Bory Tucholskie National Park, founded in 1996, is one of the most recently established national parks in Poland, and therefore, has not been thoroughly examined yet. The authors of the current study present results of their research concerning communities of mites from the suborder Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata), inhabiting bird nesting boxes within the area of Bory Tucholskie National Park. The mite community comprises two nidicolous species, i.e. Leiodinychus orbicularis (C.L. Koch, 1839) and Chiropturopoda nidiphila (Wiśniewski and Hirschmann 1993). The former is a species characteristic of various types of nests, as well as nesting boxes, where it is usually the eudominant species. The latter is an extremely rare and scarce species of Uropodina, known thus far from woodpeckers\' hollows. The population of L. orbicularis in the analysed communities in the realm of Bory Tucholskie National Park has been estimated to be over 6,000 specimens, and in the case of Ch. nidiphila - over 400 specimens.

A significant body of evidence indicates that climate change is influencing many aspects of avian ecology. Yet, how climate change is affecting, and is expected to influence some aspects of the breeding ecology of cavity-nesting birds remains uncertain. To explore the potential linkage between timing of first clutch, and the influence of ambient temperature on hatching success, we used Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) nest records over a nine-year period from Alabama, USA. We investigated changes to annual clutch initiation dates, as well as variability in hatching success associated with ambient air temperatures during the incubation period. Using a simple linear model, we observed earlier annual egg laying dates over the nine years of this study with a difference of 24 days between earliest egg-laying date of the season. Daily temperature minima increased 2 °C across the nine-year time frame of this study. These data also indicate that Eastern Bluebird hatching success was the highest when mean ambient air temperature during incubation was between 19 °C and 24 °C (78%, as opposed to 69% and 68% above and below this temperature range, respectively). Our findings of increasing maxima, earlier maxima each year, and the lower minima of temperatures within our study area could expand the breadth of temperatures experienced by nesting Eastern Bluebirds possibly exposing them to temperatures outside of what promotes nesting success. These findings with a cavity-nesting bird highlight an optimal range of ambient temperatures associated with highest hatching success, conditions likely to be affected by climate change.

Plastic pollution is becoming a global problem due to its ubiquitous occurrence and the impacts detected for many species. However, the research about plastics in nests of terrestrial bird species has remained relatively overlooked in comparison to those devoted to marine ecosystems. Here we study the occurrence and patterns of use of anthropogenic material in nests of two passerine birds, the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) and the European serin (Serinus serinus), breeding in an orange tree cultivation in Mediterranean Spain. Our results show that both species use extensively plastic debris as nest material; almost 71% of the European serin nests and 96% of nests of Eurasian magpies contained plastic debris. Furthermore, by analyzing the plastic debris availability in the agricultural landscape surveyed we confirmed a selection pattern in the two species. Thus, both species preferably select plastic filaments over other plastic debris. The Eurasian magpie does not select plastic based on size or color but the European serin avoid black plastics prefer smaller fragments in comparison to the average size available. Moreover, we suggest the apparent similarity of plastic filaments with the natural materials typically used by these species, as well as how they use the plastic in their nests could influence their selection behavior. More studies focused on terrestrial birds inhabiting human modified habitats could offer a deeper approach to how plastic debris interacts with wildlife in different ways.

Raising an obligate avian brood parasite is costly for host parents because it redirects valuable parental resources from one\'s own offspring to genetically unrelated young. The costs of raising a brood parasite may be mediated by physiological stressors for foster parents if it requires greater or biased parental effort compared to raising non-parasitized broods. For example, upregulating glucocorticoid hormones or reducing immune responses may mediate a trade-off between resource allocation to a current brood versus future reproductive opportunities, but published data on parasitized hosts\' physiology are scarce. Here we used an experimental approach to test if host parents respond to the presence of brood parasitic young through dynamic changes in their own physiology. We conducted our experiments with parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) fostered into nests of host prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea). Relative to parents caring for non-parasitized control broods, parasitism increased baseline corticosterone levels and reduced body mass in adult male, but not in female, hosts. Immune responses to a novel antigen were depressed in both parents of parasitized broods compared to parents of non-parasitized broods. Additionally, we found that immune function increased along the breeding season regardless of treatment. These experiments also confirmed prior observational data that parasitized adult males have reduced return rates to breeding sites in years subsequent to raising cowbirds. The findings demonstrate diverse physiological effects of parasitism on the foster parents in our particular host-brood parasite system, yet we found no evidence of individual trade-offs between endocrine and immune responses of adult hosts.

