Biology subjects

Di Lecce, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Di Lecce, I..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Awake and hungry: artificial light at night disrupts behaviour and reproductive ecology in a wild migratory bird

Artificial light at night (ALAN), a growing consequence of global urbanisation, disrupts natural light cues that regulate biological rhythms across taxa. However, the behavioural pathways linking ALAN exposure to broader ecological impacts remain poorly understood. Here, we experimentally introduced ALAN into nestboxes of a long-distance migratory bird, the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), breeding in Gotland, Sweden, to assess ALAN effects on development and reproductive ecology. Nestlings were exposed to ALAN from two days post-hatching until fledging, and we video-recorded parental and nestling activity over 24 hours on day 8 post-hatching. From a high-resolution behavioural dataset (32,100 nestling and 3,709 parental events), we found that ALAN-exposed nestlings begged more frequently and for longer at night compared to dark controls, revealing disrupted nocturnal behaviour. These effects cascaded to parental care: both females and males in ALAN nests extended their daily activity, initiating feeding earlier and terminating later, but traded off this extension by reducing their hourly feeding counts compared to parents in dark conditions. Consequently, nestlings under ALAN fledged at an older age and had a lower fledging rate after day eight post-hatching, despite no difference in total fledging numbers compared to controls. Our findings provide the first comprehensive experimental evidence that ALAN alters the behaviour of both parents alongside their offspring and reduces reproductive success in a long-distance migrant, a species group that increasingly encounters light pollution during nocturnal migration. ALAN, though directly affecting mainly nestlings and females in nestboxes, triggered socially-mediated responses that altered the circadian behaviour of entire bird families. This study underscores the need to consider behavioural disruption as a critical mechanism underlying the ecological impacts of ALAN in natural populations. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=118 SRC="FIGDIR/small/658843v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (45K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1808fborg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f5bfd1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@104607borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@5a3604_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG Summary figure: Cascading effects of artificial light at night, an aspect of human-induced light pollution, on the behaviour and reproductive ecology of collared flycatchers C_FIG

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Avian promiscuity in the last European primeval forest

Primeval forests provide a reference baseline to understand the origins and evolution of mating systems because they offer a unique, undisturbed environment where ecological interactions and natural selection play out in their original context. We established rates of extra-pair paternity (EPP) for two bird species referential to evolutionary ecology: blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major), breeding in natural cavities in Biaowie[z]a National Park, the sole remnant of European lowland primeval forests. Genotype-by-sequencing of 889 blue tits and 1,256 great tits revealed that 48% of blue tit broods and 39% great tit broods were of mixed paternity, with 15% blue tit and 14% great tit nestlings not sired by their social father. These referential levels align with median values of EPP reported in nestbox studies in secondary and managed forests, suggesting that certain reproductive strategies are advantageous across diverse environments. Observed promiscuity levels did not affect reproductive success or parental investment, indicating no or limited adaptive value for promiscuity in the context of a primeval forest ecosystem. Our study underscores how primeval habitats provide unparalleled insights into natural selection and mating strategies in wild populations, highlighting the stability and resilience of these strategies across different environmental contexts.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Gut microbiome variation in juvenile blue tits in a European urban mosaic.

Urbanisation transforms natural environments, impacting not only wild animals living in cities but also the microorganisms they are hosting. To better understand urban-driven variation in microbiological composition and diversity in the gut of birds developing in urban areas, we collected faecal samples from blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus nestlings using nestboxes distributed across the capital city of Warsaw, Poland. Sampling included a variety of urban habitats, a suburban village and a natural forest area. Microbiome analysis unveiled a pattern of reduced alpha and beta diversity in urbanised settings driven by impervious surfaces. Additionally, we observed that this effect was year-dependent, therefore highlighting the importance of temporal replication in ecological research. Furthermore, comparing two cavity types (natural and human-made), we demonstrated that artificial nestboxes, a tool widely used in field ecology, can impact the microbiome assembly in nestlings. Our results align with and expand upon earlier insights in great tit Parus major gut microbiome variation inferred in the same urban study system on a species ecologically related to the blue tit, confirming the pervasive impact of urbanisation on the avian gut microbiome.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Plumage colouration differs between offspring raised in natural cavities and nestboxes

Most of our knowledge on hole-nesting birds, including plumage colouration (an important component of visual signalling), comes from studies on populations breeding in human-provided nestboxes. However, as demonstrated in comparative studies, multiple parameters, such as cavity dimensions and microclimatic conditions, differ between natural and artificial cavities. Despite this, no study so far examined the impact of cavity type on plumage colouration to verify whether extrapolation of results from birds growing in nestboxes is justified. Here, we examined the impact of cavity type - natural cavities vs. nestboxes - on the carotenoid-based colouration of blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tit (Parus major) nestlings. We found clear differences in plumage colouration depending on the type of cavity in which the birds developed. Our study adds to the growing body of evidence confirming that varying properties of natural cavities and nestboxes might influence nestling physiology, leading to phenotypic differences in the long-term.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Alterations to the Gut Microbiota of a Wild Juvenile Passerine in an Urban Mosaic

Urbanisation is a major anthropogenic perturbation that progressively alters multiple environmental parameters, thereby presenting novel evolutionary challenges to wild populations. Symbiotic microorganisms residing in the gastrointestinal tracts (gut) of vertebrates have well-established mutual connections with the physiology of their hosts and respond quickly to environmental alterations. However, the impacts of anthropogenic changes and urbanisation on gut microbiota remain poorly understood, especially in early development. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the gut microbiota in juvenile great tits (Parus major) in an urban mosaic. First, we compared the microbiota of nestlings reared in artificial nest boxes or natural cavities. Next, we analysed microbiota variations employing two distinct urbanisation frameworks, (i) the classical urban/rural dichotomy and (ii) gradual changes in the amount of impervious surface area (ISA) in the urban space and identified the environmental variables that predicted the changes in the microbial communities. Alpha diversity was influenced by cavity type and by the amount of impervious surface surrounding the breeding location. Alpha diversity was also positively correlated with the tree cover density. Beta diversity differed between urban and rural sites, and these alterations covaried with sound pollution, the distance to the city centre and the distance to the closest road. Overall, the microbial communities reflect and are possibly influenced by the heterogeneous environmental modifications that are typical of the urban space. Strikingly, the choice of framework used to define the urban space can influence the outcomes of studies investigating animal-microbe symbiosis. Our results open new perspectives from which the potential function of microbial symbionts in the adaptation of their hosts to anthropogenic stress can be investigated.

ecology↗