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592 results for “songbirds”
Data from: Warm or dry springs (still) boost the reproduction of most temperate songbirds
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Novel code for: Synchrony in adult survival is remarkably strong among common temperate songbirds across France
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Seasonal and ontological variation in diet and age-related differences in prey choice, by an insectivorous songbird
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Data from: Geographic differences in the phenology of gonadal development and moult, but not of egg laying, are genetically based in a small songbird
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Songbird yields resulting from different forest management practices in the Oregon Coast Range, 2019-2021
Data in this package was used to model the responses of forest songbirds to landscape scale forest management strategies. The majority of data was derived from emprical studies (avian point counts) conducted by the principal investigator or mined from the literature. Gaps in the data were filled in via expert opinion, considering the life history and habitat needs of the species.
Songbird surveys , 1952 - 1964, 1983 - 2008 Adirondack Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Program Project No. 2 Breeding Birds by Adirondack Ecological Center of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Newcomb, New York. Environmental Data Initiative.
Study objectives were to (1) Document long-term trends in relative abundance and diversity of breeding forest birds (songbirds) in forest stands with different harvest histories and (2) Identify bird species that can be used as indicators of habitat change or degradation. Declines in neotropical migrants have been linked to changes in habitat quantity and quality across species' range. Songbirds that nest and forage in different habitat types or at different heights in the forest canopy may not be affected equally by forest change or management. We detected breeding songbirds using point-counts at Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF) in the central Adirondack Mountains of New York during 1983-2000 and modeled on an original songbird point count dataset from Webb et al. (1977). Relative abundance (RA, the number of individual birds/count) was measured in sites with differing management histories, from an unmanaged >300-year-old stand to a stand cut with the shelterwood/overstory removal method just prior to sampling in 1983). Over eighty bird species were detected during the study duration. Songbird ecology and habitat characteristics can be used to understand long-term changes in relative abundance as related to forest change.
Data from: Early-life exposure to artificial light at night elevates physiological stress in free-living songbirds
<p>Artificial light at night (ALAN) can disrupt adaptive patterns of physiology and behavior that promote high fitness, resulting in physiological stress and elevation of steroid glucocorticoids (corticosterone, CORT in birds). Elevated CORT may have particularly profound effects early in life, with the potential for enduring effects that persist into adulthood. Research on the consequences of early-life exposure to ALAN remains limited, especially outside of the laboratory, and whether light exposure affects CORT concentrations in wild nestling birds particularly remains to be elucidated. We used an experimental setup to test the hypothesis that ALAN elevates CORT concentrations in developing free-living birds, by exposing nestling great tits (Parus major) to ALAN inside nest boxes. We measured CORT in feathers grown over the timeframe of the experiment (7 nights), such that CORT concentrations represent an integrative metric of hormone release over the period of nocturnal light exposure, and of development. We also assessed the relationships between feather CORT concentrations, body condition, nestling size rank and fledging success. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between feather CORT concentrations and telomere length. Nestlings exposed to ALAN had higher feather CORT concentrations than control nestlings, and nestlings in poorer body condition and smaller brood members also had higher CORT. On the other hand, telomere length, fledging success, and recruitment rate were not significantly associated with light exposure or feather CORT concentrations. Results indicate that exposure to ALAN elevates CORT concentrations in nestlings, which may reflect physiological stress. In addition, the organizational effects of CORT are known to be substantial. Thus, despite the lack of an effect on telomere length and survivorship, elevated CORT concentrations in nestlings exposed to ALAN may have subsequent impacts on later-life fitness and stress sensitivity.</p>
Data from: Hidden leks in a migratory songbird: mating advantages for earlier and more attractive males
In some socially monogamous birds, territories sometimes occur in aggregations. The "hidden lek" hypothesis suggests that territorial aggregations might be explained by males establishing territories near successful males ("hotshot" model), or by females preferring to mate in large clusters ("female preference" model). In both scenarios, clusters would provide more opportunities for finding mates and achieving extra-pair copulations. Our study tests predictions of these two models in the blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina). Males of this species migrate to their breeding grounds, establish territories within clusters and initiate courtship displays. These displays consist of vertical leaps synchronized with vocalizations, or only the latter, without leaps. The "hotshot" model predicts that: 1) earlier-arriving males would establish territories more centrally within clusters; 2) earlier or centrally positioned males would produce more elaborate displays; and 3) these same males would achieve higher success via within and extrapair fertilizations. The "female preference" model predicts that: 4) pairing success and 5) per-capita extrapair fertilizations would increase with cluster size. We found that earlier-arriving males executed higher leaps and longer songs, but there was no relationship between these traits and male position within clusters. We also found earlier-arriving males were more likely to obtain extrapair fertilizations. However, we found little evidence that cluster size related to overall or per-capita breeding success. Considered together, our data provide partial validation of the hotshot model of hidden leks, and expand on prior findings in this species by showing that females benefit by choosing males leaping higher and settling earlier in clusters.
