| sensitivity to assumptions in models of generalist predation on a cyclic prey. | ecological theory predicts that generalist predators should damp or suppress long-term periodic fluctuations (cycles) in their prey populations and depress their average densities. however, the magnitude of these impacts is likely to vary depending on the availability of alternative prey species and the nature of ecological mechanisms driving the prey cycles. these multispecies effects can be modeled explicitly if parameterized functions relating prey consumption to prey abundance, and realistic ... | 2007 | 18027760 |
| low intensity, mixed livestock grazing improves the breeding abundance of a common insectivorous passerine. | livestock grazing is a major driver of ecosystem change and has been associated with significant declines in various bird species in britain and worldwide. however, there is little experimental evidence to show how grazing affects bird populations. we manipulated livestock densities in a replicated field experiment and found that mixed sheep and cattle grazing, at low intensity, improved the breeding abundance of a common upland passerine, the meadow pipit anthus pratensis, after two years. plot ... | 2006 | 17148308 |
| livestock grazing affects the egg size of an insectivorous passerine. | livestock grazing is a major driver of ecosystem change, and has been associated with significant declines in various bird species worldwide. in britain, there is particular concern that severe grazing pressure is deleteriously affecting vegetation and birds in upland regions. however, the mechanism by which grazing affects birds is unclear. here, we report for the first time, to our knowledge, that sheep grazing pressure affects the egg size of a common upland passerine: the meadow pipit anthus ... | 2005 | 17148198 |
| hybridization and apparent hybridization between meadow pipit (anthus pratensis) and water pipit (a. spinoletta). | | 2002 | 12471675 |
| territorial meadow pipit males (anthus pratensis; passeriformes) become more aggressive in female presence. | although mate guarding as prevention of extra-pair copulation is common among birds, evidence for aggressive behaviour involving physical contact related to mate guarding in passerines is scarce and cases of the presence of one partner directly influencing the aggressiveness of the other are lacking. we investigated the intra-specific territorial behaviour of male meadow pipits (anthus pratensis; passeriformes: motacillidae) at the beginning of the breeding season by placing a pipit model accomp ... | 2007 | 17406850 |
| night-time neuronal activation of cluster n in a day- and night-migrating songbird. | magnetic compass orientation in a night-migratory songbird requires that cluster n, a cluster of forebrain regions, is functional. cluster n, which receives input from the eyes via the thalamofugal pathway, shows high neuronal activity in night-migrants performing magnetic compass-guided behaviour at night, whereas no activation is observed during the day, and covering up the birds' eyes strongly reduces neuronal activation. these findings suggest that cluster n processes light-dependent magneti ... | 2010 | 20618826 |
| effect of climate change on mediterranean winter ranges of two migratory passerines. | we studied the effect of climate change on the distribution of two insectivorous passerines (the meadow pipit anthus pratensis and the chiffchaff phylloscopus collybita) in wintering grounds of the western mediterranean basin. in this region, precipitation and temperature can affect the distribution of these birds through direct (thermoregulation costs) or indirect effects (primary productivity). thus, it can be postulated that projected climate changes in the region will affect the extent and s ... | 2016 | 26761791 |
| birds bias offspring sex ratio in response to livestock grazing. | livestock grazing, which has a large influence on habitat structure, is associated with the widespread decline of various bird species across the world, yet there are few experimental studies that investigate how grazing pressure influences avian reproduction. we manipulated grazing pressure using a replicated field experiment, and found that the offspring sex ratio of a common upland passerine, the meadow pipit anthus pratensis, varied significantly between grazing treatments. the proportion of ... | 2011 | 21561962 |
| the effect of nestling condition on risk-taking in meadow pipits. | the harm to offspring hypothesis, which says that parental investment should be related to the harm that offspring without parental care would suffer, was tested on meadow pipits, anthus pratensis. we placed a stuffed european weasel, mustela nivalis, 5 m from seven nests with exothermic 1-3-day-old nestlings. we measured air temperature and the cloacal temperature of the nestlings at the start of the trial and the time elapsing between the removal of the weasel model and the parent's first entr ... | 1997 | 9794777 |