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The widespread sharing of information on the Internet has given rise to ecological studies that use data from digital sources including digitized museum records and social media posts. Most of these studies have focused on understanding species occurrences and distributions. In this essay, we argue that data from digital sources also offer many opportunities to study animal behavior including long-term and large-scale comparisons within and between species. Following Nikko Tinbergen's classical roadmap for behavioral investigation, we show how using videos, photos, text, and audio posted on social media and other digital platforms can shed new light on known behaviors, particularly in a changing world, and lead to the discovery of new ones., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Vardi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The brain size of vertebrates represents a trade-off between natural selection for enhanced cognitive abilities and the energetic constraints of brain tissue production. Processing information efficiently can confer benefits, but it also entails time costs. Breeding strategies, encompassing timing of breeding onset and nest-site selection, may be related to brain size. In this study, we aim to elucidate the relationship between brain size, breeding timing, nest-site choice, and breeding success in the red-backed shrike Lanius collurio. Our findings revealed that the timing of the first egg-laying date was associated with female head size, with larger-headed females tending to lay eggs later in the breeding season. Additionally, we observed that breeding success was positively correlated with increased nest concealment. However, this relationship was stronger in males with smaller heads. In turn, nest concealment was not related to head size but primarily influenced breeding onset. These results suggest that the choice of breeding strategy may be moderated by brain size, with differences between sexes. Larger-headed females may invest more time in selecting nesting sites, leading to delayed breeding onset, while larger-headed males may compensate for suboptimal nest concealment. Our study sheds light on the intricate interplay between brain size, breeding timing, nest-site preferences, and breeding success in passerine birds, underscoring the potential role of cognitive capacity in shaping individual decision-making processes., (© 2024 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Plastic is the most pervasive element of marine waste, with harmful impact on wildlife. By using iEcology (i.e., internet Ecology, use of online data sources as a new tool in ecological research), we report on the emergence of a novel behaviour in hermit crabs related to the use of plastic or other anthropogenic materials as protective shells. We analysed images posted on social media to identify 386 individuals with artificial shells - mainly plastic caps (85 %). We report that 10 of the world's 16 terrestrial hermit crabs use artificial shells, a behaviour observed on all of the Earth's tropical coasts. Four non-exclusive mechanisms may drive individual choice for artificial shells: sexual signaling, lightness of artificial shells, odour cues, and camouflage in a polluted environment. Further research is needed to determine the impact of this behaviour on hermit crab evolutionary trajectories., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Many phenological studies have shown that spring geophytes are very sensitive to climate change, responding by shifting flowering and fruiting dates. However, there is a gap in knowledge about climatic drivers of their distributions and range shifts under climate change. Here we aimed to estimate climate niche shifts for four widely distributed and common geophytes of the nemoral zone of Europe (Anemone nemorosa, Anemone ranunculoides, Convallaria majalis and Maianthemum bifolium) and to assess the threat level under various climate change scenarios. Using MaxEnt species distribution models and future climate change scenarios we found that the precipitation of the warmest quarter was the most important factor shaping their ranges. All species studied will experience more loss in the 2061-2080 period than in 2041-2060, and under more pessimistic scenarios. M. bifolium will experience the highest loss, followed by A. nemorosa, A. ranunculoides, and the smallest for C. majalis. A. ranunculoides will gain the most, while M. bifolium will have the smallest potential range expansion. Studied species may respond differently to climate change despite similar current distributions and climatic variables affecting their potential distribution. Even slight differences in climatic niches could reduce the overlap of future ranges compared to present. We expect that due to high dependence on the warmest quarter precipitation, summer droughts in the future may be particularly severe for species that prefer moist soils. The lack of adaptation to long-distance migration and limited availability of appropriate soils may limit their migration and lead to a decline in biodiversity and changes in European forests., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Kisspeptin (KP, encoded by Kiss1, binding to the Gpr54 receptor) is a neuropeptide conveying information on the metabolic status to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. KP acts together with dynorphin A (encoded by Pdyn) and neurokinin B (encoded by Tac2) to regulate reproduction. KP is crucial for the onset of puberty and is under the control of sirtuin (encoded by Sirt1). We hypothesize that the maternal cafeteria (CAF) diet has adverse effects on the offspring's hormonal, metabolic, and reproductive functions due to sex-specific alterations in the expression of Kiss1, Gpr54, Pdyn, Tac2, and Sirt1 in the hypothalamus, and Kiss1, Gpr54, and Sirt1 in the liver. Rats were fed a CAF diet before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and during lactation. The vaginal opening was monitored. Offspring were sacrificed in three age points: PND 30, PND 35, and PND 60 (females) and PND 40, PND 45, and PND 60 (males). Their metabolic and hormonal status was assessed. mRNA for Kiss1, Gpr54, Pdyn, Tac2, and Sirt1 were measured by real-time PCR in the hypothalamus and/or livers. We found that CAF offspring had lower weight and altered body composition; increased cholesterol and triglyceride levels, sex-specific changes in glucose and insulin levels; sex-dependent changes in Sirt1/Kiss1 mRNA ratio in the hypothalamus; sex-specific alterations in Kiss1 and Sirt1 mRNA in the liver with more diversity in males; and a delayed puberty onset in females. We concluded that the mother's CAF diet leads to sex-specific alterations in metabolic and reproductive outcomes via Kiss1/Gpr54 and Sirt1 systems in offspring., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction.)

