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Urban green areas offer diverse flower resources for pollinators. Yet, the role of non-native plant species in local plant-pollinator networks is understudied. We explored the effects of plant origin, nationwide distribution, flower color and type on flower visitation by wild bees and honey bees as well as the structure of a plant-pollinator network in a botanical garden in Hungary. Honey bee preferred North American plants over Europeans; it had the highest degree and topological centrality value. The network had similar compactness with its simulated removal from the network model. The species richness and abundance of flower-visiting wild bees did not differ among the plants of different origins and flower color and type. Plant species of different origin, nationwide distribution, and flower color and type had the highest number of direct and indirect links. Our results suggest that non-native plant species can integrate well in diverse botanical gardens and wild bees can adopt these new foraging resources.

Permanent ectoparasites live in stable environments; thus, their population dynamics are mostly adapted to changes in the host life cycle. We aimed to investigate how static and dynamic traits of red-footed falcons interplay with the dynamics of their louse subpopulations during breeding and how they affect the colonisation of new hosts by lice. We sampled red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus) nestlings (two breeding seasons) and adults (one breeding season) in southern Hungary. The mean abundance of Colpocephalum subzerafae and Degeeriella rufa lice on the nestlings was modelled with generalized linear mixed models using clutch size and host sex in interaction with wing length. For adults, we used wing length and the number of days after laying the first egg, both in interaction with sex. D. rufa abundances increased with the nestlings’ wing length. In one year, this trend was steeper on females. In adult birds, both louse species exhibited higher abundances on females at the beginning, but it decreased subsequently through the breeding season. Contrarily, abundances were constantly low on adult males. Apparently, D. rufa postpones transmission until nestlings develop juvenile plumage and choose the more feathered individual among siblings. The sexual difference in the observed abundance could either be caused by the different plumage, or by the females’ preference for less parasitized males. Moreover, females likely have more time to preen during the incubation period, lowering their louse burdens. Thus, sex-biased infestation levels likely arise due to parasite preferences in the nestlings and host behavioural processes in the adult falcons.

Ornithological studies often rely on large temporal scale ringing datasets as source of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of collected data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the second item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent Passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2015). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the Dunnock in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 11,617 individuals deriving from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and we present the cumulative distribution of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distribution of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distribution of body mass within each fat score category. We distinguish migration periods (spring and autumn), and age groups (i.e. juveniles and adults). Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely draw attention to interesting patterns, that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

Ornithological studies often rely on large temporal scale ringing datasets as source of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of collected data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the first item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent Passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2015). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the Pied Flycatcher in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 2860 individuals deriving from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and we present the cumulative distribution of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distribution of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distribution of body mass within each fat score category. We distinguish migration periods (spring and autumn), age (i.e. juveniles and adults) and sex groups. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely draw attention to interesting patterns, that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

Avian malaria parasites can negatively affect many aspects of the life of the passerines. Though these parasites may strongly affect the health and thus migration patterns of the birds also during autumn, previous studies on avian malaria focused mainly on the spring migration and the breeding periods of the birds. We investigated whether the prevalence of blood parasites varies in relation to biometrical traits, body condition and arrival time in the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) during autumn migration. We found no sex or age related differences in avian malaria prevalence and no relationship between infection status and body size or actual condition of the birds was found either. However, the timing of autumn migration differed marginally between infected and non-infected juveniles, so that parasitized individuals arrived later at the Hungarian stopover site. This is either because avian malaria infections adversely affect the migration timing or migration speed of the birds, or because later arriving individuals come from more distant populations with possibly higher blood parasite prevalence. The possible delay that parasites cause in the arrival time of the birds during autumn migration could affect the whole migratory strategy and the breeding success of the birds in the next season.

