| isolation of sindbis virus from the reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus) in slovakia. | | 1973 | 4148218 |
| prevalence of blood parasites in different local populations of reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus) and great reed warbler (acrocephalus arundinaceus). | blood parasite prevalence in two related warbler species (acrocephalus arundinaceus and a. scirpaceus) was studied at three bulgarian sites that differed mainly in altitude and weather. the prevalence of haemoproteus, the most common parasite genus, was significantly lower at the highest altitude site (730 m above sea level, asl). such a pattern was not found in ectoparasite-transmitted hepatozoon. this can be explained with worsening conditions for the development of free-flying vectors with al ... | 2006 | 16670881 |
| serologic survey of birds for west nile flavivirus in southern moravia (czech republic). | a serosurvey for west nile virus (wnv) was carried out in 54 domestic birds (geese and ducks bred on fishponds) and 391 wild birds representing 28 migratory and resident species, using a plaque-reduction neutralization microtest with vero cells and egyptian topotype eg-101 strain as test virus. the birds were sampled in the south-moravian fishpond ecosystem between 2004 and 2006. antibodies to wnv were not detected in domestic waterfowl, but 23 (5.9%) free-living birds of 10 species showed a pos ... | 2008 | 18454599 |
| the bird species of kumasir lake (kahramanmaras-turkey) and a view of environmental ethics on sustainable wetland management. | kumasir lake is located next to towns of donuklu and fatih, nine km west of kahramanmaras city center the region of east mediterranean, turkey this lake is of crucial importance from the point of native and immigrant birds. we located 17 birdspecies in this area during our observations carried out in the spring and autumn of 2005-2006. these were ciconia ciconia l., anas platyrhynchos l., accipiter nisus l., accipiter brevipes l., fulica atra l., columba palumbus l., merops apiaster l., upupa ep ... | 2008 | 18972701 |
| aerobic cloacal and pharyngeal bacterial flora in six species of free-living birds. | the purpose of this study was to investigate the culturable aerobic pharyngeal and cloacal bacterial flora of free-living birds, to determine the physiological bacterial microbiota, to identify possible interactions between feeding behaviour and the composition of the pharyngeal and cloacal microflora and to investigate the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria. | 2014 | 25176477 |
| plasmodium relictum (lineage p-sgs1): effects on experimentally infected passerine birds. | we evaluated the effects of plasmodium relictum (lineage p-sgs1), which is a host generalist, to five species of passerine birds. light infection of p. relictum was isolated from a naturally infected adult reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus. the parasites were inoculated to naive juveniles of the chaffinch fringilla coelebs, common crossbill loxia curvirostra, house sparrow passer domesticus, siskin spinus spinus and starling sturnus vulgaris. susceptibility of these birds to the infection of ... | 2008 | 18809402 |
| nocturnal life of young songbirds well before migration. | in songbirds, nocturnal activity is believed to be a characteristic feature of migration. however, unlike experimental conditions where the onset of nocturnal restlessness is defined as a shift of activity leading up to the dark period, this behaviour has, until now, not been observed in natural conditions. here we studied the nocturnal behaviour of radio-tagged juvenile eurasian reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus) during the pre-migratory period. the birds started nocturnal flights at the a ... | 2005 | 16048767 |
| prevalence of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the nightingale (luscinia megarhynchos) and other passerine birds. | in order to explore the involvement of terrestrial birds in the ecology of lyme disease spirochetes, we determined the presence of borrelia burgdorferi s. i. dna in tick larvae feeding on the hosts. birds were caught at several study sites along the rhine valley in sw germany between august 1999 and march 2001. a total of 987 ixodes ricinus larvae were collected from 225 birds belonging to 20 host species. the following four passerine species that have not yet been subject to detailed reservoir ... | 2002 | 12141765 |
| isolation and characterization of sedlec virus, a new bunyavirus from birds. | a pathogenic agent designated av 172 was isolated from the blood of a reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus) out of 767 samples from birds belonging to 35 species and 14 families. the birds (largely wetland passerines) were captured in the reed-belt littoral of nesyt fishpond in southern moravia, czechoslovakia, during the years 1984 to 1987. virus av 172 has been found to represent probably a new species (designated virus "sedlec") of family bunyaviridae. sedlec virus is pathogenic to suckling ... | 1990 | 1981444 |
