Chronotypes of the Great tit (Parus major) relative to heavy rainfall

Rao, Pradyut (2021) Chronotypes of the Great tit (Parus major) relative to heavy rainfall. Master's Research Project 2, Ecology and Evolution.

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Abstract

Species of all phyla have endogenous biological rhythms synchronized to external zeitgebers. The relationship between the two is called the phase of entrainment and when individuals differ in this trait, they are said to be different chronotypes. Chronotypes have been heavily investigated in humans and more recently, in other vertebrates and invertebrates mainly under laboratory conditions. In this paper we first investigate the occurrence of chronotypes in a free-living population of great tits (Parus major). Chronotypes were assessed using incubation temperature profiles and then compared on the differences in timing for the onset of activity, offset of activity and total daily activity period. Considering this year (2021) was an exceptionally bad year for the birds who were faced with frequent storms, we also investigate the difference in the aforementioned timings for the chronotypes as a result of heavy rainfall. We also look at its effect on fitness, described as the number of fledglings produced, of the chronotypes. We find that the birds show distinct early, intermediate and late chronotypes with the stratification being more conserved for onset than offset. Heavy rainfall led to all three chronotypes having an earlier onset on the day immediately after the rain and an earlier offset on the day of the rain. There was no significant difference between the chronotypes in fitness. We conclude that wild birds also show distinct chronotypes, with onset time providing a mor

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Research Project 2)
Supervisor name:	Helm, B.
Degree programme:	Ecology and Evolution
Thesis type:	Master's Research Project 2
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	03 Jan 2022 09:47
Last Modified:	03 Jan 2022 09:47
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/26435

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