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opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Data from: A test of the competitive ability – cold tolerance trade-off hypothesis in seasonally breeding beetles

Closely related species that use similar resources often differ in their seasonal patterns of activity, but the factors that limit their distributions across seasons are unknown for most species. One hypothesis to explain seasonal variation in the distributions of species involves a trade-off between competitive ability and cold tolerance, where tolerance to the cold compromises competitive ability in warmer (benign) temperatures, either at the level of the individual or population. We tested both individual-level and population-level mechanisms of this hypothesis in two co-occurring species of temperate burying beetles (Silphidae: Nicrophorus sayi, N. orbicollis) that differ in their seasonal patterns of activity. We measured cold tolerance, breeding activity as a function of temperature, and competitive ability as a function of temperature and season. Consistent with our hypothesis, the mid-season N. orbicollis was less able to function at the cold temperatures that characterize early spring, when the early-season N. sayi is most active. The larger beetle, however, always won one-on-one competitive trials at warm temperatures, regardless of species, inconsistent with an individual-level trade-off. N. orbicollis was usually larger and successful when competing for the same carrion later in the season, mostly because of its larger population size, consistent with a trade-off between competitive ability and cold tolerance acting at the population level. Our findings suggest that cold temperatures limit the mid-season N. orbicollis from earlier spring emergence, while competitive pressure from the more abundant, larger N. orbicollis constrains the early-season N. sayi from remaining active through the summer.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Data for: Innate immune function and antioxidant capacity of nestlings of an African raptor co-vary with the level of urbanization around breeding territories

Urban areas provide breeding habitats for many species. However, animals raised in urban environments face challenges such as altered food availability and quality, pollution, and pathogens assemblages. These challenges can affect physiological processes like immune function and antioxidant defences which are important for fitness. Here, we explore how levels of urbanisation influence innate immune function, immune response to a mimicked bacterial infection and antioxidant capacity of nestling Black Sparrowhawks Accipiter melanoleucus in South Africa. We also explore the effect of timing of breeding and rainfall on physiology since both can influence the environmental condition under which nestlings are raised. Finally, because urbanisation can influence immune function indirectly, we use path analyses to explore direct and indirect associations between urbanisation, immune function, and oxidative stress. We obtained measures of innate immunity (haptoglobin, lysis, agglutination and bactericidal capacity), indices of antioxidant capacity (total non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (tAOX), and total glutathione from nestlings from 2015 - 2019. In addition, in 2018 and 2019, we mimicked a bacterial infection by injecting nestlings with lipopolysaccharide and quantified their immune response. Increased urban cover was associated with an increase in lysis and a decrease in tAOX, but not with any of the other physiological parameters. Furthermore, except for agglutination, no physiological parameters were associated with the timing of breeding. Lysis and bactericidal capacity, however, varied consistently with the annual rainfall pattern. Immune response to a mimicked a bacterial infection decreased with urban cover but not with the timing of breeding nor rainfall. Our path analyses suggested indirect associations between urban cover and some immune indices via tAOX but not via the timing of breeding. Our results show that early-life development in an urban environment is associated with variation in immune and antioxidant functions. The direct association between urbanisation and antioxidant capacity and their impact on immune function is likely an important factor mediating the impact of urbanisation on urban-dwelling animals. Future studies should explore how these results are linked to fitness and whether the responses are adaptive for urban-dwelling species.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Male diversity matters: Genetic structuring of insular male date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) revealed valuable breeding and conservation resources

Most male date palms available for pollinating different female cultivars have mainly originated from seed propagation resulting in many different local males that represent a source of genetic diversity. Favorable fruit production is related to quality of pollen and its compatibility with a certain female variety. Therefore, the genetic characterization of the male pollen as a superior one for each female cultivar should be the first step to establish an intensive program to produce superior males through different procedures. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of 72 male date palm accessions were investigated using 15 microsatellite loci. A total number of 125 alleles was detected with an average of 8.33 alleles per locus. Bayesian model-based clustering analysis indicated the presence of two differentiated endemic male date palm genetic clusters, continental and insular, with the presence of introduced accessions originating from the Middle East. The diversity analysis in the insular region of Tunisia, which had never been performed before, revealed that this germplasm enclosed valuable endemic resources supporting the hypothesis of the presence of wild material. These findings are crucial for identifying interesting genotypes that can be integrated into international coordinated actions of Phoenix dactylifera L. breeding programs as well as for the protection and conservation of valuable resources.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Dataset for: Breeding populations of Marbled Godwits and Willets have high annual survival and strong site fidelity to managed wetlands

