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McGlade CLO, Capilla-Lasheras P, Womack RJ, Helm B, Dominoni DM. Experimental light at night explains differences in activity onset between urban and forest great tits. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230194. [PMID: 37670610 PMCID: PMC10480697 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is rapidly increasing and so is scientific interest in its ecological and evolutionary consequences. In wild species, ALAN can modify and disrupt biological rhythms. However, experimental proof of such effects of ALAN in the wild is still scarce. Here, we compared diel rhythms of incubation behaviour, inferred from temperature sensors, of female great tits (Parus major) breeding in urban and forest sites. In parallel, we simulated ALAN by mounting LED lights (1.8 lx) inside forest nest-boxes, to determine the potentially causal role of ALAN affecting diel patterns of incubation. Urban females had an earlier onset of activity compared to forest females. Experimentally ALAN-exposed forest females were similar to urban females in their advanced onset of activity, compared to unexposed forest birds. However, forest females exposed to experimental ALAN, but not urban females, were more restless at night than forest control females. Our findings demonstrate that ALAN can explain the early activity timing in incubating urban great tits, but its effects on sleep disturbance in the forest are not reflected in urban females. Consequently, future research needs to address potential effects of ALAN-induced timing on individual health, fitness and population dynamics, in particular in populations that were not previously affected by light pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pablo Capilla-Lasheras
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Robyn J. Womack
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
| | - Barbara Helm
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Davide M. Dominoni
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
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Diez-Méndez D, Bodawatta KH, Freiberga I, Klečková I, Jønsson KA, Poulsen M, Sam K. Indirect maternal effects via nest microbiome composition drive gut colonization in altricial chicks. Mol Ecol 2023. [PMID: 37096441 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Gut microbial communities are complex and heterogeneous and play critical roles for animal hosts. Early-life disruptions to microbiome establishment can negatively impact host fitness and development. However, the consequences of such early-life disruptions remain unknown in wild birds. To help fill this gap, we investigated the effect of continuous early-life gut microbiome disruptions on the establishment and development of gut communities in wild Great tit (Parus major) and Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings by applying antibiotics and probiotics. Treatment neither affected nestling growth nor their gut microbiome composition. Independent of treatment, nestling gut microbiomes of both species grouped by brood, which shared the highest numbers of bacterial taxa with both nest environment and their mother. Although fathers showed different gut communities than their nestlings and nests, they still contributed to structuring chick microbiomes. Lastly, we observed that the distance between nests increased inter-brood microbiome dissimilarity, but only in Great tits, indicating that species-specific foraging behaviour and/or microhabitat influence gut microbiomes. Overall, the strong maternal effect, driven by continuous recolonization from the nest environment and vertical transfer of microbes during feeding, appears to provide resilience towards early-life disruptions in nestling gut microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Diez-Méndez
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Kasun H Bodawatta
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Inga Freiberga
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Irena Klečková
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Knud A Jønsson
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Katerina Sam
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Liu J, Ma L, Jin Y, Zhang F, Li X, Liang W. Functions of Snake Sloughs in Bird Nests Vary with Habitats: A Test of the Anti-Predation Hypothesis. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13081337. [PMID: 37106900 PMCID: PMC10135076 DOI: 10.3390/ani13081337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Snake sloughs in bird nests can reduce nest predation and serve as an anti-predator strategy. However, the anti-predator function of snake sloughs in nests has only been tested twice, and it is difficult to speculate around the origin of the differences, which may well include habitat, as predator species and predation risk vary in different habitat types. Habitat would be a good place to speculate as to how differences in habitats could explain differences in responses by nest predators. Thus, we selected three different habitats, namely, the Diaoluoshan National Nature Reserve in Hainan (DLS, tropical forest), the Hainan Normal University campus (HNU, urban area), and Qingchuifeng National Forest Park in Hebei (QCF, suburban area), to verify the anti-predator function of snake sloughs in bird nests. The experimental results showed that snake sloughs in the nests reduced the predation rate of the experimental nests in HNU, whereas no such effect occurred in DLS and QCF. This suggests that the anti-predatory function of snake sloughs may not be the same over some environmental gradients and could be dependent on the species of nest predators and food resources in the habitat, which does not apply to all types of habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinmei Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Laikun Ma
- School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
- Department of Biology and Food Science, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities, Chengde 067000, China
| | - Yameng Jin
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Fangfang Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Xintong Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Wei Liang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
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Maury C, Serota M, Williams T. Plasticity in diurnal activity and temporal phenotype during parental care in European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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Gwinner H, Capilla-Lasheras P, Cooper C, Helm B. 'Green incubation': avian offspring benefit from aromatic nest herbs through improved parental incubation behaviour. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.0376. [PMID: 29875299 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of avian embryos requires thermal energy, usually from parents. Parents may, however, trade off catering for embryonic requirements against their own need to forage through intermittent incubation. This dynamically adjusted behaviour can be affected by properties of the nest. Here, we experimentally show a novel mechanism by which parents, through incorporation of aromatic herbs into nests, effectively modify their incubation behaviour to the benefit of their offspring. Our study species, the European starling, includes in its nest aromatic herbs which promote offspring fitness. We provided wild starlings with artificial nests including or excluding the typically selected fresh herbs and found strong support for our prediction of facilitated incubation. Herb effects were not explained by thermal changes of the nests per se, but by modified parental behaviours. Egg temperatures and nest attendance were higher in herb than herbless nests, egg temperatures dropped less frequently below critical thresholds and parents started their active day earlier. These effects were dynamic over time and particularly strong during early incubation. Incubation period was shorter in herb nests, and nestlings were heavier one week after hatching. Aromatic herbs hence influenced incubation in beneficial ways for offspring, possibly through pharmacological effects on incubating parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helga Gwinner
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Pablo Capilla-Lasheras
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Caren Cooper
- Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA.,North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
| | - Barbara Helm
- BAHCM, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK .,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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