Effects of experimental reduction in nest micro-parasite and macro-parasite loads on nestling hemoglobin level in blue tits Parus caeruleus

Słomczyński, Robert; Kaliński, Adam; Wawrzyniak, Jarosław; Bańbura, Mirosława; Skwarska, Joanna; Zieliński, Piotr; Bańbura, Jerzy

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2006.04.003

Cited by 53 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…5% had also the second brood. In comparison with many other populations the level of ectoparasitism was low in our study areas (Słomczyński et al 2006). …”

Section: Blue Tit Breedingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

et al. 2007

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“…5% had also the second brood. In comparison with many other populations the level of ectoparasitism was low in our study areas (Słomczyński et al 2006). …”

Section: Blue Tit Breedingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

et al. 2007

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“…Increased hemoglobin levels have been associated with parasite load in nestlings and adults of several avian species (e.g. Clark and Mason 1988;Sergent et al 2004;Słomczyński et al 2006). Slower growth rates of chicks from the large colony could also indicate their higher infestation with parasites, however, this pattern could be alternatively explained by the necessity of parents to invest more in nest defence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opposing selective pressures may act on the colony size in a waterbird species

2015

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In theory, larger colony size should be favoured by lower per-capita predation rates, whereas smaller colony size should be favoured by reduced parasitism, social stress and competition for food. We conducted an experimental cross-fostering of young between colonies of different size to test whether differences in fitness had an environmental or genetic basis. We induced formation of one large (ca. 100 breeding pairs) and three small (30-40 pairs) Common Tern Sterna hirundo colonies by providing different size patches of nesting area (floating rafts). The larger colony had about 30 % higher reproductive success than the smaller colonies. However, offspring raised in the large colony were in poorer condition, which was indicated by the higher heterophil/lymphocyte ratios, lower hemoglobin concentrations in blood and slower growth rates, suggesting higher parasite loads or higher levels of social stress. By performing a cross-fostering experiment we confirmed that differences in chick condition were not inherited, but could be directly attributed to different rearing conditions experienced in the colonies of varying size. These results suggest that colony size in the Common Tern may be regulated by the opposing selective pressures (predation vs. parasitism/social stress).

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“…Furthermore, they survived at higher rates thorough the nestling and fledgling phase. Słomczyński et al (2006) replaced natural Blue Tit nests with clean artificial nests (twice during the nestling stage). This treatment caused an increase of 7-10.5 g/L in haemoglobin concentration of nestlings in comparison with control nestlings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It reflects the presence of pathogens and parasites, as well as the nutritional status of organism (a drop in haemoglobin concentration suggests nutritional deficiency ;Campbell 1995;Simon et al 2004;Kasprzyk et al 2006;Słomczyński et al 2006). All those features support the use of the haemoglobin level as a relatively reliable indicator of physiological condition in field and experimental studies on birds (Stevens 1996;Kilgas et al 2006a;Kaliński et al 2009Kaliński et al , 2012Pyrke and Rollins 2012;Lill et al 2013;Minias 2014;Minias et al 2014;Glądalski et al 2015a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatial variation in haemoglobin concentration of nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): a long-term perspective

et al. 2016

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An understanding of the influences of anthropogenic disturbance and variation in habitat quality on organism condition and breeding success may improve future management and conservation decisions. Some authors consider haemoglobin concentration to be a simple biochemical indicator of bird condition. The main goal of this paper is to examine if the level of haemoglobin displays any consistent pattern of variation across habitats differing in quality. We present results concerning longterm variation in haemoglobin concentration in the blood of about 14-day-old nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in central Poland in an 11-year period (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013), in two landscapes (an urban parkland and a deciduous forest). The most important findings of the study are: (1) the concentration of haemoglobin of the nestlings from the same brood tended to be consistently similar, with most variation occurring between broods, (2) mean levels of haemoglobin varied between years, and were correlated with caterpillar abundance peaks in the forest study site, (3) mean haemoglobin concentration was significantly higher in the forest area than in the parkland area, (4) haemoglobin levels were positively correlated with breeding and fledging success. We confirmed that haemoglobin concentration displays a spatio-temporal pattern and that the level of haemoglobin is a reliable condition and habitat quality indicator in nestling Blue Tits in the study populations. Although, strictly speaking, the analysed differences are between two particular sites, we think that they reflect differences between urban and non-urban habitats.

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Effects of experimental reduction in nest micro-parasite and macro-parasite loads on nestling hemoglobin level in blue tits Parus caeruleus

Cited by 53 publications

References 33 publications

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

Opposing selective pressures may act on the colony size in a waterbird species

Spatial variation in haemoglobin concentration of nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): a long-term perspective

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