Background: A particular type of site fidelity is faithfulness to the nest site, where birds are not only reoccupying breeding territories but also reusing nests built in previous breeding seasons. Staying faithful to the nest site is believed to be an adaptive strategy, and based on the ability to predict an individual's own breeding success, a hypothesis of "win-stay:loose-switch" was proposed. In this study, we aimed to resolve which factors affect the nest-site fidelity of white stork Ciconia ciconia, species known for reusing nests available in the breeding sites. Basing on ring recoveries from 31 years of studies in Western and Southern Poland, we analysed the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on nest-site fidelity., Results: We found that increasing age and breeding success (i.e. producing any fledglings or not) increased the probability of reusing the nest, but in the oldest individuals, the probability decreased. In turn, the probability of breeding success increased with age, the increasing number of reproductive events on the particular nest, and the presence on the nest in the previous year. However, the oldest individuals had lower probability of success, as the relationship was curvilinear. The number of fledglings, however, was influenced only by an individual's age. The number of reproductive events on the nest was, in turn, affected by age, with the youngest and oldest individuals using the current nest for the least number of years., Conclusions: Our study shows that the decision process of whether to stay faithful to the nest or switch is based on the experience from the previous breeding event, consistently with the "win-stay:loose-switch" hypothesis. Our results also show that site fidelity benefits white storks, as the probability of breeding success increases if the nest is reused. Results also show the senescence effect that lowers breeding success and site fidelity probabilities., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Proline accumulation represents one of mechanisms used by plants to prevent the adverse consequences of water stress. The effects of increased proline levels in response to drought differ among species. Trees are exposed to the long-term effects of climate change. The reproductive success of species in a specific environment depends on the functional trait of tree seeds. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of drought stress on the proline concentrations in seedling leaf tissues of woody plant species and their relationships to drought duration, seed mass, seed category and coniferous/deciduous classification. Drought duration exhibited a nonlinear effect on proline accumulations. The drought effect on proline accumulations is greater for deciduous than for coniferous species and is higher for orthodox seed species than for recalcitrant. The seedlings of large-seeded species showed greater effect sizes than those of small-seeded species. Our results suggest that there is an optimum level at which proline accumulations under the influence of drought are the highest. A link between seed functional traits, as well as the coniferous/deciduous classification, and proline concentrations in tree seedlings during water stress were determined for the first time. Proline may help to identify high-quality seeds of trees used for reforestation., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Human pressure on urban landscapes has serious consequences for urban plant species. Therefore, environmental and anthropogenic factors affect the assembly of urban wildlife in plant communities. For biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services in urban areas, it is crucial to understand the impacts of urbanization as well as the introduction of alien plant species on urban plant communities. On 47 sites in Poznań (W Poland), we studied variation within and between three management greenery habitats, i.e., urban parks, greenery associated with housing estates, and urban grasslands, as they relate to taxonomical, functional, and phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity. We also examined how urbanization (measured by ISA) and alien plant species relate to vegetation compositional differences. We found that both urbanization and alien plant species cover decreased alpha diversity, while urbanization had various impacts on beta diversity within each studied habitat. Our results suggest that human pressure leads to similarities in the urban flora, where plant species with specific functional traits adapted to the urban environment. To achieve sustainable urbanization, urban planners should not only create diverse green spaces but also eliminate alien plants, increasing the role of urban land management in promoting the wildness of plant biodiversity in cities., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

