MNCN

Research interests / Principales líneas de investigación

 

Nuestro objetivo es comprender las causas ecológicas y consecuencias evolutivas de las variaciones en las estrategias vitales. La mayoría de nuestro trabajo se basa en la recopilación de datos a nivel individual sobre la reproducción y supervivencia de dos especies de aves insectívoras nidícolas en el centro peninsular (Montes de Toledo), el Carbonero y Herrerillo comunes. La investigación busca comprender la dinámica del proceso evolutivo en respuesta a variaciones ambientales relevantes (por ejemplo, cambio climático, la pérdida y fragmentación del hábitat). Queremos comprender cómo la evolución ha dado lugar a fenotipos y rasgos de historia de vida en las aves, tratando de identificar las causas que modulan la eficacia biológica de los individuos y poblaciones en el medio natural.

 

Our aim is to understand the ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of variation in life history strategies. Majority of this work builds on our individual-based dataset on reproduction and survival in two insectivorous hole-nesting birds, the Great and Blue tits living in central Spain (Montes de Toledo). This research seeks to understand the dynamics of the evolutionary process in response to ecologically relevant environmental variation (climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation). We are interested in understanding how evolution has shaped phenotypic and life-history traits in birds, trying to identify the drivers of individual and population fitness in the wild.

Recent papers / Publicaciones recientes disponibles en Internet

 

 

 

2017

Serrano-Davies, E., Araya-Ajoy, Y.G., Dingemanse, N.J. and Sanz, J.J. (2017) Personality-related differences in response to habitat in Mediterranean blue tits. Ethology, 123: in press.

 

González-Braojos, S., Sanz, J.J. and Moreno, J. (2017) Decline of a montane Mediterranean Pie Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca population in relation to climate. Journal of Avian Biology, 48: in press.

 

Bueno-Enciso, J., Barrientos, R. and Sanz, J.J. (2017) Incubation behaviour of Blue Cyanistes caeruleus and Great Tits Parus major in a Mediterranean habitat. Acta Ornithologica, 52: 21-34.

 

Serrano-Davies, E. and Sanz, J.J. (2017) Habitat structure modulates nestling diet composition and fitness of Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus in the Mediterranean region. Bird Study, 64:295-305.

 

Bueno-Enciso, J., Barrientos, R., Ferrer, E.S. and Sanz, J.J. (2017) Do extended incubation recesses carry fitness costs in two cavity-nesting birds? Journal of Field Ornithology, 88: 146-155.

 

Serrano-Davies, E., Barrientos, R. and Sanz, J.J. (2017) The role of nest-box density and placement on occupation rates and breeding performance: a case study with Eurasian Blue Tits. Ornis Fennica, 94: 21-32.

 

2016

Barrientos, R., Bueno-Enciso, J. and Sanz, J.J. (2016) Hatching asynchrony vs. foraging efficiency: the response to food availability in specialist vs. generalist tit species. Scientific Reports, 6: 37750.

 

Ferrer, E.S., García-Navas, V., Sanz, J.J. & Ortego, J. (2016). The strength of the association between heterozygosity and probability of inter-annual local recruitment increases with environmental harshness in blue tits. Ecology and Evolution, 6: 8857-8869.

 

Bueno-Enciso, J., Ferrer, E.S., Barrientos, R. and Sanz, J.J. (2016) Habitat structure influences the song characteristics within a population of Great tits Parus major. Bird Study, 63: 359-368.

 

Bueno-Enciso, J., Ferrer, E.S., Barrientos, R. and Sanz, J.J. (2016) Effect of nestbox type on the breeding performance of two secondary hole-nesting passerines Parus major. Journal of Ornithology, 157: 759-772.

 

Bueno-Enciso, J., Ferrer, E.S., Barrientos, R., Serrano-Davies, E. and Sanz, J.J.(2016) Habitat fragmentation influences nestling growth in Mediterranean blue and great tits. Acta Oecologica, 70: 129-137.

 

Ferrer, E.S., García-Navas, V, Bueno-Enciso, J., Barrientos, R., Serrano-Davies, E., Cáliz-Campal, C., Sanz, J.J. and Ortego, J. (2016) The influence of landscape configuration and environment on population genetic structure in a sedentary passerine: insights from loci located in different genomic regions. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 29: 205-219.

 

2015

Bueno-Enciso, J., Núñez-Escribano, D. and Sanz, J.J. (2015) Cultural transmission and its possible effect on urban acoustic adaptation of the great tit Parus major. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 38: 221-231.

 

Barrientos, R., Bueno-Enciso, J., Serrano-Davies, E. and Sanz, J.J. (2015) Facultative interspecific brood parasitism in tits: a last resort to coping with nest-hole shortage. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 69: 1603-1615.  **Covered by New Scientist** 

García-Navas, V., Ferrer, E.S., Cáliz-Campal, C., Bueno-Enciso, J., Barrientos, R., Sanz, J.J. and Ortego, J. (2015) Spatiotemporal and genetic contingency of extrapair behaviour in a songbird. Animal Behaviour, 106: 157-169. 

Ferrer, E.S., García-Navas, V., Bueno-Enciso, J., Sanz, J.J. and Ortego, J. (2015) Multiple sexual ornaments signal heterozygosity in male blue tits. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 115: 362-375.

