news – Department of Ornithology

A rapid shift in migration schedule of an Austral shorebird is linked to a changing southern climate oscillation

new publication

Banded Dotterels (Anarhynchus bicinctus) breed exclusively in New Zealand, but show remarkably variation in their seasonal movements. While some individuals remain in New…

Jarayseh et al.

A global latitudinal decline in breeding site fidelity emerges from a single biome

new publication

In some migratory bird species, almost all individuals return to the same breeding site year after year, whereas in others, most individuals move to a different breeding…

Females of a socially polyandrous, sex-role reversed shorebird visit multiple breeding sites within a single season

new publication

In bird species in which only one sex performs offspring care, the non-caring sex can increase reproductive success by pursuing mating opportunities throughout the breeding…

Kempenaers et al.

Genes related to sperm motility are under recent ongoing selection in two shorebird species with a polygynous mating system and frequent multiple paternity

new publication

Multiple studies in birds have investigated the interplay between levels of sperm competition and testis size, sperm morphology and sperm motility. However, little is known…

Mueller & Kempenaers

Dotterel Finder

project

Because wader chicks are highly vulnerable, avoiding being seen by predators is crucial for their survival. However, we know relatively little about how young birds behave…

Davidson-Onsgard et al.

Factors associated with breeding site fidelity in the sex-role reversed red phalarope

new publication

When birds breed in multiple years, they can either return to their former breeding site or disperse to a new area. The degree of breeding site fidelity often differs…

Do animals really mate for life?

press

Bart was recently interviewed by Popular Science magazine about long-term partnerships in birds. Find out what he had to say on the topic here.

Environmental correlates of spatio-temporal patterns of colour variation in a bird of prey: The common buzzard (Buteo buteo)

new publication

The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) shows large variation in plumage colour: some individuals are dark brown, whereas others are almost entirely white. What factors underlie or…

Sex differences in testosterone and hematocrit levels reflect mating system differences of two Arctic-breeding shorebird species

new publication

Individuals of a given species often compete for resources or mates. The outcome of this competition is related to blood plasma concentrations of hormones such as…

Krietsch et al..

Bashar’s PhD Studies Take Flight

new group member

November brings the start of another PhD student in our department, Bashar Jarayseh. Bashar is a recent graduate of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he…

Evolution of Large Polymorphic Inversions in a Panmictic Songbird

new publication

Some species exhibit a striking polymorphism in appearance or behaviour. Such within-species diversity is often encoded by so-called “supergenes”, large blocks of DNA that…

An August start for August

new group member

This month sees the start of a new PhD student in our department, August Davidson-Onsgard. August graduated from Cornell University in 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in…

Lotte is Leaving

alumni

After almost two decades working in our group in Seewiesen, we are sad to say goodbye to Lotte Schlicht. Lotte came to us as a biology student from the LMU in Munich, first…

Evaluating the effects of tracking devices on survival, breeding success, behavior, and condition of a small, partially migratory shorebird

new publication

The availability of tracking devices has revolutionized the study of animal migration and movements. Technological advances have resulted in tags that can be deployed on…

Eberhart-Hertel et al.

Strong wintering site fidelity contrasts with exploratory breeding site sampling in a socially monogamous shorebird

new publication

In migratory birds, especially those that breed monogamously, individuals tend to return to the same breeding site each year. Returning individuals may gain survival…

Mechanisms of colour-production modulate the link between extra-pair paternity and avian sexual dichromatism

new publication

In many bird species, males and females form pairs to raise young together. However, extra-pair paternity (EPP), where some offspring in a nest have been sired by a male…

Banding Dotterels in the Chathams – the Field

press

Our work on the banded dotterels brought us to the Chatham Islands: here is Part 2 of the story.

Teltscher & Eberhart-Hertel

Colourful urban birds: bird species successful in urban environments have more elaborate colours and less brown

new publication

Urbanisation (the process of city formation and growth) has profound consequences for wildlife, because only species that have certain characteristics are able to adapt to…

Ibáñez-Álamo et al.

Banding Dotterels in the Chathams – the Science

press

Our work on the banded dotterels brought us to the Chatham Islands: here is Part 1 of the story.

Teltscher & Eberhart-Hertel

Factors associated with breeding site fidelity in a nomadic shorebird with extremely low local return rates

new publication

Birds that breed in multiple years can either return to the same breeding site or disperse to a different location. The tendency of individuals to return to the previous…

Unpalatable birds are black: a re-analysis of Hugh Cott’s data on bird palatability

new publication

Bird colours fulfil a variety of functions. Could they also advertise bad taste? Advertising unprofitability to predators (aposematism) through colours, sounds or smell is…

Measurement error in remotely sensed fractional snow cover datasets: implications for ecological research

new publication

Variation in snow cover is an important factor to consider when undertaking research in Arctic habitats, because it can have far-reaching implications for plant and animal…

Jacques-Hamilton et al.

