Dataset Information

Spatio-temporal variation in the wintering associations of an alpine bird.

ABSTRACT: Many animals make behavioural changes to cope with winter conditions, being gregariousness a common strategy. Several factors have been invoked to explain why gregariousness may evolve during winter, with individuals coming together and separating as they trade off the different costs and benefits of living in groups. These trade-offs may, however, change over space and time as a response to varying environmental conditions. Despite its importance, little is known about the factors triggering gregarious behaviour during winter and its change in response to variation in weather conditions is poorly documented. Here, we aimed at quantifying large-scale patterns in wintering associations over 23 years of the white-winged snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis nivalis. We found that individuals gather in larger groups at sites with harsh wintering conditions. Individuals at colder sites reunite later and separate earlier in the season than at warmer sites. However, the magnitude and phenology of wintering associations are ruled by changes in weather conditions. When the temperature increased or the levels of precipitation decreased, group size substantially decreased, and individuals stayed united in groups for a shorter time. These results shed light on factors driving gregariousness and points to shifting winter climate as an important factor influencing this behaviour.

SUBMITTER: Del Mar Delgado M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8150025 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Spatio-temporal variation in the wintering associations of an alpine bird.

Del Mar Delgado María M Arlettaz Raphaël R Bettega Chiara C Brambilla Mattia M de Gabriel Hernando Miguel M España Antonio A Fernández-González Ángel Á Fernández-Martín Ángel Á Gil Juan Antonio JA Hernández-Gómez Sergio S Laiolo Paola P Resano-Mayor Jaime J Obeso José Ramón JR Pedrini Paolo P Roa-Álvarez Isabel I Schano Christian C Scridel Davide D Strinella Eliseo E Toranzo Ignasi I Korner-Nievergelt Fränzi F

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20210526 1951

Many animals make behavioural changes to cope with winter conditions, being gregariousness a common strategy. Several factors have been invoked to explain why gregariousness may evolve during winter, with individuals coming together and separating as they trade off the different costs and benefits of living in groups. These trade-offs may, however, change over space and time as a response to varying environmental conditions. Despite its importance, little is known about the factors triggering gr ...[more]

PMID: 34034515

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Project description:Despite its high ecological importance, the commensal interactions at community level are poorly studied. In tropical dry forests (TDF) there is a great diversity of species adapted to the high seasonality that characterizes them; however, little is known regarding how the spatial and temporal availability of resources generates changes in the pattern of commensal interactions. We experimentally studied changes in the diversity, composition, and pattern of interactions in spatio-temporal associations between the saproxylophagous beetles and their host trees in a TDF in Morelos, Mexico. A total of 65 host tree species were selected, from which 16 wood sections were obtained per species. These sections were exposed in the field to allow oviposition by the cerambycids under four different (spatio-temporal) treatments. We analyzed the network structure and generated indices at species level (i.e., specialization, species strength, and effective partners) and those related to physical characteristics of the wood (hardness and degradation rate) and the cerambycids (body size). In total, 1,323 individuals of 57 species of cerambycids emerged. Our results showed that, independently of the space and time, the network presented a nested and modular structure, with a high specialization degree and a high turnover of cerambycid species and their interactions. In general, we found that the cerambycids are mostly associated with softwood species with a lower decomposition rate of wood, as well as with the most abundant host species. The commensalistic interactions between the cerambycids and their host trees are highly specialized but are not spatio-temporally static. The high turnover in the interactions is caused by the emergence patterns of cerambycids, which seem to restrict their use to certain species. The knowledge of the spatio-temporal variation in Cerambycidae-host tree interactions allows us to predict how environmental and structural changes in the habitat can modify the species ensemble, and therefore its interactions.

Dataset Information

Spatio-temporal variation in the wintering associations of an alpine bird.

Publications

Spatio-temporal variation in the wintering associations of an alpine bird.

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