Data from: Change in sexual signalling traits outruns morphological divergence across an ecological gradient in the post‐glacial radiation of the songbird genus Junco
<p>The relative roles of natural and sexual selection in promoting evolutionary lineage divergence remains controversial and difficult to assess in natural systems. Local adaptation through natural selection is known to play a central role in promoting evolutionary divergence, yet secondary sexual traits can vary widely among species in recent radiations, suggesting that sexual selection may also be important in the early stages of speciation. Here we compare rates of divergence in ecologically relevant traits (morphology) and sexually selected signaling traits (coloration) relative to neutral structure in genome-wide molecular markers, and examine patterns of variation in sexual dichromatism to explore the roles of natural and sexual selection in the diversification of the songbird genus <i>Junco </i>(Aves: Passerellidae). Juncos include divergent lineages in Central America and several dark-eyed junco (<i>J. hyemalis</i>) lineages that diversified recently as the group recolonized North America following the last glacial maximum (c.a. 18,000 years ago). We found an accelerated rate of divergence in sexually selected characters relative to ecologically relevant traits. Moreover, sexual dichromatism measurements suggested a positive relationship between the degree of color divergence and the strength of sexual selection when controlling for neutral genetic distance. We also found a positive correlation between dichromatism and latitude, which coincides with the geographic axis of decreasing lineage age in juncos but also with a steep ecological gradient. Finally, we found significant associations between genome-wide variants linked to functional genes and proxies of both sexual and natural selection. These results suggest that the joint effects of sexual and ecological selection have played a prominent role in the junco radiation.</p>
Life history data for longer-lived tropical songbirds reduce breeding activity as they buffer impacts of drought
<p><span>Droughts are expected to increase in frequency and severity with climate change. Population impacts of such harsh environmental events are theorized to vary with life history strategies among species. However, existing demographic models generally do not consider behavioral plasticity that may modify the impact of harsh events. Here we show that tropical songbirds in the New and Old World reduced reproduction during drought, with greater reductions in species with higher average long-term survival. Large reductions in reproduction by longer-lived species were associated with higher survival during drought than pre-drought years in Malaysia, whereas shorter-lived species maintained reproduction and survival decreased. Behavioral strategies of longer-lived, but not shorter-lived, species mitigated the effect of increasing drought frequency on long-term population growth. Behavioral plasticity can buffer the impact of climate change on populations of some species, and differences in plasticity among species related to their life histories are critical for predicting population trajectories.</span></p>
Genomic differentiation and local adaptation on a microgeographic scale in a resident songbird
<p>Elucidating forces capable of driving species diversification in the face of gene flow remains a key goal in evolutionary biology. Song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, occur as 25 subspecies in diverse habitats across North America, are among the continent's most widespread vertebrate species, and are exemplary of many highly variable species for which the conservation of locally adapted populations may be critical to their range-wide persistence. We focus here on six morphologically distinct subspecies resident in the San Francisco Bay region, including three salt-marsh endemics and three residents in upland and riparian habitats adjacent to the Bay. We used reduced-representation sequencing to generate 2,773 SNPs to explore genetic differentiation, spatial population structure, and demographic history. Clustering separated individuals from each of the six subspecies, indicating subtle differentiation at microgeographic scales. Evidence of limited gene flow and low nucleotide diversity across all six subspecies further supports a hypothesis of isolation among locally adapted populations. We suggest that natural selection for genotypes adapted to salt marsh environments and changes in demography over the past century have acted in concert to drive the patterns of diversification reported here. Our results offer evidence of microgeographic specialization in a highly polytypic bird species long discussed as a model of sympatric speciation and rapid adaptation, and they support the hypothesis that conserving locally adapted populations may be critical to the range-wide persistence of similarly highly variable species.</p>
