in egg composition in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrice Bourgault ◽  
Donald W. Thomas ◽  
Jacques Blondel ◽  
Philippe Perret ◽  
Marcel M. Lambrechts
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Population Differences ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Shell Mass ◽  
Habitat Differences ◽  
Egg Composition ◽  
Blue Tits

Egg production may be influenced by environmental conditions such as local climate or food availability, which may impose physiological constraints on the acquisition and mobilization of egg constituents. We analyzed egg composition of free-ranging female Blue Tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus (L., 1758)) in both deciduous and evergreen oak habitats, which showed large differences in temperature and food availability. We found marked interhabitat differences in yolk mass, shell mass, protein content, and the abundance of linolenic (18:3) and palmitoleic (16:1) fatty acids. A weak but significant decline in total lipid content, as well as 14:0, 16:0, and 18:0 fatty acids, through the laying sequence was also detected. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of between-population differences in nutrient allocation in eggs for a wild passerine. These differences in egg composition could be viewed as evidence of habitat-specific physiological and nutritional constraints, which in turn may contribute to the contrasting differences in timing of breeding and clutch size that we observed between both habitats. Our results point out the importance of habitat differences in our understanding of the causes and consequences of interhabitat phenotypic variation in breeding traits (timing of egg laying, clutch size) and variation in nestling traits such as growth and development.

Eggshell coloration indicates female condition during egg-laying: a field experiment in blue tits

2019 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Jeanne Holveck ◽  
Romain Guerreiro ◽  
Philippe Perret ◽  
Claire Doutrelant ◽  
Arnaud Grégoire
Keyword(s):  
Paternal Care ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Structural Function ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Ground Colour ◽  
Female Condition ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Blue Tits

AbstractSeveral selection pressures may explain the evolution of avian eggshell coloration patterns. In cavity-nesting species, there are two main non-exclusive hypotheses. The sexually selected eggshell colour hypothesis proposes that eggshell coloration is a sexually selected signal of female and offspring quality used by males that influences paternal care or future re-mating decisions. The structural function hypothesis proposes that pigments help strengthen the eggshell and are present at higher levels and at the blunt end of the egg when females face calcium shortages. We tested whether eggshell coloration (brown spots on a white ground colour) in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) could reliably indicate female condition at laying by forcing females to produce two consecutive clutches, thus increasing their reproductive costs. Three measures of eggshell coloration – the area covered by spots as well as white ground UV-chroma and brightness – changed between clutches; the fourth measure, spot distribution, did not. The changes were more dramatic in young and lower-quality females. All the measures varied with female quality (i.e. body condition and/or laying date). Overall, higher-quality females produced more colourful (larger, more concentrated spotted surface area; higher UV-chroma) and less bright (i.e. putatively more pigmented) eggshells, a result that is generally in line with past research. We found a clear empirical link between eggshell coloration and female condition in blue tits, an important step in determining whether eggshell coloration is a sexual signal, but which does not exclude a potential concomitant structural function.

Influence of fine-scale habitat structure on nest-site occupancy, laying date and clutch size in Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mehdi Amininasab ◽  
Oscar Vedder ◽  
Elske Schut ◽  
Berber de Jong ◽  
Michael J.L. Magrath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Site Occupancy ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tits

scholarly journals Selection on reproductive plasticity in a wild population of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heung Ying Janet Chik ◽  
Catalina Estrada ◽  
Yiqing Wang ◽  
Priyesha Vijendra ◽  
Alex Lord ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Reaction Norm ◽  
Reaction Norms ◽  
Random Regression ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Chick Survival ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tits

In the plant-insect-insectivorous-bird system, changing climates can result in mis-timing in bird reproduction, potentially impacting chick survival. To adapt to earlier prey emergence, birds can make use of phenotypic plasticity, which can be characterized by reaction norms. Despite gaining focus in research, studies on avian reproductive reaction norms as traits are scarce, particularly on laying-date-budburst-date and clutch-size-laying-date reaction norms. Here we examined the possibility of evolution of these two reaction norms from a quantitative genetics viewpoint, and tested whether 1) there is among-individual variance in reaction norms properties (intercept and slope); 2) there is selection on these reaction norm properties; and 3) variances and selection pressures differ between the two reaction norms. Data of oak (genus Quercus) budburst and blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) reproduction were collected from a wild population for 18 years. We used bivariate random regression models with a Bayesian approach to test for among-individual variance in reaction norm properties and their covariance with fitness. Individuals significantly differed in intercepts and slopes of both laying-date-budburst-date and clutch-size-laying-date reaction norms, and directional selection was present for an earlier laying date and a larger clutch size, but not on either plasticity. Results suggested that variation in reaction norm properties can be attributed to genetic and environmental effects, and that stabilizing selection on plasticity could be tested as a next step. This study compliments previous research on the evolution of reaction norms and helps shed light on their genetic structure, the context of their selection, and their mediation in birds.

