Natal dispersal and personalities in great tits (Parus major)

Dispersal is a major determinant of the dynamics and genetic structure of populations, and its consequences depend not only on average dispersal rates and distances, but also on the characteristics of dispersing and philopatric individuals. We investigated whether natal dispersal correlated with a predisposed behavioural trait: exploratory behaviour in novel environments. Wild great tits were caught in their natural habitat, tested the following morning in the laboratory using an open field test and released at the capture site. Natal dispersal correlated positively with parental and individual exploratory behaviour, using three independent datasets. First, fast-exploring parents had offspring that dispersed furthest. Second, immigrants were faster explorers than locally born birds. Third, post-fledging movements, comprising a major proportion of the variation in natal dispersal distances, were greater for fast females than for slow females. These findings suggest that parental behaviour influenced offspring natal dispersal either via parental behaviour per se (e.g. via post-fledging care) or by affecting the phenotype of their offspring (e.g. via their genes). Because this personality trait has a genetic basis, our results imply that genotypes differ in their dispersal distances. Therefore, the described patterns have profound consequences for the genetic composition of populations.     

Social environment affects juvenile dispersal in great tits (Parus major)

1.?Habitat selection can affect individual fitness, and therefore, individuals are expected to assess habitat quality of potential breeding sites before settlement. 2.?We investigated the role of social environment on juvenile dispersal behaviour in the great tit (Parus major). Two main contradictory hypotheses can be formulated regarding social effects on juvenile dispersal as follows: (i) High fledgling density and sex ratio may enhance the intensity of local (kin) competition and, therefore, reduce individual survival chance, enhance emigration and reduce settlement ('repulsion' hypothesis) (ii) Alternatively, high fledgling density and sex ratio may signal high-quality habitat or lead to aggregation and thus increase individual survival chance, reduce emigration and enhance settlement ('attraction' hypothesis). 3.?To disentangle positive from negative effects of high density and male-biased sex ratio on dispersal, we manipulated the social composition of the fledgling population in 12 semi-isolated nest-box areas (plots) via a change of fledgling density (low/high) as well as fledgling sex ratio (female-biased/balanced/male-biased) across 3?years. We then tested whether experimental variation in male and female fledgling densities affected variation in local survival, emigration and settlement of juveniles, and whether social effects on survival and dispersal support the 'repulsion' or 'attraction' hypothesis. 4.?We found no experimental effects on local survival and emigration probabilities. However, consistent with the 'attraction' hypothesis, settlement was significantly and positively affected by local experimental sex ratio in each of the study years: both male and female juveniles avoided female-biased plots and settled more in plots that were balanced and male-biased the previous year. 5.?Our study provides unprecedented experimental evidence that local sex ratio plays a causal role in habitat selection. We suggest that settlers avoid female-biased plots because a high proportion of females may reflect the absence or the low quality of local resources in the habitat. Alternatively, male territory acquisition may be facilitated by a high local density of 'candidate' males, and therefore, juveniles were less successful in settling in female-biased plots.     

Warmer springs lead to mistimed reproduction in great tits (Parus major)

In seasonal environments, the main selection pressure on the timing of reproduction (the ultimate factor) is synchrony between offspring requirements and food availability. However, reproduction is initiated much earlier than the time of maximum food requirement of the offspring. Individuals should therefore start reproduction in response to cues (the proximate factors), available in the environment of reproductive decision making, which predict the later environment of selection. With increasing spring temperatures over the past decades, vegetation phenology has advanced, with a concomitant advancement in the reproduction of some species at higher trophic levels. However, a mismatch between food abundance and offspring needs may occur if changes in the environment of decision making do not match those in the environment of selection. Date of egg laying in a great tit (Parus major) population has not advanced over a 23-year period, but selection for early laying has intensified. We believe that this is the first documented case of an adaptive response being hampered because a changing abiotic factor affects the environment in which a reproductive decision is made differently from the environment in which selection occurs.     

