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Modernization of urban buildings can decrease the availability of nesting sites in buildings, leading to sudden decreases in the density of avifauna. In this study, we investigated the use of nest boxes as a bird conservation measure after buildings were thermally modernized. In a 10 ha experimental area we mounted five types of nest boxes of different sizes and dimensions (a total of 132). Nest boxes were dedicated to species that lost access to their previous nesting sites. All species associated with the buildings significantly declined or disappeared. In the first year after the modernization, the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) decreased by 66% compared with the period before the modernization, Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) by 68%, Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by 70%, and Common Swift (Apus apus) by 100%. In the first two years after the modernization, the birds nested only in nest boxes. Five years of monitoring showed that using nest boxes as compensation for bird nesting sites lost during the renovation of buildings can cause a population to recover to ca. 50% of its original level. To optimize deployments of nest boxes, wildlife managers should consider target species’ preferences for the dimensions and placement of boxes and limit the time boxes are used if a species prefers nesting outside nest-boxes, but in buildings (e. g. the House Sparrow) and does not require additional support.

The conservation of biodiversity and rational use of biological resources should be conducted with a view to population genetics. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the genetic diversity of highly distributed red deer groups from Słowiński National Park (NP) and hunting areas (HA) in northern Poland using 10 dinucleotide microsatellites. In 254 animals, 112 alleles were observed with a high allelic number (NA = 7–15). The NP and HA groups showed high mean heterozygosity (Ho = 0.548 ± 0.063–0.613 ± 0.061) compared to other deer populations in Europe, although a slight decrease in heterozygosity and an increase in inbreeding was identified in NP, compared to HA. A high level of intra-group and a low level of inter-group genetic differentiation was found, which was supported by a high level of gene flow between NP and HA. Structure analysis revealed two genetic clusters (NP and HA) within the population. The HA cluster was distinguished by numerous private alleles, although the NP cluster was distinguished by a high frequency of two private alleles. These study results show that unhunted conservation areas may affect red deer density without increasing genetic diversity whereas hunting does not seem to have a negative impact on deer genetic diversity. This study affirms the anthropogenic impact on the red deer groups in both NP and HA. Ongoing monitoring of the red deer population with an effective sampling strategy is recommended.

In the Andes, pairs of ecologically similar species are often separated by narrow elevational sympatry zones but the mechanisms mediating sympatry are not fully understood. Here, we describe niche partitioning within a sympatry zone in a fragmented Andean landscape between two closely related flush-pursue species: a high-elevation montane forest dweller, (Myioborus melanocephalus), and a mid-elevation montane forest dweller, (M. miniatus). As all flush-pursuers use very similar hunting techniques involving visual displays to flush and pursue insects in air, and benefit from being the “rare predators”, ecological sorting between species in sympatry zones should allow their co-existence. We found that both species occupied vegetation resembling their typical allopatric habitats: a mosaic of pastures, clearings, and shrubs with small proportion of high trees for M. melanocephalus, and dense high forests with high proportion of trees, lower irradiance and higher humidity for M. miniatus. M. melanocephalus often foraged in bushes and at lower heights, whereas M. miniatus often foraged in tree crowns. The two species differed relatively little in their foraging technique. These results demonstrate how ecological sorting permits species of divergent elevational distributions and habitats to successfully coexist in sympatric zones where habitat diversity allows both species to find their preferred habitat.

Data collected out of the breeding season suggest that House sparrows (Passer domesticus) from the urban populations are characterized by a smaller body size and poorer body condition compared to birds from rural populations. Considering an urbanized Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and other potential predators, a new predator-prey dependency is developing that can also be a reason for the House sparrow’s poorer condition. This study was aimed at comparing the multivariate biometrical characteristics and few body condition indices of adult birds from urban and rural populations during the breeding season. It was hypothesized that a higher predation risk during the breeding season concerns mainly males, thus affecting their poorer condition. Most of the condition indices of males were significantly lower in the urban population. Males from the urban populations had lower body mass, shorter tarsus, longer alula, greater Kipp’s distance and higher wing pointedness index in comparison to the birds from rural populations, whereas these differences were not found between females. We suggest that the lower body condition and biometric differences in the analyzed birds are a means of adapting to the new predator-prey scheme in accordance to the tradeoff theory between starvation and predation risks. A lower condition of birds in poor foraging urban habitats and higher predation risk may be indicative of a declining population.

