Nest-Site Selection by Female Black-Capped Chickadees: Settlement Based on Conspecific Attraction?

Female Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) solicit extrapair copulations (EPCs) from neighboring high-ranking males, and these EPCs result in extrapair young. Females might choose to locate their nests near the territory boundaries of attractive males to facilitate access to EPCs. Other hypotheses might also explain choice of nest site, namely (1) habitat characteristics, (2) prey abundance, and (3) previous experience. We tested these four hypotheses in 1996 and 1997. Out of 27 habitat characteristics measured, we found only one that was significantly different between nests and control sites in both years. The abundance of large trees was lower at nest sites than at control sites in each year and when years were pooled. Relative prey abundance did not differ between nests and control sites for either year of the study. We found no different in interyear nest placement based on female experience; experienced females nester farther than 60 m from their previous nest sites in both years of the study. In 1996, females whose neighboring males were higher ranked than their social partner located their nests significantly closer to territory boundaries than did females whose nearest neighbors were lower ranked than their social partner. In 1997, all pairs nested near territory boundaries. We conclude that choice of nest location in Black-capped Chickadees is influenced by conspecific attraction based on mating tactics

Enhanced Reproductive Success of Female Black-Capped Chickadees Mated to High-Ranking Males

Overwinter survival of female Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) depends in part on the rank of their mates. We investigated whether females also gain reproductive beenfits by pairing with high-ranking males. We assessed breeding success in 1993 to 1995 and 1997 by comparing clutch size, proportion of eggs hatched, hatching date, and prediction rates on nests of females mated to either high-ranking or low-ranking males. We also compared feeding rates of males to incubating females and to offspring during the early nestling period in 1994 and 1995. High-ranking and low-ranking males did not differ in feeding rates during early incubation or early nestling stages. Females mated to high-ranking males incubated for longer periods than females mated ot low-ranking males. Younger males and females mated to low-ranking males fed nestlings at a higher rate than did older males and females mated to high-ranking males, respectively. Females mated ot high-ranking males had larger clutches, hatched a significantly greater proportion of their eggs, and suffered lower nest predation than females mated to low-ranking males. In 1995 and 1997, where the ranks and ages of both members of 23 pairs were known, female rank was strongly correlated with mate rank and age but was only weakly associated with female age. Female rank accounted for significant variation only in clutch size, and male rank accounted for a greater proportion of variation in clutch size and fleding success than did the female’s own rank

Enhanced Reproductive Success of Female Black-Capped Chickadees Mated to High-Ranking Males

Overwinter survival of female Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) depends in part on the rank of their mates. We investigated whether females also gain reproductive beenfits by pairing with high-ranking males. We assessed breeding success in 1993 to 1995 and 1997 by comparing clutch size, proportion of eggs hatched, hatching date, and prediction rates on nests of females mated to either high-ranking or low-ranking males. We also compared feeding rates of males to incubating females and to offspring during the early nestling period in 1994 and 1995. High-ranking and low-ranking males did not differ in feeding rates during early incubation or early nestling stages. Females mated to high-ranking males incubated for longer periods than females mated ot low-ranking males. Younger males and females mated to low-ranking males fed nestlings at a higher rate than did older males and females mated to high-ranking males, respectively. Females mated ot high-ranking males had larger clutches, hatched a significantly greater proportion of their eggs, and suffered lower nest predation than females mated to low-ranking males. In 1995 and 1997, where the ranks and ages of both members of 23 pairs were known, female rank was strongly correlated with mate rank and age but was only weakly associated with female age. Female rank accounted for significant variation only in clutch size, and male rank accounted for a greater proportion of variation in clutch size and fleding success than did the female’s own rank

Between-Year Survival and Rank Transitions in Male Black-Capped Chickadees (\u3cem\u3ePoecile Atricapillus\u3c/em\u3e): A Multistate Modeling Approach

