Breeding Performance of Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus ultramarinus in Relation to Habitat Richness of Oak Forest Patches in North-Eastern Algeria

Ziane, Nadia; Chabi, Yassine; Lambrechts, Marcel M.

doi:10.3161/068.041.0201

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…ecosystems in central Europe which are characterised by a strong seasonality), whereas in Mediterranean-type environments, Lepidoptera assemblages are usually more diverse which can lead to multispecific outbreaks (Munguira 1995). In this regard, recent studies carried out in the Mediterranean region and other study sites have not found clear relationships between frass measures, parental feeding behaviour and nestling condition (Ziane et al 2006;Lambrechts et al 2008;Mägi et al 2009;Veen et al 2010). …”

Section: Caterpillar Phenology Datamentioning

confidence: 90%

The importance of a main dish: nestling diet and foraging behaviour in Mediterranean blue tits in relation to prey phenology

García‐Navas

Sanz

2010

Oecologia

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Insectivorous birds rely on a short period of food abundance to feed their young; they must time their reproduction to match the timing of Lepidoptera larvae, their main prey. Apart from the net result (i.e. birds are timed or mistimed with respect to the food's peak), an important aspect is the possible influence of other factors, such as the seasonality of the environment or the abundance and diversity of species contributing to the caterpillar peak, on birds' phenology and their ability to cope well with unpredictable food supplies. In a 2-year study, we explored the seasonal variation of nestling diet in Mediterranean blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus and how reproductive parameters (nestling condition, provisioning rates) are affected by the phenology and composition of food. We also examined the influence of the synchrony between offspring needs and caterpillar peak in shaping the composition of the nestlings' diet. We found that the effect of synchrony on nestling condition varied between years which may be partially due to differences in food peak attributes. The adequacy of birds' timing in relation to prey phenology affected foraging decisions; those birds that were not able to correctly adjust their timing were forced to rely on less preferred prey (tortricids). In this sense, we found that relative contribution of tortricids (smaller caterpillars but easier to get) and noctuids (preferred prey but more difficult to find) to the diet influenced nestling condition and parental provisioning effort; parents performed fewer feeding events and reared heavier nestlings as the contribution of noctuids to the diet increased. The relationship between the proportion of caterpillars and nestling mass was curvilinear, whereas that parameter was negatively affected by the percentage of pupae. Our results show how changes in diet composition may contribute to explain the effect of mismatching on birds' breeding performance.

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Section: Caterpillar Phenology Datamentioning

confidence: 90%

The importance of a main dish: nestling diet and foraging behaviour in Mediterranean blue tits in relation to prey phenology

García‐Navas

Sanz

2010

Oecologia

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“…This enables females (pairs) to optimise the reproductive investment in clutch size with respect to weather, food abundance and individual physiological condition (Perrins 1965, Pettifor et al 1988). The inter-habitat and inter-year differences in clutch size that clearly correspond to differences in the abundance of caterpillars suggests that the response of Blue Tits in both habitats of the study system is rather adaptive than non-adaptive (Pettifor et al 1988, Dhondt et al 1990, Thomas et al 2001, Postma & van Noordwijk 2005, Blondel et al 2006, Ziane et al 2006. The breeding success response to differences in food abundance may probably be wider in range than suggested by Blondel et al (2006) for Mediterranean populations of Blue Tits, as shown by the pattern of inter-year and inter-habitat variation in clutch size linked to variation in caterpillar availability in our study system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In studies, where the quantity of caterpillars has been known for different habitats, the relation between clutch size and potential food varied. For example, in a recent study of Algerian Blue Tits, poor and rich habitats showed no difference in mean clutch size (Ziane et al 2006), whereas such differences existed in other Mediterranean systems (Lambrachts et al 1997). As our study system clearly shows adaptive differentiation of clutch size in response to the availability of caterpillars we predict that biologically significant consequences for chick condition and survival would be expected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

et al. 2007

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“…As has been shown, we could expect suboptimal conditions early or late in the season (before or after the peak in caterpillar abundance) and in territories with a higher proportion of Aleppo pines (where food is usually scarce). In this regard, the lack of alternative, profitable prey types to caterpillars strongly constrains tit breeding performance (Rytkonen and Krams 2003), while the presence of such alternative prey types is what guarantees the viability of southern marginal populations (Blondel et al 1991;Baňbura et al 1994;Ziane et al 2006;Pagani-Nuñez et al 2011). In line with this idea, our findings hint that diet specialization could operate as the main mechanism through which great tits avoid these habitat and temporal constraints, allowing them to increase or maintain their numbers under suboptimal conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Diet specialization in a generalist population: the case of breeding great tits Parus major in the Mediterranean area

Pagani‐Núñez

Valls²,

Senar³

2015

Oecologia

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The analysis of diet specialization provides key information on how different individuals deal with similar food and habitat constraints within populations. Characterizing parental diet specialization at the moment of breeding, and the consistency of these preferences under different levels of effort, may help us to understand why parents exploit alternative resources. We investigated these questions in a species commonly considered a generalist: a breeding population of Mediterranean great tits Parus major. Our aim was to determine whether they are specialists or generalists at the pair level, and the consistency of this behaviour under different levels of effort. Using proportional similarity and mean pairwise overlap indices, we found that parents showed great variability in prey selection between territories. That is, they displayed a small niche overlap. Interestingly, the most specialized breeding pairs showed a tendency to have larger broods. Additionally, we experimentally manipulated brood size and found that parents showed high short-term consistency in their foraging behaviour. They precisely adjusted the number of provisioning trips to the number of nestlings, while they were unable to modify prey proportions or prey size after brood size was changed. We can therefore characterize their foraging strategies as highly consistent. Our results suggest that although the great tit may be considered a generalist at the species or population level, there was a tendency for trophic specialization among breeding pairs. This high inter- and intrapopulation plasticity could account for their great success and wide distribution.

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Breeding Performance of Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus ultramarinus in Relation to Habitat Richness of Oak Forest Patches in North-Eastern Algeria

Cited by 18 publications

References 46 publications

The importance of a main dish: nestling diet and foraging behaviour in Mediterranean blue tits in relation to prey phenology

The importance of a main dish: nestling diet and foraging behaviour in Mediterranean blue tits in relation to prey phenology

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

Diet specialization in a generalist population: the case of breeding great tits Parus major in the Mediterranean area

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