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592 results for “songbirds”
Data from: Accounting for predator species identity reveals variable relationships between nest predation rate and habitat in a temperate forest songbird
<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>Nest predation is the primary cause of nest failure in most ground-nesting bird species. Investigations of relationships between nest predation rate and habitat usually pool different predator species. However, such relationships likely depend on the specific predator involved, partly because habitat requirements vary among predator species. Pooling may therefore impair our ability to identify conservation-relevant relationships between nest predation rate and habitat. We investigated predator-specific nest predation rates in the forest-dependent, ground-nesting wood warbler <em>Phylloscopus sibilatrix </em>in relation to forest area and forest edge complexity at two spatial scales, and to the composition of the adjacent habitat matrix. We used camera traps at 559 nests to identify nest predators in five study regions across Europe. When analysing predation data pooled across predator species, nest predation rate was positively related to forest area at the local scale (1,000 m around nest), and higher where proportion of grassland in the adjacent habitat matrix was high but arable land low. Analyses by each predator species revealed variable relationships between nest predation rates and habitat. At the local scale, nest predation by most predators was higher where forest area was large. At the landscape scale (10,000 m around nest), nest predation by buzzards <em>Buteo buteo</em> was high where forest area was small. Predation by pine martens Martes martes was high where edge complexity at the landscape scale was high. Predation by badgers <em>Meles meles </em>was high where the matrix had much grassland but little arable land. Our results suggest that relationships between nest predation rates and habitat can depend on the predator species involved and may differ from analyses disregarding predator identity. Predator-specific nest predation rates, and their relationships to habitat at different spatial scales, should be considered when assessing the impact of habitat change on avian nesting success.</p>
Supplementary material for "High turn-over rates at the upper range limit and elevational source-sink dynamics in a widespread songbird"
<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>The formation of an upper distributional range limit for species breeding along mountain slopes is often based on environmental gradients resulting in changing demographic rates towards high elevations. However, we still lack an empirical understanding of how the interplay of demographic parameters forms the upper range limit in highly mobile species. Here, we study apparent survival and within-study area dispersal over a 700 m elevational gradient in barn swallows (<em>Hirundo rustica</em>) by using 15 years of capture-mark-recapture data. Annual apparent survival of adult breeding birds decreased while breeding dispersal probability of adult females, but not males increased towards the upper range limit. Individuals at high elevations dispersed to farms situated at elevations lower than would be expected by random dispersal. These results suggest higher turn-over rates of breeding individuals at high elevations, an elevational increase in immigration and thus, within-population source-sink dynamics between low and high elevations. The formation of the upper range limit therefore is based on preference for low-elevation breeding sites and immigration to high elevations. Thus, shifts of the upper range limit are not only affected by changes in the quality of high-elevation habitats but also by factors affecting the number of immigrants produced at low elevations.</p>
Manipulation of photoperiod induces fat storage, but not fat mobilization in the migratory songbird, Dumetella carolinensis (Gray Catbird).
<p>Associated R code and data sets for analyses related to the "Manipulation of photoperiod induces fat storage, but not fat mobilization in the migratory songbird, Dumetella carolinensis (Gray Catbird)." publication. </p>
Data sets and R codes for "It's about her: male within-season movements are related to mate searching in a songbird"
<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>In species with resource-defense mating systems (such as most temperate-breeding songbirds), male dispersal is often considered to be limited in both frequency and spatial extent. When dispersal occurs within a breeding season, the favored explanation is ecological resource tracking. In contrast, movements of male birds associated with temporary emigration, such as polyterritoriality (i.e., defense of an additional location after attracting a female in the initial territory), are usually attributed to mate searching. We suggest that male dispersal and polyterritoriality are functionally related, and that mate searching may be a unifying hypothesis for predicting the within-season movements of male songbirds. Here, we test three key predictions derived from this hypothesis in Wood Warblers <i>Phylloscopus sibilatrix</i>. We collected data on the spatial behavior of 107 males between 2017 and 2019, and related male movements to a new territory (both in a dispersal and polyterritorial context) to mating potential in the current territory. Most males dispersed from their territories within days or weeks after failing to attract a female, despite occupying territories in apparently suitable habitat. Probability of polyterritoriality by paired males increased after the peak fertile period of their mate. Males never dispersed following nest predation if the female remained to renest. Thus, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that both movement types are functionally related to mate searching.</p>