Biparental incubation is a common pattern of parental care in birds. Within species with biparental incubation, the contribution of each sex can vary widely. Many studies have addressed the factors that influence variation in female incubation behaviour, but the underlying causes of within-species variation in male incubation behaviour remain poorly understood. In this paper we analyse incubation behaviour in the Reed Warbler, a small, predominantly socially monogamous passerine nesting in reed beds. We examined the impact of time of day, weather conditions (ambient temperature, wind speed, rainfall) and progress of the breeding season on male and female incubation behaviour in 81 pairs of Reed Warbler breeding in the Barycz Valley (SW Poland). We found that females had on average higher nest attentiveness (total time spent incubating per hour) than their partners (47% vs. 29%) but mean incubation bout length (a single, uninterrupted stay at the nest) did not differ significantly between the sexes (9 min vs. 7 min). The two parents responded differently to changing environmental parameters. Female nest attentiveness was unaffected by date, time of the day, advancement of incubation and weather conditions, while males spent more time on the nest at higher wind speeds and lower temperatures. In contrast, male incubation bout length was not affected by these factors, whereas female bout length increased throughout the breeding season and was longer at lower temperatures. Incubation recesses (periods where both parents were off the nest) were longer during favourable weather conditions (at high temperatures and low wind), probably because cooling of the eggs takes much longer under such conditions and parents can spend more time foraging. A comparison of our results with those from other populations revealed important betweenpopulation and sex-specific differences in nest attentiveness expressed as the percentage of male/female time spent on the nest. We suggest that betweenpopulation variation may result from differences in habitat quality and/or food resources affecting the necessity of male contribution to parental care, variation in breeding synchrony and densities influencing male engagement in extra-pair copulations, differences in predation levels, or methodological differences.

Bird feeding is one of the most widespread direct interactions between man and nature, and this has important social and environmental consequences. However, this activity can differ between rural and urban habitats, due to inter alia habitat structure, human behaviour and the composition of wintering bird communities. We counted birds in 156 squares (0.25 km2 each) in December 2012 and again in January 2013 in locations in and around 26 towns and cities across Poland (in each urban area, we surveyed 3 squares and also 3 squares in nearby rural areas). At each count, we noted the number of bird feeders, the number of bird feeders with food, the type of feeders, additional food supplies potentially available for birds (bread offered by people, bins) and finally the birds themselves. In winter, urban and rural areas differ in the availability of food offered intentionally and unintentionally to birds by humans. Both types of food availability are higher in urban areas. Our findings suggest that different types of bird feeder support only those species specialized for that particular food type and this relationship is similar in urban and rural areas. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-015-4723-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Urban environments cover vast areas with a high density of humans and their dogs and cats causing problems for exploitation of new resources by wild animals. Such resources facilitate colonization by individuals with a high level of neophilia predicting that urban animals should show more neophilia than rural conspecifics. We provided bird-feeders across urban environments in 14 Polish cities and matched nearby rural habitats, testing whether the presence of a novel item (a brightly coloured green object made out of gum with a tuft of hair) differentially delayed arrival at feeders in rural compared to urban habitats. The presence of a novel object reduced the number of great tits Parus major, but also the total number of all species of birds although differentially so in urban compared to rural areas. That was the case independent of the potentially confounding effects of temperature, population density of birds and the abundance of cats, dogs and pedestrians. The number of great tits and the total number of birds attending feeders increased in urban compared to rural areas independent of local population density of birds. This implies that urban birds have high levels of neophilia allowing them to readily exploit unpredictable resources in urban environments.

Emys orbicularis is receding from Europe, mainly due to anthropogenic habitat changes. Its parasite, Placobdella costata, is widely distributed within both the former and the present distribution range of the host. Though closely associated with the mud turtle, it may have other hosts (birds, amphibians, reptiles). Its reproductive period coincides with that of its host’s migration to the breeding grounds, thus facilitating dispersal of the parasite. Based on literature data we have analyzed the geographic spread of P. costata and mud turtle to observe the possible overlap of their habitats. Observations on the population of mud turtle and the associated leech species (P. costata) were carried out in eastern Poland — Podlasie Lowland. The studies were conducted in spring and summer in 1986–1993. The leeches were collected from the turtles caught in the water and on land. Observations showed that most leeches were found on turtles inhabiting the lake or moving to a breeding area. The greatest intensity of invasion was observed in June and July and that most leeches were observed in female E. orbicularis characterized by greater length of the carapace and weight, compared with males and juvenile individuals.

The middle course of the Neman River is the habitat of 120 water beetle species. Water beetles were most abundant in the Neman River, its major tributaries and oxbow lakes. They consisted of four synecological groups: rheobiontic and rheophilic organisms, type “a” and “b” stagnobionts. The diverse types of aquatic environments constitute faunal centers which, in addition to the specific and dominant Coleopteran populations, also feature migrational elements. The presence of close relations between the fauna of different environments indicates that they form a single, faunistically integrated hydrological system.

