Category Archives: Uncategorized

One cardinal function of the avian uropygial gland and its oily secretions is protection against micro-organisms that may harm the feathers or developing embryos of the hosts. We studied this hypothesis by the phylogenetic comparative approach across 132 European bird … Continue reading →

In a study we aimed at investigating some physiological correlates of problem-solving success in a wild bird species to shed light on possible mechanisms and innate qualities that enable the animals to cope with new challenges or inventing new solutions … Continue reading →

One new article signed by one of the group members, Orsolya Vincze, got published. Orsolya and her collaborators analysed a large dataset about parental care in several Kentish and snowy plover populations to distinguish whether this complex social behaviour is … Continue reading →

Today, 12th February 2013, is the 204th anniversary of Charles Robert Darwin’s birth. Check out the website of International Darwin Day Foundation.

Our manuscript dealing with the physiological and morphological underpinnings of predator escape behaviour by prey and submitted in Journal of Evolutionary Biology was accepted for publication. Morphology – wing area and aspect ratio; physiology – haematocrit. Authors marked with bold … Continue reading →

All the 3 in press papers of our group are now accessible as online early (see the links below). Pap PL, Costică A, Vágási CI, Benkő Z and Vincze O 2013. Sex ratio and sexual dimorphism of three lice species … Continue reading →

In an attempt to integrate behaviour, morphology and physiology in an evolutionary context, we (Møller et al.) conducted a phylogenetic comparative analysis using 63 species of European birds. Specifically, we sought for morphological (wing area, aspect ratio – determinants of … Continue reading →

This post provides an abstract of what we achieved in 2012 both within and out of the scope of our running CNCSIS grant (#TE 291/2010). The year 2012 was quite good compared to our Evolutionary Ecology Group’s balance in previous … Continue reading →

Our manuscript on the in vivo effect of preen gland on feather-degrading and other cultivable bacteria loads was accepted for publication in Naturwissenschaften. Authors marked with boldface are supported by a CNCSIS grant (PN II. RU TE 291/2010). Czirják GÁ, … Continue reading →

We conducted a short experiment a couple of years ago to test the assertion that avian uropygial gland secretions are spread onto the plumage during the act of preening at least in part to keep feather-degrading bacteria within bounds. However, … Continue reading →