A major impact of human development is the transformation of natural habitats into farming lands and the expansion of built-up areas. Also, plastic pollution is affecting wildlife on a global scale. Discarded plastic is ubiquitous and accessible for birds, which can incorporate them into the nest structure. Here, we describe the differences in type, prevalence, and the amount of anthropogenic nest materials between two populations of terrestrial, mainly farmland bird, the white stork Ciconia ciconia, on a broad geographical scale, from two migratory divides-eastern in Poland and western in Spain (in total 303 nests). In the two populations, we detected significant differences in the incorporation of anthropogenic nest material, as measured by the Human Footprint Index (HFI) and the Impervious Surface Areas (ISA). We found that ISA was positively related to anthropogenic nest material incorporation in the Spanish population, and HFI was positively related to anthropogenic nest material, in contrast to the Polish population, in which the relationships were not significant. Moreover, we showed that the prevalence of nests with anthropogenic nest material was two times higher in Spanish than in the Polish white stork population. This study demonstrates that the behavior of incorporation of the anthropogenic nest material differs between two distinct populations of a single bird species., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Solid waste pollution (garbage discarded by humans, such as plastic, metal, paper) has received increased attention given its importance as a global threat to biodiversity. Recent studies highlight how animals incorporate anthropogenic materials into their life-cycle, for example in avian nest construction. While increasingly monitored in natural areas, the influence of solid waste pollution on wildlife has been seldom explored in the urban habitat. There is limited data on the relationship between anthropogenic solid waste pollution, nest design, and reproductive success in an urban context. We address this knowledge gap (i) by investigating the presence of environmental solid waste pollution in the breeding habitats of great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus reproducing in a gradient of urbanisation, and (ii) by quantifying (ii) the contribution of different anthropogenic materials in their nests. We further examine potential drivers of solid waste pollution by inferring three distinct properties of the urban space: environmental solid waste pollution on the ground, human presence, and the intensity of urbanisation (e.g impervious surfaces) in nestbox vicinity. Finally, (iii) we explore the relationship between anthropogenic nest materials and reproductive success. We found that environmental solid waste pollution was positively associated with human presence and urbanisation intensity. There was also a positive relationship between increased human presence and the amount of anthropogenic materials in great tit nests. Interestingly, in both species, anthropogenic nest materials covaried negatively with nest materials of animal origin (fur and feathers). We suggest that fur and feathers - key insulating materials in nest design - may be scarcer in areas with high levels of human presence, and are consequently replaced with anthropogenic nest materials. Finally, we report a negative relationship between anthropogenic nest materials and blue tit reproductive success, suggesting species-specific vulnerability of urban birds to solid waste pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Data regarding the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with drug-eluting stent restenosis (DES-ISR) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and drug-eluting balloons (DEB) or DES are not unambiguous., Aim: To evaluate the relationship between long-term outcomes and the length of DAPT in patients treated with PCI due to DES-ISR with DEB or DES., Material and Methods: Overall, a total of 1,367 consecutive patients with DES-ISR, who underwent PCI with DEB or DES between 2008 and 2019 entered the study. The mean length of the follow-up was 1,298.7 ±794 days. We assessed study endpoints according to the duration of DAPT (≤ 3 vs. > 3 and ≤ 6 vs. > 6 months) before and after propensity score matching (PSM): stroke, target lesion revascularisation (TLR), target vessel revascularisation (TVR), myocardial infarction (MI), death and device oriented composite endpoints (DOCE). Kaplan-Meier estimates were created to differentiate long-term outcomes., Results: Pairwise contrast analysis considering type of PCI (DES vs. DEB) and duration of DAPT (≤ 6 vs. > 6 months) before PSM revealed superiority of DES + DAPT > 6 months vs. DEB + DAPT > 6 months for DOCE ( p < 0.001), TVR ( p = 0.02) and TLR ( p = 0.01). Also, DES + DAPT ≤ 6 months was found to be superior compared to DEB + DAPT ≤ 6 months for DOCE ( p < 0.001), TVR ( p = 0.02) and TLR ( p = 0.01). Kaplan-Meier estimate analysis confirmed that DAPT > 6 months is related to a higher stroke rate ( p = 0.01) when compared to ≤ 6 months., Conclusions: Treatment with DAPT in patients with DES-ISR is related to better long-term outcomes in the case of PCI with DES than DEB. DAPT > 6 months is related to the greater rate of strokes, independently of the type of treatment (DES and DEB) than DAPT ≤ 6 months., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Termedia Sp. z o. o.)

