Sexual differences in daily foraging patterns among Great tits <i>Parus major</i> established by radio frequency identification (RFID) tags

Providing bird feeders is a very popular interaction between people and birds, and many aspects have been studied in detail. The utilisation of bird feeders in relation to the daylight pattern still needs more research, mostly due to technical problems. This is important for understanding optimal foraging and, in consequence, bird survival. The study was carried out in southern Poland during winter and early spring 2011. A total of 99 Great tits <i>Parus major</i> were tagged of which 50 individuals were recorded at the feeders (in total 2,771 records). The mean time spent at the feeder by Great tits was 4.3 ± 7.9 sec and was influenced by temperature. During the winter, both sexes showed a bimodal pattern of foraging activity: a first, early morning, peak and a second, evening, peak. In contrast, during early spring we found a significant bimodal pattern only for females with a sharp decrease before dusk. We confirmed that observed foraging patterns could be explained by the risk of starvation and by predator avoidance. Sexual differences in foraging are most probably related to their different activities in late winter/early spring, for example, time-consuming singing by males.

人工投喂鸟类的喂食器（bird feeders）是人类与鸟类间极为常见的互动形式，其诸多相关维度已得到详尽研究。但鸟类喂食器的使用模式与日光节律的关联仍有待更多探索，这主要受制于技术层面的难题。该研究对于阐明鸟类最优觅食策略、进而理解鸟类生存状况具有重要意义。本研究于2011年冬季及初春期间在波兰南部开展，共标记了99只大山雀（Great tit，*Parus major*），其中50只个体在喂食器处被记录到，累计记录次数达2771次。大山雀在喂食器处停留的平均时长为4.3±7.9秒，且该时长受温度因素影响。冬季时，雌雄个体均表现出双峰型觅食活动节律：首个高峰出现在清晨，第二个高峰则出现在傍晚。与之形成对比的是，初春阶段仅雌性大山雀呈现出显著的双峰型觅食节律，并在黄昏前出现明显的活动下降。本研究证实，观测到的觅食节律可通过饥饿风险与反捕食行为两方面得到解释。觅食行为的性别差异，大概率与晚冬/初春阶段两性不同的活动模式有关——例如雄性耗时较长的鸣唱行为。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集基于2011年波兰南部的RFID追踪数据，研究大山雀（Parus major）冬季和早春的日常觅食模式，发现性别差异显著：冬季两性均呈现早晚双峰活动模式，而早春仅雌性保持双峰且黄昏前活动减少。分析表明，这些模式受饥饿风险和捕食者规避影响，性别差异可能与雄性在早春的鸣叫等行为有关。