Colonies of leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta need to collect large quantities of vegetal substrate in their environment to ensure their growth. They do so by building and extending over time a foraging network that consists of several underground tunnels extending above ground by physical trails. This paper presents a longitudinal study of the foraging network of two mature colonies of the grass-cutting ant Atta capiguara (Gonçalves) located in a pasture in central Brazil. Specifically, we investigated whether the extension of the foraging area of the colonies required to reach new resources occurs by building new and longer underground tunnels or by building new and longer physical trails. Each nest was surveyed at intervals of approximately 15 days during 1 year. At each survey we mapped the position of the tunnel entrances and foraging trails at which activity was observed. In addition, we assessed the excavation effort of the colonies since the last survey by the number and distance to the nest of new tunnel entrances, and the physical trail construction effort by the number and length of newly built physical trails. Our study reveals that in A. capiguara the collection of new resources around the nest required to ensure the continuous growth of the colonies is achieved mainly through the excavation of new underground tunnels, opening at greater distance from the nest, not through the building of longer aboveground physical trails.

Sampling approaches used to census and monitor populations of flora and fauna are diverse, ranging from simple random sampling to complex hierarchal stratified designs. Usually the approach taken is determined by the spatial and temporal distribution of the study population, along with other characteristics of the focal species. Long-term monitoring programs used to assess seabird population trends are facilitated by their high site fidelity, but are often hampered by large and difficult to access colonies, with highly variable densities that require intensive survey. We aimed to determine the sampling effort required to (a) estimate population size with a high degree of confidence, and (b) detect different scenarios of population change in a regionally important species in the Atlantic, the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Analyses were carried out using data collected from tape-playback surveys on four islands in the North Atlantic. To explore how sampling effort influenced confidence around abundance estimates, we used the heuristic approach of imagining the areas sampled represented the total population, and bootstrapped varying proportions of subsamples. This revealed that abundance estimates vary dramatically when less than half of all plots (n dependent on the size of the site) is randomly subsampled, leading to an unacceptable lack of confidence in population estimates. Confidence is substantially improved using a multi-stage stratified approach based on previous information on distribution in the colonies. In reality, this could lead to reducing the number of plots required by up to 80%. Furthermore, power analyses suggested that random selection of monitoring plots using a matched pairs approach generates little power to detect overall population changes of 10%, and density-dependent changes as large as 50%, because variation in density between plots is so high. Current monitoring programs have a high probability of failing to detect population-level changes due to inappropriate sampling efforts. Focusing sampling in areas of high density with low plot to plot variance dramatically increases the power to detect year to year population change, albeit at the risk of not detecting increases in low density areas, which may be an unavoidable strategy when resources are limited. We discuss how challenging populations with similar features to seabirds might be censused and monitored most effectively.

Research in a variety of vertebrate taxa has found that cardiac function is a major limiting factor in the ability of animals to cope with physiological challenges, and thus is suggested to play an important role in mediating fitness-related behaviors in the wild. Yet, there remains a paucity of empirical assessments of the relationships between physiological performance and biological fitness in wild animals, partially due to challenges in measuring these metrics remotely. Using male smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) as a model, we tested for relationships between cardiac performance (measured using heart rate biologgers) and fitness-related behaviors (assessed using videography and snorkeler observations) in the wild during the parental care period. Our results showed that heart rates were not significantly related to any measured parental care behaviors (e.g., nest tending) except for individual aggression level. After accounting for the effect of water temperature on heart rate, we found within-individual heart rate differed between days and also differed between nights. There was, however, evidence of diel variation in heart rate, where heart rate was higher during the day than at night. Although fitness is thought to be dependent on physiological capacity for exercise in wild animals, inter-individual variation in heart rate alone does not appear to relate to parental care behavior in smallmouth bass at the temporal scales examined here (i.e., hours to days). Further studies are required to confirm relationships between physiological performance and parental care behavior to elucidate the apparently complex relationships between physiology, behavior, and fitness in wild animals.

