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Programmes of monitoring of bird occurrence and abundance as a source of ecological data
Mourková, Jindra ; Fuchs, Roman (advisor) ; Reif, Jiří (referee) ; Bejček, Vladimír (referee)
5 regionálních atlasech (Flousek & Gramsz 1999, Hromádko et al. 2005), umožňuje lépe zachytit proměnlivost výskytu a početnosti ptáků, která je daná mozaikovitostí studovaného území. Kromě údajů o prokázanosti hnízdění v jednotlivých kvadrátech síťových map přináší také odhad početnosti v celém území CHKO, charakteristiku výskytu a prostředí využívaného druhem na daném území a údaje o hnízdních hustotách v různých typech prostředí. Kvantitativní mapy pro jednotlivé druhy nejsou bohužel dosud zpracovány. SUMMARY OF THE THESIS In the thesis, regional data on bird communities were studied in terms of species richness and occurrence of bird species in dependence on habitat and, in case of wintering birds, also on climatic conditions. The regional grid atlas of Prague (Fuchs et al. 2002), records from Wintering waterbird census in Central Bohemia, own data on the breeding population of the Mute Swan in the Třeboň region and data from individual marking of Mute Swans provided by the Bird Ringing Centre of the National Museum were used as the sources of data on the occurrence and abundance of bird species. The thesis also includes a part of the text of the prepared Atlas of breeding distribution of birds in the Třeboň region. The first contribution (Mourková J., Fuchs R., Sedláček O., Janovský Z., Exnerová A.,...
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Habitat as a determinant of abundance and distribution of birds in space and time
Reif, Jiří ; Storch, David (advisor) ; Fuchs, Roman (referee) ; Konvička, Martin (referee)
of the thesis The thesis focuses on various aspects of bird-habitat relationships. We found that the positive correlation between local abundance and regional distribution of birds is not a universal pattern. Its strength and direction depends on the similarity of habitat cover at the locality where the species abundances are measured and habitat cover of the wider region where the species distribution is assessed. In the case of the Cameroon Mountains, many locally abundant species had relatively small ranges in subsaharan Africa. They were probably well-adapted to specific conditions of montane environment, and such tight habitat association precluded their occurrence in regions covered by savannah or humid lowland forest. At the same time, isolation and unusual environmental conditions of the montane forest in the Cameroon Mountains reduced possibilities of their colonization by species widespread within Africa. Such species were confined to deforested areas in the Cameroon Mountains. The strongest gradient in bird community structure was between birds of montane forest and birds of non-forest habitats, and this gradient is probably one of the most important bird-habitat gradients worldwide. Endemic species and species confined to afrotropical mountains had the highest association with montane...
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Dichromatism in Passerine Males and other aspects of sexual selection
Schwarzová, Lucie ; Fuchs, Roman (advisor) ; Grim, Tomáš (referee) ; Storch, David (referee)
Dichromatism in Passerine Males and Other Aspects of Sexual Selection Lucie Schwarzová 1. Summary of PhD Thesis Themaingoalof thepresentedlhesiswasto testsomeof thepredictionsof lrypotheses conoerningdolayedplumagemefurstion(DPM) in ťreBlack Frodsbrrt(Phoenicurus ochraros),a speoiossuitablefor suoha studydueto itshighbreodingdensityin urban hebitats.I studiedarrival pattorrl size, quality anddishibutional pattemoftemitories and aggressivebehaviourofsubadultandadultmalegandhormonaloorrelatosofplumage colourationin Black Redstart. ThebirdsinhabitingSoulhMoravianvillagesdid notshowdifferentialtimingof anivals betweenyearlings andolder birds in thoresource-richenvironment. On theotheÍ hand,undersuboptimaloonditionsin Praguetheyoarlingsworedelayedofthroedayson averagecomparedtotheadultmales.Thoreis thepossibiliý for theyoungbirdsofthis speciesb samplethesituationona potentialbroedingsite during autumnalsinging periď andflexibly fit its migratingbehaviouraccordingto tro circumstances.In suoha casethorďuction investnenthypothosisis thobestexplanationfor diÍferentarrival timingof yearlingandadultmalosin Black Redstart. To testp,redictionsof statussignallrypothesigwhich olaimsthattheadultsless frequently attrokdull colourď subadultmales,andconsoquerrtlyDPM facilitatessurvivalofsubadults...
