Plumage and eggshell colouration covary with the level of sex-specific parental contributions to nest building in birds.

Interspecific variation in sex-specific contributions to prenatal parental care, including avian nest building, is becoming increasingly better understood as we amass more information on more species. We examined whether sex-specific nest building contributions covary with the colouration of parents and their eggs in 521 species of Western Palearctic birds. Having colourful plumage and laying colourful eggs are costly because of the deposition of pigments in feathers and eggs and/or forming costly nanostructural substrates in feathers, and so it might be expected that those costs covary with the costs of nest building at the level of individuals and/or across species to produce of a suite of codivergent traits. Using a phylogenetically informed approach, we tested the hypothesis that species in which females alone invest energy building nests exhibit less sexual plumage dichromatism. However, we found comparative support for the opposite of this prediction. We then tested that species in which females alone build nests lay more colourful, and costlier, eggs because the dual costs of building nests and laying colourful eggs can only be borne by higher quality individuals. As expected, we found that species in which females build nests alone or together with males are more likely to lay colourfully pigmented eggs relative to species in which only males build nests. Finally, stochastic character mapping provided evidence of the repeated evolution of female-only nest building. Interspecific sex differences in plumage colouration therefore covary in a complex manner with female pre- (nest building) and post-copulatory (egg production) investment in reproduction.

Nest architecture influences host use by avian brood parasites and is shaped by coevolutionary dynamics.

Brood (social) parasites and their hosts exhibit a wide range of adaptations and counter-adaptations as part of their ongoing coevolutionary arms races. Obligate avian brood parasites are expected to use potential host species with more easily accessible nests, while potential hosts are expected to evade parasitism by building more concealed nests that are difficult for parasites to enter and in which to lay eggs. We used phylogenetically informed comparative analyses, a global database of the world's brood parasites, their host species, and the design of avian host and non-host nests (approx. 6200 bird species) to examine first, whether parasites preferentially target host species that build open nests and, second, whether host species that build enclosed nests are more likely to be targeted by specialist parasites. We found that species building more accessible nests are more likely to serve as hosts, while host species with some of the more inaccessible nests are targeted by more specialist brood parasites. Furthermore, evolutionary-transition analyses demonstrate that host species building enclosed nests frequently evolve to become non-hosts. We conclude that nest architecture and the accessibility of nests for parasitism represent a critical stage of the ongoing coevolutionary arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts.

Biogeographic history, egg colouration, and habitat selection in Turdus thrushes (Aves: Turdidae).

Despite broad interest and recent experimentation, there is no single ecological model accounting for the adaptive significance of the diversity of avian eggshell colouration. The often blue-green eggs of Turdus thrushes are a charismatic example of this, having long captured cultural and scientific attention. Although the biology and evolutionary history of "true" thrushes is well understood, little is known about correlated evolution between shifts in habitat and eggshell pigmentation, and how these shifts map with Turdus biogeography. We applied phylogenetic comparative methods to assess the evolutionary timing of divergence and variation of life history traits and eggshell colouration and maculation presence in the genus. We found that eggshell colour diversified independently on several occasions in the past 11 million years, with much of the variation occurring within the last 4 million years. The majority of Turdus species lay blue-green eggs and also tend to be sedentary and forest-dwelling. Diet generalist species and species which have transitioned to a forest habitat are more likely to lay white eggs (10% of studied species). In turn, lineages in any habitat were more likely to transition to blue-green eggs. We found that variation in egg colour is increased in some clades, of which two lineages radiated in South America and the East Palearctic, in the past 2-4 million years. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that white eggs are more conspicuous to predators in open environments and that multiple, non-mutually exclusive constraints operate on the adaptive function of avian eggshell colour.

Why do some bird species incorporate more anthropogenic materials into their nests than others?

Many bird species incorporate anthropogenic materials (e.g. sweet wrappers, cigarette butts and plastic strings) into their nests. Anthropogenic materials have become widely available as nesting materials in marine and terrestrial environments globally. These human-made objects can provide important benefits to birds such as serving as reliable signals to conspecifics or protecting against ectoparasites, but they can also incur fundamental survival and energetic costs via offspring entanglement and reduced insulative properties, respectively. From an ecological perspective, several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the use of anthropogenic nest materials (ANMs) by birds but no previous interspecific study has tried to identify the underlying mechanisms of this behaviour. In this study, we performed a systematic literature search and ran phylogenetically controlled comparative analyses to examine interspecific variation in the use of ANM and to examine the influence of several ecological and life-history traits. We found that sexual dimorphism and nest type significantly influenced the use of ANMs by birds providing support for the 'signalling hypothesis' that implies that ANMs reflect the quality of the nest builder. However, we found no support for the 'age' and 'new location' hypotheses, nor for a phylogenetic pattern in this behaviour, suggesting that it is widespread throughout birds. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach'.

Known but not called by name: recreational fishers' ecological knowledge of freshwater plants in Hungary.