In dominance-structured animal societies, variation in individual fitness is often related to social status. Like many passerine birds, Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) have a short average adult life-expectancy (Ø2 years); however, the maximum recorded life span is \u3e5× as long. Enhanced annual survival could contribute to greater lifetime reproductive success for male Black-capped Chickadees with high social rank. We used multistate capture–mark–recapture models to estimate annual survival of male Black-capped Chickadees in Ontario using resighting and recapture data collected from 1997 to 2002. Our goal was to evaluate support for an influence of rank on annual survival and estimate its effect size for a food-supplemented study site. We also statistically modeled the probability of between-year rank transitions. Model selection based on Akaike’s information criterion provided support for an effect of rank on survival. However, multimodel inference revealed that the size of the effect was rather small. Over the six study years, model-averaged estimates of the survival benefit of high versus low rank ranged from 5.0 to 7.3%. As expected, survival was strongly year-dependent, with model-averaged estimates of annual survival probability varying between 0.36 and 0.73. Age was an important predictor of the probability of rank transitions. Low-ranked second-year birds were less likely than older low-ranked birds to advance to high rank between years; likewise, high-ranked after-second-year birds were less likely to drop in rank. Other studies have found larger effects of rank on survival than we observed here. Future research should consider how interactions between social and environmental factors influence annual survival

A Population-level Analysis of Morning Song: Exploring the Implications for Point Counts

Point counts are widely used for conducting ecological surveys of wild birds. Vocal output of birds varies with time of day, and therefore the results of ecological surveys should also vary with time of day. We modeled how males’ singing rates change over the morning. We calculated song rates in 3 min sampling periods (the standard sampling period used by the North American Breeding Bird Survey) and compared how detection rates vary as sampling period increases. We recorded singing activity in 15 neighbourhoods of breeding Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) with 16-element microphone arrays that recorded every song from every male in every neighbourhood. We calculated the proportion of males that produced one or more songs during 3, 5, and 10 min count periods between nautical twilight and late morning. our results show a strong peak in singing activity just before sunrise followed by a steady decline in singing activity over the course of the morning. We found that longer sampling periods yielded significantly higher detection rates at all times after sunrise. After sunrise, detection rates never exceeded 60%, even with 10 min sampling periods. We found that unpaired males had significantly higher detection rates than paired males but we found no difference between paired males with fertile versus incubating mates. our results provide strong evidence that, for black-capped Chickadees, surveys during the dawn chorus provide the most comprehensive assessment of the number of birds present, and that longer sampling periods yield significantly better estimates of population sizes at all times after sunrise

Black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus, avoid song overlapping: evidence for the acoustic interference hypothesis

Many animals produce sounds that overlap the sounds of others. In some animals, overlapping is thought to be an aggressive signal important in resource defence. Yet, overlapping can also occur by chance, and therefore its function is controversial. In this study, we conducted two experiments to test the function of overlapping in black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus. In experiment 1, we simulated territorial intrusions by broadcasting songs inside established chickadee territories. Resident males overlapped the playback-simulated intruders significantly less than expected by chance, as in most species in which overlapping has been described. Chickadees also overlapped more when they were farther from the intruder. This pattern suggests that chickadees avoid overlapping as a mechanism for reducing acoustic interference (‘interference avoidance hypothesis’). However, the pattern could also constitute submissive signalling if chickadees signal de-escalation (associated with greater distance between opponents) through increasing rates of overlapping (‘submissive signalling hypothesis’). Therefore, in experiment 2, we contrasted these two hypotheses by comparing responses to playback stimuli with low or high interference potential and low or high signal value. We manipulated interference potential by broadcasting stimuli at different amplitudes. We manipulated signal value by broadcasting either song stimuli, which elicit aggression, or white noise stimuli with matching time-amplitude characteristics. If overlapping is a submissive signal, then we predicted that chickadees would avoid overlapping song stimuli, but not white noise stimuli, which lack signal value. Contrary to this prediction, chickadees overlapped song and white noise stimuli equally often, but significantly less often than expected by chance. Furthermore, chickadees overlapped both types of stimuli more often when they were broadcast at lower amplitudes (i.e. lower interference potential). Together, these findings provide compelling evidence that overlapping is not a signal in this species, and that chickadees avoid overlapping both biotic and abiotic sounds as a mechanism for reducing interference

Between-year survival and rank transitions in male black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus): A multistate modeling approach

