A Gyűrűfű Természetvédelmi Terület emlősei a Magyar Biodiverzitás Napi felmérések alapján

On one km2 surface study area inside of the Gyűrűfű Nature Conservation Area (Zselic hill) during short interval field-surveys we detected 7 species belonging to the order Rodentia, 3 Soricomorpha, 6 Chiroptera, 3 Artiodactyla, 2 wild-living Carnivora, and two indefinable Mustelidae species-pairs

Individually distinctive vocalization in common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus)

Distinctive individual vocalizations are advantageous in several social contexts. Both genetic and environmental effects are responsible for this phenomenon resulting in different frequencies and time domains of sounds in birds. This individuality can be utilized in breeding bird censuses and abundance estimates. In this study we explored the individuality of the advertisement calls of male Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) with the aims of describing the acoustic ways in which individuals differ from each other, and characterizing the practical requirements for using statistical learning methods for individual recognition. We collected calls from a Hungarian cuckoo population and conducted discriminant function analysis on acoustic parameters to distinguish individuals. We show that individuals differ in both the frequency and time of their calls, most importantly in maximum frequency of the first syllable. Our discrimination of the male calls of 26 individuals was almost 100% accurate, and even when the number of samples was reduced to five calls per individual, and the number of acoustic parameters was decreased to five variables, accuracy still exceeds 90%. Thus, because our acoustic individual discrimination technique is easy to perform and can be readily automated, it will be applicable to a wide range of ecological and behavioural studies

A kulturális evolúció nyomai az örvös légykapó (Ficedula albicollis) énekében

A kulturális evolú ció folyamata – mely nem genetikai úton öröklött, hanem szociális tanulás útján, egyedek vagy generációk között történő információáramláson alapul – az emberré válás egyik fő mozgatórugója. Ez a kulturális evolúció azonban nemcsak az emberre jellemző sajátosság, hanem az állatok esetében is nagy jelentőséggel bír. A kulturális evolúció e gyik alapfeltétele, hogy az egyedek viselkedési elemeket másolnak egymásról. Amikor ilyen másolásra kerül sor az éneklő m a- darak között, akkor az énekelemek, vagyis a szillablák használatának eloszlása térben és időben nem véletlenszerű, hanem strukturált lesz. Ennek a hipotézisnek a tesztelésére az örvös légykapó ( Ficedula albicollis ) egy pilisi populációjában 103 hím egyed 2005 és 2010 között rögzített 1740 énekét el e- me z tük. Populációs szinten 476 szillablafajtát definiáltunk. Az egyedek szillablahasználatában me g- mutatkozó átfedések feltárására hasonlósági mátrixokat számoltunk ki , és ezek között Mantel - teszttel vizsgáltuk, hogy a hímek énekének hasonlósága mutat - e térbeli és időbeli mintázatokat. A populáció énekösszetételében időbeli strukturáltságot írtunk le: az időben egymáshoz közelebb éneklő hímek éneke jobban hasonlít egymá shoz, mint az időben egymástól távol abb éneklő hímek é. Ezek az időbeli mintázatok léptékfüggőek voltak . A térbeli mintázat megléte nem volt statisztikailag igazolható . E n- nek hiánya indokolható a rendelkezésre álló adatok alacsony számával , illetve, hogy kis geográfiai távolságokon esetleg nem kimutatható a térbeli mintázat. Összefoglalva tehát vizsgálatunkkal rés z ben igazoltuk a kulturális evolúció meglétét az örvös légykapónál

The relationship between DRD4 polymorphisms and phenotypic correlations of behaviors in the collared flycatcher

There is increasing evidence that the genetic architecture of exploration behav- ior includes the dopamine receptor D4 gene ( DRD4 ). Such a link implies that the within-individual consistency in the same behavior has a genetic basis. Behavioral consistency is also prevalent in the form of between-individual cor- relation of functionally different behaviors; thus, the relationship between DRD4 polymorphism and exploration may also be manifested for other behav- iors. Here, in a Hungarian population of the collared flycatcher, Ficedula albi- collis , we investigate how males with distinct DRD4 genotypes differ in the consistent elements of their behavioral displays during the courtship period. In completely natural conditions, we assayed novelty avoidance, aggression and risk-taking, traits that were previously shown repeatable over time and correlate with each other, suggesting that they could have a common mechanistic basis. We identified two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP554 and SNP764) in the exon 3 of the DRD4 gene by sequencing a subsample, then we screened 202 individuals of both sexes for these SNPs. Focusing on the genotypic variation in courting males, we found that “AC” heterozygote individuals at the SNP764 take lower risk than the most common “AA” homozygotes (the “CC” homo- zygotes were not represented in our subsample of males). We also found a con- siderable effect size for the relationship between SNP554 polymorphism and novelty avoidance. Therefore, in addition to exploration, DRD4 polymorphisms may also be associated with the regulation of behaviors that may incur fear or stress. Moreover, polymorphisms at the two SNPs were not independent indi- cating a potential role for genetic constraints or another functional link, which may partially explain behavioral correlations