SUMMARY Background: Lice are common ectoparasites of birds, completing their entire life cycle in the plumage. Transmission – in most cases – requires physical contact between hosts. Lice may benefit from choosing host individuals with better survival prospects and dispersal chances. Bodily contacts between parents and offsprings provide a good opportunity for host selection. The Common Kestrel is a widespread, small-bodied raptor of the Palearctic region, with well-known breeding biology and ectoparasite fauna, making it suitable to study the ecological correlates of vertical transmission of lice. Objectives: The aim of our study was to investigate how the sex, maturity and clutch size of Common Kestrel nestlings affect the abundance of their lice. Materials and Methods: Field work was carried out in Körös-Maros National Park Directorate (Hungary). The ectoparasites were collected from nestlings (n = 54) with dust-ruffling. The effect of the host’s sex, wing length and clutch size on the abundance of their lice was analysed using negative binomial mixed models. Results and Discussion: In case of Colpocephalum subzerafae, none of the investigated variables had a significant effect. Contrarily, clutch size had a significant effect on Degeeriella rufa abundance. In small clutches (3–4 nestlings) the mean abundance of D. rufa (15.5 95% C.I.: 8–30) is 3.7 times higher, than in large (5–6 nestlings) clutches (4.2 95% C.I.: 2.3–7.4). We discuss two non-exclusive explanations of this pattern. First, parental quality is known to affect the clutch size. If low quality parents are also more heavily infested with lice, this could explain the higher louse load of their nestlings. Alternatively, according to the dilution hypothesis, long life-cycle ectoparasites (such as lice), that are incapable to significantly raise their subpopulation size till the fledging of the chicks, disperse among the nestlings, resulting in lower per nestling louse counts in larger clutches. According to our results both the breeding parameters and the quality of the parents may affect their offsprings’ ectoparasite load.

Rensch’s rule (RR) postulates that in comparisons across closely related species, male body size relative to female size increases with the average size of the species. This holds true in several vertebrate and also in certain free-living invertebrate taxa. Here, we document the validity of RR in avian lice using three families (Philopteridae, Menoponidae, and Ricinidae). Using published data on the body length of 989 louse species, subspecies, or distinct intraspecific lineages, we applied phylogenetic reduced major axis regression to analyse the body size of females vs. males while accounting for phylogenetic non-independence. Our results indicate that philopterid and menoponid lice follow RR, while ricinids exhibit the opposite pattern. In the case of philopterids and menoponids, we argue that larger-bodied bird species tend to host lice that are both larger in size and more abundant. Thus, sexual selection acting on males makes them relatively larger, and this is stronger than fecundity selection acting on females. Ricinids exhibit converse RR, likely because fecundity selection is stronger in their case.

Active conservation measures often entail supplementing scarce resources, such as food or nesting site to high conservation value species. We hypothesized that adequate nest material in reasonable distance is a scarce resource for Rooks breeding in open grassland habitats of Hungary. Here we show that Rooks willingly utilize large quantities of provided excess nesting material, and that this procedure may alter nest composition, and increase the number of successful pairs. Our results show that while nest height remains constant, twig diameter is significantly larger, the number of twigs used per nest is presumably smaller, and that the ratio of nests with fledglings is higher in a rookery where supplementary twigs were present. Providing twigs and branches in the vicinity of rookeries may serve as an active conservation measure to increase the number of nests in a rookery, and thus the potential number of nesting possibilities for Red-footed Falcons.

Little is known about the louse species harboured by Red-footed and Amur Falcons despite the fact that various life-history traits of these hosts make them good model species to study host-parasite interactions. We collected lice samples from fully grown Amur (n=20) and Red-footed Falcons (n=59), and from nestlings of Red-footed Falcons (n=179) in four countries: Hungary, India, Italy and South Africa. We identified 3 louse species on both host species, namely Degeeriella rufa, Colpocephalum subzerafae and Laembothrion tinnunculi. The latter species has never been found on these hosts. Comparing population parameters of lice between hosts we found significantly higher prevalence levels of D. rufa and C. subzerafae on Amur Falcons. Adult Red-footed Falcons had higher D. rufa prevalence compared to C. subzerafae. For the first time we also show inter-annual shift in prevalence and intensity levels of these species on Red-footed Falcons; in 2012 on adult hosts C. subzerafae had higher intensity levels than D. rufa, however in 2014 D. rufa had significantly higher intensity compared to C. subzerafae. In case of nestlings both louse species had significantly higher preva lence levels than in 2014. The exact causes of such inter-annual shifts are yet to be understood.

