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Early birds of the future: earlier, but still too late?
How much earlier can great tits lay their eggs to keep up with climate change? A team from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) took a sneak peek into the birds’ future. -
PhD defence Melanie Lindner: Bird reproduction in a warming world
Melanie Lindner will defend her PhD thesis titled "Avian seasonal reproduction in times of global warming: Insights from evolution, ecology and (epi-)genomics" -
Seasonal timing of growth and reproduction: ultimate functions and proximate mechanisms
For many species, there is only a short period in the annual cycle in which conditions are suitable for reproduction or growth. -
New UN environment report tackles 'mismatches' and other emerging concerns
The latest UN Environment Frontiers Report has been launched in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. -
Artificial light
Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumulating evidence for – often negative – impact of artificial light in an increasing number of species. -
Importance of biological clock can only be seen in the wild
The impact of biological clocks on nature and our lives is enormous. Jet lag, mating, bird migration: so much depends on the keeping of time in our bodies and those of other organisms. The latest issue of the world's oldest scientific journal is dedicated entirely to the topic. Featuring researchers from the Netherlands. -
Evolution in your back garden – great tits may be adapting their beaks to birdfeeders
British enthusiasm for feeding birds may have caused UK great tits to have evolved longer beaks than their European counterparts, according to new research. The findings, published in Science, identify for the first time the genetic differences between UK and Dutch great tits which researchers were then able to link to longer beaks. -
Nocturnal light makes birds change their behaviour
Songbirds change their behaviour and timing when nestboxes are exposed to artificial light at night. "They become light sleepers, literally and metaphorically", says Maaike de Jong (NIOO-KNAW). She successfully defended her thesis on the effects of different colours of light at Wageningen University on Friday. The most surprising effect she's found? Some birds are forced to become more monogamous... -
Clever songbird's genome may hold key to evolution of learning
The great tit has revealed its genetic code, offering new insight into how species adapt to a changing planet. Initial findings suggest that epigenetics – what’s on rather than what’s in the gene – may have played a key role in the evolution of the ability to learn. And not just that of birds...