Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) has experienced population declines in both Canada and the United States and in 2010 was assigned a national listing of threatened in Canada. We conducted a two-year study (2004-2005) of this species at its northern range limit, the South Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Our main objective was to determine whether the habitat features that influ...

Nest-site selection may vary adaptively among co-existing species as a result of competitive interactions among the species or in response to density-dependent nest predation. We examined nest-site characteristics and degree of partitioning among 14 co-existing bird species breeding in dwarf strandveld shrubland at Koeberg Nature Reserve, South Africa. Habitat characteristics of nest sites diff...

Burial of a nest formed of ice in the shape of a subterranean ant nest forms an underground facsimile of a nest after melting. Any desired level of similarity to natural ant nests can be achieved. Such nests can be used as tools for the study of ant nest architecture, or to provide ready homes for study colonies.

lymph node dissection is of prime importance for accurate staging of colorectal carcinomas. since a great number of small lymph nodes are missed in the traditional method, several fat clearing solutions have been introduced for easier detection of smaller lymph nodes. in this study we evaluated the efficacy of a new fat clearing solution so-called lymph node revealing solution (lnrs) in colecto...

Although the use of olfaction by birds is now widely recognised, the olfactory abilities of passerine birds remain poorly explored, for historical reasons. Several studies however suggest that passerines can perceive volatile compounds in several biologically relevant contexts. In Corsica, recent findings suggest that cavity-nesting blue tits may use volatile compounds in the context of nest bu...

Identifying the relative contributions of genetic, maternal, and environmental factors to phenotypic variation is critical for evaluating the evolutionary potential of fitness-related traits. We employed a novel two-step cross-fostering experiment to quantify the relative contributions of clutch (i.e., maternal identity) and maternally chosen nest sites to phenotypic variation during three earl...

Many wasps and bees learn the position of their nest relative to nearby visual features during elaborate 'learning' flights that they perform on leaving the nest. Return flights to the nest are thought to be patterned so that insects can reach their nest by matching their current view to views of their surroundings stored during learning flights. To understand how ground-nesting bumblebees migh...

The ability of nest predation to influence habitat settlement decisions in birds is widely debated, despite its importance in limiting fitness. Here, we experimentally manipulated nest predation risk across a landscape and asked the question, do migratory birds assess and respond to variation in nest predation risk when choosing breeding habitats? We examined habitat preference by quantifying t...

Responses of the African weaver ants (Oecophylla longinoda) to nest damages were studied in the field in Nigeria. During the wet season, the ants responded to nest damages almost unexceptionnally by a quick onset of nest-repairing behaviour. The latencies to the start of nest-repairing activities (LN) did not depend on the size of the damage, but they were significantly shorter during the night...

Ants, bees and wasps are central place foragers. They leave their nests to forage and routinely return to their home-base. Most are guided by memories of the visual panorama and the visual appearance of the local nest environment when pinpointing their nest. These memories are acquired during highly structured learning walks or flights that are performed when leaving the nest for the first time...