Javier Quesada

Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona · Vertebrates

Behavioral adjustments are at the forefront of the mechanisms that birds employ to deal with environmental changes. We here review the literature focused on how behavior influences bird responses when faced with the challenges of urbanization in Latin America. Most of reviewed studies assessed for patterns of responses to urbanization with incipien...

Specimens from zoological collections play a pivotal role in improving scientific knowledge in many natural science disciplines. To guarantee an optimum state of conservation and ensure their usefulness, the preparation process employed is crucial. Skins and skeletons are key elements in vertebrate scientific collections and, ideally, are prepared...

Behavior provides a useful framework for understanding specialization, with animal personality aiding our understanding of the invasiveness of birds. Invasions imply dispersion into unknown areas and could require changes in behavior or spatial clustering based on personality. Reduced neophobia and increased exploring behavior could allow individua...

Urbanization represents a multi-dimensional ecological ‘filter’ for birds determined by a myriad of variables that can change over time. Birds colonising an urban system or staying in a habitat that has been recently urbanised need to overcome both the extrinsic (e.g. food predictability, human activities, and inter-specific interaction) and intrin...

Animals use colours, morphological structures and behaviour to advertise their dominance status and ability to obtain resources (Resource Holding Potential, RHP) in agonistic contexts with conspecifics. Dominance relationships are also known between species, although the interactions and the information used to assess the other species' RHP remain...

Natural history collections preserve invaluable taxidermy specimens, which are prone to light-induced degradation, compromising their historical and educational significance. Restoration of these specimens to their original appearance through chromatic reintegration is imperative. The principle of reversibility mandates interventions that are modif...

ETH_23-0150 R1 Quesada et al_Interspp tits Ethol_data

Bird feathers have been widely used as environmental indicators, providing key information on environmental pollution. However, there is little available information on the adsorption of natural radioactivity in bird feathers and consequently, its impact on the field of movement ecology is not yet known. This study investigates the concentration an...

Sequence and intensity are two essential components of bird moult. While the moult sequences of remex tracts are highly homogenous across passerines, other tracts apparently show a high variability. Moreover, order of moult activation among tracts are insufficiently known. Likewise, dynamics of moult intensity as moult progresses remains poorly kno...

A recurrent behavioral trait model to study adaptation to urban environments is the flight initiation distance (FID), measured as the distance at which animals flee from an approaching threat. It has previously been shown that urban birds display shorter FID than their non-urban (rural) counterparts. However, discerning whether this is the result o...

Many bird species with behavioural plasticity innovate when searching for alternative trophic resources, mainly during periods of energetic constraints, when colonizing new habitats, or during the breeding season when the demand for protein is higher. For example, the consumption of meat by non-carnivorous bird species has been anecdotally document...

When a zoological collection is fully cataloged, the next step is qualitative documentation. This involves reviewing basic biological aspects such as sex and age, but primarily focuses on where and when the animal was collected. This step is particularly important for ancient specimens with incomplete associated information—a process known as the r...

Studies on plumage colouration are valuable in fields such as systematics, behavioural biology, and evolutionary biology, which have frequently sought access to bird skins collections. Thus, in the context of zoological preparation, it is important to use skin preparation methods that do not significantly affect plumage colour. Research on zoologic...

Marginal coverts are often neglected in passerine moult studies due to their small size and large number. Here, we document eight moult components of this group of wing coverts in a House Sparrow population from Barcelona in 2018–21: timing, growth rate, intensity, speed, duration, sequence, extent and barb density. We also tested the influence of...

Extra moult episodes in wild passerines have rarely if ever been documented. Here, we report a case of a possible extra moult episode in a House Sparrow Passer domesticus, a species with just one moult per annual cycle. This bird was captured in active and intense plumage growth in Barcelona on 15 February 2021, c. five months after it had been rin...

The methods used to preserve bird skins in museums have a potentially crucial impact on the feasibility and use of these specimens as a source of biological knowledge, although this subject is rarely broached. Study skins of birds are usually prepared with folded wings and straight legs to facilitate storage in the collection; yet, this method can...

A pesar de ser objeto de varios proyectos de conservación, gran parte de la biología y fisiología del amenazado tritón del Montseny (Calotriton arnoldi) es aún desconocida. Este estudio compara la velocidad de regeneración de extremidades accidentalmente amputadas en juveniles y adultos. Medimos las longitudes de las extremidades y el cuerpo de tri...

Biological invasions are the second most important cause of species extinction. Aided by processes such as transportation and urbanization, exotic species can establish and spread to new locations, causing changes in the function and structure of ecosystems. The House Sparrow is a widespread and highly abundant landbird associated to human presence...