Pollinating insects are under high human pressure due to agricultural intensification and urbanization. Although many research and conservation projects have been applied worldwide, there is still a need for a comprehensive approach that meets local conditioning and capabilities. This paper investigated the composition, abundance, richness, alpha, beta, and gamma-diversity of pollinators between unused railway embankments and semi-natural grasslands. On 50 study sites (25 sites in unused railways and 25 their reference on grasslands), we collected data on the abundance, species richness and species diversity of bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. We conducted five samplings yearly (April-September) for two years, 2017-2018. To assess differences in abundance, species richness, alpha and beta diversity of pollinators between unused railways and controls, we used generalized linear mixed models (GLMM). To compare the composition of pollinator species, we applied non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Abundance, species richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of all three groups of pollinators were significantly higher in unused railway lines than in control grasslands. Pollinator communities were more constant in unused railway lines than in grasslands. The NMDS analysis highlighted the importance of these structures for bee, butterfly and hoverfly communities, which were a subset of grassland species, but were more abundant. We indicated the highest total taxonomic beta-diversity for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies and species turnover for bees and butterflies in control grassland compared with unused railway lines. The taxonomical nestedness was significantly higher in unused railways lines for bees and butterflies than in control grasslands. In the case of hoverflies, we did not found any significant differences in species turnover and nestedness. Unused railway lines may act as a conservation tool for pollinator communities in intensively managed farmland and complement the declining semi-natural habitats., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Animal and meat inspections in abattoirs are important in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Veterinary inspections in abattoirs can provide useful data for the management of health and welfare issues of humans and animals. Using the network analysis and ordination technique, in this study, we analyzed the data from 11 years of veterinary inspections in pig slaughterhouses from 16 regions in Poland. Based on the huge data set of 80,187,639 cases of diseases and welfare issues of pigs, the most frequent livestock diseases were identified to be abscesses, soiling, faecal or other contaminations, and congestions, which together accounted for 77.6% of the total condemnations. Spatial and temporal differences in swine diseases between the Polish regions were recognized using the above-mentioned statistical approaches. Moreover, with the use of a quite novel method, not used yet in preventive veterinary medicine, called a heatmap, the most problematic disease and welfare issues in each region in Poland were identified. The use of statistical approaches such as network analysis and ordination technique allow for identification of the health and welfare issues in slaughterhouses when dealing with long-term inspection data based on a very large number of cases, and then have to be adopted in current veterinary medicine.

We previously demonstrated that small mammals impact plant recruitment globally via size-dependent seed predation, generating a unimodal pattern across ecosystems. Chen et al. (2021) critiqued our seed removal analysis, advocating corrections for exposure time. We show such manipulations are unwarranted and argue for increased emphasis on plant recruitment metrics., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

We examined site patterns in bee species for diversity and functional diversity in urban, suburban and rural areas. We sampled bees from all three habitat types and compiled a database of functional traits for each species. While species diversity decreased with urbanization, as expected, components of functional diversity showed differences between urban and suburban habitats. Functional dispersion (FDis) increased significantly in suburban areas as compared to urban sites, while functional divergence (FDiv) and functional redundancy (Fred) were higher in urban areas. Functional richness (FRic) and evenness (FEven) were not affected by urbanization. Moreover, assemblages in highly urbanized environments have a substantially different functional composition. Solitary species, cleptoparasites, soil nesters, bees with trophic specialization, and those with a short flight period turned out to be more sensitive to urbanization changes. This study highlights the importance of examining functional diversity in assessing human-induced biodiversity loss and its impacts on ecosystem functioning in urbanized areas. These results have significant implications for improving our understanding of the mechanisms of suburban community ecology and conserving bees in urban habitats., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Access to food is crucial in the life of birds and affects reproduction, survival and, consequently, population size. In the case of bird species inhabiting villages, poorer food conditions now exist, mainly because of changes in the lifestyle of rural residents and a reduction in the number of farm animals traditionally housed in backyards. Recent changes have also affected dog populations in villages, and the majority of them are no longer kept outside as guard dogs, but rather inside houses as pets. We investigated how traditional care of dogs impacted rural birds and other animal populations. The study was carried out at the end of winter and early spring in 29 farmsteads in western Poland. Using camera traps, it was found that the food fed to dogs was also taken by seven species of birds and at least three species of mammals. The most numerous species taking dog food was the house sparrow, Passer domesticus , which is declining in Europe. In the case of this species, females were more likely than males to use food given to dogs, with a clear preference for food prepared in the human kitchen. We conclude that the food provided to domestic pets can be an important component of the diet of wild birds and mammals living close to humans.

