A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Facing rising temperatures in urban environments: the role of phenological plasticity in an urban-dwelling passerine, Parus major
Authors: Cuchot, Paul; Thompson, Megan J.; Biard, Clotilde; Eens, Marcel; Eeva, Tapio; Gervais, Laura; Isaksson, Caroline; Senar, Juan Carlos; Teplitsky, Celine; Charmantier, Anne
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Article number: 20251883
Volume: 293
Issue: 2068
ISSN: 0962-8452
eISSN: 1471-2954
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1883
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1883
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/522879132
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
The capacity for birds to adjust their breeding time to variation in spring temperature via plasticity is crucial for insectivorous passerines in temperate areas, particularly in a context of climate disruptions. Recent studies suggested that phenological plasticity varies in response to environmental change via urbanization. We investigated the effects of urbanization on laying date, its phenotypic plasticity in response to spring temperature, and the between-individual variation in laying date, using data from five long-term studies of European great tits, Parus major, in forest and urban areas. First, we compared laying phenology and its plasticity in response to spring temperature between urban and forest populations. We confirmed that birds lay eggs earlier in urban environments in four populations and revealed reduced phenological plasticity in more urbanized environments in two populations. Additionally, we demonstrated greater between-individual variation in laying date in two urban areas. Second, we focused on urban populations only, and showed that the proportion of impervious surface area had little effect on the laying date. Overall, urbanization was associated with earlier breeding and less plasticity, although the strength of these associations varied among cities, likely owing to variation in the intensity of urbanization, landscape connectivity and habitat composition.
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Funding information in the publication:
We thank the OSU-OREME, the CNRS See-LIFE programme, Fondation BNP Paribas and the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project ACACIA grant ANR-22-CE02-0004-01) for funding and supporting this project. J.C.S. was supported by project CGL-2020 PID2020-114907GB-C21.