Behavioral plasticity can drive feeding innovations, a frequent trait of urban exploiter species. The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a widespread and abundant urban dweller whose success has often been related to its dietary breadth. Although both formal and informal sources (e.g., internet videos, news, and blogs) have shown meat scavenging...

The House Sparrow Passer domesticus, closely associated with human presence along urban–agricultural landscapes and widely distributed outside its native range, has shown great morphological and physiological variations, with its plasticity linked to its invasiveness. Yet, there is a dearth of knowledge on the escape behavior of this sparrow along...

Research in zoological preparation focuses on all those aspects aimed at improving protocols, and therefore requires knowledge regarding the impact of different preparation techniques on the quality of the specimen. The scientific value of the collections is intimacely related to the study in various fields of biological sciences. An example is the...

Los ejemplares que conforman las colecciones zoológicas están sometidos a múltiples riesgos de degradación, entre los cuales cabe destacar los asociados a la falta de control lumínico cuando se encuentran en las exposiciones durante mucho tiempo (p.ej. años). Una de las patologías derivadas de este fenómeno es la decoloración de los materiales orgá...

Resum A l'antic abocador de la vall de Joan (Gavà, Barcelona) i davant la imminent restauració de la segona fase (zona de pastura) similar a la feta el 2001 (zona aforestada), es van analitzar la riquesa d'aus i valor de conservació ICUTS de les dues zones per tal d'ajudar en la presa de decisions. Es van recollir dades d'aquestes dues variables du...

A Catalunya, els antics abocadors no controlats dels anys 70 estan en procés de gestió i restauració per la seva futura naturalització i integració paisatgística. Un exemple és el cas de l'antic abocador del Garraf (Barcelona), a l’entorn del Parc del Garraf. El 2001 es va fer una restauració parcial d'una part de l'abocador, generant una zona fore...

Los paisajes que se generan por actividades humanas pueden ser diversos y complejos, o extremadamente simplificados. Las aves responden rápidamente a cambios en la estructura, tamaño y conformación de los parches de hábitats donde están presentes, por lo que, pueden funcionar como importantes bioindicadores. En este capítulo se muestran los resulta...

The role of badges as indicators of contest ability has been previously described. In hummingbirds, the exhibition of a badge is expected to save energy expenditure in agonistic interactions and to favor energy intake. Here, we investigate whether variable supercilium size in the white-eared hummingbird has a role in dominance status signaling. Fir...

Interspecific interactions between invasive and native fauna are poorly studied. Here we report six fatal attacks by Rose-ringed Parakeets Psittacula krameri, one of the most successful invasive avian species in Europe, on House Sparrows Passer domesticus and Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Sparrows and tits were attac...

One of the most successful avian urban invaders is the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Here, we examine House Sparrow numbers in the urban-agricultural landscape of three cities, one where the sparrow is native (Barcelona) and two where it is nonnative (Los Angeles, Mexico City), comparing between five different land classes based on land-use, l...

Bird skins are traditionally prepared with folded wings, but reviewing some features of this material such as plumage details, and biometric measurement can be difficult when folded. To facilitate the research consultation new designs have been proposed as splitting wings and tarsus from the rest of the animal or opening a single wing. However, the...

Building and maintaining an urban green infrastructure, which can be understood as a network of urban parks, private gardens or forest areas, can potentially contribute to reverse the trend of biodiversity loss. In this context, developing indicators of the changes produced by green infrastructures on urban biodiversity represents a task of particu...

One of the most prolific and successful introduced bird species in the world is the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). There have been no studies to date that directly compare HOSP success among different habitat typologies in both their native and non-native distributions. Here, we estimated HOSP densities at five different typologies in the urban...

The use of 3D models is becoming commonplace in both scientific investigation and in more general educational activities; nevertheless, methodologies and their associated software are both relatively expensive to use. As well, measurements of 3D models must be comparable to that of originals if they are to be used in scientific research. The aim of...

The ability to accurately measure a wide range of environmental traits can be crucial to understanding the role any specific trait plays in affecting the ecology and evolution of organisms. However, in-field surveys, regardless of the discipline, entail substantial amounts of time and money and also concerns about safety and accessibility. Google S...

El método más usado hasta ahora para determinar la edad de los mamíferos es a través de su dentición, especificando el grado de erupción y desgaste de las diferentes piezas dentales. En este trabajo se valora otra metodología para determinar la edad. Se ha estudiado el esqueleto post-craneal de los erizos (Erinaceus europaeus). A través de su esque...

In Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean Basin, the abandonment of traditional land-use practices has been reported as one of the main causes of decline for open-habitat species. Data from large-scale bird and butterfly monitoring schemes in the north-east Iberian Peninsula were used to evaluate the impact that land abandonment has had on l...

