Foraging behaviour of individual coal tits,Parus ater,in relation to their age,sex and morphology |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany;2. Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, Canada;1. Área Zoonosis Bacterianas y Parasitarias Transmitidas por Vectores, Sección Serología y Pruebas Biológicas, Instituto de Zoonosis Luis Pasteur, Av. Díaz Vélez 4821, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina;2. Laboratorio Central, Hospital General de Agudos Parmenio Piñero, Varela 1301, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina;3. Centro de Salud y Acción Comunitaria No. 24, Hospital General de Agudos Parmenio Piñero, Martínez Castro y Laguna, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina;4. Residencia de Veterinaria en Salud Pública, Instituto de Zoonosis Luis Pasteur, Av. Díaz Vélez 4821, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina;5. División Inmunología y Diagnóstico, Instituto de Zoonosis Luis Pasteur, Av. Díaz Vélez 4821, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina;1. Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kourí”, Habana, Cuba;2. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas del Trópico, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería, Colombia;1. Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 15551, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates;2. Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstr. 11, 80937 Munich, Germany;3. Q fever Consulting Laboratory, Baden-Württemberg State Health Office, Nordbahnhofstraße 135, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany;4. Department of Ecology and Parasitology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kornblumenstrasse 13, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany |
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to reveal the causes and consequences of individual differences in foraging behaviour of coal tits, Parus ater, on the island of Gotland in the Baltic. On Gotland the willow tit, P. montanus, and the crested tit, P. cristatus, are absent, while these larger species are abundant competitors on the mainland. The Gotland population of coal tits exploited parts of the foraging niches of their absent competitors. Gotland coal tits are bigger than those on the mainland; they have thus evolved towards the size of the missing competitors. Individual differences in niche use were related to their morphology. Large birds more often used the inner parts of trees whereas small individuals foraged more on needles in the outer parts of the trees. Also, individuals with wing shapes more suitable for hovering and slow flight foraged more on needles. It is argued that morphology affects the profitability of different foraging sites. However, for foraging site selection, age was more important than morphology. Older, and probably more dominant, individuals occupied the most profitable foraging sites. |
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