Urban development has a marked effect on the ecological and behavioural traits of many living organisms, including birds. In this paper, we analysed differences in the numbers of wintering birds between rural and urban areas in Poland. We also analysed species richness and abundance in relation to longitude, latitude, human population size, and landscape structure. All these parameters were analysed using modern statistical techniques incorporating species detectability. We counted birds in 156 squares (0.25 km2 each) in December 2012 and again in January 2013 in locations in and around 26 urban areas across Poland (in each urban area we surveyed 3 squares and 3 squares in nearby rural areas). The influence of twelve potential environmental variables on species abundance and richness was assessed with Generalized Linear Mixed Models, Principal Components and Detrended Correspondence Analyses. Totals of 72 bird species and 89,710 individual birds were recorded in this study. On average (± SE) 13.3 ± 0.3 species and 288 ± 14 individuals were recorded in each square in each survey. A formal comparison of rural and urban areas revealed that 27 species had a significant preference; 17 to rural areas and 10 to urban areas. Moreover, overall abundance in urban areas was more than double that of rural areas. There was almost a complete separation of rural and urban bird communities. Significantly more birds and more bird species were recorded in January compared to December. We conclude that differences between rural and urban areas in terms of winter conditions and the availability of resources are reflected in different bird communities in the two environments.

An investigation of the habitat structure in nesting territories and the breeding success of the White Stork population in an agriculture landscape of the Kolno Upland adjoining the Biebrza river valley was conducted in 1994–1997. From 85.7% (1997) to 96.8% (1994) of nests were occupied by pairs of storks. The percentage of nests without nestlings was exceptionally low (0%–5.7%). Broods with three nestlings made up the highest proportion, c. 41.7–44.6 % of all the nests occupied by pairs. The average number of nestlings in nests with fledged young was lowest in 1997 (2.53); in 1994–1996 it had been significantly higher (2.84–3.06). Pairs with nests sited up to 100 m from the nearest wet meadows in the river valley have a higher average breeding success in comparison with the pairs whose nests are sited farther away. The White Stork population tended to inhabit the area near the edge of the river valley. In the nesting territories (an area of 1 km radius around the nest site) cereal crops, meadow...

4166 measurements of wing length in Reed Warblers were made during 9 breeding and pre-migratory periods in Central Poland. In the studied population there was significant differentiation in the wing length among seasons in adult and juvenile birds. Multiple regression and path analysis showed that weather factors (temperature and precipitation) during the breeding period determine the long-term variation in the wing length in both adult and young birds. Changes in wing length were explained by natural selection and habitat selection. In breeding and pre-migratory periods, temperature and precipitation influence in food availability, and thus affect optimisation of energetic expenses on feeding. It was revealed that long-winged individuals are best adapted to cold and rainy conditions, the short-winged ones, to warm and dry summers. The weather conditions obtaining when the birds arrive at the breeding grounds could be linked to differentiation in availability of optimal places for establishing t...

In 1987 - 1990 an investigation was made on the spatial structure of brown hare Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 populations using the transect routes method. The investigation was carried out in two different parts of Poland that differed in the character of agriculture: I - northeastern with large fields of state farms, and II - eastcentral with small fields of individual farmers. The results indicate that independently of the agrarian structure, the distribution of hares in crops corresponds to their percentage share in the region, with exception of rape fields, which show a tendency to be avoided. There was also a significant relationship between the spatial distribution of the hare and the habitat diversity - highly variegated fields are more consistently inhabited by hares.

The aims of the study were determine the effects of anthropogenic pressure on the species composition and population size of amphibians of small water bodies in Olsztyn city (NE Poland). The presence of 11 amphibian species was noted in 83.5% of water bodies. The dominants were: the common frog Rana temporaria, the edible frog Rana esculenta, the pool frog Rana lessonae, the common toad Bufo bufo and the moor frog Rana arvalis. The fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina was an influent, while the common newt Triturns vulgaris, the common spadefoot Pelobates fnsciis, the tree frog Hyla arborea, the green toad Bufo viridis and the crested newt Tritimis cristatus were the recedents. The most frequent were “green frogs”, which occur in 71.9% of water bodies inhabited by amphibians (60.0% of all water bodies). The species characterized by the lowest occurrence frequency were the tree frog (6.0% and 5.0%, respectively), the green toad (5.4% and 4.5%) and the crested newt (3.6% and 3.0%). In the paper the urban pressure on amphibian communities is widely discussed.