In Wytham Forest, UK, the great tits – scientifically called Parus major – lay a month early. In any case, this is what the longest study in the world of an individually labeled animal population.
Wytham’s Great Dit study is a great help to understand the effects of climate change on birds: “Having visited it several times, I know how much this work, and others like it, have been fundamentals for our understanding of the impacts of climate change on the natural world“, explains David Attenborough, naturalist.
Great Tit – Parus major – Great Tit
Good week ! / Nice new week to all! #spring #SpringTime pic.twitter.com/AcH3YWZKaE— Philippe Avenel (@Zagatoppe) April 11, 2017
Biologists had begun to examine these birds of the Oxfordshire forest, from the spring 1947. This forest, located west of Oxford, has become a real “living laboratory” as biologists call it. It was the start of a 75 year relationship between tits and several generations of scientists.
This bird species is a real source of information because not afraid of man, she is not worried about the presence of biologists. The latter can thus mark the chicks thanks to rings on the legs for study throughout their lives.
The tits invest quickly the nesting boxes placed by the researchers, reproduce easily and stray little from the place where they were born.
the April 27, 1947researchers from the University of Oxford attended the laying of the first eggs great tits of this iconic wytham forest. While in 2022, the first spawning of the year took place on March 28, a month earlier than 75 years ago.
“This change is a clear signal effects of climate change on one of our forest and garden birds the most familiar. It is studies of this type that allow us to determine the consequences changes and what they could be in the future“says Professor Ben Sheldon, who now leads the Great Tit study.
Happy Birthday everyone! In the winter of 1946/47 John Gibb and David Lack put up 100 nest boxes in Marley Wood within @WythamWoods. The first egg laid by a Great Tit in the spring of 1947 was on the 27th April 75 years ago today. #WythamTits75 pic.twitter.com/K4C6tHMar8
— Wytham Tit Study (@WythamTits) April 27, 2022
The early egg laying tits settled down little by little over the years and is influenced by several factors : the climate, weathersocial interactions, as well as health and the behavior of nearby trees.
According to scientists, the species adapts to its diet. Because the caterpillars they feed on appear earlier in the springbecause the leaves they eat arrive themselves earlier and earlier each year.
In 75 years of observationthe researchers succeeded in accumulating more than 1,200 nesting boxes fixed location in Wytham Forest. Now scientists can rely on new technologies such as electronic tags, remote sensingcameras, and even genetic testing to study the genome of the species and understand their evolution.
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