Zebra finches increase social behavior in traffic noise: implications for urban songbirds
<p>Statistical code & datasets for "Zebra finches increase social behavior in traffic noise: implications for urban songbirds" manuscript submitted to <em>Acta ethologica. </em>Also includes audio file for traffic noise playback in described experiment. </p>
Data for Nemes et al. "Springing forward: Migrating songbirds catch up with the start of spring in North America"
<p>R scripts and data used to estimate bird migration rate and timing relative to spring onset rate and timing within North America.</p>
Data from: Winter game crop plots for gamebirds retain hedgerow breeding songbirds in an improved grassland landscape
<p>The cause of recent population declines in some farmland / hedgerow breeding bird species in the UK is related to a lack of cover and food resources in winter. In improved grassland areas some of those declines have been particularly acute and some have been shown to be related to the availability of grass and weed seed in winter. The provision of seed-bearing crops as part of AES options has been shown to benefit some of these birds. Game crop plots sown on shooting estates for holding and driving gamebirds in autumn and winter have been shown to hold relatively high densities of farmland and wood-edge birds during the winter.</p> <p>We studied breeding songbirds in hedges in a primarily improved grassland area in the SW of England where there are some large shooting estates that sow relatively large game crop plots (1 - 5 ha) in the landscape. In this study we found that otherwise similar hedges in terms of size and density near to those winter game crop plots, had between 1.5 and 2 times as many breeding resident songbirds per unit length the following spring compared to hedges further away from game crop plots. This was despite game management in these plots being wound down during February and in many cases, the crops themselves being removed by mid-March. Hedges within approximately 350m from game crop plots had more breeding birds. We discuss possible mechanisms and suggest that some passerines preferentially establish breeding territories in hedges near to game crops in late winter. We suggest how to distribute game crop plots to maximise any benefit in an improved grassland landscape.</p>
Food and social cues modulate reproductive development but not migratory behavior in a nomadic songbird, the Pine Siskin (Pinus spinus)
<p>Many animals rely on photoperiodic and non-photoperiodic environmental cues to gather information and appropriately time life history stages across the annual cycle, such as reproduction, molt, and migration. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that the reproductive physiology, but not migratory behavior, of captive Pine Siskins responds to both food and social cues during the spring migratory-breeding period. Pine Siskins are a nomadic finch with a highly flexible breeding schedule and, in the spring, free-living Pine Siskins can wander large geographic areas and opportunistically breed. To understand the importance of non-photoperiodic cues to the migratory-breeding transition, we maintained individually housed birds on either a standard or enriched diet in the presence of group-housed heterospecifics or conspecifics experiencing either the standard or enriched diet type. We measured body condition and reproductive development of all Pine Siskins and, among individually housed Pine Siskins, quantified nocturnal migratory restlessness. In group-housed birds, the enriched diet caused increases in body condition and, among females, promoted reproductive development. Among individually housed birds, female reproductive development differed between treatment groups whereas male reproductive development did not. Specifically, individually housed females showed greater reproductive development when presented with conspecifics compared to heterospecifics. The highest rate of female reproductive development, however, was observed amongst individually housed females provided the enriched diet and maintained with group-housed conspecifics on an enriched diet. Changes in nocturnal migratory restlessness did not vary by treatment group or sex. By manipulating both the physical and social environment, this study demonstrates how multiple environmental cues can affect the timing of transitions between life history stages with differential responses between sexes and between migratory and reproductive systems.</p>
Data from: Seed preference is only weakly linked to seed-type-specific feeding performance in a songbird
