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327 results for “Wild birds”
Data from: Fine-scale genetic structure in a wild bird population: the role of limited dispersal and environmentally-based selection as causal factors
Individuals are typically not randomly distributed in space; consequently ecological and evolutionary theory depends heavily on understanding the spatial structure of populations. The central challenge of landscape genetics is therefore to link spatial heterogeneity of environments to population genetic structure. Here, we employ multivariate spatial analyses to identify environmentally induced genetic structures in a single breeding population of 1174 great tits Parus major genotyped at 4701 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci. Despite the small spatial scale of the study relative to natal dispersal we found multiple axes of genetic structure. We built distance-based Moran's eigenvector maps to identify axes of pure spatial variation, which we used for spatial correction of regressions between SNPs and various external traits known to be related to fitness components (avian malaria infection risk, local density of conspecifics, oak tree density and altitude). We found clear evidence of fine-scale genetic structure, with 21, 7 and 9 significant SNPs respectively associated with infection risk by two species of avian malaria (Plasmodium circumflexum and P. relictum) and local conspecific density. Such fine-scale genetic structure relative to dispersal capabilities suggests ecological and evolutionary mechanisms maintain within-population genetic diversity in this population with the potential to drive micro-evolutionary change.
Data from: Climate change upends selection on ornamentation in a wild bird
Secondary sexual traits have high heritabilities and are exposed to strong, environmentally sensitive selection, and so are expected to evolve rapidly in response to sustained environmental change. We examine the eco-evolutionary dynamics of ornament expression in a long-term study population of collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, in which forehead patch size, which positively influences male reproductive success, declined markedly over 34 years. Annual fitness selection on forehead patch size switched from positive to negative during the study, a reversal that is accounted for by rising spring temperatures at the breeding site: highly ornamented males were selectively favoured following cold breeding seasons but selected against following warm breeding seasons. An 'individual animal model' describes a decline in the genetic values of breeding males during the study, which simulations showed was unlikely to result from drift alone. These results are thus consistent with adaptive evolution of a sexually selected trait in response to climate change.
Data from: Ageing and reproduction: antioxidant supplementation alleviates telomere loss in wild birds
Reproduction is inherently costly. Environmental stressors, such as infection and limited food resources, can compromise investment at each breeding attempt. For example, recent data on captive birds showed that increased reproductive effort accelerates ageing. However, the effects of nutritional status and infection on ageing remain unknown. Telomeres function as protective caps at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, and changes in telomere length is a commonly used proxy for ageing. To partially address the mechanisms of ageing following reproduction, we supplemented, medicated or administered a combined treatment to wild blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) breeding in central Spain during 2012. The nutritional supplement consisted of two different antioxidants, while the medication was an antimalarial treatment against blood parasites. We evaluated the effect of these manipulations on reproductive success and parasite loads in the first breeding season, and on changes in telomere length between two consecutive breeding seasons. Supplemented birds showed no reduction in blood parasite infections in 2012, although they exhibited higher body mass and fledging success. The antimalarial drugs reduced infections by several parasite species, but this had no effect on fitness parameters. In the following season, telomeres from supplemented birds had shortened less. Altogether, we found that supplementation with antioxidants provided fitness benefits in the short term and reduced telomere loss a year following treatment. Our results provide indirect empirical support for accelerated telomere loss as a cost of reproduction.
Data from: High heritability of telomere length and low heritability of telomere shortening in wild birds
<p>Telomere length and telomere shortening predict survival in many organisms. This raises the question of the contribution of genetic and environmental effects to variation in these traits, which is still poorly known, particularly for telomere shortening. We used experimental (cross-fostering) and statistical (quantitative genetic 'animal' models) means to disentangle and estimate genetic and environmental contributions to telomere length variation in pedigreed free-living jackdaws (<i>Corvus monedula</i>). Telomere length was measured twice in nestlings, at ages 4 (n=715) and 29 days (n=474), using TRF-analysis, adapted to exclude interstitial telomeric sequences. Telomere length shortened significantly over the nestling period (10.4±0.3 bp/day) and was highly phenotypically (<i>r<sub>P</sub></i>=0.95±0.01) and genetically (<i>r<sub>G</sub></i>>0.99±0.01) correlated within individuals. Additive genetic effects explained a major part of telomere length variation among individuals, with its heritability estimated at <i>h<sup>2</sup></i>=0.74 on average. We note that TRF-based studies reported higher heritabilities than qPCR-based studies, and we discuss possible explanations. Parent-offspring regressions yielded similar heritability estimates for mothers and fathers when accounting for changes in paternal telomere length over life. Year effects explained a small but significant part of telomere length variation. Heritable variation for telomere shortening was low (<i>h<sup>2</sup></i>=0.09±0.11). The difference in heritability between telomere length (high) and telomere shortening (low) agrees with evolutionary theory, in that telomere shortening has stronger fitness consequences in this population. Despite the high heritability of telomere length, its evolvability, which scales the additive genetic variance by mean telomere length, was on average 0.48%. Hence evolutionary change of telomere length due to selection is likely to be slow.</p>