Hissing calls improve survival in incubating female great tits (Parus major)

Nest predation is among the most important selective pressure shaping nest-site selection and nest defense behavior in many avian species. In this study, we tested whether the production of one such nest defense behavior—hissing calls—may improve survival of incubating female great tits (Parus major). We found that 72.5 % of incubating females gave hissing calls when they were exposed to a stuffed woodpecker in their nest boxes. The repeatability of the number of hissing calls given was high, as was the latency to give the call. Additionally, natural nest predators attacked hissing and nonhissing females equally often. However, hissing females survived better than silent females. We tested responses of feral cats to playbacks of hissing call during their attacks of nest boxes and found that hissing calls prevented the predator attacks. Taken together, our findings indicate that hissing calls can deter predator attacks and potentially increase survival rates of nesting great tits or their offspring, or both. The propensity to give hissing calls may be related to personality type of incubating female great tits, which needs to be tested experimentally.     

Interspecific aggression declines seasonally in breeding great tits Parus major

During the breeding season, great tits show aggression to protect their nest from intra‐ and interspecific intruders. Aggression is a labile trait that can be plastically expressed as a result of individual differences (e.g., personality), seasonal gradients in the costs and benefits of aggression, or other environmental components (e.g., number of competitors). Competitors may try to take over great tit nests, because the number of suitable nesting sites is limited, and great tits may guard high quality territories. Taking over a great tit nest may be especially fruitful in early phenological stages (egg laying) when great tits frequent their nests less often. However, great tits may compensate for this vulnerability by being more aggressive toward intruders during early nesting stages, a pattern that has already been established in an intraspecific context. Previous studies have shown that interspecific intruders were most likely to die from great tit aggression during great tit egg laying, suggesting great tits may also be more aggressive during this phase in an interspecific context. Here, I tested this hypothesis with simulated territorial intrusions in great tit territories using taxidermized blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus (hereafter called blue tit models). Great tit aggression (number of calls and approach distance toward blue tit model) was assayed during egg laying, incubation, and chick rearing in the breeding season of 2014. Although sample size was low due to a high fraction of non‐responders (n = 44 out of 89 assays across 26 out of 35 individuals), I found that great tits showed a seasonal decline in aggressiveness, which is congruent with intraspecific results on this study species. I discuss my findings in the context of differential adjustment to climate change between interspecific competitors.     

Individual personalities predict social behaviour in wild networks of great tits (Parus major)

Social environments have an important effect on a range of ecological processes, and form a crucial component of selection. However, little is known of the link between personality, social behaviour and population structure. We combine a well‐understood personality trait with large‐scale social networks in wild songbirds, and show that personality underpins multiple aspects of social organisation. First, we demonstrate a relationship between network centrality and personality with ‘proactive’ (fast‐exploring) individuals associating weakly with greater numbers of conspecifics and moving between flocks. Second, temporal stability of associations relates to personality: ‘reactive’ (slow‐exploring) birds form synergistically stable relationships. Finally, we show that personality influences social structure, with males non‐randomly distributed across groups. These results provide strong evidence that songbirds follow alternative social strategies related to personality. This has implications not only for the causes of social network structure but also for the strength and direction of selection on personality in natural populations.     

No evidence for survival selection on carotenoid-based nestling coloration in great tits (Parus major)

In several vertebrate species evidence supports the hypothesis that carotenoid-based coloration of adults has evolved due to sexual selection. However, in some birds already the nestlings display carotenoid-based coloration. Because the nestling's body plumage is typically moulted before the first reproductive event, sexual selection cannot explain the evolution of these carotenoid-based traits. This suggests that natural selection might be the reason for its evolution. Here we test whether the carotenoid-based nestling coloration of great tits (Parus major) predicts survival after fledging. Contrary to our expectation, the carotenoid-based plumage coloration was not related to short- nor to long-term survival in the studied population. Additionally, no prefledging selection was detectable in an earlier study. This indicates that the carotenoid-based coloration of nestling great tits is currently not under natural selection and it suggests that past selection pressures or selection acting on correlated traits may have led to its evolution.     

