scholarly journals A comparison of the diet of urban and forest great tits in a Mediterranean habitat

2021 ◽  
pp. 321-327
Author(s):  
J. C. Senar ◽  
A. Manzanilla ◽  
D Mazzoni
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Reverse Pattern ◽  
Mediterranean Habitat

The low breeding performance and body condition of nestling passerine birds in urban environments has been attributed to the poor quality and low abundance of food in these settings. However, detailed data on prey provided by parents to their chicks in the urban habitat is scarce. Here we used video cameras set in nest boxes to compare the diet of urban and forest great tits Parus major when provisioning their chicks in a Mediterranean area. We additionally analysed brood size and fledgling success. Breeding success of urban great tits was lower than that of forest birds. Urban parents displayed a lower average hourly feeding rate per nestling than forest parents. Among the three prey item categories, the percentage of spiders did not vary according to habitat. However, the percentage of caterpillars delivered to the nest by great tit parents was higher in the forest than in the urban habitat while the percentage of ‘other’ prey showed a reverse pattern. ‘Other’ prey were mainly adult butterflies and wasps in the urban habitat. Our paper adds to the view that the low feeding rates and scarcity of caterpillars in urban environments may be the underlying cause constraining the growth of great tit nestlings in these areas.

scholarly journals Using nest-boxes in pine stands of the Augustów Forest

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Zawadzki ◽  
Jerzy Zawadzki ◽  
Dorota Zawadzka ◽  
Anna Sołtys
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Success ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Coal Tit ◽  
Constant Rate ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Dendrocopos Major

Abstract In 2011–2014, the occupancy of nest-boxes by secondary hole-nesting birds and their breeding success was investigated in pine stands of the Augustów Forest (North-Eastern Poland). In the studied area of 12600 ha, the share of Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris L. in the stands was 92%. On average, birds occupied 54% and bats 3% of the 224–317 nest boxes controlled yearly. Nest boxes were also used by the Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum L. as food caches. In total, broods of nine secondary hole-nesting species were observed, but only four bird species nested in each year of study. The most numerous species, occupying 53–60% of all boxes each year was the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca Pall. The Great Tit Parus major L. occupied 15–24% and the Coal Tit Periparus ater L. 10–12% of available nest-boxes, while the Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus L. used 2–7% of nest boxes. The yearly breeding success was highest for tits (Great Tit – 52–84%, Coal Tit – 50–72%) and strongly variable for the Pied Flycatchers – 38–78%. Broods were lost due to predation by martens Martes sp. (38%) and great spotted woodpeckers Dendrocopos major L. (6%) as well as nest competition (2%). The nest-boxes were occupied at a constant rate during the following four years after their exposition. Over 67% of the new nest-boxes were occupied annually which means new nest-boxes (up to 4 years) were occupied significantly more often than boxes older than 4 years.

scholarly journals Contrasting changes in reproductive success of birds in cities with reduced and increased human disturbance during the COVID-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor Seress ◽  
Krisztina Sándor ◽  
Ernő Vincze ◽  
Ivett Pipoly ◽  
Boglárka Bukor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Induced Changes

Abstract The ubiquitous activity of humans is a fundamental feature of urban environments affecting local wildlife in several ways. Testing the influence of human disturbance would ideally need experimental approach, however, in cities, this is challenging at relevant spatial and temporal scales. Thus, to better understand the ecological effects of human activity, we exploited the opportunity that the city-wide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided during the spring of 2020. We assessed changes in reproductive success of great tits (Parus major) at two urban habitats affected strikingly differently by the ‘anthropause’ and at an unaffected forest site. Although anecdotic observations suggested that urban wildlife may benefit from reduced human mobility during the lockdown, our results do not support this. First, at one of our urban sites, the strongly (-44%) reduced human disturbance in 2020 (compared to a long-term reference period) did not increase birds’ reproductive output relative to the forest habitat where human disturbance was low in all years. Second, in the other urban habitat, recreational human activity considerably increased (+ 40%) during the lockdown and this was associated with strongly reduced nestling body size compared to the pre-COVID reference year. Analyses on meteorological conditions and the lockdown-induced changes in air pollution suggest that these factors are not likely to explain our results. Our study supports that intensified human disturbance can have adverse fitness consequences in urban populations. It also highlights that a few months of ‘anthropause’ is not enough to counterweight the detrimental impacts of urbanization on local wildlife populations.

