Great Tits Learn Odors and Colors Equally Well, and Show No Predisposition for Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles

Ability to efficiently localize productive foraging habitat is crucial for nesting success of insectivorous birds. Some bird species can use olfaction to identify caterpillar-infested trees by detection of herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), but these cues probably need to be learned. So far, we know very little about the process of olfactory learning in birds, whether insectivorous species have a predisposition for detecting and learning HIPVs, due to the high ecological significance of these odors, and how olfaction is integrated with vision in making foraging decisions. In a standardized setup, we tested whether 35 wild-caught great tits (Parus major) show any preference for widely abundant HIPVs compared to neutral (non-induced) plant odors, how fast they learn to associate olfactory, visual and multimodal foraging cues with food, and whether the olfactory preferences and learning speed were influenced by bird sex or habitat (urban or rural). We also tested how fast birds switch to a new cue of the same modality. Great tits showed no initial preference for HIPVs compared to neutral odors, and they learned all olfactory cues at a similar pace, except for methyl salicylate (MeSA), which they learned more slowly. We also found no differences in learning speeds between visual, olfactory and multimodal foraging cues, but birds learned the second cue they were offered faster than the first one. Bird sex or habitat had no effect on learning speed or olfactory preference, but urban birds tended to learn visual cues more slowly. We conclude that insectivorous birds utilize olfactory and visual cues with similar efficiency in foraging, and that they probably don't have any special predisposition toward the tested HIPVs. These results confirm that great tits are flexible foragers with good learning abilities

Pest suppression in cultivar mixtures is influenced by neighbor-specific plant-plant communication

Increased plant genotypic diversity in crop fields can promote ecosystem services including pest control, but understanding of mechanisms behind herbivore population responses to cultivar mixtures is limited. We studied aphid settling on barley plants exposed to volatiles from different cultivars, aphid population development in monocultures and two-cultivar mixtures, and differences in volatile composition between studied cultivars. Aphid responses to one cultivar in a mixture were neighbor-specific and this was more important for pest suppression than the overall mixture effect, aphid colonization patterns, or natural enemy abundance. Aphid populations decreased most in a mixture where both cultivars showed a reduced aphid-plant acceptance after reciprocal volatile exposure in the laboratory, and reduced population growth compared to monocultures in the field. Our findings suggest that herbivore population responses to crop genotypic diversity can depend on plant-plant volatile interactions, which can lead to changes in herbivore response to individual cultivars in a mixture, resulting in slower population growth. The impact of plant-plant interaction through volatiles on associated herbivore species is rarely considered, but improved understanding of these mechanisms would advance our understanding of the ecological consequences of biodiversity and guide development of sustainable agricultural practices. Combining cultivars in mixtures based on how they interact with each other is a promising strategy for sustainable pest management

Improving scientific rigour in conservation evaluations and a plea deal for transparency on potential biases

The delivery of rigorous and unbiased evidence on the effects of interventions lay at the heart of the scientific method. Here we examine scientific papers evaluating agri-environment schemes, the principal instrument to mitigate farmland biodiversity declines worldwide. Despite previous warnings about rudimentary study designs in this field, we found that the majority of studies published between 2008 and 2017 still lack robust study designs to strictly evaluate intervention effects. Potential sources of bias that arise from the correlative nature are rarely mentioned, and results are still promoted by using a causal language. This lack of robust study designs likely results from poor integration of research and policy, while the erroneous use of causal language and an unwillingness to discuss bias may stem from publication pressures. We conclude that scientific reporting and discussion of study limitations in intervention research must improve and propose some practices toward this goal

Red Junglefowl Chicks Seek Contact With Humans During Foraging Task

Contact seeking with humans is documented in some domestic animals, mainly dogs, which have advanced communication skills. Domestication as a companion animal is thought to underlie this ability. However, also domesticated horses and goats display similar human-directed behaviors. This suggests either a broader effect of domestication on contact-seeking behavior, or alternatively, that social interactions with humans can result in the development of human contact seeking. As part of another study, we observed contact-seeking behavior in juvenile red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) chicks exposed to behavioral training since hatching, during a foraging task, where chicks were singly required to collect food rewards in a familiar arena using odor cues. If chicks left the arena, we recorded if they approached and looked up at the experimenter, or if they approached other objects (including another human). Chicks approached the experimenter significantly more often than they approached other objects. This behavior was not linked to a fast performance in the test arena, which gave some birds more time to explore the surroundings, or to learning ability measured in a cognitive task. Yet, the preference for the experimenter was lower for chicks that were handled more prior to the experiment. Also, approach probability was positively correlated with escape attempts in a novel arena test. The observed variation in approach behavior suggests a link to aspects of personality, and exposure to human interactions and experimental procedures. Our observations suggest that, although neither domesticated nor selectively bred, red junglefowl that are socialized with humans can potentially develop behavior used to describe contact seeking. Together with evidence from cognitive and behavioral studies, our results suggest that social experiences, not only domestication, can affect human-animal interactions. We propose how interactions between behavior, cognition and handling could be studied further in controlled settings to validate the preliminary findings of our study and uncover the underlying mechanisms

The Role of the Polish-Language Local Media in Promoting Polish Culture in Latgale (in Latvia)

The paper presents information about the Polish media in the Latgale region – an area with the largest concentration of Poles in Latvia. Media of this type operate with the support of, among others, the Polish Senate and various foundations. The beginnings of the Polish-language media in Latgale date back to the late 1990s. In cooperation with different Polish organizations, Polish media in the region (mainly radio and television) activate and integrate the Polish diaspora, as well as provide information about the everyday life of Poles in Latgale. What is more, such media play an important role in popularizing the Polish language and culture