The Prairie Pothole Region of central Canada supports a diverse community of breeding waterbirds but many species have declining populations and the demographic mechanisms driving the declines remain unknown. We conducted a 7-year field study during 1995–2001 to investigate the demographic performance of Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa) and Willets (Tringa semipalmata) breeding in managed wetlands near Brooks, Alberta. Mark-recapture analyses based on Cormack-Jolly-Seber models revealed that the annual rates of apparent survival for Marbled Godwits (phi-hat = 0.934 ± 0.015SE) and Willets (phi-hat = 0.849 ± 0.018SE) are among the highest rates of survivorship reported for any breeding or nonbreeding population of large-bodied shorebirds. Our estimates of life expectancy for males were comparable to longevity records in godwits (E-hat = 17.3 years ± 5.8SE vs. 25-29+ years) and Willets (E- hat = 7.7 ± 1.5SE vs. 10+ years). The two species both showed strong breeding site fidelity but differed in rates of mate fidelity. Pairs that reunited and males that switched mates usually nested <300 m from their previous nests whereas females that switched mates usually moved longer distances >1.1 to 1.5 km. Returning pairs usually reunited in godwits (85%) but not in Willets (28%), possibly because of species differences in adult survival or patterns of migration. Baseline estimates of annual survival for banded-only birds will be useful for evaluating the potential effects of new tracking tags or the environmental changes that have occurred during the past 20 years. Conservation strategies for large-bodied shorebirds should be focused on reduction of exposure to anthropogenic mortality because low rates of natural mortality suggest that losses to collisions at breeding sites or harvest at nonbreeding areas are likely to cause additive mortality.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Data from: A mix of old British and modern European breeds: Genomic prediction of breed composition of smallholder pigs in Uganda

Pig herds in Africa comprise genotypes ranging from local ecotypes to commercial breeds. Many animals are composites of these two types and the best levels of crossbreeding for particular production systems are largely unknown. These pigs are managed without structured breeding programs and inbreeding is potentially limiting. The objective of this study was to quantify ancestry contributions and inbreeding levels in a population of smallholder pigs in Uganda. The study was set in the districts of Hoima and Kamuli in Uganda and involved 422 pigs. Pig hair samples were taken from adult and growing pigs in the framework of a longitudinal study investigating productivity and profitability of smallholder pig production. The samples were genotyped using the porcine GeneSeek Genomic Profiler (GGP) 50K SNP Chip. The SNP data was analyzed to infer breed ancestry and autozygosity of the Uganda pigs. The results showed that exotic breeds (modern European and old British) contributed an average of 22.8% with a range of 2–50% while "local" blood contributed 69.2% (36.9–95.2%) to the ancestry of the pigs. Runs of homozygosity (ROH) greater than 2 megabase (Mb) quantified the average genomic inbreeding coefficient of the pigs as 0.043. The scarcity of long ROH indicated low recent inbreeding. We conclude that the genomic background of the pig population in the study is a mix of old British and modern pig ancestries. Best levels of admixture for smallholder pigs are yet to be determined, by linking genotypes and phenotypic records.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Low-temperature nights delay the timing of breeding in a wild songbird