scholarly journals Great tit (Parus major) breeding in fire-prone oak woods: differential effects of post-fire conditions on reproductive stages

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Bellia ◽  
Daniela Campobello ◽  
Maurizio Sarà
Keyword(s):  
Brood Size ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Nesting Success ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Occupancy Rate ◽  
Reproductive Parameters ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Successional Stages ◽  
In Fire

Wildfires negatively affect the overall reproductive success of several woodland avian species, but there is scarce information about which stages of the nesting cycle are specifically affected. We conducted a 3-year study to identify the effects of fire on the reproductive parameters of the great tit (Parus major) and the survival of its nests at different stages of the nesting cycle. We recorded the occupancy rate, clutch and brood size, hatching, fledging and nesting success in nest boxes placed on study plots with different post-fire age. By examining the post-fire succession, we analysed the survival of eggs and nestlings under predation risks. As the forest matured after a wildfire, tits occupied more nest boxes and laid more eggs that suffered less predation than in earlier successional stages. Although the incubation fate improved at each step of succession, the conditions to fully raise nestlings seemed to be suitable only in the oldest woods. Our findings indicate that the population dynamics of a reputed generalist avian species may be affected by fire. Furthermore, the effects of wildfires on stage-specific reproductive parameters show that an avian species that inhabits woodlands regains its full productivity only when its habitat has completely recovered from fire.

scholarly journals Does nest site availability limit the density of hole nesting birds in small woodland patches?

Web Ecology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Loman
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Pied Flycatcher ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Nest Boxes

Abstract. By providing nest boxes, previous studies have shown that nest sites are in short supply and limit the populations of several small passerines, including the Great Tit Parus major, the Blue Tit P. caeruleus, and the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. Can this influence their distribution over a range of small woodland patch sizes in a heterogeneous landscape? To investigate this, a study was conducted in a heterogeneous agricultural landscape, with a mixture of wooded patches and cropped fields, in southern Sweden. The descriptive part of the study involved mapping territories of the three species in 135 patches. These species avoided small (<1 ha, Pied Flycatcher) or very small (<0.2 ha, the two tit species) forest patches in this landscape. In an experimental part, a subset of 34 patches, 0.01 to 24 ha in size was used. Territories were mapped in a first year as a control. In a second year, patches were matched by size and vegetation and nest-boxes were provided in one patch of each pair. Territories were again mapped. Providing nestboxes increased the density of breeding Great Tits in patches of all sizes and expanded their use of very small patches. The nest-boxes increased the density of Pied Flycatchers in large patches but not in small patches. So, is the lack of territories in small patches due to shortage of nest sites? The outcome of the experiment suggests nest site limitation as a cause of the observed Great Tit discrimination against very small habitat patches. The lack of Pied Flycatchers in small patches must however have another basis than lack of nest sites. The effect of providing nest-boxes on Blue Tit distribution was inconclusive.

Urban Evolutionary Physiology

2020 ◽  
pp. 217-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Isaksson ◽  
Frances Bonier
Keyword(s):  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Chemical Pollution ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Evolutionary Physiology ◽  
Coping Responses ◽  
Metabolic Systems ◽  
Physiological Systems

Organisms living in urban environments are exposed to many novel, sometimes beneficial, but most often challenging conditions. These conditions include increased exposure to chemical pollution, artificial light at night, noise, altered pathogen and predator communities, increased abundance of often poor quality food, increased temperature, and increased human presence and disturbances. Given the central role of a variety of physiological responses in coping with challenges such as these, the authors of the chapter expect that the range of physiological phenotypes expressed by individuals and species will dramatically influence their ability to persist in urban habitat and cope with urban challenges. They also expect that plasticity in components of these physiological systems will be an important target of selection imposed by the challenges confronting urban populations. The chapter takes a closer look at three fundamental physiological systems in animals that are central components of coping responses to environmental challenges, namely detoxification, and endocrine and metabolic systems.