Study on capture of Finches used for song competition, a traditional activity not properly evaluated yet. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron 1) Identificar los impactos de la captura de fringílidos (Carduelis carduelis, C. chloris, C. cannabina y Fringilla coelebs) sobre las poblaciones naturales en Cataluña 2) Determinar el límite máximo sosten...

Los atributos ambientales del paisaje urbano son importantes para explicar muchos procesos ecológicos de aves en la ciudad. Estos datos se toman normalmente presencialmente (“In situ”) aunque a veces puede ser costoso o incluso peligroso. Así, la captura de datos a través de detección remota puede ser una alternativa adecuada, como por ejemplo Goog...

A standard approach to model how selection shapes phenotypic traits is the analysis of capture-recapture data relating trait variation to survival. Divergent selection, however, has never been analyzed by the capture-recapture approach. Most reported examples of differences between urban and nonurban animals reflect behavioral plasticity rather tha...

File S1 Supporting information file including Text S1, Tables S1–S4, and Figure S1. Text S1. Description of the sampling methods. Table S1. Basic data of the 15 sampled plots and abundances of animal species: burnt logging (L1 to L5), burnt subsoiling (S1 to S5) and unburnt (U1 to U5); Data: species included (Y) and excluded (N) in statistical anal...

Fire is a major agent involved in landscape transformation and an indirect cause of changes in species composition. Responses to fire may vary greatly depending on life histories and functional traits of species. We have examined the taxonomic and functional responses to fire of eight taxonomic animal groups displaying a gradient of dietary and mob...

En la colección zoológica del Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB) ingresan anualmente nuevos ejemplares. La colección es muy voluminosa, centenares de miles de especímenes antiguos aguardan para ser registrados. El volumen ingente de inventariado pendiente, propició que se tomaran dos decisiones importantes que modifican el sistema de do...

Although plumage coloration has been widely used as a model in studies of the evolution of signaling, the role of plumage in intrasexual communication has been less studied, especially in cases of the structural plumage color. The aim of our study was to use choice trials and plumage manipulation to test whether or not the structural blue color of...

Los especímenes animales que forman parte de las colecciones zoológicas, una vez preparados, deben perpetuarse en el tiempo por lo que el proceso de preparación de éstos ejemplares es un paso fundamental para asegurar su mantenimiento en un estado óptimo a largo plazo. Las pieles de animales (pieles de estudio o taxidermias) son un elemento clave e...

L'objectiu d'aquest projecte és determinar la distribució de les espècies d’ocells exòtics al Parc de la Serralada Litoral i rodalies. De les 81 espècies detectades. només se'n van trobar quatre d’exòtiques. Cap espècie exòtica es va trobar dins del parc, però sí a la zona perifèrica. Les especies exòtiques trobades van ser el rossinyol del Japó, e...

El estudio pretende evaluar la capacidad bioindicadora del Martín pescador (Alcedo atthis) como indicador de metales pesados. Se analizó la concentración de metales y la coloración de plumas del obispillo y la cola de ejemplares capturados en el río Tordera y otros ríos de Cataluña. Se analizó la colorimetría con un espectrofotómetro y el contenido...

In this study we measured two physiological traits (levels of corticosterone and immunoglobulin) in two species of landbirds, the Canyon Towhee (Melozone fusca) and Inca Dove (Columbina inca), occupying three degrees of human alteration of a subtropical mountain landscape: forest edges, croplands, and urban sites. we found that both physiological v...

The objective was to establish a monitoring scheme to measure T and RH in the storerooms at the NAT in order to follow the evolution of these parameters over time, from 2005 to 2010. We analyzed averages, maximum and minimum, the daily, monthly and yearly fluctuations, and the effect of isolation. Results showed that the ranges of variation of T, b...

The aim of this study was (i) to evaluate which variables determine the disappearance of paint marks on chicks of the Great Tit Parus major, (ii) to provide a predictive tool for designing marking experiments and (iii) to assess the negative consequences of such techniques on the nestlings of similar-size passerines. We marked the toenails, tarsi a...

Bird monitoring projects have provided valuable data for developing biological indicators to evaluate the state of natural and agricultural habitats. However, fewer advances have been made in urban environments. In this study we used bird monitoring data from 2002 to 2012 in two cities with different climates (Brussels and Barcelona), to generate t...

The diet of the Great Tit Parus major when rearing chicks has been described in many studies. However, data from the Mediterranean area is scarce. Here we describe the diet of nestlings in a population of Great Tits in a Mediterranean forest in Barcelona (north–east Spain) during two breeding seasons using two methods: neck–collars and video record...