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Interspecies differences in the cognitive abilities of corvids
Myslivečková, Lucie ; Fuchs, Roman (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Birds from the family Corvidae are considered to be intelligent birds. Many species from this family are subjects of experiments that study their cognitive abilities. This thesis was focused on gathering and evaluating of comparative studies about interspecies differences in the cognitive abilities of two or more species. A part of the thesis was also dedicated to interspecies differences in cognitive abilities in corvids and other animal species. Result is that there are interspecies differences in cognitive abilities of corvids. These differences are cause mostly by their feeding ekology and the sociality of the specie. The success rate of different species can change depending on the experiment. Key words: Corvidae, corvids, cognitive abilities, interspecific comparison, comparative approach
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The occurrence and the function of eyespots in the vertebrate colouration
Helebrant, Václav ; Fuchs, Roman (advisor) ; Pipek, Pavel (referee)
Eyespots are a striking feature in the colouration of many animals. These are spots of a circular shape, which in their external appearance subjectively resemble the eyes of vertebrates. In invertebrates, they are found in insects, crustaceans and molluscs, while they are most widespread in butterflies. Within vertebrates, eyespots are most common in fish. Among amphibians, they are found in frogs, but their occurrence has not yet been mapped in detail. Eyespots occur rather rarely in reptiles and birds, and only remotely similar patterns can be found in mammals. Current research on the function of eyespots more or less reliably demonstrates that they play an important role in defense against predators or in communication within intraspecific interactions. The eyespots can fulfill the anti-predation function in two ways. According to the intimidation hypothesis, eyespots serve to prevent a predator from attacking. However, it is not yet entirely clear whether the spots frighten predators because of their similarity to the eyes of dangerous animals, or whether predators avoid the spots because of their conspicuousness and contrast with the surroundings. According to the deflection hypothesis, eyespots attract predators, but they direct the attack away from vital parts of the prey's body. In...
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The effect of tactile and acoustic signals on reduction of signs of stress in dogs
Murínová, Karolína ; Santariová, Milena (advisor) ; Fuchs, Roman (referee)
Being touched by the human brings up physiological and behavioral feedback in the dog which indicates touch has a calming effect. Measurements taken include noticable changes in blood pressure, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as well as hormonal changes - especially oxytoxin and cortisol levels. The primary objective of the fieldwork was analyzing the influence human touch has on the stressed dog and trying to bring its stress levels down using voice stimulation and a combination of voice and tactile stimuli. The dog was put into an empty room, causing elevated stress levels. After a fixed period of time the dog's owner would enter and try to calm the dog down using afromentioned treatments. The owner would then sit down on a chair and pay no more attention to the dog. The relaxing effect is being evaluated using two cardiovascular parameters, HR and HRV, and behavioural signaling. Measurements of each of the sessions are being taken three times when the dog is not moving. Phase 1 is when the dog is alone in a room, Phase 2 is taken just after the interaction with its owner has ended and Phase 3 at the end of the experiment when the dog's stress level is still. The results showed that, instead of the expected calming effect of social interaction with the owner, the effect was...
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The occurrence and the function of aggressive mimicry in the vertebrates
Sommerová, Tereza ; Fuchs, Roman (advisor) ; Pipek, Pavel (referee)
Aggressive mimicry is used by a predator or parasite to deceive a potential prey or host. This bachelor thesis briefly summarizes other similar definitions of this phenomenon a then focuses on the species,especially vertebrates, that are included under this category. The use of the aggressive mimicry by fish of the families Blenniidae, Serranidae, Antennariidae, Labridae a snakes of the families Viperidae, Elapidae a Colubridae is described in more detail. Key worlds: aggressive mimicry, Peckhamian mimicry, caudal luring, toe/pedal luring, lingual luring
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Responses of naive primates to snakes: experiments with selected species kept in Prague zoo
Kutinová, Lucie ; Frynta, Daniel (advisor) ; Fuchs, Roman (referee)
In the wild, snakes are known to elicit strong antipredator responses in primates. Primates often mob the snakes, which is also accompanied by loud calls. In evolution, the deadly threat posed by snakes goes as far as to the origin of placental mammals. In this study, the reactions of naïve individuals to snakes were tested. Naïve pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina) and mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) avoided the snake stimulus. For the macaques there was a longer latency to touch the rubber snake compared to the latency to touch the rubber lizard. The mouse lemurs avoided feeding on the side of experimental box where the snake odor was presented. The reactions of macaques and mouse lemurs were not accompanied by vocalizations and they seemed to be overall mild. Nevertheless, the snake stimuli used here were strong enough for these naïve primates. For ringtail lemurs (Lemur catta), the reactions to uncovering a hidden rubber snake was tested. But the lemurs showed no avoiding reactions. A question for further research is whether the different results for lemurs were not caused by different experimental procedure. As well as in macaques and mouse lemurs, the reactions seemed to be very mild. But no deeper analysis of the behavior was performed. Thus, a reaction could have been overlooked, which...
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