| migratory reed warblers need intact trigeminal nerves to correct for a 1,000 km eastward displacement. | several studies have shown that experienced night-migratory songbirds can determine their position, but it has remained a mystery which cues and sensory mechanisms they use, in particular, those used to determine longitude (east-west position). one potential solution would be to use a magnetic map or signpost mechanism like the one documented in sea turtles. night-migratory songbirds have a magnetic compass in their eyes and a second magnetic sense with unknown biological function involving the ... | 2013 | 23840374 |
| partial genetic characterization of sedlec virus (orthobunyavirus, bunyaviridae). | sedlec virus (sedv) was isolated from the blood of a reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus) in july 1984 in south moravia, czech republic. in this study first genetic data of sedv are presented which allow an estimate on its phylogenetic and taxonomic positioning within the genus orthobunyavirus. the phylogenetic analysis of a 369 nt long stretch within the s segment (nucleocapsid protein gene and non-structural s protein gene) indicates genetic relatedness of sedv to leanyer virus and simbu gro ... | 2013 | 23917024 |
| reed warbler hosts fine-tune their defenses to track three decades of cuckoo decline. | interactions between avian hosts and brood parasites can provide a model for how animals adapt to a changing world. reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus) hosts employ costly defenses to combat parasitism by common cuckoos (cuculus canorus). during the past three decades cuckoos have declined markedly across england, reducing parasitism at our study site (wicken fen) from 24% of reed warbler nests in 1985 to 1% in 2012. here we show with experiments that host mobbing and egg rejection defenses h ... | 2013 | 24299407 |
| do females invest more into eggs when males sing more attractively? postmating sexual selection strategies in a monogamous reed passerine. | maternal investment can play an important role for offspring fitness, especially in birds, as females have to provide their eggs with all the necessary nutrients for the development of the embryo. it is known that this type of maternal investment can be influenced by the quality of the male partner. in this study, we first verify that male song is important in the mate choice of female eurasian reed warblers, as males mate faster when their singing is more complex. furthermore, female egg invest ... | 2014 | 24834329 |
| a possible relation between new neuronal recruitment and migratory behavior in acrocephalus warblers. | evidence suggests a possible correlation between learning abilities of adults and new neuronal recruitment into their brains. the hypothesis is that this brain plasticity enables animals to adapt to environmental changes. we examined whether there are differences in neuronal recruitment between resident and migrant birds. we predicted that migrants, which are more exposed to spatial changes than residents, will recruit more new neurons. to test this, we compared neuronal recruitment in two close ... | 2014 | 24903508 |
| habitat use and body mass regulation among warblers in the sahel region during the non-breeding season. | migratory birds face significant challenges across their annual cycle, including occupying an appropriate non-breeding home range with sufficient foraging resources. this can affect demographic processes such as over-winter survival, migration mortality and subsequent breeding success. in the sahel region of africa, where millions of migratory songbirds attempt to survive the winter, some species of insectivorous warblers occupy both wetland and dry-scrubland habitats, whereas other species are ... | 2014 | 25426716 |
| coping with shifting nest predation refuges by european reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus. | predation, the most important source of nest mortality in altricial birds, has been a subject of numerous studies during past decades. however, the temporal dynamics between changing predation pressures and parental responses remain poorly understood. we analysed characteristics of 524 nests of european reed warblers monitored during six consecutive breeding seasons in the same area, and found some support for the shifting nest predation refuge hypothesis. nest site characteristics were correlat ... | 2014 | 25522327 |
