Nestling Diet Differences between Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tits (Parus major) in Relation to The Caterpillar Peak and Date

Jelluma, Leonie (2024) Nestling Diet Differences between Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tits (Parus major) in Relation to The Caterpillar Peak and Date. Bachelor's Research Project (period 2b), Biology.

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Abstract

Caterpillars fluctuate throughout the years causing differences in the peak height of caterpillar biomass and the peak date. It is expected that this affects the behaviour of blue tits and great tits during the time they have nestlings. This study aimed to see the change in their nestling diet in terms of the number, type and size of prey in response to between-year variations in the caterpillar peak date and height. Furthermore, we investigated the difference between the species in the number of prey per trip and biomass per chick per hour. This was accomplished via photo analysis of diet sessions, collecting frass under three oak trees and measuring self-caught caterpillars. Paired analyses of 11 great-blue tit nests collected in six years revealed that the average caterpillar biomass and caterpillar biomass per chick per hour were significantly higher for great tits than for blue tits. Most of the blue tits (83%) brought at least once more than one prey per trip. More prey per trip was negatively correlated with the size of caterpillars in blue tits. The number of brought-in prey per hour compared to the caterpillar peak height doesn’t show a correlation for both species. The main caterpillar families brought in by the species are Geometridae, Tortricidae and Noctuidae, however, there is a large group of unknown caterpillars. The caterpillar peak date has a significant correlation with caterpillar percentage and caterpillar per hour for blue tits, additionally, caterpillar

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Research Project (period 2b))
Supervisor name:	Both, C.
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Research Project (period 2b)
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2024 08:19
Last Modified:	15 Jul 2024 08:19
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/33309

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