Heterozygosity is linked to the costs of immunity in nestling great tits (Parus major)

There is growing evidence that heterozygosity–fitness correlations (HFCs) are more pronounced under harsh conditions. Empirical evidence suggests a mediating effect of parasite infestation on the occurrence of HFCs. Parasites have the potential to mediate HFCs not only by generally causing high stress levels but also by inducing resource allocation tradeoffs between the necessary investments in immunity and other costly functions. To investigate the relative importance of these two mechanisms, we manipulated growth conditions of great tit nestlings by brood size manipulation, which modifies nestling competition, and simultaneously infested broods with ectoparasites. We investigated under which treatment conditions HFCs arise and, second, whether heterozygosity is linked to tradeoff decisions between immunity and growth. We classified microsatellites as neutral or presumed functional and analyzed these effects separately. Neutral heterozygosity was positively related to the immune response to a novel antigen in parasite‐free nests, but not in infested nests. For nestlings with lower heterozygosity levels, the investments in immunity under parasite pressure came at the expenses of reduced feather growth, survival, and female body condition. Functional heterozygosity was negatively related to nestling immune response regardless of the growth conditions. These contrasting effects of functional and neutral markers might indicate different underlying mechanisms causing the HFCs. Our results confirm the importance of considering marker functionality in HFC studies and indicate that parasites mediate HFCs by influencing the costs of immune defense rather than by a general increase in environmental harshness levels.     

Fitness cost of incubation in great tits (Parus major) is related to clutch size

Life-history theory predicts that parents produce the number of offspring that maximizes their fitness. In birds, natural selection on parental decisions regarding clutch size may act during egg laying, incubation or nestling phase. To study the fitness consequences of clutch size during the incubation phase, we manipulated the clutch sizes during this phase only in three breeding seasons and measured the fitness consequences on the short and the long term. Clutch enlargement did not affect the offspring fitness of the manipulated first clutches, but fledging probability of the subsequent clutch in the same season was reduced. Parents incubating enlarged first clutches provided adequate care for the offspring of their first clutches during the nestling phase, but paid the price when caring for the offspring of their second clutch. Parents that incubated enlarged first clutches had lower local survival in the 2 years when the population had a relatively high production of second clutches, but not in the third year when there was a very low production of second clutches. During these 2 years, the costs of incubation were strong enough to change positive selection, as established by brood size manipulations in this study population, into stabilizing selection through the negative effect of incubation on parental fitness.     

The costs of egg production and incubation in great tits (Parus major).

The costs of egg production and incubation may have a crucial effect on avian reproductive decisions, such as clutch size and the timing of reproduction. We carried out a brood-size enlargement experiment on the great tit (Parus major), in which the birds had to lay and incubate extra eggs (full costs), only incubate extra eggs (free eggs) or did not pay any extra cost (free chicks) in obtaining a larger brood. We used female fitness (half the recruits produced plus female survival) as a fitness measure because it is the female which pays the costs of egg production and incubation, and because clutch size is under female control. Female fitness decreased with increasing costs (fitness of free chicks females is higher than that of free eggs females which is higher than that of full costs females). These fitness differences were due to differences in female survival rather than in the number of recruits produced. This is the first time that the costs of egg production and incubation have been estimated using such a complete fitness measure, including, as our measure does, the local survival to the following year of both the female and her offspring. Our results emphasize that reproductive decisions cannot be understood without taking egg production and incubation costs into account.     

Island biogeography and the reproductive ecology of great tits Parus major

Island biogeography theory has contributed greatly to both theoretical and applied studies of conservation biology (e.g., design of nature reserves, minimum viable population sizes, extinction risk) and community composition. However, little theoretical and empirical work has addressed how island isolation and size affect reproductive ecology. We investigated the reproductive ecology of great tits (Parus major) on one offshore and one nearshore island, as well as on the Danish mainland. Tits breeding on the offshore island bred later, laid smaller clutches, and laid larger eggs than those on the nearshore island and mainland. In addition, the level of ectoparasite infestation in nests was highest on the offshore island, intermediate on the nearshore island, and lowest on the mainland. These insular effects may occur due to lower food abundance on islands, to density-dependent effects, or to effects related to low genetic diversity within island populations. Whatever the cause, the results emphasize that future studies of forest fragmentation/population isolation should consider not only gross measures of reproductive success, but also fine-scale measures such as clutch size, timing of breeding, and parasite prevalence. Received: 10 November 1997 / Accepted: 9 March 1998     

Sources of (co)variation in alternative siring routes available to male great tits (Parus major)