In dominance-structured animal societies, variation in individual fitness is often related to social status. Like many passerine birds, Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) have a short average adult life-expectancy (∼2 years); however, the maximum recorded life span is \u3e 5× as long. Enhanced annual survival could contribute to greater lifetime reproductive success for male Black-capped Chickadees with high social rank. We used multistate capture-mark-recapture models to estimate annual survival of male Black-capped Chickadees in Ontario using resighting and recapture data collected from 1997 to 2002. Our goal was to evaluate support for an influence of rank on annual survival and estimate its effect size for a food-supplemented study site. We also statistically modeled the probability of between-year rank transitions. Model selection based on Akaike\u27s information criterion provided support for an effect of rank on survival. However, multimodel inference revealed that the size of the effect was rather small. Over the six study years, model-averaged estimates of the survival benefit of high versus low rank ranged from 5.0 to 7.3%. As expected, survival was strongly year-dependent, with model-averaged estimates of annual survival probability varying between 0.36 and 0.73. Age was an important predictor of the probability of rank transitions. Low-ranked second-year birds were less likely than older low-ranked birds to advance to high rank between years; likewise, high-ranked after-second-year birds were less likely to drop in rank. Other studies have found larger effects of rank on survival than we observed here. Future research should consider how interactions between social and environmental factors influence annual survival. © The American Ornithologists\u27 Union, 2008

The role of spirituality in treatment of patients and work of health care workers

Duhovnost kao specifična dimenzija čovjekove osobnosti u medicini je prepoznata tek u posljednjih dvadesetak godina kao važan čimbenik u procesu izlječenja i odnosa zdravstveni djelatnik – bolesnik. U tu su svrhu provedena brojna istraživanja među pacijentima glede njihova religioznog svjetonazora i vjerničke duhovnosti kako bi se proniknulo što dublje i stekle što sveobuhvatnije spoznaje o utjecaju vjere i duhovnosti na ljudsko zdravlje. Kolika je važnost duhovnosti u suvremenoj medicini, posebice psihologiji, svjedoči i činjenica što su mnoge svjetske akademske institucije uvrstile duhovnost u programe redovite izobrazbe zdravstvenih djelatnika. Djelovanje zdravstvenog osoblja temelji se na kvalitetnom međuljudskom odnosu prema bolesnicima o kojima skrbe. Ovaj je odnos obilježen “povjerenjem” čovjeka koji je pogođen bolešću, ali se uzda u “savjest” i stručnost liječnika koji ga liječi i medicinske sestre koja ga njeguje. Ovaj se interpersonalni odnos temelji na pretpostavci da bolesnik nije samo “klinički slučaj”. Odnos, dakle, mora biti mnogo dublji, cjelovitiji, jer nije bolesno samo njegovo tijelo, nego je bolest zahvatila cijelu osobu, sa svim njezinim duševnim i duhovnim komponentama. Upravo zato zdravstveno osoblje treba biti osposobljeno prepoznati i procijeniti duhovne potrebe pacijenta. Dužnost je zdravstvenog djelatnika stvoriti ozračje međusobnog poštovanja kako bi stekao povjerenje bolesnika koji će potom očitovati svoje tegobe i osjećaje pa i duhovne potrebe. Zdravstveni djelatnik treba biti čuvar i služitelj ljudskoga života, što pretpostavlja integralni pristup fenomenu zdravlja i bolesti. Bez obzira na osobno vjersko uvjerenje ili svjetonazor zdravstveni je djelatnik pozvan u svom profesionalnom odnosu prema bolesniku poštivati i zagovarati temeljne moralne vrijednosti: dostojanstvo ljudske osobe i nepovrjedivost ljudskoga života na svim razinama: tjelesnoj, emocionalnoj, društvenoj i duhovnoj. Za liječenje bolesti, dakle, prijeko je potrebno uzeti u obzir ne samo tjelesne, psihološke i društvene, nego i duhovne čimbenike.Spirituality as a specific dimension of human personality has been recognized in medicine not earlier than the last twenty years as an important factor in the healing process and the relationship between the health care worker and patient. For this purpose numerous researches have been carried out among the patients with regard to their religious worldview and spirituality in order to gain a deep and comprehensive understanding of the influence of religion and spirituality on human health. The importance of spirituality in contemporary medicine, especially in psychology, can be seen in the fact that numerous academic institutions in the world have included spirituality in the educational programmes for health care professionals. The activities of health care workers are founded on a good quality relationship to the patients they care for. This relationship is marked by the confidence of the person affected by a disease who believes in the doctor’s conscience and expertise and the nurse’s care. This interpersonal relationship is based on the assumption that the patient is not just a clinical case. Therefore, the relationship should be much deeper and more comprehensive, because not only his body is ill but illness has affected the whole person with his/her mental and spiritual components. That is why health care workers should be qualified to recognize and assess the spiritual needs of the patient. It is the duty of health care workers to create an atmosphere of mutual respect in order to gain the trust of patients who will then manifest their problems and feelings as well as their spiritual needs. The health worker should be a guardian and minister of human life which implies an integral approach to the phenomenon of health and disease. Regardless of personal religious belief or worldview, a health care worker is called in his professional relationship to the patient to respect and advocate the fundamental moral values: human dignity and inviolability of human life at all levels: physical, emotional, social and spiritual. Therefore, in the treatment of diseases it is necessary to take into account not only physical, psychological and social factors, but spiritual factors as well

