Přenosové efekty v rámci ročního cyklu rákosníků velkých: celoareálová studie se zaměřením na rozdíly mezi pohlavími a populacemi

Tažní ptáci překonávají dlouhé vzdálenosti přesně načasovanými a lokalizovanými přesuny s cílem maximalizovat fitness. Načasování jednotlivých fází ročního cyklu a podmínky využívaného prostředí se však mohou přenášet do následujících fází a mohou mít pozdější následky pro fitness jedinců. Znalost těchto sezonních interakcí je proto nezbytná pro lokalizování klíčových období ovlivňujících přežívání jedinců mimo hnízdní období, a tedy pro lepší porozumění populační dynamice tažných druhů. I přes současné vědomosti o sezonních interakcích neexistuje ucelený obrázek o komplexu interakcí v rámci celého ročního cyklu, rozdílech mezi pohlavími a populacemi či vlivu podmínek prostředí v průběhu pelichání u jednoho druhu. V této studii jsme k odhalení systému těchto sezonních interakcí sledovali 103 rákosníků velkých (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) z pěti hnízdních populací napříč hnízdním areálem pomocí světelných geolokátorů. Pro identifikaci a kvantifikaci sezonních interakcí jsme zkombinovali informace o načasování a lokaci jednotlivých ročních fází, rozličné metriky kvality prostředí využívaného na zimovišti získané dálkovým snímáním Země a poměry stabilních izotopů uhlíku v perech vyrostlých na zimovištích. Naše výsledky analýzy sezonních interakcí ukazují přítomnost dominového efektu načasování událostí...Movements of long-distance migratory birds are frequently well timed and routed in order to maximise individual fitness. However, individual timing of events or environmental conditions experienced have a potential to carry over into subsequent annual cycle stages and may have delayed fitness consequences. Therefore, knowledge of these seasonal interactions is crucial to identify key periods and regions that limit survival beyond the breeding period and thus to fully understand population dynamics of migratory species. Despite current evidence for seasonal interactions, there is no detailed knowledge of the complex of relationships within the full annual cycle, differences between sexes and populations or impact of environmental conditions during moult in one species. To unveil this system of seasonal interactions within the annual cycle, we directly tracked 103 great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) using light-level geolocators from five breeding sites across the breeding range to obtain information on timing and positions of annual cycle events. We then combined this information with various remotely sensed habitat condition metrics and stable isotopic composition of feathers from the non-breeding grounds to identify and quantify carry-over effects within the full annual cycle. Our...Katedra ekologieDepartment of EcologyPřírodovědecká fakultaFaculty of Scienc

Weak Effects Of Geolocators On Small Birds: A Meta-Analysis Controlled For Phylogeny And Publication Bias

Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturization of light-level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement data. There is a need for a thorough assessment of the potential tag effects on small birds, as previous meta-analyses did not evaluate unpublished data and impact of multiple life-history traits, focused mainly on large species and the number of published studies tagging small birds has increased substantially. We quantitatively reviewed 549 records extracted from 74 published and 48 unpublished studies on over 7,800 tagged and 17,800 control individuals to examine the effects of geolocator tagging on small bird species (body mass \u3c100 g). We calculated the effect of tagging on apparent survival, condition, phenology and breeding performance and identified the most important predictors of the magnitude of effect sizes. Even though the effects were not statistically significant in phylogenetically controlled models, we found a weak negative impact of geolocators on apparent survival. The negative effect on apparent survival was stronger with increasing relative load of the device and with geolocators attached using elastic harnesses. Moreover, tagging effects were stronger in smaller species. In conclusion, we found a weak effect on apparent survival of tagged birds and managed to pinpoint key aspects and drivers of tagging effects. We provide recommendations for establishing matched control group for proper effect size assessment in future studies and outline various aspects of tagging that need further investigation. Finally, our results encourage further use of geolocators on small bird species but the ethical aspects and scientific benefits should always be considered

First insights into the migration route and migratory connectivity of the Paddyfield Warbler using geolocator tagging and stable isotope analysis

