Publications

egg recognition abilities of tit species in the paridae family: do indomalayan tits exhibit higher recognition than palearctic tits?	recent studies have shown that the closely related cinereous tit ( parus cinereus) and green-backed tit ( p. monticolus) in china display strong egg recognition ability in contrast to tit species in europe, which lack such ability. however, egg recognition in other populations of cinereous and green-backed tits and additional paridae species still requires further research. here, we compared the egg recognition abilities of cinereous tits across china, green-backed tits ( p. m. insperatus) in ta ...	2020	32918406
comparative analysis of hissing calls in five tit species.	nest predation often leads to breeding failure and is an important component of natural selection that affects the evolution of nest defense behavior in birds. many tit species give a hissing call as nest defense, but there are few studies of interspecific variation in hissing calls, and whether these are related to nest predation and nesting success. in this study, we compared the hissing calls of five tit species including cinereous tits (parus cinereus), marsh tits (poecile palustris), varied ...	2020	31899274
best environmental predictors of breeding phenology differ with elevation in a common woodland bird species.	temperatures in mountain areas are increasing at a higher rate than the northern hemisphere land average, but how fauna may respond, in particular in terms of phenology, remains poorly understood. the aim of this study was to assess how elevation could modify the relationships between climate variability (air temperature and snow melt-out date), the timing of plant phenology and egg-laying date of the coal tit (periparus ater). we collected 9 years (2011-2019) of data on egg-laying date, spring ...	2020	33005377
other species' alarm calls evoke a predator-specific search image in birds.	many animals produce vocal alarm signals when they detect a predator, and heterospecific species sharing predators often eavesdrop on and respond to these calls [1]. despite the widespread occurrence of interspecific eavesdropping in animals, its underlying cognitive process remains to be elucidated. if alarm calls, like human referential words, denote a specific predator type (e.g., "snake!"), then receivers may retrieve a mental image of the predator when hearing these calls [2-4]. here, using ...	2020	32413306
long-term declines in winter body mass of tits throughout britain and ireland correlate with climate change.	the optimum body mass of passerine birds typically represents a trade-off between starvation risk, which promotes fat gain, and predation pressure, which promotes fat loss to maintain maneuvrability. changes in ecological factors that affect either of these variables will therefore change the optimum body masses of populations of passerine birds. this study sought to identify and quantify the effects of changing temperatures and predation pressures on the body masses and wing lengths of populati ...	2019	30805153
peripherally injected ghrelin and leptin reduce food hoarding and mass gain in the coal tit (periparus ater).	in birds little is known about the hormonal signals that communicate nutritional state to the brain and regulate appetitive behaviours. in mammals, the peptide hormones ghrelin and leptin elevate and inhibit consumption and food hoarding, respectively. but in birds, administration of both ghrelin and leptin inhibit food consumption. the role of these hormones in the regulation of food hoarding in avian species has not been examined. to investigate this, we injected wild caught coal tits (peripar ...	2018	29794047
object permanence in the food-storing coal tit (periparus ater) and the non-storing great tit (parus major): is the mental representation required?	object permanence is a cognitive ability that enables animals to mentally represent the continuous existence of temporarily hidden objects. generally, it develops gradually through six qualitative stages, the evolution of which may be connected with some specific ecological and behavioral factors. in birds, the advanced object permanence skills were reported in several storing species of the corvidae family. in order to test the association between food-storing and achieved performance within th ...	2017	28263620
the complete mitochondrial genome of parus ater (passeriformes, paridae).	the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of coal tit (parus ater) consisted 16,783 bp, the genome harbored the same gene order with that of other birds, contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 trnas, 2 rrnas, and 1 non-coding control region. the all trnas can formed typical cloverleaf secondary structures (excluding trna(ser-agy)). a total of 38 base mismatches appeared, mainly 28 for g-u mismatch, 5 for a-c mismatch, 2 for u-u mismatch. the third loci of codon existed obvious base bias. the con ...	2016	25329276