 

 

Scientific publications / Publicaciones científicas

 

 

Puedes encontrar todos los trabajos científicos en los siguientes links:

You can find all the scientific papers in the following links:

 

	@juanjosesanzcid

  

 

 

Current research projects / Proyectos vigentes

 

Título: Mecanismos de respuesta de las aves ante dos escenarios de cambio global: cambio climático y urbanización.

Mechanisms of response of birds to two scenarios of global change: climate change and urbanization.

 

Reference: CGL2016-79568-C3-1-P

Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigación Científica y Técnica de Excelencia

Research team: Juan José Sanz (IP) y Juan Carlos Senar

Global change is causing large negative impacts on biodiversity. Identifying and understanding proximate and ultimate causes of these impacts, and mitigate their effects, is a priority for current human societies. To understand the effects on the organisms we need to perform studies with a broad spatio-temporal scale, with a reasonable environmental variability, and including different parameters, which could potentially affect the adaptive capacity of the individuals.

Phenotypic differences within a species might be originated by genetic drift, by phenotypic plasticity, or by adaptive divergence (selection). For local adaptation to occur, some individuals should have fitness advantages. To demonstrate a process of adaptation in any scenario, and therefore in one of global change, would need knowledge on phenotypic variability, population genetic properties and dynamics, and characterization of the direction of the natural selection acting on these traits. An additional topic of recent interest is the role of habitat heterogeneity in promoting local adaptation at relatively short spatio-temporal scales. When selection gradient through alternate environments is strong enough to reduce the reproductive opportunities of immigrants, a local adaptation, which reduces genetic flow, might occur ("ecological speciation" or "isolation by adaptation"). Proximate mechanisms of this speciation type are largely unknown.

Our aim in the present project is studying the individual and population responses and consequences of different bird species in two global change scenarios: increasing urbanization and climate change. Our main targets are: (1) To identify local responses to global change; (2) Testing hypotheses on the existence of local adaptation processes based on phenotypic plasticity; and (3) Testing hypotheses on the existence of local adaptation processes based on microevolutionary changes ("contemporary evolution").

 

 

Título: Construcción del nido y comportamiento de incubación en aves trogloditas: mecanismos de respuesta ante cambios ambientales.

Nest building and incubation behaviour in hole nesting birds: mechanisms of response to environmental changes.

 

Reference: CGL2013-48001-C2-1-P

Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigación Científica y Técnica de Excelencia

Research team: Juan José Sanz (IP), Emilio Barba y Rafael Barrientos

Many studies in recent years have demostrated long-term temporal trends in biological parameters that can only be explained by climate change. In the Mediterranean region, trans-Saharan bird species tended to advance their spring arrival date while resident birds have not changed their breeding phenology. In the present project, we aim to analyze the incubation process of some resident bird species, which is a highly dependent phase on ambient temperature. This process includes both nest building behaviour as adults behaviour during the incubation of their eggs. Nest size and composition has an important role to ensure a good insulation environment to the eggs. We intend to study whether this process can, to a certain extent, be modified to advance or delay the hatching date to synchronize this date to the peak of food availability in temperate Mediterranean forests.

 

Título: Nidales como herramienta de conservación y seguimiento de poblaciones de pájaros forestales: investigación sobre comunidades orníticas en relación con posibles efectos del cambio global, de la altitud y de cambios en el manejo forestal en el “Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Guadarrama” a partir de su creación.

Nest-boxes as tool for conservation and monitoring of forest bird populations: research on avian communities in relation with possible effects of global change, altitude and changes in forest management in the Guadarrama National Park from its declaration.

 

Reference: SPIP-2014-01071

Programa de investigación científica en la Red de Parques Nacionales

Research team: Juan Moreno (IP), Santiago Merino, Juan José Sanz, Andrés Barbosa y Carlos Alonso-Álvarez

Los pájaros forestales pueden ser buenos indicadores de cambios en la gestión de áreas protegidas. Las especies trogloditas estrictamente forestales en especial se consideran indicadores de la presencia de arbolado con presencia de cavidades naturales y por tanto de cierta edad. Las especies insectívoras en especial también pueden revelar la densidad de insectos en áreas forestales. La utilización de nidales para nidificar y como dormidero invernal puede contribuir a mantener estas poblaciones en un estado favorable de conservación sin afectar negativamente a especies que no utilizan cavidades. Por otro lado el PN de Guadarrama ofrece la posibilidad de muestrear las mismas especies en el mismo tipo de hábitat (pinar de pino albar) a altitudes que van de 1300 a 1800 m lo que representa una ventana abierta a los impactos del cambio global en estas aves en relación con la altitud. Una predicción de los escenarios sobre cambio global en las próximas décadas es que ciertas aves de montaña van a aumentar sus densidades y su éxito reproductor a altitudes crecientes mientras van a perder presencia y abundancia a altitudes más bajas. También se pronostican aumentos en la abundancia de ciertos parásitos, especialmente parásitos sanguíneos. Estas predicciones podrían comprobarse mediante seguimiento a largo plazo de la evolución de sus poblaciones y de algunos parámetros fisiológicos relacionados con la infección parasitaria, la respuesta inmunitaria y el estrés oxidativo en poblaciones de las mismas especies a distintas altitudes en un mismo tipo de hábitat.