13 research outputs found
Bumblebees show cognitive flexibility by improving on an observed complex behavior
This article is embargoed until publication. It must under no circumstances be made publicly accessible before this date.This article is embargoed until publication. It must under no circumstances be made publicly accessible before this date
The roles of temperature, nest predators and information parasites for geographical variation in egg covering behaviour of tits (Paridae)
This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.âŻAbstract
Aim
Nest building is widespread among animals. Nests may provide receptacles for eggs, developing offspring and the parents, and protect them from adverse environmental conditions. Nests may also indicate the quality of the territory and its owner and can be considered as an extended phenotype of its builder(s). Nests may, thus, function as a sexual and social signal. Here, we examined ecological and abiotic factorsâtemperature, nest predation and interspecific information utilizationâshaping geographical variation in a specific nest structureâhair and feather cover of eggsâand its function as an extended phenotype before incubation in great (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) across Europe. We also tested whether egg covering is associated with reproductive success of great tits.
Location
Fourteen different study sites and 28 populations across Europe.
Taxon
Parus major, Cyanistes caeruleus.
Methods
We recorded clutch coverage estimates and collected egg covering nest material from the tit nests. We also measured nest specific breeding parameters and phenotypic measurements on adults. We tested whether mean spring temperatures, nest predation rates and flycatcher (Ficedula spp) densities in the study areas explain the largeâscale geographical variation of clutch coverage and reproductive success of tits.
Results
The degree of egg coverage of great tits increased with lower mean spring temperature, higher nest predation rate and higher flycatcher density. We did not find egg covering of blue tits to be associated with any of the ecological or abiotic factors. Moreover, egg covering of great tits was not associated with reproductive success in our crossâsectional data, yet a rigorous assessment of fitness effects would require longâterm data.
Main conclusions
Our findings suggest that, in great tits, egg covering may simultaneously provide thermal insulation against cold temperatures during eggâlaying in spring and also represent a counterâadaptation to reduce information parasitism by flycatchers and nest predation. Hence, geographical variation in interspecific interactions, and consequently in coâevolutionary processes, may affect the evolution of nest characteristics besides environmental conditions.Biotieteiden ja YmpĂ€ristön Tutkimuksen ToimikuntaAgencia Estatal de InvestigaciĂłn, Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Spanish Research Council
Correction: Associative Mechanisms Allow for Social Learning and Cultural Transmission of String Pulling in an Insect.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002564.]
Large-scale transcriptome changes in the process of long-term visual memory formation in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris
This work was supported by the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (grant no. CARS-45-KXJ3), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31340061 and 31772684), the HFSP (grant no. RGP0022/2014) and funding from the China Scholarship Council and Queen Mary University of London