Global climate change has posed widespread challenges to the ecological process critical to the fitness of many wild organisms, such as reproductive phenology. Many bird species have advanced their reproductive phenology in response to the increases in spring temperatures. However, the mechanism of how climate influences the timing of breeding is still often unclear in many species. We explored the relationship between the timing of breeding and spring temperatures based on 14 years of data on Hair-Crested Drongos (Dicrurus hottentottus) in the wild. By applying a 'sliding window' approach, we aimed to identify the time window and weather variable that best explains the timing of breeding at both population and individual levels. We found that the more nights with a minimum temperature below 17℃, around three weeks earlier than the peak reproduction, delayed the breeding time. Low night temperatures may force females to allocate more energy to thermoregulation and therefore physiologically constrain egg-laying. Although annual minimum and maximum temperatures have increased over the study period, the timing of breeding showed no trend as there was no change in the number of low-temperature nights in the relevant period across years. The repeatability of the laying date for individual females (R = 0.211) and across the years (R = 0.270) were low indicating that Drongos were flexible in adjusting their breeding phenology to environmental variation. These results suggest an effect of low night temperature on avian breeding phenology. This effect may apply commonly across bird species considering shared physiological constraints.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Characterization of grain carotenoids in global sorghum germplasm to guide genomics-assisted breeding strategies

Background Crop biofortification is a successful strategy to ameliorate Vitamin A deficiency. Sorghum is a good candidate for vitamin A biofortification, as it is a staple food in regions with high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. β-carotene—the main provitamin A carotenoid—is below the target concentration in sorghum grain, therefore, biofortification breeding is required. Previous studies found evidence that sorghum carotenoid variation is oligogenic, suggesting that marker-assisted selection can be an appropriate biofortification method. However, we hypothesize that sorghum carotenoids have both oligogenic and polygenic components of variation. Genomics-assisted breeding could accelerate breeding efforts, but there exists knowledge gaps in the genetics underlying carotenoid variation, as well as appropriate germplasm to serve as donors. Results In this study, we characterized carotenoids in 447 accessions from the sorghum association panel and carotenoid panel using high-performance liquid chromatography, finding high carotenoid accessions not previously identified. Genome-wide association studies confirmed that zeaxanthin epoxidase is a major gene underlying variation for not only zeaxanthin but also lutein and β-carotene. High carotenoid lines were found to have limited genetic diversity and originated predominantly from only one country. Potential novel genetic diversity for carotenoid content was identified through genomic predictions in 2,495 accessions of unexplored germplasm. Oligogenic variation of carotenoids was confirmed, as well as evidence for polygenic variation, suggesting both marker-assisted selection and genomic selection can facilitate breeding efforts. Conclusions Sorghum vitamin A biofortification could be beneficial for millions of people who rely on it as a dietary staple. Carotenoid content in sorghum is low, but high heritability suggests that increasing concentrations through breeding is possible. Low genetic diversity among high carotenoid lines might be the main limitation for breeding efforts, therefore further germplasm characterization is needed to assess the feasibility of biofortification breeding. Based on germplasm here evaluated, most countries' germplasm lacks high carotenoid alleles, thus prebreeding will be needed. An SNP marker within the zeaxanthin epoxidase gene was identified as a good candidate for use in marker-assisted selection. Due to the oligogenic and polygenic variation of sorghum grain carotenoids, both marker-assisted selection and genomic selection can be employed to accelerate breeding efforts.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Datasets for: Colony-nesting gulls restrict activity levels of native top carnivore during the breeding season

Although nesting in colonies can offer substantial reproductive benefits for many seabird species, increased visibility to predators remains a significant disadvantage for most colony-breeders. To counteract this, some seabird species have evolved aggressive nest defense strategies to protect vulnerable eggs and chicks. Here we used an experimental approach to test whether colony inhabitance by breeding gulls (Larus spp.) in western Norway impacts visitation rates of a native, mammalian predator, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) during the breeding season. Camera traps were placed inside of and on the periphery of seabird colonies prior to the breeding season and left to run for one continuous year. Sighting frequency of otters on these cameras was compared to a control region free of gull nesting. We found that otter activity was significantly reduced on the colonies when gulls were incubating and rearing chicks, compared to time periods when gulls were building nests and absent from the colonies. Rhythmic activity patterns did not seem to be significantly impacted by the presence of gulls. This study provides clear evidence that certain colony-nesting species can have a direct, negative impact on visitation rates of a native carnivore. Seasonal carnivore activity patterns are likely to be highly dependent on differing nesting strategies and level of nest defense by seabirds.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Data from: Annual variation in breeding success in boreal forest grouse