through experience to boldness? deactivation of neophobia towards novel and aposematic prey in three european species of tits (paridae).	european tits (paridae) exhibit species-specific levels of initial wariness towards aposematic prey. this wariness may be caused by neophobia, dietary conservatism or innate bias against particular prey traits. we assessed the contribution of these three mechanisms to the behaviour of juvenile tits towards novel palatable prey and novel aposematic prey. we compared levels of initial wariness in great tits (parus major), blue tits (cyanistes caeruleus) and coal tits (periparus ater), and tested h ...	2016	27474371
feather mites of the genus passeroptes fain (acariformes: dermationidae) from passerines (aves: passeriformes) of china.	five new species of the feather mite genus passeroptes (acariformes: dermationidae) are recorded from birds of the order passeriformes in china: p. lioparis sp. nov. from chrysotus chrysotis (blyth) (paradoxornithidae); p. motacillae sp. nov. from motacilla cinerea tunstall (motacillidae); p. cyanodermae sp. nov. from cyanoderma ruficeps blyth (timaliidae); p. periparus sp. nov. from periparus ater (linnaeus) (paridae); p. aegithalos sp. nov. from aegithalos iouschistos bonvaloti (oustalet) (aeg ...	2015	26250023
evolution of enlarged body size of coal tits parus ater in geographic isolation from two larger competitors, the crested tit parus cristatus and the willow tit parus montanus, on six scandinavian islands.	here, we report that on six widely separated scandinavian islands, the coal tit parus ater has evolved morphologically in the direction of two absent competitors, the crested tit p. cristatus and the willow tit p. montanus, to the effect that it is up to 10% larger in linear dimensions than conspecifics on the adjacent swedish mainland, where all three species coexist. the large size is genetically determined, as ascertained by clutch exchange experiments between island and mainland nests. we co ...	2015	26490673
elevation impacts the balance between growth and oxidative stress in coal tits.	the short favorable period of time available for the growth in seasonal environments could constrain the resources allocation between growth and other life-history traits, and the short-term fitness benefits of increased growth rate may prevail over other functions. accelerated growth rates have been associated with long-term deleterious consequences (e.g., decreased lifespan), and recently oxidative stress (the imbalance between pro-oxidants generation and antioxidant defenses) has been suggest ...	2014	24805201
diet composition as a cause of different contaminant exposure in two sympatric passerines in the middle urals, russia.	contaminant exposure can vary between species but primary causes of it are often unclear. in order to estimate heavy metal intake of two sympatric passerines - ficedula hypoleuca pall. and parus ater l. - we studied nestling diet and metal concentrations in prey invertebrates, near the middle ural copper smelter and in an unpolluted area. diet of p. ater contained more cu, cd and zn compared to f. hypoleuca and the same amount of pb. contribution of different prey taxa to bird metal intake was n ...	2013	23916013
prevalence of avian haematozoa in wild birds in a high-altitude forest in japan.	the infection dynamics of avian haematozoa, which includes the genera plasmodium, haemoproteus, and leucocytozoon, are complicated by a variety of environmental factors and host-parasite interactions. in japan, the prevalence of haematozoa in wild birds has recently been determined in several local areas. however, no information on the annual prevalence of avian haematozoa in a single study site has been reported. here, we investigated the long-term infection dynamics of haematozoa in wild birds ...	2011	21831523
lifespan, lifetime reproductive performance and paternity loss of within-pair and extra-pair offspring in the coal tit periparus ater.	the hypothesis that females of socially monogamous species obtain indirect benefits (good or compatible genes) from extra-pair mating behaviour has received enormous attention but much less generally accepted support. here we ask whether selection for adult survival and fecundity or sexual selection contribute to indirect selection of the extra-pair mating behaviour in socially monogamous coal tits (periparus ater). we tracked locally recruited individuals with known paternity status through the ...	2009	18812289
composition of an avian guild in spatially structured habitats supports a competition-colonization trade-off.	assuming better colonization abilities of inferior competitors, the competition-colonization trade-off (ccto) is one of the hypotheses that explains spatial variation of species composition in fragmented habitats. whereas this mechanism may structure some plant and insect communities, ecologists have failed to document its operation in other natural systems, and its generality has been questioned. we combined fieldwork and published data to study the composition of a guild of passerines (parus c ...	2007	17389222