Large-scale sampling of potential breeding sites in male ruffs

new publication

Migratory birds typically move twice a year between an area where they breed and an area where they spend the non-breeding season. This pattern may be the rule in species…

Kempenaers et al.

The costs and benefits of a dynamic host microbiome

new publication

All vertebrates, including birds, host a diverse community of microorganisms. This community, along with its associated genes and metabolite by-products, is known as the…

Gillingham et al.

Sperm swimming speed and morphology differ little among the three genetic morphs of the ruff sandpiper Calidris pugnax

new publication

In the ruff sandpiper, a lekking shorebird, males come in three genetically determined morphs. Independent males (80-90% of all males) are larger and darker in plumage…

Variance partitioning of nest provisioning rates in blue tits: individual repeatability, heritability, and partner interactions

new publication

Birds show remarkable individual variation in the frequency at which they feed their offspring. Several factors may contribute to this variation, including genetic, social…

Santema, Forstmeier & Kempenaers

Hanna Leaves for Pastures New

alumni

After 6 years of working on shorebird microbiome projects as a (part-time) post-doc, Hanna Prüter is leaving us to take up a new position as scientific coordinator for the LI…

Bart Kempenaers

Welcome to Francesco Mistri

new group member

We are thrilled to have Francesco Mistri join our team as a Data Scientist. Francesco, a recent graduate from the University of Bologna with a Master’s in Artificial…

Bart Kempenaers

Project on the mating and dispersal behaviour of the Northern Lapwing off to a good start

project

In close collaboration with Dr. Heinrich Belting and his team from the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency, our group studied a…

Bart Kempenaers

Opening of the Max Planck – University of Cape Town Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution

event

The 1st of June 2024 was the official start of the newly established Max Planck – University of Cape Town Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution, a partnership between the…

Bart Kempenaers

Wind in the sails for Johannes Krietsch

alumni

After studying the movements and the mating behaviour of polygynous pectoral sandpipers and polyandrous red phalaropes for his PhD, Hannes is now moving himself. He will…

Bart Kempenaers

Goodbye to Martin Bulla

alumni

After 13 years in our group, it is time to say goodbye to Martin Bulla. This autumn he will move to the Department of Ecology at the Czech University of Life Sciences in…

Bart Kempenaers

Removal of older males increases extra-pair siring success of yearling males

new publication

Older males are typically much more successful at siring extra-pair offspring than yearling males. This raises the question “Why?”. Are yearling males less successful…

Schlicht et al.

Variation in nuptial color in relation to sex, individual quality and mating success in the sex-role reversed Phalaropus fulicarius (Red Phalarope)

new publication

In most bird species, males are more ornamented and compete for females, while females contribute more to offspring care. In a minority of species, this pattern is reversed…

Video evidence that cuckoos farm their hosts by ejecting nestlings

new publication

A video recording of a Daurian redstart nest from a population in NE China showed that a common cuckoo ejected all the host nestlings. When the redstart then produced a new…

Ornithology from the Lakeshore: Life’s Mass Murderers

new publication

Bart Kempenaers latest editorial for the Dutch ornithological journal Ardea entitled “Life’s Mass Murderers” can be read now here.

Congratulations to Annie Aulsebrook

alumni

Congratulations to Annie Aulsebrook who became an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. After having spent 3 years as a…

Bart Kempenaers

From land to sea: the fall migration of the red phalarope through the Western Hemisphere

new publication

Red phalaropes belong to the shorebirds, but except during breeding, they are in fact surface-feeding, planktivorous seabirds. In a collaborative project with colleagues…

Saalfeld et al.

A dawn and dusk chorus will emerge if males sing in the absence of their mate

new publication

Many bird species, including blue tits, produce a striking outburst of song around dawn. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the dawn chorus, but none of them…

Schlicht et al.

Mutual mate guarding with limited sexual conflict in a sex-role-reversed shorebird

new publication

In a few species, referred to as “sex-role reversed”, females compete for males, as these males provide most or all parental care. Our research, based on continuous tracking…

Krietsch et al.

The risk of brood parasitism does not affect levels of extrapair paternity in a cuckoo host

new publication

The risk of brood parasitism may be expected to affect the costs and benefits of extra-pair copulations in host species, and thus levels of extra-pair paternity.…