Raw data for: No reproductive benefits of dear enemy recognition in a territorial songbird
<p>Territorial animals often learn to distinguish their neighbors from unfamiliar conspecifics. This cognitive ability facilitates the dear enemy effect, where individuals respond less aggressively to neighbors than to other individuals, and is hypothesized to be adaptive by reducing unnecessary aggressive interactions with individuals that are not a threat to territory ownership. A key prediction of this hypothesis, that individuals with better ability to learn to recognize neighbors should have higher fitness, has never been tested. We used a series of song playbacks to measure the change in response of male great tits on their breeding territories to a simulated establishment of a neighbor on an adjacent territory. Males reduced their approach to the speaker and sang fewer songs on later repetitions of the playback trials, consistent with a dear enemy effect through habituation learning. However, not all males discriminated between the neighbor and stranger playbacks at the end of the series of trials, and there was evidence that individuals consistently differed from one another in performing this discrimination. We monitored nests and analyzed offspring paternity to determine male reproductive success. Unexpectedly, individuals that learned to recognize their neighbors did not have higher reproductive success, and in fact one measure, total offspring biomass, was lower for learners. Although the general capability to recognize neighbors is most likely adaptive, we speculate that individuals who decrease their responsiveness to familiar neighbors too quickly may be at a disadvantage, perhaps leading to selection for slower dear enemy recognition learning.</p>
Evidence supporting the microbiota-gut-brain axis in a songbird
<p>Recent research in mammals supports a link between cognitive ability and the gut microbiome, but little is known about this relationship in other taxa. In a captive population of 38 Zebra Finches <em>(Taeniopygia guttata)</em>, we quantified performance on cognitive tasks measuring learning and memory. We sampled the gut microbiome via cloacal swab and quantified bacterial alpha and beta diversity. Performance on cognitive tasks related to beta diversity but not alpha diversity. We then identified differentially abundant genera influential in the beta diversity differences among cognitive performance categories. Though correlational, this study provides some of the first evidence of an avian microbiota-gut-brain axis, building foundations for future microbiome research in wild populations and during host development.</p>
Foraging behaviour alters with social environment in a juvenile songbird
Early independence from parents is a critical period where social information acquired vertically may become outdated, or conflict with new information. However, across natural populations it is unclear if newly-independent young persist in using information from parents, or if group-level effects of conformity override previous behaviours. Here we test if wild juvenile hihi (<em>Notiomystis cincta</em>, a New Zealand passerine) retain a foraging behaviour from parents, or if they change in response to the behaviour of peers. We provided feeding stations to parents during chick-rearing to seed alternative access routes, and then tracked their offspring's behaviour. Once independent, juveniles formed mixed-treatment social groups, where they did not retain preferences that we detected when with parents. Instead, juvenile groups converged over time to use one access route per group, and juveniles that moved between groups switched to copy the locally-favoured option. Juvenile hihi did not copy specific individuals, even if they were more familiar with the preceding bird. Our study shows that early social experiences with parents affect initial foraging decisions, but social environments encountered later on can update transmission of arbitrary behaviours. This suggests that conformity may be widespread in animal groups, with potential cultural, ecological, and evolutionary consequences.