| possible linkage between neuronal recruitment and flight distance in migratory birds. | new neuronal recruitment in an adult animal's brain is presumed to contribute to brain plasticity and increase the animal's ability to contend with new and changing environments. during long-distance migration, birds migrating greater distances are exposed to more diverse spatial information. thus, we hypothesized that greater migration distance in birds would correlate with the recruitment of new neurons into the brain regions involved with migratory navigation. we tested this hypothesis on two ... | 2016 | 26905978 |
| survival during the breeding season: nest stage, parental sex, and season advancement affect reed warbler survival. | avian annual survival has received much attention, yet little is known about seasonal patterns in survival, especially of migratory passerines. in order to evaluate survival rates and timing of mortality within the breeding season of adult reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus), mark-recapture data were collected in southwest poland, between 2006 and 2012. a total of 612 individuals (304 females and 308 males) were monitored throughout the entire breeding season, and their capture-recapture his ... | 2016 | 26934086 |
| reed warblers migrating through portugal: climatic influence on stopover ecology over the last decade. | the arrival and breeding dates of small migrant birds have advanced throughout europe. this study evaluates the hypothesis of a faster migration along the migratory route, which should lead to a decrease in stopover duration in staging areas over the last decades. several climatic predictors were analysed as proxies to understand the stopover ecology of reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus migrating through central portugal. the minimum stopover duration of migratory reed warblers decreased sign ... | 2016 | 26948014 |
| the effects of supplementary food on the breeding performance of eurasian reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus; implications for climate change impacts. | understanding the mechanisms by which climate variation can drive population changes requires information linking climate, local conditions, trophic resources, behaviour and demography. climate change alters the seasonal pattern of emergence and abundance of invertebrate populations, which may have important consequences for the breeding performance and population change of insectivorous birds. in this study, we examine the role of food availability in driving behavioural changes in an insectivo ... | 2016 | 27467171 |
| rapid adaptive phenotypic change following colonization of a newly restored habitat. | real-time observation of adaptive evolution in the wild is rare and limited to cases of marked, often anthropogenic, environmental change. here we present the case of a small population of reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus) over a period of 19 years (1996-2014) after colonizing a restored wetland habitat in malta. our data show a population decrease in body mass, following a trajectory consistent with a population ascending an adaptive peak, a so-called ornstein-uhlenbeck process. we corrob ... | 2017 | 28106055 |
| fuel deposition of three passerine bird species along the migration route. | the rate at which migrant birds replenish their energy stores at intermittent stopovers largely determines overall migration speed, the manner in which migration proceeds and success of migration. in this study, data on the fuel deposition rate (fdr) of three long-distance migrants from 17 ringing sites along their autumn migration route were used to examine: (1) effects of endogenous factors on fdr, and (2) how relationships between exogenous factors and fdr affect the organisation of migration ... | 2000 | 28308281 |
| sex- and age-related differences in the timing and body condition of migrating reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus and sedge warblers acrocephalus schoenobaenus. | the migration strategies of birds may vary strongly between species and also between age and/or sex groups. we studied the autumn migration and body condition of molecularly sexed reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus and sedge warblers acrocephalus schoenobaenus (211 and 208 ind., respectively) at a stopover site on lake druzno, northern poland, in 2008. immature male reed warblers were caught significantly later than females (median dates 9 days later), but in the sedge warbler, both sexes of ... | 2010 | 20372871 |