scholarly journals Natural variation in yolk fatty acids, but not androgens, predicts offspring fitness in a wild bird

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Mentesana ◽  
Martin N. Andersson ◽  
Stefania Casagrande ◽  
Wolfgang Goymann ◽  
Caroline Isaksson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids ◽  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Offspring Fitness

Abstract Background In egg-laying animals, mothers can influence the developmental environment and thus the phenotype of their offspring by secreting various substances into the egg yolk. In birds, recent studies have demonstrated that different yolk substances can interactively affect offspring phenotype, but the implications of such effects for offspring fitness and phenotype in natural populations have remained unclear. We measured natural variation in the content of 31 yolk components known to shape offspring phenotypes including steroid hormones, antioxidants and fatty acids in eggs of free-living great tits (Parus major) during two breeding seasons. We tested for relationships between yolk component groupings and offspring fitness and phenotypes. Results Variation in hatchling and fledgling numbers was primarily explained by yolk fatty acids (including saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids) - but not by androgen hormones and carotenoids, components previously considered to be major determinants of offspring phenotype. Fatty acids were also better predictors of variation in nestling oxidative status and size than androgens and carotenoids. Conclusions Our results suggest that fatty acids are important yolk substances that contribute to shaping offspring fitness and phenotype in free-living populations. Since polyunsaturated fatty acids cannot be produced de novo by the mother, but have to be obtained from the diet, these findings highlight potential mechanisms (e.g., weather, habitat quality, foraging ability) through which environmental variation may shape maternal effects and consequences for offspring. Our study represents an important first step towards unraveling interactive effects of multiple yolk substances on offspring fitness and phenotypes in free-living populations. It provides the basis for future experiments that will establish the pathways by which yolk components, singly and/or interactively, mediate maternal effects in natural populations.

scholarly journals Personality in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and its Effect on Their Breeding Success

Ethology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 122 (8) ◽  
pp. 695-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Colchester ◽  
Nancy M. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tits

scholarly journals Reproductive suppression in female cooperatively breeding cichlids

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 606-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dik Heg
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Alloparental Care ◽  
Large Female ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Small Female ◽  
Reproductive Suppression ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Female Subordinate

Suppression by dominants of female subordinate reproduction has been found in many vertebrate social groups, but has rarely been shown experimentally. Here experimental evidence is provided for reproductive suppression in the group-living Lake Tanganyika cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher . Within groups of three unrelated females, suppression was due to medium- and small-sized females laying less frequently compared with large females, and compared with medium females in control pairs. Clutch size and average egg mass of all females depended on body size, but not on rank. In a second step, a large female was removed from the group and a very small female was added to keep the group size constant. The medium females immediately seized the dominant breeding position in the group and started to reproduce as frequently as control pairs, whereas clutch size and egg mass did not change. These results show that female subordinate cichlids are reproductively capable, but apparently suppressed with respect to egg laying. Nevertheless, some reproduction is tolerated, possibly to ensure continued alloparental care by subordinate females.

scholarly journals Effect of tree logging on reproductive performance in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

2016 ◽  
Vol 158 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-344
Author(s):  
Seyed Mehdi Amininasab ◽  
Charles C. Y. Xu ◽  
Sjouke A. Kingma ◽  
Jan Komdeur
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tits

scholarly journals Integrated behavioural and stable isotope data reveal altered diet linked to low breeding success in urban-dwelling blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Pollock ◽  
Pablo Capilla-Lasheras ◽  
Rona A. R. McGill ◽  
Barbara Helm ◽  
Davide M. Dominoni
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
Stable Isotope Data

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

scholarly journals Habitat, food, and small mammal community structure in Namaqualand

Koedoe ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Van Deventer ◽  
J.A.J. Nel
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Shrub Cover ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Habitat Differences ◽  
Elephant Shrew ◽  
Density And Biomass

The effect of habitat differences and food availability on small mammal (rodent and elephant shrew) species richness, diversity, density and biomass was investigated in Namaqualand, South Africa. Species richness in the three habitats sampled, namely Upland Succulent Karoo, Dry Riverine Shrub and North-western Mountain Renosterveld was low, with only 2–4 species per habitat. Rodents trapped were predominantly Gerbillurus paeba and Aethomys namaquensis, with fewer Mus minutoides and Petromyscus sp. The only non-rodent was the elephant shrew Elephantulus edwardii. Ten habitat features, the percentage of total plant cover, tree cover, shrub cover, grass cover, plant litter, total basal cover, sand, gravel or rock cover, and the dominant plant height were recorded at 30 randomly chosen points on five sampling grids in each habitat. Small mammal density and biomass was significantly correlated with food availability (green foliage cover, seeds, and relative density and biomass of insects). Species richness and diversity of small mammals were significantly correlated with shrub cover. Numbers and biomass of specific species correlated significantly with different habitat features in each case.

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