A putative telomerase activator has tissue-specific effects on telomere length in a developing songbird
<p>There is good evidence that telomeres predict variation in health and longevity, yet it is unclear whether these patterns are causally derived from telomeres <i>per se</i>, in part because relatively little research directly manipulates telomere length during early life, when telomere shortening is most dynamic. Here, we test how the telomerase activator TA-65 (i.e., cycloastrogenol) affects telomere length in five tissues during the peak of growth in the wild tree swallow (<i>Tachycineta bicolor</i>). Following 8 days of oral TA-65 administration, chicks experienced telomere lengthening in the blood and accelerated feather growth, but no changes to mass over time. TA-65 did not affect telomere length in the brain or spleen and led to shorter telomeres in the liver and adrenals. This whole-organism experimental manipulation of telomere dynamics therefore reveals limitations to telomere protection and biological senescence. In doing so, this work advances our understanding of early-life telomere dynamics and their potential role in generating future variation in health and lifespan.</p>
Social groups with diverse personalities mitigate physiological stress in a songbird
<p>Social groups often consist of diverse phenotypes, including personality types, and this diversity is known to affect the functioning of the group as a whole. Social selection theory proposes that group composition (i.e. social environment) also influences the performance of individual group members. However, the effect of group behavioural composition on group members remains largely unexplored, and it is still contentious whether individuals benefit more in a social environment with homogeneous or diverse behavioural composition. We experimentally formed groups of house sparrows <i>Passer domesticus</i> with high and low diversity of personality (exploratory behaviour), and found that their physiological state (body condition, physiological stress and oxidative damage) improved with increasing group-level diversity of personality. These findings demonstrate that group personality composition affects the condition of group members and individuals benefit from social heterosis (i.e. associating with a diverse set of behavioural types). This aspect of social life can play a key role in affiliation rules of social animals and might explain the evolutionary coexistence of different personalities in nature.</p>
DNA metabarcoding quantifies the relative biomass of arthropod taxa in songbird diets: Validation with camera‐recorded diets
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Ecological research is often hampered by the inability to quantify animal diets. Diet composition can be tracked through DNA metabarcoding of faecal samples, but whether (complex) diets can be quantitatively determined with metabarcoding is still debated and needs validation using free-living animals. This study validates that DNA metabarcoding of faeces can retrieve actual ingested taxa, and most importantly, that read numbers retrieved from sequencing can also be used to quantify the relative biomass of dietary taxa. Validation was done with the hole-nesting insectivorous Pied Flycatcher whose diet was quantified using camera footage. Size-adjusted counts of food items delivered to nestlings were used as a proxy for provided biomass of prey orders and families and subsequently nestling faeces were assessed through DNA metabarcoding. To explore potential effects of digestion, gizzard and lower intestine samples of freshly collected birds were subjected to DNA metabarcoding. For metabarcoding with Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI), we modified published invertebrate COI primers LCO1490 and HCO1777, which reduced host reads to 0.03%, and amplified Arachnida DNA without significant changing the recovery of other arthropod taxa. DNA metabarcoding retrieved all commonly camera-recorded taxa. Overall, and in each replicate year (N = 3), the relative scaled biomass of prey taxa and COI read numbers correlated at R = 0 .85 (95CI:0.68–0.94) at order level and at R = 0.75 (CI:0.67</span><span>–</span><span>0.82) at family level. Similarity in arthropod community composition between gizzard and intestines suggested limited digestive bias. This DNA metabarcoding validation demonstrates that quantitative analyses of arthropod diet is possible. We discuss the ecological applications for insectivorous birds.</span></p>
Introductory gestures before songbird vocal displays are shaped by learning and biological predispositions