<ol> <li>Knowledge of the temporal variation in reproductive success and its key driving factors is crucial in predicting animal population persistence. Few studies have examined the effects of a range of explanatory factors operating simultaneously on the same population over a long period.</li> <li>Based on 41 years of monitoring (1979–2019), we tested prevailing hypotheses about drivers of annual variation in breeding success in two sympatric species of boreal forest grouse – the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and the black grouse (T. tetrix) – in a 40 km2 boreal forest landscape.</li> <li>From counts in early August, we measured breeding success (chicks/hen) along with potential determining factors. We formulated five main hypotheses on causes of variation (hen condition, chick weather, chick food, predation, demographic characteristics), and derived 13 associated explanatory variables for analysis. We first tested the five hypotheses separately and then used model selection (AICc) to rank the best predictive models irrespective of hypotheses. Lastly, we used path analysis to illuminate potential causal relationships. </li> <li>Barring demographic characteristics, all hypotheses were supported, most strongly for chick food and predation. Among predictor variables, chick food (insect larvae and bilberry fruit crops), vole and fox abundances, the winter-NAO index, and temperature after hatching, had the strongest effect sizes in both species. Precipitation after hatching had no detectable effect. Model selection indicated bottom-up factors to be more important than predation, but confounding complicated interpretation. Path analysis suggested that the high explanatory power of bilberry fruiting was due not only to its direct positive effect on chick food quality but also to an indirect positive effect on vole abundance, which buffers predation. The two components of breeding success – proportion of hens with broods and number of chicks per brood – were uncorrelated, the former having the strongest effect. The two components had different ecological correlates that often varied asynchronously, resulting in overall breeding success fluctuating around low to moderate levels.</li> <li>Our study highlights the complexity of key explanatory drivers and the importance of considering multiple hypotheses of breeding success. Although chick food appeared to equal or surpass predation in explaining the annual variation in breeding success, predation may still be the overall limiting factor. Comparative and experimental studies of confounded variables (bilberry fruiting, voles and larvae) are needed to disentangle causes of variation in breeding success of boreal forest grouse.</li> </ol>

Figure 6 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 6. Aspects of colonial nesting sites (ninhais) in which Maguari Storks (Ciconia maguari) built nests in the Pampa, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. (A) a nest with two nestlings at Dilermando de Aguiar (photo by Thiago Weigert); (B) black young in nests at São Gabriel (photo by Felipe Almansa); (C) a nest with three black juveniles at Rosário do Sul (photo by Lauren Rumpel); (D) a general view, outside the breeding season, of a lake bordered by gray shrubs (yellow arrows) commonly used by Maguari Storks for nesting at Rosário do Sul (photo by Lauren Rumpel). Photographs were gathered in the WikiAves database, except for D.

Figure 3 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 3. Seasonal occurrence of records of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) involving incubation, nestlings, and black young in the Pampa biome, in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. Records were obtained by citizens and gathered in the WikiAves database in June 2020. Arabic numerals after each month represent 10-days long periods – (I): days 1-10, (II): days 11-20, (III): days 21-31 of each month.

Figure 7 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 7. Geographic distribution of the Pampa biome (purple line) in the state of Grande do Sul state, with municipalities (black dots) in which records with documented evidences of breeding activities of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) were obtained by citizens in Brazil between 2007 and 2019. Records were gathered in the WikiAves database in June 2020. The blue color refers to areas of the continent reached by the water from the ocean.

Figure 2 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 2. Juveniles of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) recorded by citizens in the Pampa, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. (A) a black juvenile at Dom Pedrito (photo by Diego Oliveira); (B) a black juvenile at Dilermando de Aguiar (photo by Thiago Weigert); (C) an intermediate juvenile flying at Mostardas (photo by Clécio Gomides); (D) an intermediate juvenile at Caçapava do Sul (photo by Guilherme Durante); (E) a white juvenile flying at Júlio de Castilhos (photo by Firmino Costa); (F) a white juvenile at Rio Grande (photo by Rafael Weber). Records were gathered in the WikiAves database, except for A and B.