Yellow, red or orange carotenoid-based colorations in male birds are often a signal to prospecting females about body condition, health status and ability to find food. However, this general 'ability to find food' has never been defined. Here we show that more brightly ornamented individuals may also be more efficient when foraging in novel situati...

.—Observer error associated with band allocation is negligible in large scale bird moni-toring schemes, but how precise is the use of bands at all?. This study assesses the observer error of the Catalan Common Bird Survey (SOCC), a bird monitoring programme based on line transects. Specifically, it studies the error associated with assigning every...

Adult birds usually display brighter plumage coloration than younger individuals. This difference may be either due to selection against less coloured yearlings or to an increase in coloration after their first complete moult. In this study, we examined age-related differences in carotenoid-based yellow ventral coloration of Great Tits (Parus major...

Ecological studies focused on small–scale habitat alterations have found positive, null, and negative effects on biodiversity. In this study, we describe the effects that establishing a relatively small area of garden allotments had on bird communities. To assess such effects, we analyzed avian community diversity (i.e., species richness and abunda...

Capsule Following recent introduction in Spain, Red‐billed Leiothrix have the potential to attain a wide distribution in Catalonia and probably in other parts of Europe.Aim To investigate past, present and potential distribution of this exotic species in Catalonia (northeast Iberian Peninsula).Methods We collected data on the species’ occurrence ov...

Adult birds usually display brighter plumage coloration than younger individuals. This difference may be either due to selection against less coloured yearlings or to an increase in coloration after their first complete moult. In this study, we examined age-related differences in carotenoid-based yellow ventral coloration of Great Tits Parus major....

In this study we developed a simple quantitative method to assist in the decision making process of the landscape planning by integrating information of species occurrence and their individual IUCN extinction risks. We applied this method in Catalonia (north-east Iberian Peninsula) using bird atlas data to create an Index of Cumulative Threat Statu...

Sex is a fundamental parameter in many studies of bird populations based on ringing data. More than 50% of the passerine species occurring in the Western Palearctic are monochromatic and are not regularly sexed when captured for ringing. We present here discriminant functions for determining the sex of 25 passerine species that breed in Cataloni...

La verificación de hipótesis requiere un planteamiento previo sobre diversas cuestiones, entre las que el tamaño de muestra a analizar y la fiabilidad de los resultados obtenidos son aspectos fundamentales. La potencia de una prueba estadística permite determinar la fiabilidad de dichas pruebas así como el tamaño muestral necesario para abordar el...

A current hot topic in the study of plumage coloration refers to whether melanin- and carotenoid-based plumage traits differ in the factors which determine ornament expression. However, approaches and results are mixed and controversial. The present study aims to apply a cross-fostering experiment in the great tit (Parus major) to compare melanin-...

Invasive exotic species pose an important threat to biodiversity worldwide. However, there is little information on the effects that specific exotic bird species have on native biota. The House Sparrow is an excellent ecological model to evaluate the effect that an invasive exotic species has on native bird communities. Our study describes the rela...

After natural or man-induced disturbances, management practices are frequently applied to accelerate the recovery of ecosystems. A very particular case is the placing of nest-boxes in recently burnt forests in order to maintain or increase hole-nesting bird populations. However, the usefulness of this technique has to date never been fully evaluate...

Les alteracions en la coloració del plomatge de les aus, com l’albinisme o el melanisme, s’han citat extensament en literatura ornitològica. Algunes coloracions del plomatge són conseqüència de molècules de pigment emmagatzemades en les plomes: els carotenoids proporcionen les coloracions vermelles i grogues, i les melanines són responsables de les...

The first record of the Grey–crowned Yellowthroat (Geothlypis poliocephala) in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt biogeographic region (Mexico), within the Morelia city suburbs is presented. Sites were this parulid was sighted / captured were located 427 m higher than its described altitudinal range. This could be due to 2 factors: 1) urbanization gene...

The first record of the Grey-crowned Yellowthroat (Geothlypis poliocephala) in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt biogeographic region (Mexico), within the Morelia city suburbs is presented. Sites were this parulid was sighted / captured were located 427 m higher than its described altitudinal range. This could be due to 2 factors: 1) urbanization gene...

Carotenoid-based plumage coloration has been shown to be dependent both on pigment content and feather structure. Against this background, we predict a relationship between feather pigment content and plumage hue. Furthermore, given the susceptibility of chroma to developmental perturbation of feather structure, we predict body condition to be rela...

S’ha analitzat l’efecte del incendi forestal ocorregut a la franja oriental del Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt l’Obac l’agost de 2003 i els posteriors tractaments post-incendi sobre la vegetació i la fauna de la zona. Quatre anys després de l’incendi s’observa una simplificació en l’estructura de la vegetació amb pèrdua dels estrats arbori i...