| implications of raccoon latrines in the epizootiology of baylisascariasis. | raccoons (procyon lotor) frequently establish defecation sites, termed latrines, on large logs, stumps, rocks, and other horizontally oriented structures/surfaces. these latrines are important foci of infective eggs of baylisascaris procyonis, a nematode parasite of raccoons which is pathogenic to numerous species of mammals and birds. to examine the role of raccoon latrines in this animal-parasite interaction, we documented animal visitations to raccoon latrines in two large forested tracts and ... | 1999 | 10479081 |
| diversity in mixed species groups improves success in a novel feeder test in a wild songbird community. | mixed-species groups are common and are thought to provide benefits to group members via enhanced food finding and antipredator abilities. these benefits could accrue due to larger group sizes in general but also to the diverse species composition in the groups. we tested these possibilities using a novel feeder test in a wild songbird community containing three species that varied in their dominant-subordinate status and in their nuclear-satellite roles: carolina chickadees (poecile carolinensi ... | 2017 | 28230159 |
| seasonal variation in avian auditory evoked responses to tones: a comparative analysis of carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, and white-breasted nuthatches. | we tested for seasonal plasticity of the peripheral auditory system of three north american members of the sylvioidea: carolina chickadees (poecile carolinensis), tufted titmice (baeolophus bicolor), and white-breasted nuthatches (sitta carolinensis). we measured three classes of auditory evoked responses (aer) to tone stimuli: sustained receptor/neural responses to pure-tone condensation waveforms, the frequency-following response (ffr), and the earliest peak of the aer to stimulus onset (tone ... | 2007 | 17066303 |
| benefits to satellite members in mixed-species foraging groups: an experimental analysis. | hypotheses proposed to explain the formation of mixed-species foraging groups have focused on both foraging and antipredation benefits. mixed-species flocks of bark-foraging birds form during the winter in the eastern deciduous forests of north america. these flocks are composed of two parid nuclear species, tufted titmice, baeolophus bicolor, and either carolina or black-capped chickadees, poecile carolinensis or p. atricapillus, and several satellite species including downy woodpeckers, picoid ... | 1998 | 9787042 |
| effects of traffic noise on occupancy patterns of forest birds. | noise may drive changes in the composition and abundance of animals that communicate vocally. traffic produces low-frequency noise (<3 khz) that can mask acoustic signals broadcast within the same frequency range. we evaluated whether birds that sing within the frequency range of traffic noise are affected by acoustic masking (i.e., increased background noise levels at the same frequency of vocalizations reduce detection of vocalization) and are less abundant in areas where traffic noise is loud ... | 2011 | 21410531 |
| phenotypic flexibility in passerine birds: seasonal variation in fuel storage, mobilization and transport. | winter acclimatization in small birds living in cold climates produces a winter phenotype characterized by upregulation of metabolic rates to meet enhanced thermoregulatory demands. we measured several key aspects of fuel storage, mobilization and transport in summer and winter to determine whether black-capped chickadees (poecile atricapillus), white-breasted nuthatches (sitta carolinensis), and house sparrows (passer domesticus) seasonally modulate these attributes to meet enhanced winter ther ... | 2014 | 24704472 |
| songbirds tradeoff auditory frequency resolution and temporal resolution. | physical tradeoffs may in some cases constrain the evolution of sensory systems. the peripheral auditory system, for example, performs a spectral decomposition of sound that should result in a tradeoff between frequency resolution and temporal resolution. we assessed temporal resolution in three songbird species using auditory brainstem responses to paired click stimuli. temporal resolution was greater in house sparrows (passer domesticus) than carolina chickadees (poecile carolinensis) and whit ... | 2011 | 21225270 |
| isolation by environment in white-breasted nuthatches (sitta carolinensis) of the madrean archipelago sky islands: a landscape genomics approach. | understanding landscape processes driving patterns of population genetic differentiation and diversity has been a long-standing focus of ecology and evolutionary biology. gene flow may be reduced by historical, ecological or geographic factors, resulting in patterns of isolation by distance (ibd) or isolation by environment (ibe). although ibe has been found in many natural systems, most studies investigating patterns of ibd and ibe in nature have used anonymous neutral genetic markers, precludi ... | 2015 | 26037653 |
| speciation in the white-breasted nuthatch (sitta carolinensis): a multilocus perspective. | inferring the evolutionary and ecological processes that have shaped contemporary species distributions using the geographic distribution of gene lineages is the principal goal of phylogeographic research. researchers in the field have recognized that inferences made from a single gene, often mitochondrial, can be informative regarding the pattern of diversification but lack conclusive information regarding the evolutionary mechanisms that led to the observed patterns. here, we use a multilocus ... | 2012 | 22192449 |
| phylogeography of the white-breasted nuthatch (sitta carolinensis): diversification in north american pine and oak woodlands. | pine and oak woodlands are common north american floral communities with distinct regional species composition. the white-breasted nuthatch (aves: sitta carolinensis) is a common resident bird of north american pine and oak woodlands, and is distributed continentally across the highly disjunct distribution of these woodlands. we propose three historical hypotheses to explain the evolution of the white-breasted nuthatch in its principal habitat. (i) the species evolved in situ in the regional pin ... | 2007 | 17402986 |
| parental investment strategies in two species of nuthatch vary with stage-specific predation risk and reproductive effort. | life-history theory predicts that differences in reproductive effort and residual reproductive value among species should result in differences in the level of risk that parents are willing to tolerate to themselves versus their offspring. specifically, highly fecund and shorter-lived species are expected to place greater value in current offspring than themselves, whereas less fecund and longer-lived species are expected to place greater value in their own survival and future breeding opportuni ... | 2000 | 10973729 |
| ten new species of brueelia kéler, 1936 (phthiraptera: ischnocera: philopteridae) from nuthatches (aves: passeriformes: sittidae), tits and chickadees (paridae), and goldcrests (regulidae). | ten new species of chewing lice in the genus brueelia kéler, 1936, are described from hosts in the families paridae, regulidae, and sittidae. they are: brueelia johnsoni n. sp. from poecile sclateri eidos (peters, 1927); brueelia juniperi n. sp. from baeolophus ridgwayi ridgwayi (richmond, 1902); brueelia kabulica n. sp. from sitta tephronota tephronota sharpe, 1872; brueelia mpumalangensis n. sp. from melaniparus niger niger (vieillot, 1818); brueelia nazae n. sp. from parus cinereus caschmiren ... | 2018 | 29975654 |
| flocking propensity by satellites, but not core members of mixed-species flocks, increases when individuals experience energetic deficits in a poor-quality foraging habitat. | mixed-species bird flocks are complex social systems comprising core and satellite members. flocking species are sensitive to habitat disturbance, but we are only beginning to understand how species-specific responses to habitat disturbance affect interspecific associations in these flocks. here we demonstrate the effects of human-induced habitat disturbance on flocking species' behavior, demography, and individual condition within a remnant network of temperate deciduous forest patches in india ... | 2019 | 30625186 |
| correlates of bird collisions with buildings across three north american countries. | collisions with buildings cause up to 1 billion bird fatalities annually in the united states and canada. however, efforts to reduce collisions would benefit from studies conducted at large spatial scales across multiple study sites with standardized methods and consideration of species- and life-history-related variation and correlates of collisions. we addressed these research needs through coordinated collection of data on bird collisions with buildings at sites in the united states (35), can ... | 2020 | 32537779 |