The Paddyfield Warbler Acrocephalus agricola has recently expanded its breeding range westwards to the western coast of the Black Sea. Although its non-breeding range is known (southern Iran to northern Myanmar), current knowledge on how individual birds migrate and how their routes evolve alongside range expansion processes is very limited. Data from one geolocator deployed on a Paddyfield Warbler at a recently established breeding site in Bulgaria show that this individual retraced the recent range expansion and followed a rather conservative route instead of migrating directly to India. An additional stable hydrogen (δ2H) analysis of feathers from 25 individual breeding birds in Bulgaria that had been grown during their stay in the non-breeding grounds indicated a low degree of migratory connectivity at the non-breeding grounds. Our results provide a first insight into the migration pattern of the Paddyfield Warbler and should stimulate further research on the use of the understudied Indo-European flyway by this species

Weak Effects of Geolocators on Small Birds: A Meta-analysis Controlled for Phylogeny and Publication Bias

Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturization of light-level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement data. There is a need for a thorough assessment of the potential tag effects on small birds, as previous meta-analyses did not evaluate unpublished data and impact of multiple life-history traits, focused mainly on large species and the number of published studies tagging small birds has increased substantially. We quantitatively reviewed 549 records extracted from 74 published and 48 unpublished studies on over 7,800 tagged and 17,800 control individuals to examine the effects of geolocator tagging on small bird species (body mass <100 g). We calculated the effect of tagging on apparent survival, condition, phenology and breeding performance and identified the most important predictors of the magnitude of effect sizes. Even though the effects were not statistically significant in phylogenetically controlled models, we found a weak negative impact of geolocators on apparent survival. The negative effect on apparent survival was stronger with increasing relative load of the device and with geolocators attached using elastic harnesses. Moreover, tagging effects were stronger in smaller species. In conclusion, we found a weak effect on apparent survival of tagged birds and managed to pinpoint key aspects and drivers of tagging effects. We provide recommendations for establishing matched control group for proper effect size assessment in future studies and outline various aspects of tagging that need further investigation. Finally, our results encourage further use of geolocators on small bird species but the ethical aspects and scientific benefits should always be considered.Grantova Agentura Ceske Republiky 13-06451SInstitut Polaire Francais Paul Emile Victor IPEV-1036Institutional Research Plan RVO: 68081766Leverhulme Trust RPG-2013288Russian Foundation for Basic Research Arctic-18-05-60261Russian Science Foundation 17-14-0114

Automatic identification of bird females using egg phenotype

Individual identification is crucial for studying animal ecology and evolution. In birds this is often achieved by capturing and tagging. However, these methods are insufficient for identifying individuals/species that are secretive or difficult to catch. Here, we employ an automatic analytical approach to predict the identity of bird females based on the appearance of their eggs, using the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) as a model species. We analysed 192 cuckoo eggs using digital photography and spectrometry. Cuckoo females were identified from genetic sampling of nestlings, allowing us to determine the accuracy of automatic (unsupervised and supervised) and human assignment. Finally, we used a novel analytical approach to identify eggs that were not genetically analysed. Our results show that individual cuckoo females lay eggs with a relatively constant appearance and that eggs laid by more genetically distant females differ more in colour. Unsupervised clustering had similar cluster accuracy to experienced human observers, but supervised methods were able to outperform humans. Our novel method reliably assigned a relatively high number of eggs without genetic data to their mothers. Therefore, this is a cost-effective and minimally invasive method for increasing sample sizes, which may facilitate research on brood parasites and other avian species

Spatiotemporal patterns of egg laying in the common cuckoo

Understanding egg-laying behaviour of brood parasites in space and time can improve our knowledge of interactions between hosts and parasites. However, no studies have combined information on the laying activity of an obligate brood parasite with detailed information on the distribution of host nests within an area and time period. Here, we used molecular methods and analysis of egg phenotypes to determine maternal identity of common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, eggs and chicks found in the nests of four species of Acrocephalus warblers in consecutive years. The median size of a cuckoo female laying area (calculated as a minimum convex polygon) was correlated negatively with the density of host nests and positively with the number of eggs assigned to a particular female. Cuckoo female laying areas overlapped to a large extent and their size and location did not change between years. Cuckoo females preferentially parasitized host nests located close to their previously parasitized nests and were mostly host specific except for two that parasitized two host species. Future studies should focus on sympatric host and parasite communities with variable densities across different brood-parasitic systems to investigate how population density of hosts affects fitness and evolution of brood parasites. For instance, it remains unknown whether female parasites moving to new sites need to meet a threshold density of a potential host. In addition, young females may be more limited in their egg laying, particularly with respect to the activity of other parasites and hosts, than older females

Long-term and large-scale multispecies dataset tracking population changes of common European breeding birds

Around fifteen thousand fieldworkers annually count breeding birds using standardized protocols in 28 European countries. The observations are collected by using country-specific and standardized protocols, validated, summarized and finally used for the production of continent-wide annual and long-term indices of population size changes of 170 species. Here, we present the database and provide a detailed summary of the methodology used for fieldwork and calculation of the relative population size change estimates. We also provide a brief overview of how the data are used in research, conservation and policy. We believe this unique database, based on decades of bird monitoring alongside the comprehensive summary of its methodology, will facilitate and encourage further use of the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme results.publishedVersio

Biological Earth observation with animal sensors

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change

Ekologické důsledky sezónní migrace ptáků

Environmental seasonality, and associated fluctuation in resource abundance, affects organisms throughout their life cycles. Periods of resource scarcity can be avoided by seasonal migration, strategy common in animals, including birds. However, the long journeys of migratory birds separate the stages of their annual cycles in space and time, and present them with a variety of challenges. Environmental conditions that migrants experience may have local effects, or may carry over across seasons, and have delayed impacts on individuals and populations. To better understand the interactions between migratory animals and their environment, we integrated individual tracking, environmental measures, and population data within a full annual cycle perspective. We contributed to the understanding that environmental conditions can affect migratory populations both en route and during stationary non-breeding periods, and that their effects can be observed on a continental scale. We also showed, across species and migratory flyways, that stages of the annual cycle are tightly linked during migration, but that these links weaken during prolonged non-breeding stationarity, with implications for individual success and future prospects under ongoing environmental change. To enhance the ability to trace animal...Sezónnost prostředí, doprovázená kolísající dostupností potravy, ovlivňuje organismy v průběhu celého života. Obdobím nedostatku zdrojů se lze vyhnout sezónní migrací, která je u živočichů včetně ptáků běžná. Dlouhé cesty však staví tažné ptáky před řadu problémů, protože jednotlivá období ročního cyklu jsou od sebe oddělena v prostoru i čase. Podmínky prostředí, které tažní ptáci využívají, mohou na ptáky působit lokálně, ale jejich vliv se může projevit i napříč sezónami. Abychom lépe porozuměli interakcím mezi tažnými ptáky a prostředím, propojili jsme data ze sledování migrace s daty o podmínkách prostředí a populačních změnách v rámci celého ročního cyklu. Přispěli jsme tak k poznání, že podmínky prostředí mohou ovlivňovat migrující populace jak během zimování, tak v průběhu tahových zastávek, a že tyto dopady lze pozorovat i v kontinentálním měřítku. Ukázali jsme také, že napříč druhy a tahovými cestami jsou fáze ročního cyklu během migrace úzce provázány, ale že tyto vazby slábnou v průběhu dlouhých období zimování, což má důsledky pro úspěšnost jedinců a pro predikci budoucích scénářů ve světle globálních změn. Vytvořili jsme také mapu stabilních izotopů síry pro subsaharskou Afriku, na které je patrný longitudinální gradient napříč tímto druhově bohatým regionem a která nabízí aplikace v...Department of EcologyKatedra ekologieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

A range-wide assessment of carry-over effects within the full annual cycle of the Great Reed Warbler with a focus on sex and population differences

Movements of long-distance migratory birds are frequently well timed and routed in order to maximise individual fitness. However, individual timing of events or environmental conditions experienced have a potential to carry over into subsequent annual cycle stages and may have delayed fitness consequences. Therefore, knowledge of these seasonal interactions is crucial to identify key periods and regions that limit survival beyond the breeding period and thus to fully understand population dynamics of migratory species. Despite current evidence for seasonal interactions, there is no detailed knowledge of the complex of relationships within the full annual cycle, differences between sexes and populations or impact of environmental conditions during moult in one species. To unveil this system of seasonal interactions within the annual cycle, we directly tracked 103 great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) using light-level geolocators from five breeding sites across the breeding range to obtain information on timing and positions of annual cycle events. We then combined this information with various remotely sensed habitat condition metrics and stable isotopic composition of feathers from the non-breeding grounds to identify and quantify carry-over effects within the full annual cycle. Our..