| molecular analysis of faecal samples from birds to identify potential crop pests and useful biocontrol agents in natural areas. | wild habitats adjoining farmland are potentially valuable sources of natural enemies, but also of pests. here we tested the utility of birds as 'sampling devices', to identify the diversity of prey available to predators and particularly to screen for pests and natural enemies using natural ecosystems as refugia. here we used pcr to amplify prey dna from three sympatric songbirds foraging on small invertebrates in phragmites reedbed ecosystems, namely the reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus), ... | 2015 | 25572526 |
| mitochondrial phylogeny of the eurasian/african reed warbler complex (acrocephalus, aves). disagreement between morphological and molecular evidence and cryptic divergence: a case for resurrecting calamoherpe ambigua brehm 1857. | a tree based on the mitochondrial cyt b gene for 278 samples from throughout the range of the eurasian reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus - african reed warbler a. baeticatus complex shows well-supported geographically structured divergence for eight distinct lineages. the phylogenetic structuring together with the clarification of priority, provided by sequence data from seven type specimens, suggests that both taxonomy and distribution boundaries are in need of revision. the iberian and moro ... | 2016 | 27233439 |
| ticks of the hyalomma marginatum complex transported by migratory birds into central europe. | hyalomma ticks are well-known vectors transmitting infectious agents, which can result in severe and potentially fatal diseases in humans. migratory birds may carry infected ticks over long distances. here, we report on records of ticks of the h. marginatum complex in birds from central europe during the spring migration in 2008-2012. a total of 1172 birds belonging to 32 species, 16 families, and 3 orders was examined for ticks. sixteen individuals of 6 passerine species were found to transport ... | 2014 | 24877976 |
| rickettsiae of spotted fever group, borrelia valaisiana, and coxiella burnetii in ticks on passerine birds and mammals from the camargue in the south of france. | ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods that have a limited mobility, but can be transported over large geographical distances by wild and domestic mammals and birds. in this study, we analyze the presence of emerging zoonotic bacteria in ticks collected from passerine birds and mammals present in the camargue, in the south of france, which is a major rallying point for birds migrating from eurasia and africa. the presence of coxiella burnetii, rickettsia, borrelia, and bartonella was examin ... | 2012 | 23141104 |
| identification of rickettsia africae and wolbachia sp. in ceratophyllus garei fleas from passerine birds migrated from africa. | the aim of the study was to reveal new aspects of the role of flea vector taken from migratory birds by screening of specimens with molecular biological methods. a field study was done in fishponds in slovakia. actually, 47 fleas were collected from reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus) and their nests. dna was extracted and analyzed for representatives of the orders rickettsiales. a rickettsia that shares 99.7% of identity by glta gene with rickettsia africae was identified in ceratophyllus g ... | 2012 | 22448745 |
| spatial and temporal differences in the blood parasite fauna of passerine birds during the spring migration in bulgaria. | species composition and prevalence of the blood parasites of three migratory acrocephalus species of warblers (acrocephalus arundinaceus, acrocephalus scirpaceus and acrocephalus schoenobaenus) were studied during spring period in bulgaria. for each of the studied species, we compared the parasite fauna during their spring migration at three study sites in search of infection patterns in time and space. spatial differences were registered in the blood parasites and their prevalence for two of th ... | 2009 | 19190934 |
| [new hosts of some nematodes--parasites of passeriformes]. | parasitic nematodes very rarely exist in birds that are completely or predominantly herbivorous. the investigation of the helminth fauna of passeriformes in the region of lower silesia revealed new hosts for some nematode species. we found in acrocephalus scirpaceus--acuaria subula and microtetrameres inermis; in fringilla coelebs and in luscinia megarhynchos--dispharynx nasuta; in passer montanus--capillaria angusta; in phylloscopus trochiloides--acuaria subula as well in phylloscopus collybita ... | 2008 | 19055064 |
| experimentally simulating paternity uncertainty: immediate and long-term responses of male and female reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus. | in many socially monogamous species, both sexes seek copulation outside the pair bond in order to increase their reproductive success. in response, males adopt counter-strategies to combat the risk of losing paternity. however, no study so far has tried to experimentally prove the function of behaviour for paternity assurance. introducing a potential extra-pair partner during the female fertile period provides a standardised method to examine how pair members respond immediately (e.g. increase m ... | 2013 | 23658637 |
| egg phenotype matching by cuckoos in relation to discrimination by hosts and climatic conditions. | although parasites and their hosts often coexist in a set of environmentally differentiated populations connected by gene flow, few empirical studies have considered a role of environmental variation in shaping correlations between traits of hosts and parasites. here, we studied for the first time the association between the frequency of adaptive parasitic common cuckoo cuculus canorus phenotypes in terms of egg matching and level of defences exhibited by its reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus ... | 2012 | 22237911 |
| under cover of darkness: nocturnal life of diurnal birds. | songbirds are generally considered diurnal, although many species show periodic nocturnal activity during migration seasons. from a breeding-range perspective, such migratory species appear to be diurnal because they are observed to nest and feed their young during the day. but are they really exclusively diurnal? the authors tested how a passerine long-distance migrant, the eurasian reed warbler, schedules movements during the breeding period by tracking birds in 2 experimental situations: 1) b ... | 2009 | 19465699 |
| strategic variation in mobbing as a front line of defense against brood parasitism. | coevolutionary arms races, where adaptations in one party select for counter-adaptations in another and vice versa, are fundamental to interactions between organisms and their predators, pathogens, and parasites [1]. avian brood parasites and their hosts have emerged as model systems for studying such reciprocal coevolutionary processes [2, 3]. for example, hosts have evolved changes in egg appearance and rejection of foreign eggs in response to brood parasitism from cuckoos, and cuckoos have ev ... | 2009 | 19185495 |
| a long-distance avian migrant compensates for longitudinal displacement during spring migration. | in order to perform true bicoordinate navigation, migratory birds need to be able to determine geographic latitude and longitude. the determination of latitude is relatively easy from either stellar or magnetic cues [1-3], but the determination of longitude seems challenging [4, 5]. it has therefore been suggested that migrating birds are unable to perform bicoordinate navigation and that they probably only determine latitude during their return migration [5]. however, proper testing of this hyp ... | 2008 | 18249113 |
| bird mitochondrial gene order: insight from 3 warbler mitochondrial genomes. | two main gene orders exist in birds: the ancestral gene order and the remnant control region (cr) 2 gene order. these gene orders differ by the presence of 1 or 2 copies of the cr, respectively. among songbirds, oscines were thought to follow the ancestral gene order, with the exception of the lyrebird and phylloscopus warblers. here, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of 3 non-phylloscopus warblers species and found that the blackcap (sylvia atricapilla) and the reed warbl ... | 2008 | 18178969 |
| evolution of defence portfolios in exploiter-victim systems. | some organisms maintain a battery of defensive strategies against their exploiters (predators, parasites or parasitoids), while others fail to employ a defence that seems obvious. in this paper, we shall investigate the circumstances under which defence strategies might be expected to evolve. brood parasites and their hosts provide our main motivation, and we shall discuss why the reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus has evolved an egg-rejection but not a chick-rejection strategy as a defence ag ... | 2007 | 17265120 |
| experimental evidence for chick discrimination without recognition in a brood parasite host. | recognition is considered a critical basis for discriminatory behaviours in animals. theoretically, recognition and discrimination of parasitic chicks are not predicted to evolve in hosts of brood parasitic birds that evict nest-mates. yet, an earlier study showed that host reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus) of an evicting parasite, the common cuckoo (cuculus canorus), can avoid the costs of prolonged care for unrelated young by deserting the cuckoo chick before it fledges. desertion was no ... | 2007 | 17164201 |
| rapid increase in cuckoo egg matching in a recently parasitized reed warbler population. | parasitic cuckoos lay eggs that mimic those of their hosts, and such close phenotypic matching may arise from coevolutionary interactions between parasite and host. however, cuckoos may also explicitly choose hosts in a way that increases degree of matching between eggs of cuckoos and parasites, with female preference for specific host phenotypes increasing the degree of matching. we tested for temporal change in degree of matching between eggs of the parasitic european cuckoo (cuculus canorus) ... | 2006 | 17040387 |
| learning fine-tunes a specific response of nestlings to the parental alarm calls of their own species. | parent birds often give alarm calls when a predator approaches their nest. however, it is not clear whether these alarms function to warn nestlings, nor is it known whether nestling responses are species-specific. the parental alarms of reed warblers, acrocephalus scirpaceus ("churr"), dunnocks, prunella modularis ("tseep"), and robins, erithacus rubecula ("seee") are very different. playback experiments revealed that nestlings of all three species ceased begging only in response to conspecific ... | 2004 | 15539356 |
| the genus biuterina fuhrmann, 1902 (cestoda, paruterinidae) in the old world: redescriptions of three species from palaearctic passeriformes. | the syntypes of biuterina passerina fuhrmann, 1908 from alauda arvensis and galerida cristata (passeriformes, alaudidae) from an unknown locality are redescribed. b. fuhrmanni schmelz, 1941 is redescribed on the basis of its syntypes from emberiza aureola from china; its type-material contains, in addition to a scolex and pre-gravid and gravid fragments of biuterina, fragments of mature proglottides from a dilepidid cestode, which were erroneously used in the original description. specimens, whi ... | 2004 | 14739677 |
| nestling discrimination without recognition: a possible defence mechanism for hosts towards cuckoo parasitism? | one of the great evolutionary puzzles is why hosts of parasitic birds discriminate finely against alien eggs, but almost never discriminate against parasitic chicks. a theoretical model has shown that an adaptive host response to alien eggs can be based on learning. however, learned nestling discrimination is too costly to be favoured by selection in hosts of evicting parasites, such as the european cuckoo (cuculus canorus). indeed, parasitic chick rejection has never been reported for any europ ... | 2003 | 12952641 |
| influences of wind flow on stopover decisions: the case of the reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus in the western mediterranean. | wind directions measured at two different heights (850 hpa and 700 hpa) and at different hours of the night were analysed during the spring migration passage at a bird stopover site located in the western mediterranean, in order to evaluate the importance of wind components for a stopover decision. from a huge ringing campaign of bird migration in north-east spain, data from the reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus have been used for the analysis. from a total of 2,478 reed warblers captured bet ... | 2002 | 12242475 |
| reed warbler orientation: initiation of nocturnal migratory flights in relation to visibility of celestial cues at dusk. | we used radiotelemetry to investigate the time of migratory flight initiation relative to available celestial orientation cues and departure direction of a nocturnal passerine migrant, the reed warbler, acrocephalus scirpaceus, during autumn migration. the study was carried out at falsterbo, a coastal site in southwest sweden. the warblers initiated migration from times well after local sunset and well into the night, corresponding to sun elevations between -4 degrees and -35 degrees, coinciding ... | 2001 | 11170708 |
| how selfish is a cuckoo chick? | we studied the begging display of nestling cuckoos, cuculus canorus, reared by reed warbler, acrocephalus scirpaceus, hosts, to test various hypotheses for the cuckoo's unusually rapid begging call. the hypotheses are not mutually exclusive but focus on different parts of the chain: chick need-begging signals-provisioning by hosts. we reject two hypotheses. (1) cuckoo chicks do not use their exaggerated begging to counteract host rejection: begging displays varied with hunger and functioned enti ... | 1999 | 10512653 |
| catabolic enzyme activities in the pectoralis muscle of premigratory and migratory juvenile reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus (herm.). | differences in catabolic capacity in the pectoralis major muscle of premigratory and migratory reed warblers were examined. the oxidative capacity was greater in the migratory birds, probably reflecting a "training effect" caused by the increased locomotion activity just prior to migration.fatty acid oxidation was already high in the premigratory birds, possibly reflecting a saving of carbohydrate for anabolic purposes (feather growth) during the moult. glycolytic capacity was slightly increased ... | 1986 | 28311708 |