Nest cavity orientation in black-capped chickadees Poecile atricapillus: Do the acoustic properties of cavities influence sound reception in the nest and extra-pair matings?

Birds that nest in cavities may regulate nest microclimate by orienting their nest entrance relative to the sun or prevailing winds. Alternatively, birds may orient their nest entrance relative to conspecific individuals around them, especially if the acoustic properties of cavities permit nesting birds to better hear individuals in front of their nest. We measured the cavity entrance orientation of 132 nests and 234 excavations in a colour-banded population of black-capped chickadees Poecile atricapillus for which the reproductive behaviour of nesting females was known. Most chickadees excavated cavities in rotten birch Betula papyrifera, aspen Populus tremuloides and maple Acer saccharum. Nest cavities snowed random compass orientation around 360° demonstrating that chickadees do not orient their cavities relative to the sun or prevailing winds. We also presented chickadees with nest boxes arranged in groups of four, oriented at 90° intervals around the same tree. Nests constructed in these nest box quartets also showed random compass orientation. To test the acoustic properties of nest cavities, we conducted a sound transmission experiment using a microphone mounted inside a chickadee nest. Re-recorded songs demonstrate that chickadee nest cavities have directional acoustic properties; songs recorded with the cavity entrance oriented towards the loudspeaker were louder than songs recorded with the cavity entrance oriented away from the loudspeaker. Thus, female chickadees, who roost inside their nest cavity in the early morning during their fertile period, should be better able to hear males singing the dawn chorus in front of their nest cavity. Using GIS analyses we tested for angular-angular correlation between actual nest cavity orientation and the azimuth from the nest tree to the territories and nest cavities of nearby males. In general, nest cavity entrances showed no angular-angular correlation with neighbourhood territory features. However, among birds who followed a mixed reproductive strategy and nested in the soft wood of birch and aspen trees, nest cavity entrances were oriented towards their extra-pair partners. We conclude that nest cavity orientation in birds may be influenced by both ecological and social factors

Overlapping and matching in the song contests of black-capped chickadees

During vocal contests, animals alter both the timing and the patterning of responses to their opponents. Time-specific responses (such as overlapping an opponent\u27s song) and pattern-specific responses (such as matching the type of an opponent\u27s song) may reveal information about interacting animals. Here we explore the consequences of overlapping and frequency matching during song contests of male black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus. Using interactive playback, we engaged birds of high and low dominance status in vocal interactions with a simulated territorial intruder. The playback intruder either overlapped or avoided overlapping the subjects\u27 songs and either matched or avoided matching the frequency of the subjects\u27 songs. Individuals who were overlapped by the playback intruder showed higher variability in their song length and song timing than individuals who were not overlapped. Individuals who were frequency-matched by the playback intruder responded with more agitated responses (more flights and passes over the speaker and closer distances of closest approach) and spent more time farther away from the loudspeaker. We argue that the timing of song delivery and the choice of song type are distinct functional components of vocal interactions, where overlapping and matching songs are threatening signals that have separate consequences for opponent behaviour and song performance. High-ranking males responded at greater distances from the loudspeaker in all treatments and responded with lower agitation levels than low-ranking males. We demonstrate that males of different quality show different behavioural responses to territorial intruders, where males of high status appear reluctant to engage an intruder as intensely as males of low status. © 2004 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved