Winter ecology, phenotypic variation and plasticity in Tawny Owl Strix aluco (supervisor dr. Rimgaudas Treinys)
Anthropogenic activities induced global and local changes drives ecosystems. Individuals of resident species, which spends the complete annual cycle in the same ecosystem, are affected by the different driving factors simultaneously. Phenotypic plasticity is a mechanism providing opportunity for the species to cope with environmental changes. Therefore, research of resident organism allows to study responses and adaptation mechanism to rapid changes in environments inhabited by the species.
Tawny Owl (Strigiformes, Strix aluco) – is a resident and territorial species for which characteristic colour polymorphism. This species is a suitable to study phenotypic plasticity because of life-history traits. Despite that different aspects of Tawny Owl ecology and demography were widely covered, however, previous studies were mainly focused on different patterns or responses during the breeding season, which covers only part of annual cycle. Research outside breeding season were mainly restricted by the lack of suitable methods resulting in limited understanding even of mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity described previously.
The aims of this PhD topic are mainly related to development of conventional and telemetry methods suitable for research of Tawny Owl during autumn and winter seasons, various aspects of ecology outside the breeding season, pair formation and break-up, phenotypic diversity and spatial distribution, spatial and temporal phenotypic changes, and consequences to population demography.