Professional Characteristic Development of Occupational Therapy Students in Traditional vs. Hybrid Pathways

The development of professional characteristics is crucial to becoming a well-rounded, competent occupational therapist. An exploratory sequential mixed method design was used to determine if there was a difference in the growth of professional characteristics of students in a three-year entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program who attended a traditional on-campus program compared to a hybrid program. Ten second and third-year occupational therapy students from the traditional and hybrid pathways participated in a focus group related to cultivating professional characteristics. The themes that evolved from the focus group included: teamwork/team player, time management, communication, self-awareness, critical thinking, and leadership. The themes were then used to create survey questions related to the development of professional characteristics. Twenty first-year, 23 second-year, and 25 third-year students completed the survey. Twenty-seven of the 68 survey participants attended the program in the traditional pathway, and 41 of the 68 survey participants attended the hybrid pathway. Outcomes from the survey data suggest that there are significant differences in professional characteristics between traditional and hybrid students in the areas of listening (p-value = 0.024) and assertive communication (p-value = 0.003), in which traditional students rated their agreement of the development of these characteristics higher than the hybrid students. The results of this study emphasize the importance of professional occupational therapy education regardless of the delivery model (hybrid or traditional) to help mature professional characteristics in students and prepare them for clinical practice

No Evidence for Pre-Copulatory Sexual Selection on Sperm Length in a Passerine Bird

There is growing evidence that post-copulatory sexual selection, mediated by sperm competition, influences the evolution of sperm phenotypes. Evidence for pre-copulatory sexual selection effects on sperm traits, on the other hand, is rather scarce. A recent paper on the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, reported phenotypic associations between sperm length and two sexually selected male traits, i.e. plumage colour and arrival date, thus invoking pre-copulatory sexual selection for longer sperm. We were unable to replicate these associations with a larger data set from the same and two additional study populations; sperm length was not significantly related to either male plumage colour or arrival date. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in sperm length between populations despite marked differences in male plumage colour. We also found some evidence against the previously held assumption of longer sperm being qualitatively superior; longer sperm swam at the same speed as shorter sperm, but were less able to maintain speed over time. We argue that both empirical evidence and theoretical considerations suggest that the evolution of sperm morphology is not primarily associated with pre-copulatory sexual selection on male secondary sexual traits in this or other passerine bird species. The relatively large between-male variation in sperm length in this species is probably due to relaxed post-copulatory sexual selection

The role of arrival time to the breeding grounds in the song development of juvenile pied flycatchers

Few studies on song learning have been conducted in the field. Male pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) seem to learn song syllables in the breeding grounds. Adult males arrive first to the breeding grounds and sing more complex songs until they have paired. Early arriving juveniles may have more opportunities to learn new syllables from adult neighbours and develop more complex songs than later arriving juveniles. However, results suggest that arrival time is not important in song complexity development, but that males develop greater song complexity (repertoire size and song versatility) regardless as they age

Breeding Experience and not Age Modulates the Song Development of Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca)

In songbirds, the development of the species‐specific adult song involves a learning process that varies in extension. In species that incorporate new song elements throughout life (open‐ended learners), variation in male song composition could be the result of either age or breeding experience. Using data from 16 yr of fieldwork on pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca), we aimed to disclose the individual contribution of these two factors on the species song characteristics, as well as their relation with morphology and plumage color changes. Finally, we explored whether any of the song or physical features could predict the probability of males returning to the breeding site. We found that the song characteristics of the first‐time breeders did not differ between age classes, except for the total number of syllables per song, which was higher in the 1‐year‐old than in the 2‐year‐old males. However, we found that song variables associated with complexity (song and sample versatilities and repertoire size), increased significantly from the first to the second breeding season. Males showed delayed plumage maturation, with 1‐year‐old males being browner than the 2‐year‐old males independently of their breeding experience. Morphology, however, was not affected by age or breeding experience. The probability that males returned to the breeding site was not associated with song or physical features. Considering that some song learning occurs during the breeding period and that some males may skip the first breeding season, selective pressures may have been established for song complexity to be an honest indicator of breeding experience rather than age. This article has been accepted and published in Ethology. © 2017 Wile

Responses of domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) to multimodal aposematic signals

Many aposematic prey combine their visual warning signals with additional signals. Together, these signals constitute a multimodal or multicomponent warning display. The additional signals are thought to increase the effects of the visual signals on predators. Olfactory signals are much emphasized, but later studies have shown that also auditory signals like the buzzing of certain insects might have multimodal effects. The wasp displays typical visual aposematic signals, black and yellow stripes, but does also emit a characteristic buzzing. We wanted to test if, and in what way, the visual and acoustic display of the wasp has an aversive function on the predators. We therefore conducted a 12-trial discrimination-learning task on inexperienced chicks to study whether there are innate biases toward these signals and how they affect the speed of avoidance learning. We also performed three extinction-learning trials to study how memorable the signals were to the chicks. We show that the visual signals in the display of the wasp contribute to the protection from predators but in different ways; the yellow color had an aversive effect on inexperienced predators, while the striped pattern improved the aversion learning. The sound did not enhance the innate aversions but increased the aversion learning of stripes in green prey. Copyright 2006.aposematism; avoidance learning; chicks; innate biases; multimodal signals; sound; stripes

