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Great tits don't inherit ability to think on their feet
How important is cognitive flexibility for the ability of great tits to adapt to climate change? Krista van den Heuvel did her PhD research at NIOO on this question. -
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. -
New UN environment report tackles 'mismatches' and other emerging concerns
The latest UN Environment Frontiers Report has been launched in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. -
The earlier birds pair, the better they fare
27/02/2021 The breeding season may seem worlds away amidst the recent winter cold, but a research team led by Antica Culina has found that the earlier in the year great tits meet their 'spouse', the more likely they are to breed successfully. -
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. -
Predicting plant-soil feedbacks from plant traits
In nature, plants cannot grow without soil biota such as fungi and bacteria. Successful plants are able to harness positive, growth-promoting soil organisms while avoiding the negative effects of others. Which plant traits can predict these interactions, or the success of a plant? Researchers and plant breeders would like to know. In a paper in the Journal of Ecology of August 24, a team from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen University and the Universität Leipzig tested exactly this and found thick roots to be a leading trait. -
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...