Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 12 abstract We have studied the effects of a brood size manipulation on the infection by blood parasites in a Blue Tit Parus caeruleus population in central Spain. Overall, 98% of the birds were infected by at least one parasite species. Haemoproteus majoris was the most prevalent parasite (92%), […]
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Implications of conspecific background noise for features of blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus , communication networks at dawn
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 5 abstract Communication among animals often comprises several signallers and receivers within the signal’s transmission range. In such communication networks, individuals can extract information about differences in relative performance of conspecifics by eavesdropping on their signalling interactions. In songbirds, information can be encoded in the timing of signals, which […]
The Parus caeruleus complex revisited
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 7 abstract A set of mensural and plumage pattern characters is analyzed by Standardized Principal Component Analysis over the entire range of the Parus caeruleus-Parus cyanus species complex. Clinal size variation in P. caeruleus extends into P. cyanus without discontinuity. The latter species has the largest specimens within the […]
Sex differences in parental care in a Corsican Blue Tit Parus caeruleus population
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 13 abstract Parental behaviour of Blue Tits Parus caeruleus was video-recorded and analysed in an insular Mediterranean population that is believed to be adapted to food-limited conditions of an evergreen woodland. The population undergoes high external parasitism by blowflies (Protocalliphora). Contribution of male and female mates to parental care […]
Blue Tits in Mediterranean habitat mosaics.
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 8 abstract Mosaic landscapes with patches dominated by either evergreen or summergreen oaks have been formerly hypothesized to function as a source-sink system for Blue Tits. We confirmed that in 1991 the food phenology and timing of breeding was as expected in one evergreen and one summergreen plot near […]
Ultraviolet plumage does not signal social statusin free-living blue tits; an experimental test
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 18 abstract Ultraviolet (UV) signals are suggested to be sexually selected in a wide range of taxa. Most research, however, has focused on the role of UV signals in mate choice, whereas possible functions in intraspecific competition remain largely untested Oscar Vedder, Behavioral Ecology, 2008 Download article download full […]
Paternity analysis reveals opposing selectionpressures on crown coloration in the blue tit(Parus caeruleus)
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 19 abstract In socially monogamous species, extra-pair paternity can increase the variance in reproductive successand thereby the potential for sexual selection on male ornaments. We studied whether male secondarysexual ornaments are selected through within- and/or extra-pair reproductive success in the blue tit (Paruscaeruleus). Kaspar Delhey et al, Proc. R. […]
Population differentiation on islands: a case study using blue titsin habitat mosaics
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 3 abstract We hypothesized that changes in life history traits of populations on islands, especially the components of nicheenlargement, habitat tenacity and reduced dispersal of the ‘insular syndrome’, would result in greater rather than smallerphenotypic variation in populations on islands as compared to mainland counterparts. We tested these predictions […]
Impaired flight ability
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 21 abstract When prey are attacked by predators, escape ability has an obvious influence on the probability of survival. Laboratory studieshave suggested that flight performance of female birds might be affected by egg production. This is the first study of changesin take-off ability, and thus potentially in predation risk, […]
Coping with habitat heterogeneity: the story of Mediterranean blue tits
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Science Article 6 abstract A prerequisite for understanding adaptation is to understand how populations respond to environmental heterogeneity. We chose the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus and Mediterranean habitat mosaics which exhibit a large diversity of habitats for analysing the effects of environmental heterogeneity on phenotypic variation. Three main factors of heterogeneity […]