polyandry in coal tits parus ater: fitness consequences of putting eggs into multiple genetic baskets.	females of many species mate with multiple males within a single reproductive cycle. one hypothesis to explain polyandry postulates that females benefit from increasing within-brood genetic diversity. two mechanisms may render sire genetic diversity beneficial for females, genetic bet-hedging vs. non-bet-hedging. we analysed whether females of the socially monogamous coal tit (parus ater) benefit via either of these mechanisms when engaging in extra-pair (i.e. polyandrous) mating. to obtain a me ...	2007	17465921
the effects of latitude and day length on fattening strategies of wintering coal tits periparus ater (l.): a field study and aviary experiment.	1. cyclic daily fattening routines are very common in wintering small wild birds, and are thought to be the consequence of a trade-off between different environmental and state-dependent factors. according to theory, these trajectories should range from accelerated (i.e. mass increases exponentially towards dusk) when mass-dependent predation costs are the most important cause of mortality risk, to decelerated (i.e. the rate of mass gain is highest at dawn and decreases afterward) when starvatio ...	2007	17714264
calibration of a molecular clock in tits (paridae)--do nucleotide substitution rates of mitochondrial genes deviate from the 2% rule?	the ongoing debate on the reliability of avian molecular clocks is actually based on only a small number of calibrations carried out under different assumptions with respect to the choice and constraints of calibration points or to the use of substitution models. in this study, we provide substitution rate estimates for two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome b and the control region, and age estimates for lineage splits within four subgenera of tits (paridae: parus, cyanistes, poecile and periparus ...	2007	17512759
suttonella ornithocola sp. nov., from birds of the tit families, and emended description of the genus suttonella.	phenotypic and phylogenetic studies were performed on three strains of gram-negative, rod-shaped organisms recovered from dead birds of the tit families (blue tit, coal tit and long-tailed tit). morphological, cultural and biochemical studies indicated that the organisms were related to the family cardiobacteriaceae in the gamma-subclass of the proteobacteria. comparative 16s rrna gene sequencing studies confirmed these findings and demonstrated that the bacterium represents a hitherto unknown s ...	2005	16280481
paternal genetic effects on offspring fitness are context dependent within the extrapair mating system of a socially monogamous passerine.	avian extrapair mating systems provide an interesting model to assess the role of genetic benefits in the evolution of female multiple mating behavior, as potentially confounding nongenetic benefits of extrapair mate choice are seen to be of minor importance. genetic benefit models of extrapair mating behavior predict that females engage in extrapair copulations with males of higher genetic quality compared to their social mates, thereby improving offspring reproductive value. the most straightf ...	2005	15856706
long-term fitness consequences of female extra-pair matings in a socially monogamous passerine.	whether female birds choose extra-pair mating partners to obtain genetic fitness benefits is intensely debated. the most straightforward and crucial test of 'good genes' models of female extra-pair mating is the comparison of naturally 'cross-fostered' maternal half-siblings sharing the same rearing environment as any systematic differences in performance between the two categories of offspring phenotype can be attributed to differential paternal genetic contribution. we analysed local recruitme ...	2003	12614574
extra-pair sires as identified by means of standardized across-gel comparisons of multilocus dna fingerprints.	molecular analyses of genetic parentage in wild bird populations demonstrate that extra-pair paternity (epp) is common, even in socially monogamous species. after having identified extra-pair offspring (epo), an important step is to uncover the identity of extra-pair sires (eps). studies relying on multilocus dna fingerprinting face the problem that simple between-gel comparisons of fingerprint banding patterns are imprecise in assigning parentage across gels. to tackle this problem, we develope ...	2003	12929171
partial knowledge and answer-until-correct tasks in birds and humans.	jolliffe and jolliffe (1997, biometrics 53, 1136-1142) and ridout (1999, biometrics 55, 660-662) have proposed models applicable to memory in coal tits. it is now argued that the birds' task is analogous to answer-until-correct tests used in educational settings in humans, and models from the latter context may be used with the birds' data.	2001	11764267
a larger hippocampus is associated with longer-lasting spatial memory.	volumetric studies in a range of animals (london taxi-drivers, polygynous male voles, nest-parasitic female cowbirds, and a number of food-storing birds) have shown that the size of the hippocampus, a brain region essential to learning and memory, is correlated with tasks involving an extra demand for spatial learning and memory. in this paper, we report the quantitative advantage that food storers gain from such an enlargement. coal tits (parus ater) a food-storing species, performed better tha ...	2001	11391008
