Ping Ye

Hainan Normal University · Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences

Human activities exert a variety of impacts on birds; some are negatively influenced by these activities, while others benefit from them. Here we studied the relationship between the nest site selection of two sympatric cavity-nesting birds, Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus and Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassinus and human houses, over thi...

As a text-book example of coevolution, the escalating interactions between egg mimicry by parasitic cuckoos and egg recognition by their hosts constitute a key battlefield for parasitism and anti-parasitism strategies. However, some parasite-host systems have deviated from this coevolutionary trajectory because some cuckoos do not lay mimetic eggs,...

In the co-evolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts, egg recognition based on color and/or pattern is a common and effective defense to counter parasitism. However, for egg recognition based on size, only a few studies have found affirmative results, and they do not provide unambiguous evidence that egg size recognitio...

In the co-evolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts, egg recognition based on color and/or pattern is a common and effective defense to counter parasitism. However, for egg recognition based on size, only a few studies have found affirmative results, and they do not provide unambiguous evidence that egg size recognitio...

Egg recognition and rejection is a common and effective anti-parasitism adaptation in bird hosts. Hosts reject alien eggs using recognition signals such as egg ground color and maculation. Green-backed tits ( Parus monticolus) have a highly developed capability for recognizing parasite eggs, but the cues used for egg recognition are unclear. We com...

Studies on breeding biology enable us to broaden our understanding of the evolution of life history strategies. We studied the breeding biology of the Green-backed Tit ( Parus monticolus ) to provide comprehensive data on nest and egg characteristics, parental behavior throughout egg laying and nestling periods, and reproductive outcome. Our study...

Egg rejection is one of the most effective defenses hosts have to avoid avian brood parasites by hosts, and reflects avian cognition during parasite-host coevolution. However, egg rejection varies with different populations and species, or under different contexts. Here we studied the egg recognition behavior in a non-parasitized population of the...

The incorporation of aromatic plants into nests by birds is suspected to constitute an example of preventative medicine use, whereby the phytochemical compounds within plants reduce infestation by parasites and increase offspring condition [1,2]. In China, russet sparrows (Passer cinnamomeus) incorporate wormwood (Artemisia verlotorum) leaves into...

Abstract Niche differentiation is a key concept in the field of ecology and refers to the process by which competing species within an ecological community partition utilization of environmental resources to achieve coexistence. The existence of niche differentiation is uniquely difficult to prove on account of the fact that historical interaction...