Negative impact of urban habitat on immunity in the great tit Parus major

Oecologia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 1053-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Bailly ◽  
Renaud Scheifler ◽  
Marie Belvalette ◽  
Stéphane Garnier ◽  
Elena Boissier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Urban Habitat

scholarly journals Egg covering in cavity nesting birds may prevent nest usurpation by other species

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Slagsvold ◽  
Karen L. Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Nest Predation ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Material ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Nest Usurpation ◽  
New Hypothesis

Abstract Some birds cover their eggs with nest material when they leave to forage. It has been suggested that such egg-covering aids thermoregulation or prevents predation but here we present a new hypothesis, that secondary cavity-nesting species cover their eggs to prevent nest usurpation by other birds. When the bottom of the cavity is dark, as when eggs are covered by nest material, it may be difficult for a prospecting competitor to see whether a defending nest owner or a predator is hiding inside the cavity. Competitors may therefore hesitate to enter dark cavities. We filmed 21 great tit (Parus major) nests during the egg-laying period and found that the female spent bouts of highly variable length outside the nest box (range 0.3–250 min, n = 51), so prospecting small passerines would have difficulty predicting whether an aggressive tit owner was in the box or would soon return. We presented prospecting male pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) with a dyad of boxes (n = 93), each containing a great tit nest but only one with visible eggs. Flycatchers hesitated more to enter a nest box with no visible tit eggs than a box with exposed eggs. This was most evident for nest boxes with dark versus light interior paint, supporting the idea that better interior illumination makes prospecting birds more confident about entering an unfamiliar cavity. The usurpation and predation hypotheses are not mutually exclusive because both competitors and small predators may hesitate to enter dark, enclosed spaces if visibility is low. Significance statement Some birds deposit a layer of material on top of the eggs when they leave the nest. Several hypotheses have been proposed for such egg covering, for example that it may insulate the eggs and reduce the risk of nest predation. We propose a new hypothesis, namely that secondary hole-nesting birds cover their eggs when they leave the nest to prevent usurpation of the cavity by other birds. Great tits that we filmed at the nest during the egg-laying period could be absent for long periods. To test the hypothesis, we presented male pied flycatchers, potential nest competitors, with a dyad of nest boxes, each containing a great tit nest but only one with visible tit eggs. In support of the prediction, prospecting flycatchers hesitated to enter dark cavities with dark floors relative to boxes with exposed, reflective eggs.

scholarly journals Contrasting effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on urban birds’ reproductive success in two cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor Seress ◽  
Krisztina Sándor ◽  
Ernő Vincze ◽  
Ivett Pipoly ◽  
Boglárka Bukor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Induced Changes

AbstractThe ubiquitous activity of humans is a fundamental feature of urban environments affecting local wildlife in several ways. Testing the influence of human disturbance would ideally need experimental approach, however, in cities, this is challenging at relevant spatial and temporal scales. Thus, to better understand the ecological effects of human activity, we exploited the opportunity that the city-wide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided during the spring of 2020. We assessed changes in reproductive success of great tits (Parus major) at two urban habitats affected strikingly differently by the ‘anthropause’, and at an unaffected forest site. Our results do not support that urban great tits benefited from reduced human mobility during the lockdown. First, at one of our urban sites, the strongly (− 44%) reduced human disturbance in 2020 (compared to a long-term reference period) did not increase birds’ reproductive output relative to the forest habitat where human disturbance was low in all years. Second, in the other urban habitat, recreational human activity considerably increased (+ 40%) during the lockdown and this was associated with strongly reduced nestling body size compared to the pre-COVID reference year. Analyses of other environmental factors (meteorological conditions, lockdown-induced changes in air pollution) suggest that these are not likely to explain our results. Our study supports that intensified human disturbance can have adverse fitness consequences in urban populations. It also highlights that a few months of ‘anthropause’ is not enough to counterweight the detrimental impacts of urbanization on local wildlife populations.

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