individual food-hoarding decisions in a nonterritorial coal tit population: the role of social context.	among the paridae, food hoarding is thought to be strongly associated with the exclusive use of territories by winter groups, although it has also been described in populations with loose social systems. however, detailed data on such populations are scarce. to identify the mechanisms underlying individual storing decisions, i studied hoarding behaviour in a nonterritorial, high-density coal tit, parus ater, population in a subalpine forest. the presence of close neighbours (within 5 m) had the ...	2000	11007649
memory in coal tits: an alternative model.	jolliffe and jolliffe (1997, biometrics 53, 1136-1142) proposed various models for data from an experiment on memory in coal tits. this article describes an alternative model, which fits equally well and which may be simpler to interpret.	1999	11318230
spatial accuracy in food-storing and nonstoring birds.	we compared the ability of coal tits, parus ater (a food-storing species), great tits, p. major, and blue tits, p. caeruleus (two nonstoring species) to remember spatial locations in a spatial delayed-matching-to-sample task. presentation of a single sample image on a touch screen was followed by a choice phase containing two, three or four images, in which the bird had to choose the original image. storers made more correct choices than did nonstorers. performance was affected by the proximity ...	1999	10512645
coal tits, parus ater, lose weight in response to chases by predators.	theoretical models predict that birds should decrease their body mass in response to increased predation risk because lighter birds take off faster and are more manoeuvrable. we studied the effect of predation risk by chasing coal tits in large outdoor aviaries thus simulating an attempt to capture them. with this increase in predation risk, both perceived and actual, coal tits lost significantly more weight than in a control situation when they were not pursued. this pattern was attributable to ...	1999	10458879
on the origin and rarity of interspecific nest parasitism in birds.	interspecific nest parasitism is surprisingly rare in birds given the potential advantages for the parasite of exploiting the parental care of other species. one possibility is that chicks will not thrive with the parental care and food of heterospecifics. i simulated parasitism in nonparasitic congeners by switching eggs between nests of three species of titmice (great tit parus major, blue tit parus caeruleus, and coal tit parus ater). the experiment showed that compatibility of parental care ...	1998	18811390
modelling memory in coal tits: an illustration of the em algorithm.	some species of birds are known to use memory to retrieve previously stored food. a series of experiments on one of those species, coal tits, investigated various aspects of such memory. for one particular experiment, a number of statistical models describing the memory were fitted. however, some of the data were unavoidably incomplete. the expectation maximization (em) algorithm provides a means of incorporating the incomplete data into the fitting procedure.	1997	9290232
food storing and the hippocampus in paridae.	food storing passerines have a larger hippocampus, relative to the rest of the telencephalon and/or body mass, than do non-storing species. this study looked at the relationship between relative size of the hippocampus and degree of food storing in six species of paridae (blue tit, parus caeruleus, great tit, p major, marsh tit, p palustris, coal tit, p ater, black-capped chickadee, p. atricapillus, and willow tit, p montanus). the degree of storing by these species varies from little or none to ...	1996	9156782
effects of air pollution on passerine birds and small mammals.	the effects produced by emissions from coal-fired power plants, including mainly so2, nox and particulates, on natural populations and caged specimens of birds and small mammals were studied. the field-captured species used to evaluate these effects were passerine birds: parus major (coal tit) and emberiza cia (rock bunting), and the rodent apodemus sylvaticus (wood mouse). in parallel to this study on animals captured in the field, we used other animals, mus musculus (house mouse) and carduelis ...	1993	8466292
genetic component of morphological differentiation in coal tits under competitive release.		1988	28563848
body size, interspecific interactions, and use of foraging sites in tits (paridae).	in mixed-species flocks, the heavier tit species forage in the inner tree parts, while the smaller species exploit food items of the outer canopy. using aviary experiments we studied the relative importance of two possible explanations for body size-foraging site correlation. the first hypothesis is that larger bodied tits are more efficient than smaller ones in exploiting the inner tree parts, while the reverse would be true in the outer canopy. however, the heavier species, the willow tit paru ...	1987	29357141
canary island blue tits and english coal tits: convergent evolution?		1977	28563485