Long-term nest box research offers insight into trends in nature
©
Joseph Burant / NIOO-KNAW
Long-term nest box research offers insight into trends in nature
Great tits can't complain about a lack of attention. The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has hung nearly two thousand nesting boxes throughout the Netherlands for this “model species”. For seven decades researchers have been following the ups and downs of these songbirds. This makes it the longest-running study in the world of individually recognisable animals. The family trees, caterpillar peaks and breeding successes outline the development of climate change, acid rain and adaptation to a changing world.
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