Figure 4 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 4. Seasonal occurrence of records of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) involving juveniles in the Pampa biome, in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. Records were obtained by citizens and gathered in the WikiAves database in June 2020. Arabic numerals after each month represent 10-days long periods – (I):– days 1-10, (II): days 11-20, (III): days 21-31 of each month. Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 and Cocoi Herons Ardea cocoi Maguari Storks in Brazil. The information generated by Linnaeus, 1766 (Fig. 6). them was substantially more detailed than that provided These tall shrubs used as substratum for nests were by previous studies in the Brazilian territory (e.g., Belton, located at boundaries between grasslands and artificial 1984; Antas, 2004; Moura, 2009). The small proportion lakes (Fig. 6D; Appendix). Two species could be identified. (2.4%) of breeding records within the whole set of pho- One nest was on higher parts of a Phyllanthus sellowi- tographic records of the species indicates that gathering anus (Klotzsch) Müll.Arg., Phyllanthaceae (WA3115322). further records by citizens or scientists over large spatial Another nest was built on a Sebastiania schottiana (Müll. scales will be a hard task. Reinforcing this is the approach Arg.) Müll.Arg., Euphorbiaceae (WA1460435). Both spe- by Moura (2009) in the Pampa, that involved searches cies are known regionally as sarandis, and were estimat- for nests through a range of interviews, questionnaires, ed as 2.5 m in height. and other communication actions by contacting citizens, No nests had exposed eggs. Two nests (9%) were emp- conservationists and scientists.

Figure 5 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 5. Range of situations in which nests of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) were found occurring singly in Pampa landscapes, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. (A) a ground nest in a wet grassland at Aceguá (photo by Cláudio Alves Branco); (B) a ground nest among sparse junquinhos plants within a wet grassland patch at Dom Pedrito (photo by Diego Oliveira); (C) a ground nest within a juncal vegetation patch within a grassland at Lavras do Sul (photo by Jonas John); (D) a ground nest among dense juncal vegetation within a lake at Quaraí (Photo by Cícero Corrêa); (E) an arboreal nest built on shrubs at Dilermando de Aguiar (Photo by Thiago Weigert); (F) a ground nest destroyed by the rising of the water level at Quaraí (photo by Cícero Corrêa). Records were obtained by citizens, and gathered in the WikiAves database in June 2020.

Figure 1 in Breeding biology of the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Aves, Ciconiidae) in the Pampa, and an outline in other Brazilian biomes

Figure 1. Nestlings and black young of the Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) recorded by citizens in the Pampa, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. (A) a nestling with black and white downy plumage at Quaraí (photo by Cícero Corrêa); (B) nestlings with black downy plumage at Dom Pedrito (photo by Diego Oliveira); (C) two black young in a nest at Cachoeira do Sul (photo by Remo Farina Junior); (D) a black young at Quaraí (photo by Cícero Corrêa). Records were gathered in the WikiAves database, except for B.

High‐resolution genomic analysis of four local Vietnamese chicken breeds

A total of 96 individuals were sampled from four populations of Vietnamese local chickens (28 Ho, 32 Dong Tao, 18 Mong, and 18 Mia) distributed in four provinces (Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, and Hanoi, respectively) in the North of Vietnam. All individuals were from the same conservation program in Vietnam, originating from either private farms or public institutions involved in this program. Neither pedigree nor phenotypic information was available. We used stratified sampling for flocks, ensuring a distance of at least 500 m between the selected flocks and random sampling of one or two individuals in each selected flock. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples of all chickens. The HD array for chickens allows for the simultaneous genotyping of approximately 580,000 SNPs. This array comprises SNPs on 28 autosomal chromosomes, two sex chromosomes (Z and W for poultry), and two linkage groups (LGE64 and LGE 22C19W28). Only SNPs on the 28 autosomes were considered in the present study. The SNPs with more than 10% missing genotypes or minor allele frequencies lower than 1% were removed, yielding a consensus panel of 454,297 autosomal SNPs for the analysis of population genetic structure. We applied a second quality control within each breed. Specifically, SNPs with within-breed minor allelic frequencies lower than 0.05 or SNPs with significant (P < 0.0001) deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were filtered out. This second filter led to 368,652, 383,792, 405,535, and 432,631 SNPs for Ho, Dong Tao, Mong, and Mia breeds, respectively. Of note, removing monomorphic SNPs within breeds may lead to the elimination of SNPs that are polymorphic across breeds. Due to the large number of available SNPs, we did not consider the potential effect of these filtered markers as important for subsequent analyses. Genetic diversity analyses were performed on the remaining 308,307 SNPs shared by all four breeds.