Food wastes are among the factors with the greatest effects on animal populations. The white stork is among bird species that clearly profit from feeding at landfills, at least in Western Europe and North Africa. However, the rate and the consequences of this feeding are still unknown in the Central-Eastern European population, which differs from the western population not only in terms of migration routes but also in the greater availability of suitable natural breeding habitats due to less intensified agriculture. The aim of the study was to describe the use of landfills and its consequences in terms of probability of nest occupation and breeding effects in different regions of Poland. Although the most important factors influencing nest-site selection and breeding effect are still habitat quality and weather conditions, distance to landfills is important in selection of nest sites. White storks use landfills most intensively late in the breeding season, independently of the density of breeding pairs. The results suggest that the use of landfills is not currently essential in the Central-Eastern European population of the white stork, does not affect breeding effect, and may be more frequent in non-breeders. However, this phenomenon is still developing and requires continuous monitoring.

Human's activities dominates many aspects of the Earth's environment; thus animals are forced to adapt and respond to the resulting changes in habitat structure and functioning due to anthropogenic pressure. Along with the growing human population and the associated amount of waste produced, the amount of different type of physical contamination component in environment is increasing. Incorporation of debris in nests may be a mounting avian response to anthropogenic pollution. In this research, we quantified the constituent pieces and total mass of human-derived materials incorporated in white stork nests. The study was conducted on four locations in central Spain where white storks nest along a urbanization gradient. In total, we examined 49 nests. This study demonstrates that the incorporation of debris by white storks into their nests is related to human activity, measured by the Human Footprint Index (HFI). Moreover, the distance between these nests and landfills predicts the occurrence of debris incorporated into nests. Our study shows that birds nest building behaviour is impacted by human activities and pollution in environment.

Recent studies demonstrate that by focusing on traits linked to fundamental plant life-history trade-offs, ecologists can begin to predict plant community structure at global scales. Yet, consumers can strongly affect plant communities, and means for linking consumer effects to key plant traits and community assembly processes are lacking. We conducted a global literature review and meta-analysis to evaluate whether seed size, a trait representing fundamental life-history trade-offs in plant offspring investment, could predict post-dispersal seed predator effects on seed removal and plant recruitment. Seed size predicted small mammal seed removal rates and their impacts on plant recruitment consistent with optimal foraging theory, with intermediate seed sizes most strongly impacted globally - for both native and exotic plants. However, differences in seed size distributions among ecosystems conditioned seed predation patterns, with relatively large-seeded species most strongly affected in grasslands (smallest seeds), and relatively small-seeded species most strongly affected in tropical forests (largest seeds). Such size-dependent seed predation has profound implications for coexistence among plants because it may enhance or weaken opposing life-history trade-offs in an ecosystem-specific manner. Our results suggest that seed size may serve as a key life-history trait that can integrate consumer effects to improve understandings of plant coexistence., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.)

Choosing an appropriate nest site is essential for successful breeding. Changes in land use cause populations of many species to decline although some species adapt to anthropogenic changes. The white stork Ciconia ciconia commonly uses artificial nest sites. Recently, white storks from Western Europe have been using landfills as feeding sites; the beginnings of this process are being observed in Central-Eastern Europe. The study aimed to determine factors influencing the probability of nest occupation and breeding effect in a Central-Eastern European population of white storks. We used long-term data from Western Poland on breeding effect, nest occupation, the structure supporting the nest, the proximity of the nearest landfills, landfill area, and land cover. The probability of nest occupation was significantly dependent on habitat quality (based on the share of the preferred type of land cover), the structure supporting the nest, and landfill proximity within a specific year. The breeding effect was influenced by habitat quality and nesting structure. We demonstrate that the type of nesting structure is an important factor influencing both the probability of nest reoccupation and breeding effect. However, the significance of landfills appears to be growing, and in recent years, storks prefer occupying nests closer to landfills, which may have significant consequences for the population of the white stork.

