Interactions between avian hosts and brood parasites can provide a model for how animals adapt to a changing world. Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) hosts employ costly defenses to combat parasitism by common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). During the past three decades cuckoos have declined markedly across England, reducing parasitism at our study site (Wicken Fen) from 24% of reed warbler ne...

The evolution of brood parasitism has long attracted considerable attention among behavioural ecologists, especially in the common cuckoo system. Common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) are obligatory brood parasites, laying eggs in nests of passerines and specializing on specific host species. Specialized races of cuckoos are genetically distinct. Often in a given area, cuckoos encounter multiple hos...

We monitored the breeding success of the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in four reed habitats (e. g. clay pits, marsh and fishponds, small canals and large canals) in northwestern Vojvodina (Serbia) between 2009 and 2011 (three breeding seasons). A total of 596 Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) nests were found and monitored. The overall parasitism rate for the study area was 0.12...

An invasion of Roseau cane scale, Nipponaclerda biwakoensis, native to East Asia, is associated with recent widespread dieback common reed stands in the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana. A previous study suggested that, its range, combined mortality from Common Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus and parasitoid wasps may control abundance scale. However, there limited knowledge about which othe...

Reed beds are the second largest producer of biomass in Olkiluoto Island. Quantitative information on the extent and amount of reed stands is an integral part of the biosphere assessment related to long-term safety analysis of nuclear fuel repository site currently under construction. The major challenge in reed bed mapping is discrimination between reed and other green vegetation. Spectral fie...

Background: This study assessed the removal of organic material and nutrients from full-scale subsurface flow (SSF) constructed wetlands (CWs) followed by anaerobic stabilization ponds under environmental conditions. Methods: The effluents were distributed evenly in 12 reed beds. Samples were taken twice monthly for a total of 6 months from several points in the wetland. Biochemical oxygen dema...