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Goldcrest Was Associated With Conifer-Dominated Forest Sites Around Jena

Female goldcrest perched on a branch
Research · Ecology

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) was among the species associated with the conifer-dominated end of a forest gradient in a year-round acoustic study around Jena, Germany. The study, available online on 28 February 2026, used automated sound recorders to compare bird communities from deciduous through mixed to coniferous stands in all four seasons.

Researchers monitored 20 forest sites for 30-day periods in winter, spring, summer and autumn 2024. AudioMoth recorders and BirdNET-assisted identification produced 11,080 species activity-days from 58 bird species; an activity-day means that a species was acoustically registered at a site on a given day. Goldcrest was one of the most frequently registered species, with 778 activity-days.

Forest Type Changed Community Composition, Not Overall Diversity

Bird diversity varied strongly with season, peaking in spring and summer and falling in autumn and winter. Forest type itself did not significantly affect overall species diversity. Instead, it changed community composition: bird communities differed clearly along the forest gradient in winter, spring and summer, while the forest-type effect was not significant in autumn.

In the full-year ordination, goldcrest, crested tit (Lophophanes cristatus) and Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus) were associated with the coniferous end of the gradient. The authors note, however, that no species emerged as a formal indicator of a particular forest type.

Season Had the Strongest Overall Effect

Across the full year, season had the strongest influence on the composition and diversity of the acoustic bird community, largely because migratory species entered and left the forests. The forest-type gradient nevertheless remained visible within seasons, indicating that tree composition continued to structure which species used the sites through much of the year.

Sources and image credit

  1. Felgentreff, E. S., Singer, D., & Bernhardt-Römermann, M. (2026). Forest type consistently shapes bird communities across seasons: Insights from passive acoustic monitoring. Forest Ecology and Management, 609, 123617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123617Primary peer-reviewed open-access study, available online 28 February 2026 under CC BY 4.0. Twenty forest sites around Jena were monitored in all four seasons of 2024; the analysis included 11,080 activity-days from 58 species, including 778 for goldcrest.

Image: Francis C. Franklin — female goldcrest photographed in Lancashire, United Kingdom, 1 March 2015; Wikimedia Commons. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Goldcrest Regulus regulus Explore species Crested Tit Lophophanes cristatus Explore species Eurasian Siskin Spinus spinus Explore species

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