Insect diversity on clearcuts in boreal forest landscapes

Intensive management and loss of natural disturbance dynamics in boreal forests leads to habitat loss and degradation for forest dwelling species. As a consequence, many species have become threatened, especially those dependent on dead wood. Integration of conservation in forest management is therefore essential for protecting boreal forest species diversity. To optimise conservation efforts, we need to understand species habitat requirements and diversity patterns in managed forests. This thesis aims to increase our understanding of insect species diversity patterns on clearcuts in boreal forest landscapes. I have surveyed beetles, bees and wasps on clearcuts in two boreal forest regions in Sweden and assessed the importance of clearcut properties and composition of surrounding landscape for species occurrence and diversity. Locally, amount of dead wood was positively associated with high species richness and individual species occurrence of certain wood-dependent beetles. Bee and wasp species richness increased with high local flower richness and clearcut size. Landscape composition was at least as important as local habitat characteristics for shaping diversity patterns. Burned forest land in surrounding landscape increased wood-dependent beetle species richness, while burning of clearcuts had only a weak effect on beetles, bees and wasps. This is probably because burned forest land on landscape scale includes higher habitat diversity with larger dead wood amounts, compared to burned clearcuts. Bee and wasp species richness increased with amount of early-successional habitats in the landscape, indicating that most species are associated with open habitats. The bee and wasp fauna differed considerably between landscapes. Therefore, conservation efforts need to be dispersed throughout the region to preserve the entire fauna. To promote insect species diversity on clearcuts in managed boreal forests, larger amount and diversity of dead wood needs to be created. Species dependent on sun-exposed dead wood or flowering plant richness can be favoured by prolonged open-habitat stage on parts of clearcuts. Concentrating certain conservation efforts to some clearcuts in the landscape is probably necessary in order to create high-quality habitats

Семантика лексемы smutek в романе Л. Вишневского S@motność wsieci и в его латышском переводе

В последнее время исследование эмоций представляет большой интерес со сто-роны учёных. Одним из популярных направлений в современной лингвистике является изучение лексем, которые называют внутреннее эмоциональное состоя-ние. Хотя основные эмоции, такие как страх, гнев, радость, в значительной степени универсальны, свойственны для человеческой сущности, в разных языках они мо-гут быть выражены по-разному. В данной статье рассматривается семантика лек-семы smutek в современном польском романе Януша Леона Вишневского „Одино-чество в Сети”, а также в его переводе на латышский язык. На основе анализа вы-являются семантические сходства и различия польской лексемы smutek и латыш-ских skumjas и bēdas

Birds differentially prioritize visual and olfactory foraging cues depending on habitat of origin and sex

Animals interpret their environment by combining information from multiple senses. The relative usefulness of different senses may vary between species, habitats and sexes; yet, how multimodal stimuli are integrated and prioritized is unknown for most taxa. We experimentally assessed foraging preferences of great tits (Parus major) to test whether urban and forest individuals prioritize visual and olfactory cues differently during foraging. We trained 13 wild-caught birds to associate multimodal (colour + odour) cues with a food reward and assessed their foraging preferences in a cue-separation test. In this, the birds could choose between the multimodal training cue and its olfactory or visual components. Our results suggest that the birds did not perceive multimodal cues in an integrated way, as their response was not stronger than for unimodal cue components. Urban birds preferred olfactory cues, while forest birds preferred visual cues. Nevertheless, female birds preferred the multimodal cue, while males foraged more randomly with respect to which cue was present. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relative roles of vision and olfaction in bird foraging behaviour. Future work should focus on how habitat- and sex-specific sensory prioritization modifies bird foraging behaviour and foraging success in the context of urban adaptations across populations

Nauczanie języka polskiego na Uniwersytecie Dyneburskim: przeszłość i teraźniejszość

Polish philology at the Daugavpils University – yesterdays and present In 1991, in the Daugavpils Pedagogical Institute was opened the first group of Polish. This was the beginning of the studies of Polish language not only in Daugavpils, but also in the Second Republic of Latvia. Students of the first groups had possibility to receive a diploma of specialist teaching Polish language from Polish and Russian, as well as Russian literature. In 2005 was created the program “Bachelor of Polish philology with a second foreign language”. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Polish philology students have possibility to continue their education at two-year master’s degree. Currently, the “Polish Studies” among the universities of Latvia proposes only Daugavpils University. Every year Polish language institution is organizing an international conference “Polish-Baltic cultural associations”, which involved researchers from the Polish and Baltic countries. In 2010 at the Daugavpils University was opened Centre of Polish Language and Culture, which functions as a center for education and research. Polish philology at the Faculty of Humanities of the Daugavpils University support Polish Embassy, Foundations “Semper Polonia” and “Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie” and the Association “Wspólnota Polska”

Birds differentially prioritize visual and olfactory foraging cues depending on habitat of origin and sex

Animals interpret their environment by combining information from multiple senses. The relative usefulness of different senses may vary between species, habitats and sexes; yet, how multimodal stimuli are integrated and prioritized is unknown for most taxa. We experimentally assessed foraging preferences of great tits (Parus major) to test whether urban and forest individuals prioritize visual and olfactory cues differently during foraging. We trained 13 wild-caught birds to associate multimodal (colour + odour) cues with a food reward and assessed their foraging preferences in a cue-separation test. In this, the birds could choose between the multimodal training cue and its olfactory or visual components. Our results suggest that the birds did not perceive multimodal cues in an integrated way, as their response was not stronger than for unimodal cue components. Urban birds preferred olfactory cues, while forest birds preferred visual cues. Nevertheless, female birds preferred the multimodal cue, while males foraged more randomly with respect to which cue was present. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relative roles of vision and olfaction in bird foraging behaviour. Future work should focus on how habitat-and sex-specific sensory prioritization modifies bird foraging behaviour and foraging success in the context of urban adaptations across populations