Singing is not energetically demanding for pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca

Male passerine bird song is a classic example of a sexually selected display. Theory predicts that such displays should be costly, but there are few empirical data on the potential costs of bird song. We measured the rate of oxygen consumption by male pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca, singing inside a respirometry chamber. Song is known to be important in mate choice by pied flycatchers, so we predicted that if passerine song is energetically costly, we should be able to measure the costs in this species. The metabolic rate of singing pied flycatchers (N = 3) was 0.62 � 0.11 W, which was equivalent to 2.7 � 0.5 � basal metabolic rate. Metabolism during singing did not differ significantly from that during standing. A power analysis of this test showed that the metabolic rate of singing birds was less than 1.12 � 0.04 times that of standing birds. Comparing the maximum cost of song production with daily energy expenditure (DEE) during nestling rearing, each hour of singing rather than standing would increase DEE by 0.4%. Thus, song production appears to be energetically cheap in the pied flycatcher in relation to the overall daily energy budget. However, because birds cannot sing and eat at the same time, there could be an energetic constraint to song duration owing to the need to spend sufficient time foraging. Copyright 2004.energy expenditure; Ficedula hypoleuca; pied flycatcher; song

Advancement of spring arrival in a long term study of a passerine bird: sex, age and environmental effects

In migratory birds, mistimed arrival might have negative consequences for individual fitness, causing population declines. This may happen if arrival time is not synchronized with breeding time, especially when earlier springs favour earlier reproduction. We studied spring arrival time to the breeding areas in a pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca population in southern Norway during a 30-year period (1985-2014). We investigated trends in arrival both for the entire population and for different population fractions (e.g. early vs. late arrivals). We also studied sex and age class differences, along with repeatability of arrival. Finally, we explored how arrival is influenced by environmental conditions at the areas birds use throughout the year, using mixed-effects models and quantile regressions with individual-based data. Spring arrival advanced over five days, at a similar rate through the entire population. Males and adult birds arrived earlier than females and yearlings. Arrival was significantly repeatable for males and females. Birds arrived earlier in years with high temperature and rainfall at the breeding grounds, and low NDVI both on the Iberian Peninsula and in central Europe. Later fractions of the population showed a steeper response to these environmental variables. This intra-population heterogeneity in the responses to the environment probably stems from a combination between the different selection pressures individuals are subject to and their age-related experience. Our results highlight the importance of studying how migration phenology is affected by the environment not only on the breeding grounds but also on the other areas birds use throughout the year.EU's PEOPLE Programme (Marie Curie Actions) 25532

Selection on sperm morphology under relaxed sperm competition in a wild passerine bird

Theories regarding the role of sexual selection on the evolution of sperm traits are based on an association between pre-copulatory (e.g. female preference) and post-copulatory (e.g. ejaculate quality) male reproductive traits. In tests of these hypotheses, sperm morphology has rarely been used, despite its high heritability and intra-individual consistency. We found evidence of selection for longer sperm through positive phenotypic associations between sperm size and the two major female preference traits in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca. Our results support the sexually selected sperm hypothesis in a species under low sperm competition and demonstrate that natural and pre-copulatory sexual selection forces should not be overlooked in studies of intraspecific sperm morphology evolution

Degradation of song in a species using nesting holes: the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca

The habitat, but also the nest hole of a hole-nesting species, will degrade the song during transmission. We investigated how the sounds degrade in a sound transmission experiment with the song of the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca (Muscicapidae). Ten different song elements were transmitted to microphones placed inside and outside a nest box. On average, song degradation was much greater inside than outside the nest boxes, especially with respect to excess attenuation and blurring of the song elements. Being inside a nest box therefore strongly reduces a Pied Flycatcher's possibility of detecting and recognizing songs or eavesdropping on singing interactions.<br>O habitat, mas também a cavidade do ninho de uma espécie nidificando em ocos, provoca uma degradação do som durante sua transmissão. Pesquisamos como os sons são degradados num experimento de transmissão sonora usando o canto do pássaro Ficedula hypoleuca (Muscicapidae). Dez elementos diferentes do canto foram enviados para microfones colocados dentro e fora de uma caixa de nidificação. Em média, a degradação do canto foi muito maior dentro do que fora do ninho, particularmente no que diz respeito ao excesso de atenuação e à borrada dos elementos do canto. Estar dentro de uma cavidade de nidificação, portanto, reduz fortemente a capacidade da espécie de detectar e reconhecer cantos ou de interceptar interações vocais