| stopover durations of three warbler species along their autumn migration route. | in migrating birds, the success of migration is determined by stopover duration, the most important factor determining overall speed of migration, and fuel deposition rate. however, very little is known about stopover durations of small migrant birds, because appropriate methods for data analysis were lacking until recently. we used a new capture-recapture analysis to estimate stopover durations of 1st-year reed warblers acrocephalus scirpaceus, sedge warblers a. schoenobaenus and garden warbler ... | 2001 | 28547471 |
| migratory eurasian reed warblers can use magnetic declination to solve the longitude problem. | the longitude problem (determining east-west position) is a classical problem in human sea navigation. prior to the use of gps satellites, extraordinarily accurate clocks measuring the difference between local time and a fixed reference (e.g., gmt) [1] were needed to determine longitude. birds do not appear to possess a time-difference clock sense [2]. nevertheless, experienced night-migratory songbirds can correct for east-west displacements to unknown locations [3-9]. consequently, migratory b ... | 2017 | 28823677 |
| eurasian reed warblers compensate for virtual magnetic displacement. | | 2015 | 26439333 |
| haematospirillum and insect wolbachia dna in avian blood. | in this study, blood samples of 259 acrocephalus sp. warblers were molecularly analysed for anaplasmataceae and rhodospirillaceae based on pcr amplification of 16s rrna gene fragments. one bird blood sample (from reed warbler, acrocephalus scirpaceus) yielded a sequence with 99.8% identity to haematospirillum jordaniae. this is the first molecular evidence for the occurrence of this species in the blood of any vertebrate other than human. another bird blood sample (from marsh warbler: acrocephal ... | 2017 | 29063344 |
| postnatal ossification sequences in acrocephalus scirpaceus and chroicocephalus ridibundus (aves: neognathae): the precocial-altricial spectrum and evolution of compound bones in birds. | although the development of the avian skeleton has attracted considerable attention, most of the studies have been concentrated on the embryonic period, while studies on the postnatal period are rare. we studied the postnatal development of the skeleton in two phylogenetically distant birds, an altricial passerine acrocephalus scirpaceus and a semiprecocial charadriiform chroicocephalus ridibundus. the neonates of the former, despite being altricial, have well-ossified skeleton-the degree of dev ... | 2020 | 32875600 |
| the common cuckoo cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler acrocephalus scirpaceus host. | the obligate avian brood parasitic common cuckoo cuculus canorus comprises different strains of females that specialize on particular host species by laying eggs of a constant type that often mimics those of the host. whether cuckoos are locally adapted for mimicking populations of the hosts on which they are specialized has never been investigated. in this study, we first explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by one of ... | 2011 | 21054625 |
| social transmission of a host defense against cuckoo parasitism. | coevolutionary arms races between brood parasites and hosts involve genetic adaptations and counter-adaptations. however, hosts sometimes acquire defenses too rapidly to reflect genetic change. our field experiments show that observation of cuckoo (cuculus canorus) mobbing by neighbors on adjacent territories induced reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus) to increase the mobbing of cuckoos but not of parrots (a harmless control) on their own territory. in contrast, observation of neighbors mobb ... | 2009 | 19498167 |
| influence of habitat suitability and sex-related detectability on density and population size estimates of habitat-specialist warblers. | knowledge about the population size and trends of common bird species is crucial for setting conservation priorities and management actions. multi-species large-scale monitoring schemes have often provided such estimates relying on extrapolation of relative abundances in particular habitats to large-scale areas. here we show an alternative to inference-rich predictive models, proposing methods to deal with caveats of population size estimations in habitat-specialist species, reed warblers (acroc ... | 2018 | 30059562 |