Human pressure exerts a significant influence on animals and the environment. One of its consequences, plastic pollution is considered one of the major threats to fauna as well as a significant conservation issue. In this research, we examined the global pattern of one example of avian behavior in response to pollution-namely, the incorporation of anthropogenic materials into nests-as well as the existing knowledge on this subject. Based on 25 articles, we studied 51 populations, involving 24 bird species, and checked 10,790 nests; as a result, we found that incorporation of debris is correlated with increasing human influence on the environment, measured as the Human Footprint Index. Moreover, the probability of debris incorporation is higher in terrestrial than in marine species. We also identified knowledge bias in favor of marine as opposed to terrestrial species: namely, marine species attract more scientific attention than terrestrial. Furthermore, research approaches to these two ecosystems differ. Undeniably, the factors which influence debris incorporation by birds, the scale of this behavior, and particular forms of use of debris in bird nests are aspects which require long-term standardized research. This is the first global review paper on debris incorporation by birds to demonstrate a close link to human pressure as a driver., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Birds have been using anthropogenic materials for nest construction for the past few decades. However, there is a trade-off between the use of new nesting material, which is often linked to greater breeding success, and the higher risk of nestling mortality due to entanglement or ingestion of debris. Here, we investigate the incorporation of anthropogenic materials into nests of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, based on a long-term study of a population in Western Poland. We recorded at least one item of debris in 50 and 42% of nests at the egg and nestling stages, respectively. More debris was found in nests located in territories with higher number of anthropogenic material in the surrounding environment. We found a relationship between the age of females, the number of debris in the area surrounding a nest, and the number of debris in the nest. We found no significant effect of the total number of debris in nests on clutch size, number of fledglings, or breeding success. Studies on the influence of the age and sex of individuals in understanding this behaviour and its drivers in bird populations should be continued.

Fascination with animals and their behaviour is one the most prominent patterns persisting in all human cultures. During the last decades, however, technological development and public access to the Internet have increased the speed and the extent of information sharing at an unprecedented rate, in some cases even challenging the traditional methods used in science. In order to understand the extent of this influence, we focused on the behaviour of shrikes. Shrikes are an enigmatic group of songbirds with a unique behaviour of impaling prey. We employed an extensive Internet search on YouTube (YT), a very popular and increasingly important source of information worldwide, for videos recording shrikes. Our analyses revealed that the number of shrike videos on YT is strongly positively correlated with classical knowledge on shrikes from books and scientific articles. Our results also suggest that in some cases YT may provide an alternative source of information on shrike ecology and behaviour. YT videos may thus provide new insights into the study of certain species or subjects and help identify gaps in ecological studies, especially in poorly studied species.

Sex differences in the foraging ecology of monomorphic species are poorly understood, due to problems with gender identification in field studies. In the current study, we used experimental conditions to investigate the food preferences of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, an opportunistic species in terms of food, but characterised by a low level of sexual dimorphism. During a 10-day experiment, 29 individuals (20 females and 9 males) were studied by means of a 'cafeteria test' in which the storks' diet consisted of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and earthworms. The storks preferred food characterised by high calorific and protein values such as mammals, birds and fish. Sexes differed strongly in their preferences; males preferred mammals, whereas females preferred birds. Moreover, females consumed insects and earthworms less often than males. Interestingly, males spent significantly less time foraging than females. We have demonstrated that the white stork exhibits clear sexual differences in food preferences which are mostly attributable to differences in parental duties, physiology and anatomy.

The number of species that specialize in pre-dispersal seed predation is relatively small. Examples of specialized pre-dispersal seed predators adapted to feeding on closed cones include vertebrate species like Crossbills, Squirrels, Nutcrackers and Woodpeckers. Seed predation selects against certain phenotypic features of cones and favors another phenotypic features. In this study, we document preferences of the Great Spotted Woodpecker ( Dendrocopos major ) for specific traits in the cones of Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) and Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ). We found that the Great Spotted Woodpecker prefers to feed on medium sized Norway spruce cones. The results suggest a disruptive selection that favors the extreme cone lengths in Norway spruce. In Scots pine, the woodpeckers avoided cones with large apophyses. Further, the selectivity for the specific characteristics of the cones is probably related to the configuration of the anvil, a place at which woodpeckers extract seeds from the cones. We think that the Great Spotted Woodpecker preferences in relation to the morphological characteristics of cones are a key to the design of the anvil in order to maximize the use of it as a tool for processing cones of both the Norway spruce and the Scots pine., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.