DBE - 'no alarms and no surprises'

Tomasz S. Osiejuk , Ph.D.
Professor, Head of Department

E-mail: osiejuk [at] amu.edu.pl or t.s.osiejuk [at] life.pl
Phone: +48 61 8295706

Collegium Biologicum, Room 2.50

Research interest

Evolution of acoustic communication in animals, trade offs between design and functions of acoustic signalls, organization of song variation in birds, conventional signalling.

Species of interest: buntings, especially Emberiza hortulana, E. citrinella, E. calandra; Corncrake Crex crex, treecreepers: Certhia brachydactyla, C. familiaris , Painted Redstart Myioborus pictus .

Current Projects

1. "Do corncrake males use conventional signalling during territorial contests?" (supported by the grant of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education no. N304 112 32/41103.

2. "Cheat neighbours and get a female: how age and quality of male affect strategy of acoustic communication in Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana (supported by grant MNiI no. 6P04C 083 25). - Project involves microphone array recording of males from long-term studied population in Norway. - Co-workers: prof. Svein Dale (Norwegian University of Life Sciences), prof. Sandra L. Vehrencamp (Bioacoustic Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, USA).

Short CV
Habilitation in biology - 2004;
Postdocs: Cornell Lab of Ornithology (prof. Sandra Vehrencamp),
Universite Paris Sud (prof. Thierry Aubin)
Ph.D. in ecology - 1998;
M.Sc. in biology - 1993;

Employment
1998- Adam Mickiewicz University (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor)
1993 - Lubusian Club of Naturalist (biologist)
1991-92 - Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ecology (biologist)

Teaching & faculty service
Lectures in: Bioacoustics - acoustic communication of animals, Ecology of individuals and population, Behavioural Ecology.
Head of Faculty of Biology Ph.D. Studies (2005-08).

Membership/Awards
Member of Association for the Study Animal Behaviour, American Ornithologists Union, Cooper Ornithological Society, Polish Zoological Society.
Member of Editorial Board of Acta Ornithologica, Communicative & Integrative Biology
Minister of National Education Award 1990, 1992
Foundation for the Polish Science Award for the Young Scientists (1999)
Foreign Scholarship of the Foundation for Polish Science (2004)
Member of European Ornithologists Union Council (2005-07)
Member of Polish Academy of Sciences: Committee of Theoretical and Evolutionary Biology (2007-09)
and Committee of Zoology (2007-09)

Journals for which I have acted as a referee
The Auk, Acta Ornithologica, Acta Theriologica, Animal Behaviour, Behavioural Ecology, Biological Journal of Linnean Society, Biological Letters, Ethology, Frontiers in Zoology, Journal of Avian Biology, Journal of Ethology, Ornis Fennica.