The relationship between DRD4 polymorphisms and phenotypic correlations of behaviors in the collared flycatcher

There is increasing evidence that the genetic architecture of exploration behavior includes the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4). Such a link implies that the within-individual consistency in the same behavior has a genetic basis. Behavioral consistency is also prevalent in the form of between-individual correlation of functionally different behaviors; thus, the relationship between DRD4 polymorphism and exploration may also be manifested for other behaviors. Here, in a Hungarian population of the collared flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, we investigate how males with distinct DRD4 genotypes differ in the consistent elements of their behavioral displays during the courtship period. In completely natural conditions, we assayed novelty avoidance, aggression and risk-taking, traits that were previously shown repeatable over time and correlate with each other, suggesting that they could have a common mechanistic basis. We identified two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP554 and SNP764) in the exon 3 of the DRD4 gene by sequencing a subsample, then we screened 202 individuals of both sexes for these SNPs. Focusing on the genotypic variation in courting males, we found that “AC” heterozygote individuals at the SNP764 take lower risk than the most common “AA” homozygotes (the “CC” homozygotes were not represented in our subsample of males). We also found a considerable effect size for the relationship between SNP554 polymorphism and novelty avoidance. Therefore, in addition to exploration, DRD4 polymorphisms may also be associated with the regulation of behaviors that may incur fear or stress. Moreover, polymorphisms at the two SNPs were not independent indicating a potential role for genetic constraints or another functional link, which may partially explain behavioral correlations

Renewable energies and biodiversity: Impact of ground‐mounted solar photovoltaic sites on bat activity

Renewable energy is growing at a rapid pace globally but as yet there has been little research on the effects of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) developments on bats, many species of which are threatened or protected. We conducted a paired study at 19 ground-mounted solar PV developments in southwest England. We used static detectors to record bat echolocation calls from boundaries (i.e. hedgerows) and central locations (open areas) at fields with solar PV development, and simultaneously at matched sites without solar PV developments (control fields). We used generalised linear mixed-effect models to assess how solar PV developments and boundary habitat affected bat activity and species richness. The activity of six of eight species/species groups analysed was negatively affected by solar PV panels, suggesting that loss and/or fragmentation of foraging/commuting habitat is caused by ground-mounted solar PV panels. Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Nyctalus spp. activity was lower at solar PV sites regardless of the habitat type considered. Negative impacts of solar PV panels at field boundaries were apparent for the activity of Myotis spp. and Eptesicus serotinus, and in open fields for Pipistrellus pygmaeus and Plecotus spp. Bat species richness was greater along field boundaries compared with open fields, but there was no effect of solar PV panels on species richness. Policy implications: Ground-mounted solar photovoltaic developments have a significant negative effect on bat activity, and should be considered in appropriate planning legislation and policy. Solar photovoltaic developments should be screened in Environmental Impact Assessments for ecological impacts, and appropriate mitigation (e.g. maintaining boundaries, planting vegetation to network with surrounding foraging habitat) and monitoring should be implemented to highlight potential negative effects

Among-year variation in the repeatability, within- and between-individual, and phenotypic correlations of behaviors in a natural population

When mean behaviors correlate among individuals, they form behavioral syndromes. One way to understand the evolution of such a group-level phenomenon is to compare horizontally patterns of correlations among populations (or species) or follow longitudinally the same population over years in the light of parallel differences in the environment. We applied the longitudinal approach to 8-year field data and analyzed phenotypic correlations, and their within- and between-individual components, among three behaviors (novelty avoidance, aggression, and risk-taking) in male collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, in a meta-analytic framework. The phenotypic correlation between novelty avoidance and aggression varied heterogeneously (it was positive in some years, while it was negative in other years), while the other pair-wise correlations were consistently positive over the study period. We investigated four potential socio-ecological factors, and found evidence that the among-year alterations in the demographic structure of the population (density, age composition) can be responsible for the heterogeneous effect sizes. Comparing within- and between-individual correlations across pairs of traits, we found that the correlation between aggression and risk-taking at the among-individual level was the strongest suggesting that this relationship has the highest potential to form a behavioral syndrome. Within-year repeatabilities varied among traits, but were systematically higher than between-year repeatabilities. Our study highlights on an empirical basis that there can be several biological and statistical reasons behind detecting a phenotypic correlation in a study, but only few of these imply that fixed behavioral syndromes are maintained in a natural population. In fact, some correlations seem to be shaped by environmental fluctuations.Peer reviewe