<p>The dehusking of seeds by granivorous songbirds is a complex process that requires fast, coordinated and sensory-feedback-controlled movements of beak and tongue. Hence, efficient seed handling requires a high degree of sensorimotoric skill and behavioural flexibility, since seeds vary considerably in size, shape and husk structure. To deal with this variability, individuals might specialise on specific seed types, which could result in greater seed handling efficiency of the preferred seed type, but lower efficiency for other seed types. To test this, we assessed seed preferences of canaries (Serinus canaria) through food choice experiments and related these to data of feeding performance, seed handling skills and beak kinematics during feeding on small, spindle-shaped canary seeds and larger, spheroid-shaped hemp seeds. We found great variety in seed preferences among individuals: some had no clear preference, while others almost exclusively fed on hemp seeds, or even prioritized novel seed types (millet seed). Surprisingly, we only observed few and weak effects of seed preference on feeding efficiency. This suggests that either the ability to handle seeds efficiently can be readily applied across various seed types, or alternatively, it may indicate that achieving high levels of seed-specific handling skills does not require extensive practice.</p>
Stronger negative species interactions in the tropics supported by a global analysis of nest predation in songbirds
<p>Original data, phylogeny and list of studies from: "Stronger negative species interactions in the tropics supported by a global analysis of nest predation in songbirds"</p>
Rapid evolutionary divergence of a songbird population following recent colonization of an urban area
<p>Colonization of a novel environment by a small group of individuals can lead to rapid evolutionary change, yet evidence of the relative contributions of neutral and selective factors in promoting divergence during the early stages of colonization remain scarce. Here, we use genome-wide SNP data to test the role of neutral and selective forces in driving the divergence of a unique urban population of the Oregon junco (<em>Junco hyemalis oreganus</em>), which became established on the campus of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) in the early 1980s. Previous studies based on microsatellite loci documented significant genetic differentiation of the urban population as well as divergence in sexual signaling and life-history traits relative to nearby montane populations. However, the geographic origin of the colonization and the factors involved in the onset of the differentiation process remained uncertain. Our genome-wide SNP dataset confirmed the marked genetic differentiation of the UCSD population, and phylogenomic analysis identified the coastal subspecies <em>pinosus</em> from central California as its sister group instead of the neighboring mountain population. Demographic inference based on site frequency spectra recovered a time of separation from <em>pinosus</em> as recent as 20 to 32 generations, and a strong bottleneck at the time of colonization, suggesting a relevant role of founder effects and drift in the genetic differentiation of the UCSD population. However, we also found significant associations between environmental parameters characterizing the urban habitat of UCSD and genome-wide variants linked to functional genes. Some of the identified gene functions, like heavy metal detoxification and high-pitched hearing, have been reported as potentially adaptive in birds inhabiting urban environments. These results suggest that the interplay between founder events and directional selection may result in rapid shifts in both neutral and adaptive loci across the genome, and reveal the UCSD population of juncos as an ongoing case of divergence following the colonization of an anthropic environment.</p>
Data from: Let's stick together: infection enhances preferences for social settings in a songbird species
<p>Acute infections can alter foraging and movement behaviours relevant to sociality and pathogen spread. However, few studies have examined how infection with directly-transmitted pathogens influences host social preferences. Juvenile house finches are gregarious and particularly susceptible to infection by the bacterial pathogen <em>Mycoplasma gallisepticum</em> (MG). Changes in sociality during infection are likely to have important consequences for MG transmission throughout majority-juvenile flocks, but it remains unknown how infection influences sociality in house finches. To test this, we inoculated 33 wild-caught juvenile house finches with MG or media (sham control). At peak infection, birds were given a choice assay to assess preference for associating near a flock versus an empty cage. Infected birds were significantly more likely than controls to spend time near the flock while eating, and marginally so while perching. These results indicate augmented social preferences during infection, potentially as a form of behavioural tolerance. Notably, infected birds showed strong social preferences regardless of individual variation in disease severity or pathogen loads, with 14/19 harbouring high loads (log10 5-6) at time of assay. Overall, our results show that infection with a directly-transmitted pathogen can augment social preferences, with potential implications for MG spread in natural populations.</p>
Stable Isotope Mixing Models Demonstrate the Role of an Invasive Plant in Wetland Songbirds Food Webs
<p>We used analysis of natural abundance stable isotopes of <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>15</sup>N in song sparrow blood, invertebrate food sources, <em>L. latifolium </em>seeds,<em> </em>and other marsh<em> </em>plant seeds to inform Bayesian, concentration-dependent mixing models that predicted average song sparrow diets. Data presented are the csv files and R markdown code for the isotope analysis.</p>
Asymmetric song recognition does not influence gene flow in an emergent songbird hybrid zone