Males of socially monogamous species can increase their siring success via within‐pair and extra‐pair fertilizations. In this study, we focused on the different sources of (co)variation between these siring routes, and asked how each contributes to total siring success. We quantified the fertilization routes to siring success, as well as behaviors that have been hypothesized to affect siring success, over a five‐year period for a wild population of great tits Parus major. We considered siring success and its fertilization routes as “interactive phenotypes” arising from phenotypic contributions of both members of the social pair. We show that siring success is strongly affected by the fecundity of the social (female) partner. We also demonstrate that a strong positive correlation between extra‐pair fertilization success and paternity loss likely constrains the evolution of these two routes. Moreover, we show that more explorative and aggressive males had less extra‐pair fertilizations, whereas more explorative females laid larger clutches. This study thus demonstrates that (co)variation in siring routes is caused by multiple factors not necessarily related to characteristics of males. We thereby highlight the importance of acknowledging the multilevel structure of male fertilization routes when studying the evolution of male mating strategies.     

Blood parameters as consistent predictors of nestling performance in great tits (Parus major) in the wild

Fourteen blood profile variables were analysed in 12-day-old nestlings of great tits (Parus major) in the wild. Except for plateletocrit and platelet distribution width, the traits showed a consistent pattern of variation, with significant intra-brood repeatabilities; they were shown to be significant predictors of nestling performance as measured by survival from hatching to fledging. It is concluded that all blood characteristics that show consistent within-brood variation may be useful as indicators of some aspects of nestling condition/health status in wild birds.     

Carotenoid diet and nestling provisioning in urban and rural great tits Parus major

Considering the importance of dietary constraints for the widely held view of carotenoid pigmentation as an honest quality indicator, there is surprisingly little data on carotenoid availability in different natural diets or along environmental gradients. Here we investigate the carotenoid availability in the main diet of breeding great tits Parus major , living in urban and rural environments with known differences in carotenoid pigmentation. Carotenoid availability for nestling great tits was investigated in two respects: (1) quantity and quality of diet (i.e., caterpillar abundance and their carotenoid concentration), and (2) parental feeding frequency. First, caterpillars were generally more abundant in the urban environment and the four common Lepidoptera (i.e., caterpillars) genera studied were also heavier here. Second, as determined by HPLC analysis of the caterpillar genera, carotenoid concentration was significantly lower in the urban caterpillars. Furthermore, all except one of the caterpillar genera had higher lutein/zeaxanthin ratio in urban areas, which is in accordance with earlier studies of carotenoid composition in great tit yolk. Third, parental feeding frequency was about twice as high to urban broods compared to rural broods. This result may simply reflect the higher caterpillar abundance (shorter search time) in the urban environment. Poor food quality (low carotenoid concentration) seems therefore to be compensated by quantity in the urban environment. As a consequence the carotenoid availability seems to be similar for nestlings in the two environments.     

Two conflicting needs affecting predator mobbing by great tits,Parus major

Predator mobbing by great tits, Parus major, was studied by manipulating two contextual variables: the proximity of danger to the nest hole (close versus far), and breeding condition (non-breeding versus nest building versus care of nestlings). In five experiments pitting these contextual variables against each other, great tits were presented with a multi-species mobbing chorus signalling danger to which they responded by typical predator harassment. Based on the ‘move on’ hypothesis of harassment and on context manipulation, harassment levels specific for each of the five experiments could be predictably ordered; the ensuing rank order of scores reflected, by its nature, a series of four strong inference tests. Whereas two latency measures supported the move on hypothesis, two distance-from-danger measures suggested nest hole concealment to be an opposing need; a fifth measure of harassment, comprising both latency and distance, held an intermediate position, thus tying in with the compromise nature of harassment. Considering the ‘phantom’ nature of the unseen danger stimulus applied, the defence levels observed must be regarded as moderately conservative. There are natural danger stimuli (e.g. cats) that more effectively prevent great tits displaying predator harassment.     