Selecting a suitable breeding habitats and a nest-site within are crucial decisions birds have to make. Free ranging solitary Kestrels may use public information derived from leftover pellets and prey remnants from previous conspecific breeding attempts to assess location quality. However, this information may also indicate potentially higher nestling ectoparasite load. In colonies where habitat quality is similar for all available nests, the only information of previous nest usage may reflect expected future parasite pressure. In this study we explored whether Kestrels, Red-footed Falcons and Jackdaws rely on nest-material consisting of pellets and prey remnants when choosing a nest in a multi species artificial colony system. We also assessed potential effects of these decisions on reproductive success. We randomly selected and cleaned half (n=102) of all available nest-boxes in each of the studied 4 colonies before the breeding season. We then monitored occupancy, egg-laying date, hatching and fledging success. In case of Red-footed Falcons, we also acquired adult age and nestling condition data. Our results show that Kestrels were more likely to breed in uncleaned nest-boxes, however, eggs laid in cleaned nest-boxes were more likely to develop into fledged nestlings. There was a weak indication that lower hatching rate was responsible for this effect, rather than increased parasite load. Nest box cleaning had no effect on measured variables in case of Red-footed Falcons and Jackdaws. Colonial breeding of Kestrels, the only species to react to nest-box cleaning, is rare and is probably a consequence of extreme nest-site shortage in our study site. We conclude that Kestrels are not adapted to interpret the information carried by pellets and prey-remnants in colony nest-boxes.

The ethology of parasites has not been widely studied despite that not just biochemical and morphological properties help them to adopt to the host. Avian lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are permanent obligatory ectoparasites, they predominantly spread during physical contact between hosts, which occurs most frequently during parental care (vertical transmission) in birds. In my study I examined how host preference affects lice distributions in adult birds and how this pattern is passed on to subsequent generations. My study focuses on louse species parasitizing the Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus), a raptor of high international conservation concern.

The performance of state of the art worldwide telecommunication networks strongly depends on the efficiency of the applied routing mechanism. Game theoretical approaches to this problem offer new solutions. In this paper a new continuous network routing model is defined to describe data transfer in fixed telecommunication networks of multiple hosts. The nodes of the network correspond to routers whose latency is assumed to be traffic dependent. We propose that the whole traffic of the network can be decomposed to a finite number of tasks, which belong to various hosts. To describe the different latency-sensitivity, utility functions are defined for each task. The model is used to compare router and host intelligent types of routing methods, corresponding to various data transfer protocols. We analyze host intelligent routing as a transferable utility cooperative game with externalities. 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The effect of various parasites on their hosts has been widely studied, however how host traits affect parasites is less often in the focus of scientific interest. Avian lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are permanent obligatory ectoparasites. Presumably, one of the most important decision lice have to make throughout their life history is how and which new host they colonize. These ectoparasites need direct contact between hosts to infect new individuals, and in avian systems this occurs most frequently during parental care (vertical transmission). My study focuses on the colonization strategies during vertical transmission of various louse species parasitizing colonial Red-footed Falcons (Falco vespertinus).

As the convergence of “traditional” telecommunications and the Internet is gaining momentum, new network capabilities are being designed to support future services over Internet Protocol (IP) based network infrastructure. The papers selected for this special issue aim to address fundamental issues in creating an environment for better service support, including next generation broadband access networks, IP security and transition to IPv6, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling, VoIP performance, and new collaborative service provisioning models in mobile networks. This special issue of the Infocommunications Journal comprises five original peer-reviewed research papers, based on those initially presented at the 10th International Conference on Telecommunications – ConTEL 2009, held in Zagreb, Croatia, in June 2009. They were selected from a total of 67 papers accepted for publication at ConTEL 2009, and they were significantly extended before submission for potential journal publication. All submitted papers were reviewed by at least three independent reviewers for assessment. Authors had to satisfactorily respond to the reviewers’ comments and to revise the papers accordingly before the final acceptance.

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Mossbauer spectra of eutectic frozen aqueous solutions of Fe(ClO 4 ) 2 have been measured at 4.2 K in applied longitudinal magnetic fields up to 5 T. The spectra are interpreted in terms of a model accounting for the random distribution of the ligand field at the Fe 2+ ion owing to the amorphousness of the environment. The equilibrium state of the Fe(H 2 O) 6 2+ complex is determined by a static Jahn-Teller calculation for T 2g ⊗(ϵ + T 2 ) vibronic coupling the minima of the elastic energy terms being subject to random number generation. The main features of all spectra can be well reproduced by choosing E JT (T) = 140 cm −1 and ω T 150 cm −1 .