<p>Hybrid zones can be used to examine the mechanisms affecting reproductive isolation and speciation, like song. Song has equivocal support as a driver of speciation; we did not find song to cause reproductive isolation. We examined an emerging secondary contact zone between White-crowned Sparrow subspecies <em>pugetensis </em>and <em>gambelii </em>by measuring song variation, song recognition, plumage, morphology and mtDNA. Plumage and morphological characters provided evidence of hybridization in the contact zone, with some birds possessing plumage and song characteristics intermediate between the subspecies. Playback experiments revealed asymmetric song recognition: male <em>pugetensis </em>displayed greater response to their own song than <em>gambelii </em>song, whereas <em>gambelii </em>did not discriminate significantly. If female choice operates similarly to male song discrimination, we predicted asymmetric gene flow, resulting in a greater number of hybrids with <em>gambelii </em>mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Contrary to our prediction, more <em>gambelii </em>and putative hybrids in the contact zone possessed <em>pugetensis </em>mtDNA haplotypes, possibly due to greater <em>pugetensis </em>abundance and female-biased dispersal.</p>
Novel code for: Synchrony in adult survival is remarkably strong among common temperate songbirds across France
<p>Synchronous variation in demographic parameters across species destabilizes populations, metapopulations and metacommunities and increases extinction risks. Revealing the processes that synchronize population dynamics across species allows us to identify trans-specific demographic processes that are subject to environmental forcing of overarching importance. Using a Bayesian, hierarchical multi-site, multi-species mark-recapture model, we investigated temporal interspecific synchrony in annual adult local survival across 16 common songbird species across France for the period 2001–2016. Adult annual survival was largely synchronous among species (73% [47–94] of the variation among years was common to all species), despite species differing in ecological niche and life-histories. This result was robust to differences in migratory strategy among species, uneven species sample sizes, and time de-trending. Shared synchrony across migratory strategy suggests that environmental forcing during the 4-month temperate breeding season has large-scale, cross-specific, impacts among songbirds. At a scale ~1000 km, a likely proximate mechanism of synchronization is forcing by weather-driven variation in resources, which, in particular, determines the cost of reproduction. However, the strong interspecific synchrony was not easily explained by a set of a priori defined candidate weather variables, with spring weather variables explaining only 1.4% [0.01–5.5] of synchrony, while the contribution of large-scale winter weather indices may be stronger, but uncertain (12% [0.3–37]). Future research may up-scale these results to community dynamics, to understand compensatory intra- and inter-specific demographic processes that preserve meta-communities from synchronization.</p>
The evolutionary history and mechanistic basis of female ornamentation in a tropical songbird
<p>Ornamentation, such as the showy plumage of birds, is widespread among female vertebrates, yet the evolutionary pressures shaping female ornamentation remain uncertain. In part this is due to a poor understanding of the mechanistic route to ornamentation in females. To address this issue, we evaluated the evolutionary history of ornament expression in a tropical passerine bird, the White-shouldered Fairywren, whose females, but not males, strongly vary between populations in occurrence of ornamented black-and-white plumage. We first use phylogenomic analysis to demonstrate that female ornamentation is derived and that female ornamentation evolves independently of changes in male plumage. We then use exogenous testosterone in a field experiment to induce partial ornamentation in naturally unornamented females. By sequencing the transcriptome of experimentally induced ornamented and natural feathers, we identify genes expressed during ornament production and evaluate the degree to which female ornamentation in this system is associated with elevated testosterone, as is common in males. We reveal that some ornamentation in females is linked to testosterone and that sexes differ in ornament-linked gene expression. Lastly, using genomic-outlier analysis we identify a candidate melanogenesis gene that lies in a region of high genomic divergence among populations that is also differentially expressed in feather follicles of different female plumages. Taken together, these findings are consistent with sex-specific selection favoring the evolution of female ornaments and demonstrate a key role for testosterone in generating population divergence in female ornamentation through gene regulation. More broadly, our work highlights similarities and differences in how ornamentation evolves in the sexes.</p>
Seasonal and ontological variation in diet and age-related differences in prey choice, by an insectivorous songbird
