Explaining variation between individuals is a central concept in ecology. Phenotypic variation is the product of genes, environments and their interactions. In contrast to genotypes which are fixed within individuals, environments vary considerably in time and space and have measurable effects on phenotypic quality between and within individuals. The aim of the current work was to identify environmental sources of life-history variation in a wild population of the great tit. The size of Thiessen polygons formed around c. 8000 nestboxes occupied over a 41 year period was used to estimate breeding density at the level of the individual. Linear mixed modelling showed that birds breeding in large territories laid more eggs and produced heavier fledglings that were more likely to survive to breed, than those in smaller territories. Systematic capping of territory sizes revealed that birds breeding in territories more than 2ha in size were unconstrained by density. This method of measuring individual density identified important relationships between density and life-histories and allowed for the accurate separation of other environmental effects usually confounded by density. For example, the life-histories and breeding density of woodland passerines often both vary with distance from the woodland edge. Using the Thiessen polygons to control for density we were able to independently examine edge effects on life-histories. Results confirmed higher density at edges and independently showed that birds near the woodland edge tended to lay smaller clutches of larger eggs later in the season, than birds away from the edge, probably due differences in habitat quality. A further use of Thiessen polygons was to determine the scale at which to measure oak availability in the vicinity of each occupied nestbox. Birds breeding in oak rich polygons laid larger clutches, earlier in the season and had heavier nestlings than birds in oak poor polygons, independently of density and edge effects. What's more, including oaks in life-history models, reduced or eliminated the effect of the Thiessen polygons, suggesting that density dependent life-histories are to some extent explained by reduced oak availability at high density. Clutch size, fledgling mass and recruitment were also found to correlate with local soil calcium. Analyses performed at several spatial scales found the greatest effect of calcium at scales of c.500m. This figure may indicate the average distance females were travelling to obtain calcium rich food during periods of high demands. That breeding environments strongly affect life-histories has been demonstrated by the above work. However, no correlations were found between natal environment and the subsequent life-histories of recruited individuals, probably due to high mortality in great tits, which favours current condition over any character that conveys benefits later in life. This result shows that long-term effects of rearing environments cannot be assumed as it depends on the life-history conditions under which they are found. The results of this study suggest a pervasive role of fine-scale environment variation in determining the life-histories of individual great tits. Moreover, the study demonstrates the efficacy of GIS to model such variation and applying it to explaining life-history variation in long-term databases.

The destruction of tropical forests is the most concerning current threat to biodiversity. Although protected areas have long been used as the primary tool for biodiversity conservation, there is an increasing need to find suitable conservation strategies for the growing area of human-modified land. This thesis addresses three themes that have been identified as the most pressing areas for research in human-modified landscapes: biodiversity conservation beyond protected areas, forest restoration, and the human–environment relationship. By studying the interactions between birds, plants, and people with isolated Ficus (Moraceae) trees in Assam, India, this thesis reports several important findings: 1) isolated Ficus trees are extraordinarily important to frugivorous bird communities that inhabit human-modified landscapes; 2) the frugivores visiting these isolated trees still sustained the majority of ecological function found in trees close to the forest edge; 3) isolated Ficus trees are also exceptionally important feeding sites for insectivorous birds in human-modified landscapes, compared to other trees; 4) Ficus trees are better restoration nuclei than other isolated trees; 5) although the sacred status of Ficus trees in Assam has a major influence on their abundance and distribution, faith-based values are insufficient in ensuring their conservation. In conclusion, this thesis finds that isolated Ficus trees are critically important micro-sites for conservation in human-modified landscapes, the loss of which may lead to avifaunal collapse and a reduction in restoration potential. However, by stressing their ecological and cultural properties, it may be possible to build a strong case for the conservation of isolated Ficus trees in Assam and elsewhere.

For migrant birds, the non-breeding season can greatly influence survival and future reproductive success. Knowledge of annual and overwinter survival, the degree of site fidelity and habitat use in the non-breeding season, migration ecology, routes and stopovers, and whether these differ with age or sex is fundamental to understanding population dynamics, vulnerability to anthropogenic habitat degradation, and consequently for understanding the severe widespread declines of migrant bird species. The degree to which a migrant is a winter specialist or generalist is likely to be central to understanding population dynamics. I studied survival rates and the wintering and migration ecology of a declining Palearctic migrant, the whinchat Saxicola rubetra, wintering in West Africa, to establish how the non-breeding season may influence migrant population dynamics. Whinchats were extremely site faithful to both within and between years, holding distinct winter territories and returning to those territories in subsequent winters, despite the opportunity to relocate. Overwinter survival was very high and annual survival was comparable to or higher than that reported on the breeding grounds. Because our power to detect resident and dispersing birds was high, survival rates likely estimated true survival well. Habitat characteristics varied widely across territories and territories were smaller if more perching shrubs and maize were present. Most individuals showed a tolerance or even preference for human modified habitats. Some individuals may have multiple wintering sites. There was no evidence of dominance-based habitat occupancy or any differences in winter ecology, site fidelity, survival and most aspects of migratory behaviour between age and sex classes. Migratory connectivity occurred only on a large-scale and individual migratory behaviour was also varied. Fundamentally, the results suggest a generalist strategy in the non-breeding season within their wintering habitat of open savannah, most likely as an adaption to stochastic site selection within the wintering range for juveniles undertaking their first migration plus changing and unpredictable conditions both within and between years. Consequently, wintering conditions may not significantly limit whinchat populations and mortality is probably highest during active migration. Notably, non-specialist migrants such as whinchats may have some resilience at the population-level to the increasing anthropogenic habitat modification occurring in Africa, suggesting that conditions during migration and in Europe may be driving declines; yet establishing the currently unknown thresholds of any resilience is likely to be fundamental for the future conservation migrants.