Interspecific territoriality has facilitated recent increases in the breeding habitat overlap of North American passerines

As species' ranges shift in response to human-induced global changes, species interactions are expected to play a large role in shaping the resultant range dynamics and, subsequently, the composition of modified species assemblages. Most research on the impact of species interactions on range dynamics focuses on the effects of trophic interactions and exploitative competition for resources, but an emerging body of work shows that interspecific competition for territories and mates also affects species range shifts. As such, it is paramount to build a strong understanding of how these forms of behavioural interference between species impact landscape-scale patterns. Here, we examine recent (1997–2019) range dynamics of North American passerines to test the hypothesis that behavioural interference impacts the ease with which species move across landscapes. Over this 22-year period, we found that fine-scale spatial overlap between species (syntopy) increased more for species pairs that engage in interspecific territoriality than for those that do not. We found no evidence, however, for an effect of reproductive interference (hybridisation) on syntopy, and no effect of either type of interference on range-wide overlap (sympatry). Examining the net effects of species interactions on continent-scale range shifts may require species occurrence data spanning longer time periods than are currently available for North American passerines, but our results show that interspecific territoriality has had an overall stabilising influence on species coexistence over the past two decades.

Ecogeography of group size suggests differences in drivers of sociality among cooperatively breeding fairywrens

Cooperatively breeding species exhibit a range of social behaviours associated with different costs and benefits to group living, often in association with different environmental conditions. For example, recent phylogenetic studies have collectively shown that the evolution and distribution of cooperative breeding behaviour is related to the environment. However, little is known about how environmental variation may drive differences in social systems across populations within species, and how the relationship between environmental conditions and sociality may differ across species. Here, we examine variation in social group size along a steep environmental gradient for two congeneric cooperatively breeding species of fairywrens (Maluridae) and show that they exhibit opposing ecogeographic patterns. Purple-backed fairywrens, a species in which helpers increase group productivity, have larger groups in hot, dry environments and smaller groups in cool, wet environments. By contrast, superb fairywrens, a species with helpers that do not increase group productivity despite the presence of alloparental care, exhibit the opposite trend. We suggest differences in the costs and benefits of sociality contribute to these opposing ecogeographical patterns and demonstrate that comparisons of intraspecific patterns of social variation across species can provide insight into how ecology shapes social systems.

Data from: Acoustic indices estimate breeding bird species richness with daily and seasonally variable effectiveness in lowland temperate Białowieża forest

Biodiversity monitoring is important to follow temporal changes of the environment. We examined whether acoustic indices can be used as a rapid and easy-to-apply tool for bird biodiversity estimation in one of the least changed European lowland forests – the Białowieża Forest. We collected soundscape recordings in early and late spring at 84 randomly chosen recording points. At each recording point, we analysed 72 1-min sound samples to evaluate how well acoustic indices predict bird species richness from the perspective of a single sound sample, single survey, and recording point, and how they follow the daily pattern of singing activity. For each 1-min sound sample, we prepared a list of vocalizing bird species and calculated three acoustic indices: Bioacoustic Index (BI), Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI), and Acoustic Diversity Index (ADI). We found that from the perspective of a single 1-min sound sample, BI best predicts the bird species richness, independently of time in the season but variably across the day, while ACI and ADI showed weaker and seasonally and daily variable dependency. The correlation between each index and the number of bird species was stronger in the early survey than in the late survey. All acoustic indices followed daily bird activity patterns, yet they provided greater values before the peak of the species richness estimated by manual spectrogram scanning and listening to recordings. We showed that acoustic indices correlate moderately to strongly with the bird species richness obtained by manual spectrogram scanning and listening to recordings by humans. Therefore, acoustic indices can be used as a tool for rapid estimation of bird biodiversity in temperate forests. However, daily and seasonal variation in effectiveness of acoustic indices should be taken into account in the analysis.