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Resum
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.
Citació
Proceedings of the Royal Society B, núm. 293: 20251883 (2026)
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© 2026 The Authors,CC-BY