A global meta‐analysis reveals higher variation in breeding phenology in urban birds than in their non‐urban neighbours

Capilla‐Lasheras, Pablo; Thompson, Megan J.; Sánchez‐Tójar, Alfredo; Haddou, Yacob; Branston, Claire J.; Réale, Denis; Charmantier, Anne; Dominoni, Davide M.

doi:10.1111/ele.14099

Cited by 33 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 145 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, a risk of early onset of reproduction is the increased probability of cold snaps, which can be detrimental to insects, and in turn, insectivorous birds (Shipley et al 2020 ). Indeed, a recent meta-analysis has confirmed that the increased variation in breeding phenology of urban birds is a general pattern (Capilla-Lasheras et al 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Urban tree composition is associated with breeding success of a passerine bird, but effects vary within and between years

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Birds breeding in urban environments have lower reproductive output compared to rural conspecifics, most likely because of food limitation. However, which characteristics of urban environments may cause this deficiency is not clear. Here, we investigated how tree composition within urban territories of passerine birds is associated with breeding probability and reproductive success. We used 7 years of data of breeding occupancy for blue and great tits (Cyanistes caeruleus; Parus major) and several reproductive traits for great tits, from 400 urban nest boxes located in 5 parks within the city of Malmö, Sweden. We found that tits, overall, were less likely to breed in territories dominated by either non-native trees or beech trees. Great tit chicks reared in territories dominated by non-native trees weighed significantly less, compared to territories with fewer non-native trees. An earlier onset of breeding correlated with increased chick weight in great tits. Increasing number of common oak trees (Quercus robur) was associated with delayed onset of breeding in great tits. Notably, as offspring survival probability generally increased by breeding earlier, in particular in oak-dominated territories, our results suggest that delayed onset of breeding induced by oak trees may be maladaptive and indicate a mismatch to this food source. Our results demonstrate that tree composition may have important consequences on breeding success of urban birds, but some of these effects are not consistent between years, highlighting the need to account for temporal effects to understand determinants of breeding success and inform optimal management in urban green spaces.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Urban tree composition is associated with breeding success of a passerine bird, but effects vary within and between years

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, we should be cautious of such an approach as it is likely to allow the morphologically unique species (in single species niches) to have a larger effect than those with more average morphologies (that are grouped into very large niches). Additionally, other non-morphological traits are likely to be important for surviving urbanization (Capilla-Lasheras et al, 2022) such as flight disturbance distance (Lin et al, 2012), nest site (Spotswood et al, 2021), resilience to noise (Planillo et al, 2020) and dominance (Martin & Bonier, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian diversity and function across the world's most populous cities

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the composition of urban wildlife communities is crucial to promote biodiversity, ecosystem function and links between nature and people. Using crowdsourced data from over five million eBird checklists, we examined the influence of urban characteristics on avian richness and function at 8443 sites within and across 137 global cities. Under half of the species from regional pools were recorded in cities, and we found a significant phylogenetic signal for urban tolerance. Site‐level avian richness was positively influenced by the extent of open forest, cultivation and wetlands and avian functional diversity by wetlands. Functional diversity co‐declined with richness, but groups including granivores and aquatic birds occurred even at species‐poor sites. Cities in arid areas held a higher percentage of regional species richness. Our results indicate commonalities in the influence of habitat on richness and function, as well as lower niche availability, and phylogenetic diversity across the world's cities.

show abstract

“…One potential explanation for why urban birds may benefit by prioritizing olfactory cues is improved ability to localize anthropogenic food sources. Urban environments are more heterogeneous than natural habitats at small spatial scales [52][53][54][55]. We may speculate that the visual heterogeneity of urban habitats is reduced in winter due to lack of green foliage, while the existing olfactory contrasts might be increased due to lack of volatile compounds released by plants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds differentially prioritize visual and olfactory foraging cues depending on habitat of origin and sex

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animals interpret their environment by combining information from multiple senses. The relative usefulness of different senses may vary between species, habitats and sexes; yet, how multimodal stimuli are integrated and prioritized is unknown for most taxa. We experimentally assessed foraging preferences of great tits ( Parus major ) to test whether urban and forest individuals prioritize visual and olfactory cues differently during foraging. We trained 13 wild-caught birds to associate multimodal (colour + odour) cues with a food reward and assessed their foraging preferences in a cue-separation test. In this, the birds could choose between the multimodal training cue and its olfactory or visual components. Our results suggest that the birds did not perceive multimodal cues in an integrated way, as their response was not stronger than for unimodal cue components. Urban birds preferred olfactory cues, while forest birds preferred visual cues. Nevertheless, female birds preferred the multimodal cue, while males foraged more randomly with respect to which cue was present. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relative roles of vision and olfaction in bird foraging behaviour. Future work should focus on how habitat- and sex-specific sensory prioritization modifies bird foraging behaviour and foraging success in the context of urban adaptations across populations.

show abstract

A global meta‐analysis reveals higher variation in breeding phenology in urban birds than in their non‐urban neighbours

Cited by 33 publications

References 145 publications

Urban tree composition is associated with breeding success of a passerine bird, but effects vary within and between years

Urban tree composition is associated with breeding success of a passerine bird, but effects vary within and between years

Avian diversity and function across the world's most populous cities

Birds differentially prioritize visual and olfactory foraging cues depending on habitat of origin and sex

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About