<p>Numerous animal displays begin with introductory gestures. For example, lizards start their head-bobbing displays with introductory push-ups and many songbirds begin their vocal displays by repeating introductory notes (INs) before producing their learned song. Among songbirds, the acoustic structure and the number of INs produced before song vary considerably between individuals in a species. While similar variation in songs between individuals is a result of learning, whether variation in INs are also due to learning remains poorly understood. Here, using natural and experimental tutoring with male zebra finches, we show that mean IN number and IN acoustic structure are learned from a tutor. Interestingly, IN properties and how well INs were learned, was not correlated with the accuracy of song imitation and only weakly correlated with some features of songs that followed. Finally, birds artificially tutored with songs lacking INs still repeated vocalizations that resembled INs, before their songs, suggesting biological predispositions in IN production. These results demonstrate that INs, just like song elements, are shaped both by learning and biological predispositions. More generally, our results suggest mechanisms for generating variation in introductory gestures between individuals while still maintaining the species-specific structure of complex displays like birdsong.</p>
Data from: Nest structure affects auditory and visual detectability, but not predation risk, in a tropical songbird community
1. Offspring mortality varies dramatically among species with critical demographic and evolutionary ramifications, yet the causes of this variation remain unclear. Nests are widely used for breeding across taxa and thought to influence offspring mortality risk. Traditionally, more complex, enclosed nest structures are thought to reduce offspring predation by reducing the visibility of nest contents and muffling offspring sounds compared to open nests. Direct tests of the functional bases for nest structure influences on predation risk are lacking. 2. We used experiments and 10 years of observational data to examine how nest structure influences nest predation risk in a diverse community of tropical songbirds. First, we examined how nest size was related to nest structure and nest predation rates across species. Second, we assessed how nest structure influences the detectability of nestling begging calls both in field and laboratory settings. Finally, we examined how the acoustic properties of different nest structures influence nest predation risk. Specifically, we experimentally broadcast begging calls from open and enclosed nests to determine how auditory cues and nest structure interact to affect predation on plasticine and quail eggs. We also tested whether nest structure was associated with differences in nest predation rates between the incubation (no begging cues) and nestling (begging cues) stages. 3. We found that enclosed nests are larger than open nests after accounting for adult size, and larger nests had increased predation rates. Moreover, enclosed nests did not consistently alter nestling begging calls in ways that reduce the likelihood of predation compared to open nests. Indeed, begging cues increased predation rates for enclosed but not open cup nests in our playback experiment, and nest predation rates showed greater increases after hatching in enclosed than open cup nests. 4. Ultimately, enclosed nests do not necessarily provide greater predation benefits than open nests in contrast to long standing theory.
Data from: Ecological and social factors constrain spatial and temporal opportunities for mating in a migratory songbird
Many studies of sexual selection assume that individuals have equal mating opportunities and that differences in mating success result from variation in sexual traits. However, the inability of sexual traits to explain variation in male mating success suggests that other factors moderate the strength of sexual selection. Extrapair paternity is common in vertebrates and can contribute to variation in mating success and thus serves as a model for understanding the operation of sexual selection. We developed a spatially explicit, multifactor model of all possible female-male pairings to test the hypothesis that ecological (food availability) and social (breeding density, breeding distance, and the social mate's nest stage) factors influence an individual's opportunity for extrapair paternity in a socially monogamous bird, the black-throated blue warbler, Setophaga caerulescens. A male's probability of siring extrapair young decreased with increasing distance to females, breeding density, and food availability. Males on food-poor territories were more likely to sire extrapair young, and these offspring were produced farther from the male's territory relative to males on food-abundant territories. Moreover, males sired extrapair young mostly during their social mates' incubation stage, especially males on food-abundant territories. This study demonstrates how ecological and social conditions constrain the spatial and temporal opportunities for extrapair paternity that affect variation in mating success and the strength of sexual selection in socially monogamous species.
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
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.
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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.
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