Behavioural syndrome between boldness and aggressiveness and link with reproductive success in a wild bird population
<p>Boldness, defined as the behavioural response of individuals when facing a risky situation, is a major personality trait and often phenotypically correlates with other behavioural traits, in particular aggressiveness, exploration behaviour and neophobia. Yet, whether such links result from among-individual correlations, i.e. form behavioural syndromes sensu stricto, is often ignored and whether such syndromes may yield individual fitness benefits, and thus be selected for, remains poorly explored. We measured boldness as the nest defence behaviour against a dummy nest predator in a natural population of a small passerine bird, the collared flycatcher, <em>Ficedula albicollis</em>, and investigated the existence of a behavioural syndrome between boldness and two other behavioural traits, aggressiveness (measured as the agonistic response to competitors) and neophobia (measured as the behavioural response to a novel object in a known environment). Then we assessed the links between this potential syndrome and reproductive success, measured as fledging and recruitment success. Boldness score differed between the sexes and depended on whether the partner was present during the test. Nevertheless, it was repeatable, showing that boldness can be considered as a personality trait in our population. We found a positive among-individual correlation between boldness and aggressiveness, showing the existence of a behavioural syndrome between both personality traits. This syndrome was related to reproductive success: the number of fledged young (but not recruitment probability) increased with one integrative value of the boldness–aggressiveness syndrome. Conversely, boldness score was not correlated with neophobia. Our results thus clearly reveal a behavioural syndrome between boldness and aggressiveness with possible consequences for reproductive success in the study population, and therefore raise the question of the evolutionary implications of such a behavioural syndrome.</p>
Data for: Immune genotypes, immune responses, and survival in a wild bird population
<p>Individuals vary in their immune genotype, inbreeding coefficient <em>f</em>, immune responses, survival to adulthood, and adult longevity. However, whether immune genes predict survival or longevity, whether such relationships are mediated through immune responses, and how f affects immune genotype remain unclear. We use a wild song sparrow (<em>Melospiza</em> <em>melodia</em>) population in which survival to adulthood, adult longevity, and <em>f</em> were measured precisely, and in which immune responses have previously been assessed. We investigate four toll-like receptors (TLR) and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class IIB exon 2 genes. We test: a) whether immune genes predict fitness (survival to adulthood or adult longevity); b) whether immune genes predict immune response; c) whether immune response predicts fitness; and d) whether fitness, immune responses, or immune genotypes are correlated with <em>f</em>. We find that survival to adulthood is not associated with immune gene variation, but adult longevity is decreased by high MHC allele diversity (especially in birds that were relatively outbred), and by the presence of a specific MHC supertype. Immune responses were affected by specific immune genotypes. Survival to adulthood and adult longevity were not predicted by immune response, implying caution in the use of immune response as a predictor for fitness. We also found no relationship between <em>f</em> and immune genotype. This finding indicates that immune gene associations with longevity and immune response are not artefacts of <em>f</em>, and suggests that pathogen-mediated selection at functional loci can slow the loss of genetic variation arising from genetic drift and small population size.</p>
Data from: Genome-wide association and genome partitioning reveal novel genomic regions underlying variation in gastrointestinal nematode burden in a wild bird
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Data from: Climate change upends selection on ornamentation in a wild bird
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Data for: Immune genotypes, immune responses, and survival in a wild bird population
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Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale
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Data from: Eye region surface temperature reflects both energy reserves and circulating glucocorticoids in a wild bird
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Data from: Inferring epidemiologic dynamics from viral evolution: 2014–2015 Eurasian/North American highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses exceed transmission threshold, R0 = 1, in wild birds and poultry in North America
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Data from: Campylobacter jejuni infection associated with relatively poor condition and low survival in a wild bird
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The ‘algebra of evolution’: the Robertson-Price identity and viability selection for body mass in a wild bird population
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Data from: Measuring embryonic heart rate of wild birds: an opportunity to take the pulse on early development
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Data from: Does habitat specialization shape the evolutionary potential of wild bird populations?
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Data from: Individual variation in winter supplementary food consumption and its consequences for reproduction in wild birds.
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Data from: Fine-scale genetic structure in a wild bird population: the role of limited dispersal and environmentally-based selection as causal factors
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Data from: The correlation between colouration and exploration behaviour varies across hierarchical levels in a wild passerine bird
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Data from: Female mating preferences and offspring survival: testing hypotheses on the genetic basis of mate choice in a wild lekking bird
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.