Social insects live together in groups and maintain cohesion to enhance their chances of survival and productivity. Colony cohesion is severely challenged during relocation. We examined the dynamics of colony reunification and the factors affecting nest choice of artificially fragmented colonies of the queenless ant Diacamma indicum. None of the twelve undisturbed colonies fragmented or relocated when a good nest was available in their neighbourhood. When colonies were artificially fragmented, they mostly (25/30) reunified into a single nest unlike in randomized time-ordered network models, indicating that reunification is not the result of random recruitment acts. When the reproductive individual was present in a good nest, the colonies reunified at this address. However, when she was present in a suboptimal nest, colonies relocated her to a better quality nest and reunified there, illustrating that quality of the new nest is more important. The work distribution and relocation dynamics of reunification were comparable to intact colonies relocating to a single new nest. This is made possible by enhanced exchange of information among tandem leaders in the form of increased number of tandem runs among them. We conclude that colony cohesion is very important and is maintained after incorporating the risks of relocation and preference for nest quality during decision making.

In patients with epilepsy, psychiatric comorbidities can significantly affect the disease course and quality of life. Detecting and recognizing these comorbidities is central in determining an optimal treatment plan. One promising tool in detecting biomarkers for psychiatric comorbidities in epilepsy is positron emission tomography (PET).
Behavioral and biochemical variables were cross-correlated with the results from two μPET scans using the tracers [18 F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ([18 F]FDG) and 2\'-methoxyphenyl-(N-2\'-pyridinyl)-p-18 F-fluoro-benzamidoethylpiperazine ([18 F]MPPF) to explore potential biomarkers for neurobehavioral comorbidities in an electrically induced post-status epilepticus rat model of epilepsy.
In rats with epilepsy, μPET analysis revealed a local reduction in hippocampal [18 F]FDG uptake, and a local increase in [18 F]MPPF binding. These changes exhibited a correlation with burrowing as a \"luxury\" behavior, social interaction, and anxiety-associated behavioral patterns. Interestingly, hippocampal [18 F]FDG uptake did not correlate with spontaneous recurrent seizure activity.
In the electrically induced post-status epilepticus rat model, we demonstrated hippocampal hypometabolism and its correlation with a range of neurobehavioral alterations. These findings require further confirmation in other preclinical models and patients with epilepsy and psychiatric disorders to address the value of [18 F]FDG uptake as an imaging biomarker candidate for psychiatric comorbidities in patients as well as for severity assessment in rodent epilepsy models.

Natural nest sites are important breeding resource in terms of population dynamics, especially in forest systems where nest trees limit populations or timber harvesting destroys nests. Nest structures usually have a long life and can be reused by breeding pairs across multiple breeding seasons, so studying their dynamics is of relevance for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we develop a dynamic model to evaluate nest site availability and its influence on the breeding settlement of a forest raptor community composed of booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) in a Mediterranean forest ecosystem in southeast Spain. This model approach is also applied to analyse the influence of forestry practices on the dynamics of occupied nests for a simulated period (2010-2050). The simulated scenarios include unmanaged forest and timber harvesting practices of clearcuttings every ten years considering two factors: the age class of trees for clearcutting (40, 50, 60 and 70 years old) and the type of forest management (with or without nest protection). Our simulated results show that the number of breeding pairs is constant during the period without timber harvest, whereas breeding pairs gradually decrease in the scenario of clearcutting trees aged from 70 to 50-years without nest protection, and populations become extinct with the clearcutting of 40-year old trees. Considering the practice of clearcutting and nest protection, nest occupancy can reach the maximum number of occupied nests for the scenarios of cutting 70 and 60-year old trees, and maintain populations without extinction for the scenarios of cutting 40-year old trees. We conclude that nest sites (whether occupied or not) are key resources for increasing the occupancy of the forest raptor community and that nest protection measures buffer the effects of clearcuttings, thus preventing population extinction.