<p>The diet of an individual animal is subject to change over time, both in response to short-term food fluctuations and over longer time scales as an individual ages and meets different challenges over its life cycle. A metabarcoding approach was used to elucidate the diet of different life stages of a migratory songbird, the Eurasian reed warbler (<em>Acrocephalus scirpaceus</em>) over the 2017 summer breeding season in Somerset, UK. The faeces of adult, juvenile and nestling warblers were screened for invertebrate DNA, enabling the identification of prey species. Dietary analysis was coupled with monitoring of Diptera in the field using yellow sticky traps. Seasonal changes in warbler diet were subtle whereas age class had a greater influence on overall diet composition. Age classes showed high dietary overlap, but significant dietary differences were mediated through the selection of prey; i) from different taxonomic groups, ii) with different habitat origins (aquatic versus terrestrial) and iii) of different average approximate sizes. Our results highlight the value of metabarcoding data for enhancing ecological studies of insectivores in dynamic environments. </p>
Data from: The scope and adaptive value of modulating aggression across breeding stages: Case study in a competitive female songbird
<p><span><span>In seasonally breeding animals, costs and benefits of territorial aggression should vary over time; however, little work thus far has directly examined the scope and adaptive value of individual-level plasticity in aggression across breeding stages. We explore these issues using </span><span>the tree swallow (</span></span><em><span><span>Tachycineta bicolor</span></span></em><span><span>), a bird species in which females compete for limited nesting sites</span> <span>before producing a single brood. We measured the aggressiveness of nearly 100 females within three different stages: (1) shortly after territory-establishment, (2) during early incubation, and (3) while caring for young chicks. </span></span><span><span>We used k-means clustering to categorize females into four distinct plasticity 'types' based on the timing, direction, and magnitude of their changes in aggression between stages. We then tested whether plasticity type and stage-specific aggression </span><span>vary</span><span> with </span><span>key</span><span> performance metrics.</span></span><span><span> Two of the four</span> <span>plasticity</span><span> types became less aggressive </span><span>across consecutive breeding stages</span><span>, consistent with population-level patterns, though these plasticity types </span><span>largely </span><span>did not differ from one another in survival or reproductive success</span></span><span><span>. A third type was characterized by high levels of among-stage plasticity</span><span>; </span><span>these females</span><span>, </span><span>had </span><span>significantly </span><span>lower body mass while parenting, </span><span>tended to hatch fewer eggs,</span> <span>and </span><span>had the lowest observed </span><span>overwinter survival </span><span>rates</span><span>. </span><span>A final type exhibited </span><span>limited</span><span> plasticity, with moderate to low levels of aggression </span><span>in all stages; </span><span>this low plasticity </span><span>-</span><span> low aggression phenotype</span><span> was not associated </span><span>with any </span><span>negative</span> <span>effects to </span><span>performance</span><span>.</span> <span>These</span><span> results reveal substantial among-individual variation in behavioral plasticity, which may reflect diverse solutions to trade-offs between current reproduction and future survival.</span></span></p>
Linked collectors and determiners for: Sperm morphology of 264 songbird species.
Natural history specimen data linked to collectors and determiners held within, "Sperm morphology of 264 songbird species". Claims or attributions were made on Bionomia by volunteer Scribes, <a href="https://bionomia.net/dataset/051d8004-3568-4be9-852f-f6dc3413045c">https://bionomia.net/dataset/051d8004-3568-4be9-852f-f6dc3413045c</a> using specimen data from the dataset aggregated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, <a href="https://gbif.org/dataset/051d8004-3568-4be9-852f-f6dc3413045c">https://gbif.org/dataset/051d8004-3568-4be9-852f-f6dc3413045c</a>. Formatted as a Frictionless Data package.
Individual optimization of reproductive investment and the cost of incubation in a wild songbird
<p>Despite keen interest in life-history trade-offs and the costs of reproduction, evidence that increased parental allocation reduces subsequent breeding productivity is mixed. Some of this uncertainty is attributable to environmental heterogeneity in space and time, necessitating multi-year field experiments. Across three breeding seasons, we cross-fostered clutches between nests to manipulate females' incubation duration in a wild population of Carolina wrens, a small songbird species in which only females incubate, to test for the cost of incubation on current and future reproduction. Prolonged incubation affected maternal productivity within seasons, impacting their current offspring post-hatching and their probability of breeding subsequently, both in a manner that depended upon the current environment and level of maternal investment (initial egg and brood size), suggesting incubation effort is optimized according to other components of investment and individual quality. Effects of incubation duration on subsequent fledging success and nestling condition varied between years, being costly in one year, beneficial in another, and neutral in the third. Thus, our results suggest that the costs of increased incubation effort were almost entirely dependent upon the maternal quality and environmental variation, thus demonstrating the importance of multi-year experiments for robust inference of the costs of reproduction and evolution of life histories.</p>
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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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