Selected publications

• Tao, J., Johnson, M.T., Osiejuk, T.S.2008. Acoustic model adaptation for ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana L.) song-type classification. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 123: 1582-1590.
• Petruskova, T., Osiejuk, T.S., Linhart, P., Petrusek, A. 2008. Structure and complexity of perched and flight songs of the tree pipit (Anthus trivialis). Annales Zoologici Fennici 45: 135-148.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Grzybek, J., Tryjanowski, P. 2007. Song structure and repertoire sharing of the Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris in Poland. Acta Ornithologica 42: 157-165.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Losak, K., Dale, S. 2007. Cautious response of inexperienced birds to conventional signal of stronger threat. Journal of Avian Biology 38: 644-649.
• Borowiec, M., Losak, K., Osiejuk, T.S., Halupka, K. 2007. Song repertoire is not affected by stress in adult male songbirds, the Whitethroat Sylvia communis. Behaviour 144: 879-887.
• Skierczynski, M., Czarnecka, K.M., Osiejuk, T.S. 2007. Neighbour-stranger song discrimination in territorial ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana males. Journal of Avian Biology 38: 415-420.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K., Dale, S. 2007. What makes a ‘local song’ in a population of ortolan buntings without common dialect? Animal Behaviour 74: 121-130.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K., Cygan, J.P. 2007. Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra) males respond differently to alternating and overlapping playback of song. Journal of Ethology 25: 159-168.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Kuczynski, L. 2007. Factors affecting flushing distance in incubating females of Grey-lag Goose (Anser anser). Wildlife Biology 13: 11-18.
• Dale, S., Steifetten, Ø., Osiejuk, T.S., Losak, K., Cygan, J.P. 2006. How do birds search for breeding areas at the landscape level? Interpatch movements of ortolan buntings. Ecography 29: 886-898.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratyñska, K., Cygan, J.P. & Dale, S. 2005. Frequency shift in homologue syllables of the Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana. Behavioural Processes 68: 69-83.
• Trawicki, M.B., Johnson, M.T. & Osiejuk T.S. 2005. Automatic song-type classification and speaker identification of Norwegian Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana) vocalizations. Machine Learning for Signal Processing, 2005 IEEE Workshop, art. no. 1532913, pp. 277-282. ISBN: 0-7803-9517-4.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K., Dale, S., Steifetten, Ø. & Cygan, J.P. 2004. Ortolan Buntings Emberiza hortulana mimicking other species and other dialects of own species. Ornis Norvegica 27: 73-79.
• Osiejuk, T.S. & Olech, B. 2004. Amplitude spectra of Corncrake calls: what do they signalise? Animal Biology 54: 207-220.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Olech, B., Ratynska, K., Owsinski, A. & Gromadzka-Ostrowska, J. 2004. Effects of season, plasma testosterone and body size on corncrake (Crex crex) call rhythm. Annales Zoologici Fennici 41: 647-659.
• Rutkowska-Guz, J. M. & Osiejuk, T.S. 2004. Song structure and variation in Yellowhammers Emberiza citrinella from western Poland. Polish Journal of Ecology 52: 327-339.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K., Cygan, J.P. 2004. Signal value of alternating and overlapping singing in Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella. Journal of Ethology 22: 55-61.
• Olinkiewicz, A., Osiejuk, T.S. 2003. Effect of season time and neighbours on singing activity in the Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra. Acta Ornithologica 38: 117-122.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K. 2003. Song repertoire and microgeographic variation in song types distribution in the Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra from Poland. Folia Zoologica 52: 275-286.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Kuczynski, L. 2003. Response to typical, shortened and mixed song variants in Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris). Biologia, Bratislava 58: 985-989.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K., Cygan, J.P., Dale, S. 2003. Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana singing like Yellowhammer E. citrinella. Ornis Fennica 80: 38-42.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Ratynska, K., Cygan, J.P., Dale, S. 2003. Song structure and repertoire variation in Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana L.) from isolated Norwegian population. Annales Zoologici Fennici 40: 3-16.
• Osiejuk, T.S. 2001. Repertoire and temporal organization of song bouts in the Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) from western Poland. In: Tryjanowski, P., Osiejuk, T.S., Kupczyk, M. (eds). Bunting Studies in Europe, Pp. 71-79.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Kuczynski, L. 2000. Mixed and atypical singers among treecreepers Certhia brachydactyla and C. familiaris: a review and preliminary data from western Poland. Biological Bulletin of Poznan 37: 83-94.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Kuczynski, L. 2000. Song functions and territoriality in Eurasian Treecreeper Certhia familiaris and Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla. Acta Ornithologica 35: 109-116.
• Osiejuk, T.S. 2000. Recognition of individuals by song, using cross-correlation of sonograms of Ortolan buntings Emberiza hortulana. Biological Bulletin of Poznan 37: 96-106.
• Kuczynski, L., Osiejuk, T.S., & Tryjanowski, P. 2000. Bird-habitat relationships on wet meadows in the S³oñsk nature reserve, W Poland. Biological Bulletin of Poznan 37: 5-15.
• Tryjanowski, P., Osiejuk, T.S. 2000. Female song in birds: moving from a temperate zone bias towards a unisexual theory of song. Biological Bulletin of Poznan 37: 59-67.
• Osiejuk, T.S., Kuczynski, L., Jermaczek, A., & Tryjanowski, P. 1999. The effect of water condtition on breeding bird communities of pastures, meadows, and shrub habitats in the S³oñsk reserve, NW Poland. Biologia, Bratislava 54: 207-214.
• Osiejuk, T.S. 1998. Study on the intersexual differentiation of foraging niche in relation to abundance of winter food in Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major. Acta Ornithologica 33: 135-141.
• Osiejuk, T.S. 1998. Correlates of creeping speed in treecreepers. Condor 100: 174-177.
• Osiejuk, T.S. 1996. Locomotion patterns in wintering bark-foraging birds. Ornis Fennica 73: 157-167.
• Osiejuk, T.S. 1994. Sexual dimorphism in foraging behaviour of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) during winters with rich crops of Scotch pine cones. Ornis Fennica 71: 144-150.