BACKGROUND: Documenting local ecological knowledge (LEK) has recently become a topic of considerable interest. LEK can contribute to various areas of ecology, including habitat management and conservation biology. It has been recently revealed that recreational fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) can also provide valuable information about different organisms and habitats, while recreational fishers' ecological knowledge is understudied in many aspects and regions of the world. METHODS: We aimed to record Hungarian recreational FEK on plant species related to freshwater habitats. Our research was conducted in three regularly fished water bodies in Hungary, namely Lake Velence, Keleti Main Canal, and Lake Látóképi, where a total of 72 interviews were conducted with recreational anglers. During interviews, 24 plant species occurring at freshwater habitats with common or sporadic distribution were shown to anglers as single species or in congeneric pairs. Miscellaneous plant-related knowledge of anglers was also collected. RESULTS: Anglers identified a total of 16 plant species. They used 45 botanical or folk names. An angler knew the name of 4.6 plants on average and recognized 7.4 other species without naming it. According to our detailed analysis, anglers were able to name or at least recognize those plant species which are somehow related to fishing activities, are salient, and/or common. Moreover, anglers at Lake Velence recognized less plant species; however, they also had less years of fishing experience compared to anglers of the other two locations. CONCLUSION: We found that recreational FEK exists even in the case of freshwater plants which are not the main focus of anglers. It is highly presumable that recreational fishers would be able to provide reliable ecologically related data for scientific research establishing future citizen science projects of nature conservation.

Biologia Futura: rapid diversification and behavioural adaptation of birds in response to Oligocene-Miocene climatic conditions.

Our knowledge about the origin of landbirds (Telluraves) is increasing rapidly but new questions are arising because of the contradictory findings from previous studies. All of the major lineages in the highly diverse clade of Neoaves have a Gondwanan origin, although studies often disagree about the origin of different sub-lineages. Nevertheless, understanding the biogeographical histories of these groups (e.g. Accipitriformes, Passeriformes) is important when studying the evolution of variation in life history and behavioural traits. Therefore, we would like to find answers to questions such as which biogeographic changes affected the radiation of birds? When did the most influential climatic events affect the diversification of birds? What behavioural adaptations occurred in response to those large-scale changes? The major orogenetic events in Asia and South America formed specific corridors that enabled the radiation of birds. The climatic changes and habitat differentiation they caused during the Oligocene-Miocene era made the divergence of birds possible through their adaptation to newly available niches. Consequently, variation in life history and behavioural traits emerged as adaptive outcomes of changes in foraging, nestling and migratory behaviours.

Broodmate aggression and life history variation in accipitrid birds of prey.

Aggressive sibling competition for parental food resources is relatively infrequent in animals but highly prevalent and extreme among certain bird families, particularly accipitrid raptors (Accipitriformes). Intense broodmate aggression within this group is associated with a suite of traits including a large adult size, small broods, low provisioning rates, and slow development. In this study, we apply phylogenetic comparative analyses to assess the relative importance of several behavioral, morphological, life history, and ecological variables as predictors of the intensity of broodmate aggression in 65 species of accipitrid raptors. We show that intensity of aggression increases in species with lower parental effort (small clutch size and low provisioning rates), while size effects (adult body mass and length of nestling period) are unimportant. Intense aggression is more closely related to a slow life history pace (high adult survival coupled with a restrained parental effort), rather than a by-product of allometry or food limitation. Consideration of several ecological variables affecting prey abundance and availability reveals that certain lifestyles (e.g., breeding in aseasonal habitats or hunting for more agile prey) may slow a species' life history pace and favor the evolution of intense broodmate aggression.

[Resection of vena cava inferior infiltrating by liver tumors]. / A vena cava inferiort infiltráló májtumorok kapcsán végzett reszekciókról.

Introduction: Despite all new promising agents of oncotherapy, it is still liver resection that gives potential curative solution for primary and secondary liver tumors. The size of tumorous liver section for resection means no question any more but major vessel infiltration of tumor proposes challenge in liver surgery. Patients and method: Retrospective analysis was carried out covering 33 patients who underwent liver resection in St. Janos Hospital Surgery Department between 1st May 2017 and 1st May 2019. Demographic, surgical, histological data and postoperative course were taken into consideration and comparison with two of our patients who needed vena cava excision simultaneously with liver resection. Results: Patients with liver resection only (LR) had a mean operation time of 91.7 minutes, while operation time for patients with cava resection (CR) was 250 minutes. The average amount of blood transfusion was 1.2 units (200 ml) in group LR and 5 units in group CR. Among LR patients, resection was rated R0 in 23 and R1 in 8 cases, R2 resection could be performed in 2 cases, in group CR in both cases R1 resection was registered. 5 patients with colorectal liver metastasis were operated after previous chemotherapy. Two patients underwent laparoscopic liver resection and two had synchronous colorectal and liver resection, one of these was treated via laparoscopic approach. Conclusion: Liver resections in case of large vessel (vena cava, hepatic vein) infiltrating by liver tumors are indicated the most challenging procedures of liver surgery. The relating literature refers to oncological liver resections with vena cava excision and reconstruction to be safe and applicable. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(33): 1304-1310.