| female cuckoo calls misdirect host defences towards the wrong enemy. | prey are sensitive to even subtle cues of predation risk, which provides the evolutionary potential for parasites to exploit host risk perception. brood parasitic common cuckoos (cuculus canorus) lay their eggs in the nests of host species and their secretive laying behaviour enables them to evade host defences. therefore, it seems paradoxical that female cuckoos often give a conspicuous 'chuckle' call after parasitizing a host's clutch. here, we show that this hawk-like chuckle call increases t ... | 2017 | 29185512 |
| the experimental study on susceptibility of common european songbirds to plasmodium elongatum (lineage pgrw6), a widespread avian malaria parasite. | plasmodium elongatum (cytochrome b lineage pgrw6) is a widespread avian malaria parasite, often causing severe disease in non-adapted hosts. this parasite lineage is of global distribution however, its virulence remains insufficiently understood, particularly in wild birds. surprisingly, this infection has never been reported in common starlings sturnus vulgaris and common crossbills loxia curvirostra, common european songbirds which were extensively sampled across europe. a hypothesis was propo ... | 2019 | 31455375 |
| air movement affects insulatory values of nests constructed by old world warblers. | avian nests provide a location for incubation, and in many cases rearing of nestlings. these energetically demanding activities have meant that nest insulation has been the subject of many studies but few to date have dealt with how variation among species in nest construction materials could affect nest insulation. this study investigated the insulation of nests constructed by three species of old word warblers (sylviidae), which vary in size and composition. insulatory values, i.e. difference ... | 2019 | 30975418 |
| no evidence for the use of magnetic declination for migratory navigation in two songbird species. | determining the east-west position was a classical problem in human sea navigation until accurate clocks were manufactured and sailors were able to measure the difference between local time and a fixed reference to determine longitude. experienced night-migratory songbirds can correct for east-west physical and virtual magnetic displacements to unknown locations. migratory birds do not appear to possess a time-different clock sense; therefore, they must solve the longitude problem in a different ... | 2020 | 32330188 |
| gut microbiota in a host-brood parasite system: insights from common cuckoos raised by two warbler species. | an animal's gut microbiota (gm) is shaped by a range of environmental factors affecting the bacterial sources invading the host. at the same time, animal hosts are equipped with intrinsic mechanisms enabling regulation of gm. however, there is limited knowledge on the relative importance of these forces. to assess the significance of host-intrinsic vs environmental factors, we studied gm in nestlings of an obligate brood parasite, the common cuckoo (cuculus canorus), raised by two foster species ... | 2020 | 32672792 |
| evolutionary significance of antiparasite, antipredator and learning phenotypes of avian nest defence. | avian nest defence, which is expected to serve both antiparasite and antipredator functions, may benefit or be detrimental to birds, although selective forces that potentially operate on nest defence have not been quantified as a whole. together with fitness values, we analysed two traits of nest defence, intensity and plasticity, in two distantly related passerine species, yellow warbler (setophaga petechia) in north america and reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus) in europe, both favourite h ... | 2018 | 30002381 |
| interrupted breeding in a songbird migrant triggers development of nocturnal locomotor activity. | long-distance avian migrants, e.g. eurasian reed warblers (acrocephalus scirpaceus), can precisely schedule events of their annual cycle. however, the proximate mechanisms controlling annual cycle and their interplay with environmental factors are poorly understood. we artificially interrupted breeding in reed warblers by bringing them into captivity and recording birds' locomotor activity for 5-7 days. over this time, most of the captive birds gradually developed nocturnal locomotor activity no ... | 2018 | 29615823 |
| magnetic map navigation in a migratory songbird requires trigeminal input. | recently, virtual magnetic displacement experiments have shown that magnetic cues are indeed important for determining position in migratory birds; but which sensory system(s) do they use to detect the magnetic map cues? here, we show that eurasian reed warblers need trigeminal input to detect that they have been virtually magnetically displaced. birds with bilaterally ablated ophthalmic branches of the trigeminal nerves were not able to re-orient towards their conspecific breeding grounds after ... | 2018 | 30097604 |