Decisions,decisions, decisions: the host colony choices of a social parasite

Many factors contribute to the success of a socially parasitic strategy, especially the ability of the parasite to invade a host colony. However, little research has focused on the choices that may be made by an invading parasite, specifically whether parasites actively discriminate between different host colonies and if they have a preference for colonies of a particular size. When an allodapine social parasite, Inquilina schwarzi, was presented with colonies of their host species, Exoneura robusta, the parasites were found to invade the larger host colonies. However, it could not be ascertained from this study whether the parasites were making an active decision concerning which colony to invade, or whether they were simply more attracted to the larger colonies due to potentially stronger odour cues. Regardless of the cause, the larger host colonies are more at risk of being invaded by a social parasite, which would give parasites greater resources for exploitation and could also provide selection against the large host colony sizes.     

The invertebrate fauna of High Arctic seabird nests: the microarthropod community inhabiting nests on Spitsbergen,Svalbard

The invertebrate fauna of the nests of three seabird species, black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), common eider (Somateria mollissima) and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), were sampled in Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The invertebrate community was species poor, consisting predominantly of the flea, Mioctenopsylla arctica arctica (Insecta: Siphonaptera), but with six species of oribatid mite (Acari: Oribatida), Diapterobates notatus, Oribatula tibialis, Ameronothrus lineatus, Hermannia reticulata, Trichoribates trimaculatus and Ceratoppia bipilis, plus an occasional mesostigmatid mite. No Collembola or ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) were observed. With the exception of M. arctica arctica, the fauna of seabird nests consisted of opportunistic microarthropod species rather than specialised nest-dwelling or bird parasitic species. Species diversity of soil oribatid mites was greater in nests of the common eider than compared to nests of the black-legged kittiwake, which may be related to the ground nesting behaviour of the common eiders. No rare or unusual microarthropod species for Svalbard were found in the seabird nests. The contentions that nests may facilitate microarthropod colonisation of High Arctic regions via bird phoresy by providing a high-quality habitat at the point of arrival, or that there might be a specialised microarthropod fauna exploiting this habitat, were not supported in this study. These are amongst the first data on the microarthropod community of seabird nests in the High Arctic.     

Nest height, nest concealment, and predator type predict nest predation in superb fairy-wrens (Malurus?cyaneus)

Three factors and their interaction effects are increasingly recognized as important determinants of nest predation: nest concealment, nest height, and predator type. The risk of nest predation is predicted to vary across these variables because of nest detectability and accessibility. In general, however, few studies examine how these three variables interact in relation to nest predation, focusing instead on either nest concealment or nest height (whereby predator identity is usually not known). In this study, we examine the role of nest concealment and nest height for nest survival using both artificial and natural nests in the superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). We indirectly identified potential predators through marks left on artificial eggs and footprints left on tracking tunnels. Predation level at artificial nests was lower than at natural nests, and this could be due to a failure of some nest predators to locate cryptic nests in the absence of cues provided by parental activity. Our results supported the prediction that exposed and concealed nests have different levels of nest predation, which can be explained by variation in predator type. Visual predators were only detected at exposed nests, and survival from visual predators was lower for high nests that were also exposed. However, olfactory predators were detected irrespective of nest height or nest concealment. Because rodents use olfaction to locate nests, this could explain the lack of association between nest concealment and predation outcome at low nests. In addition, rodent footmarks near nests were significantly associated with rodent tooth marks on eggs.     

Host selection by the Louse Fly Crataerina pallida, an avian nest ectoparasite of the Common Swift Apus apus

Preferences by parasites for particular hosts may have important implications for the functioning of host–parasite systems, however, this parasitic life-history trait remains little studied. No detrimental effect of Louse Fly Crataerina pallida parasitism has been found on Common Swift Apus apus nestling hosts. Host selection choices may be mediating the effect this parasite has and account for this apparent avirulence. Two aspects of parasite host selection were studied at a breeding colony of Common Swifts during 2008; (1) intra-brood differences in C. pallida parasitism were studied to determine the influence of nestling rank, (2) differences in male and female C. pallida parasitism were investigated, as they may result in varying costs of parasitism to hosts. C. pallida populations were found to preferentially parasitize higher rather than lower ranking nestlings within broods of both two and three chicks. Greater proportions of females were seen upon nestlings than at the nest, and upon higher ranking than lower ranking nestlings within broods. These results indicate that host selection occurs and this may thus account for the lack of parasitic virulence reported within this host–parasite system.     

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom

The hypothesis is suggested that resource depression is one important factor behind the observed regular nest spacing of many birds of prey. It predicts that the proportion of evasive prey in the predator's diet should be reflected in the degree of regularity in its nest spacing. The idea is tested on data from 24 raptorial bird populations of 19 species. The proportion of supposed evasive prey (birds and large mammals) in the diet was positively correlated with the degree of regularity in spacing of the nests, considering all populations or species. No such significant correlation was found for the six highly territorial species, whereas the correlation was highly significant for the other 13 species. Thus, the hypothesis seems most applicable to species with widely overlapping home ranges. However, resource depression could be one reason for territoriality.     

Increased landscape heterogeneity supports the conservation of European rollers (Coracias garrulus) in southern Hungary

European rollers (Coracias garrulus) were almost extinct from large parts of Hungary in the 1970–1980s. However up till now their population size increased considerably, mainly due to a nature conservation campaign, supplying artificial nest-boxes for breeding. We studied which factors affected rollers’ occurrences at the landscape scale in southern Hungary, under natural circumstances and when artificial nest-boxes were supplied. We analyzed the composition and the configuration of the landscape at two spatial scales. We found that beside the presence of natural grasslands, heterogeneous landscape provided high quality breeding and hunting sites favorable for rollers. Even though habitat characteristics of roller territories with natural holes or nest-boxes were similar, breeding sites without artificial nest-boxes harbored higher coverage of forests and heterogeneous agricultural areas. Sites with occupied and unoccupied nest-boxes considerably overlapped, suggesting that the available habitats were not saturated. Nest-box supplementation proved to be an effective tool for rollers’ conservation in areas where natural nesting sites were limited, but prey resources were available. Consequently, the preservation of landscape heterogeneity is a key factor which should be taken into consideration in the conservation management of roller populations.     

Avian nest predation by a semi-captive collared lemur (Lemur fulvus collaris)

A lemur (Lemur fulvus collaris) in a semi-captive group of six animals at the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC) was observed eating an egg from the nest of a mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). The manner in which the animal had been foraging prior to this incident, and the fact that wild birds at the DUPC frequently direct antipredator behaviors, such as mobbing toward thisL. f. collaris group, suggest that nest predation is part of normal foraging behavior in these animals.     

陕西省壁蜂区系调查与利用研究：膜翅目：切叶蜂科

陕西当地存在3种壁蜂:叉壁蜂Osmia pedicornis Cockerell、凹唇壁蜂Osmiaexcavata Alfken、角额壁蜂Osmia cornifrons(Radoszkowski),其中凹唇壁蜂和角额壁蜂在陕西为首次发现。3种壁蜂于早春苹果、梨、桃、杏等果树开花前后出来活动,均有较强的访花授粉特性,野生自然条件下,多在土洞、石缝、房屋墙壁等处营巢,对人工制作的芦苇管巢和纸管巢营巢率也很高。