Brood size, sibling competition, and the cost of begging in great tits (Parus major)

Evolutionary theory of parent-offspring conflict explains beggingdisplays of nestling birds as selfish attempts to influenceparental food allocation. Models predict that this conflictmay be resolved by honest signaling of offspring need to parents,or by competition among nestmates, leading to escalated beggingscrambles. Although the former type of models has been qualitativelysupported by experimental studies, the potential for a beggingcomponent driven by scramble competition cannot be excludedby the evidence. In a brood-size manipulation experiment withgreat tits, Parus major, we explored the scramble componentin the begging activity of great tit nestlings by investigatingthe mechanisms of sibling competition in relation to brood size.While under full parental compensation, the feeding rate pernestling will remain constant over all brood sizes for bothtypes of models; the scramble begging models alone predict anincrease in begging intensity with brood size, if begging costsdo not arise exclusively through predation. Great tit parentsadjusted feeding rates to brood size and fed nestlings at similarrates and with similar prey sizes in all three brood-size categories.Despite full parental compensation, the begging and food solicitationactivities increased with experimental brood size, whereas nestlingbody condition deteriorated. These findings support a scramblecomponent in begging and suggest that the competition-inducedcosts of food solicitation behavior play an important role inthe evolution of parent-offspring communication.     

Behavioral responses to conspecific mobbing calls are predator‐specific in great tits (Parus major)

When facing a predator, animals need to perform an appropriate antipredator behavior such as escaping or mobbing to prevent predation. Many bird species exhibit distinct mobbing behaviors and vocalizations once a predator has been detected. In some species, mobbing calls transmit information about predator type, size, and threat, which can be assessed by conspecifics. We recently found that great tits (Parus major) produce longer D calls with more elements and longer intervals between elements when confronted with a sparrowhawk, a high‐threat predator, in comparison to calls produced in front of a less‐threatening tawny owl. In the present study, we conducted a playback experiment to investigate if these differences in mobbing calls elicit different behavioral responses in adult great tits. We found tits to have a longer latency time and to keep a greater distance to the speaker when sparrowhawk mobbing calls were broadcast. This suggests that tits are capable of decoding information about predator threat in conspecific mobbing calls. We further found a tendency for males to approach faster and closer than females, which indicates that males are willing to take higher risks in a mobbing context than females.     

Season does not influence the response of great tits (Parus major) to allopatric mobbing calls

Journal of Ethology - Many species of birds emit mobbing calls to recruit prey to join mobbing events. This anti-predator strategy often involves several species and, therefore, implies...     

Offspring quality and tick infestation load in brood rearing great tits Parus major

Although the impact of nest-dwelling ectoparasites on nestlings in altricial birds is relatively well documented, little information is available on the fitness consequences of bird–ectoparasite systems with limited ectoparasite transmission between parents and their offspring. In this particular context we tested the hypothesis that parental infestation by a haematophageous field ectoparasite, the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus , in a hole-breeding passerine bird, the great tit Parus major , ultimately leads to the reduction of nestling quality. Observational data of a long-term study show that 15 days after hatching, nestlings' body condition (body mass corrected for body size) was negatively associated with the tick load of the mother, while no association was found with tick load of the father. A field experiment was conducted to test if adult infestation by ticks leads to a reduction in offspring quality. The field experiment consisted of a two by two factorial design: neither, one or both parents were infested with a high tick load (12 nymphs) when nestlings were eight days old. Four days after manipulation of the parents, the effect of the treatment on nestlings' health was assessed by measuring haematological and biochemical parameters. Body condition of nestlings was monitored from three days after hatching, until seven days after tick manipulation of the parents. Although parental tick manipulation resulted in successful tick feeding, nestlings' health parameters were not affected. We therefore suggest that the negative association between nestling condition and parental tick load does not reflect a causal effect of parasites, but either reflects a common environmental factor affecting parental infestation levels and offspring condition, or reflects parental quality. We propose different explanations why this association is expressed in female parents only.     

Activity patterns during food provisioning are affected by artificial light in free living great tits (Parus major)

Artificial light may have severe ecological consequences but there is limited experimental work to assess these consequences. We carried out an experimental study on a wild population of great tits (Parus major) to assess the impact of light pollution on daily activity patterns during the chick provisioning period. Pairs that were provided with a small light outside their nest box did not alter the onset, cessation or duration of their working day. There was however a clear effect of artificial light on the feeding rate in the second half of the nestling period: when provided with artificial light females increased their feeding rate when the nestlings were between 9 and 16 days old. Artificial light is hypothesised to have affected the perceived photoperiod of either the parents or the offspring which in turn led to increased parental care. This may have negative fitness consequences for the parents, and light pollution may thus create an ecological trap for breeding birds.