or glabrous canary seed which lacks the tiny hairs of the seed traditionally produced as food for caged birds.
Cities, farms reroute animals seeking cooler climesin spite of considerable human development the southeastern United states region could provide some of the Western hemisphere's more heavily used thoroughfares for mammals birds
The golden mouse ornate chorus frog and southern cricket frog--three of the species that will likely be on the move in southeastern U s.--were among the nearly 3000 mammals birds
and dragonflies and are important members of the food chain right up to fish and birds. Biological diversity in such aquatic environments can only be sustained by them
Looking at the Arctic is like looking at the canary in the coal mine for the entire Earth system.
Last year Lou and Ajayan revealed their success at making intricate patterns of intertwining graphene and hbn among them the image of Rice's owl mascot.
The Clark's nutcracker a mountain bird can store up to 100000 seeds in underground caches each year. Squirrels also store thousands of seeds underground.
Birds squirrels and bears are not the only species that depend on whitebark pine. Vast stands of whitebark pine help to maintain the mountain snowpacks that provide water to more than 30 million people in 16 U s. states each year.
The impact we observed is different from that observed previously for mammals and birds. Instead of reducing the number of species oil palm affects amphibian communities by replacing habitat suitable for threatened species with habitat used by amphibian species that are not important for conservation.
#Songbirds may give insight to nature vs. nurtureon June 3rd Jove will publish a research technique that allows neural imaging of auditory stimuli in songbirds via MRI.
or the zebra finch used in the Jove article are unique as they provide a landscape for scientists to study song acquisition storage and regurgitation.
The birds are also much easier to maintain and study in laboratories than other vocal animals like apes.
and her colleagues can image the brains of live birds in a noninvasive environment. MRI is used widely with human beings
which makes any findings derived from songbirds highly applicable to working with the human brain. Until recently fmri in small animals was focused mainly on rats
Thus far songbird brains have been studied using electrophysiological and histological techniques. However these approaches do not provide a global view of the brain
Using the songbird model and MRI as an in vivo tool allows us to answer many questions related to learning language and neuroendocrinological plasticity.
or between genetically modified songbirds and naturally occurring ones. Results of these trials will allow researchers to gain insight into genetic and social components of behavior bringing insight to the Nature vs.
and reproduce behavioral experiments such as bird fmri techniques as described in Dr. Van der Linden's article which are both novel and technically complex.
#The scoop on bird poop: Evolving diversity of microbial life in bird gutsgut bacteria are known to have a central role both in human and in animal health.
Animals acquire different bacteria as they age but how the microbial communities in the bodies of wild animals change over time is understood not well.
Wouter Van dongen and colleagues at the Vetmeduni Vienna have examined the gastrointestinal bacteria of chick and adult black-legged kittiwakes.
& Diversit Biologique (EDB) Toulouse and from the US Geological Survey Anchorage to study the cloacal bacterial assemblies of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla).
The bacteria in the cloaca are known to be similar to assemblages deeper within the gastrointestinal tract so the researchers examined samples from the cloaca of birds at different ages to look indirectly at gut bacteria.
Flushing bacteriato obtain bacterial samples the researchers flushed the birds'cloacae by gently infusing a salt solution into the cloacae and collecting the liquid.
The bacterial diversity in the cloaca of each bird could be estimated with the aid of molecular genetic techniques.
and thus to draw a clear picture of how bacterial communities in bird guts change as the birds age.
From a youthful hodgepodge to a stable communitythere turned out to be a great variety of bacterial species in the guts of kittiwake chicks
The scientists'findings suggest that young birds are susceptible to many species of bacteria that pass through their gut.
The differences may correlate with changes in the birds'gut chemistry over time or with changes in diet
Further studies are needed to determine the causes and consequences of the variation in the bacterial assemblages in guts of wild birds.
#Human activity echoes through Brazilian rainforestthe disappearance of large fruit-eating birds from tropical forests in Brazil has caused the region's forest palms to produce smaller less successful seeds over the past century researchers say.
and evolutionary models to determine that the absence of large seed-dispersing birds in the area was the main reason for the observed decrease in the palm's seed size.
and sugar cane plantations and were no longer capable of supporting large-gaped birds or those whose beaks are more than 12 millimeters wide such as toucans and large cotingas.
In undisturbed patches of forest on the other hand large-gaped birds still make their homes and palms continue to produce large seeds successfully dispersed by the birds they say.
Small seeds are more vulnerable to desiccation and cannot withstand projected climate change explained Galetti.
But small-gaped birds such as thrushes that populate the fragmented patches of forest are unable to swallow
and disperse large seeds. As a result of this impaired dispersal palm regeneration became less successful in the area with less-vigorous seedlings germinating from smaller seeds.
and displaced many large bird populations in the region triggered a rapid evolution of forest palms that resulted in smaller less successful seeds.
#More at-risk bird species in Brazilian forest than previously thoughtin a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE a team of researchers led by NJIT Associate professor Gareth Russell has applied a novel method for linking large-scale habitat
Our goal was to assess the extinction risk for bird species in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil a global'hotspot'of bird diversity said Russell.
The current study applied this metric to 127 forest-dependent passerine birds inhabiting the Atlantic Forest of Brazil an area that has lost over 90 percent of its original forest.
More flexible in the Mediterraneanin the Atlantic as well as Mediterranean domain the observations were consistent with the data available on the ecology of the species. M. bechsteinii prefer roosts carved out by woodpeckers in the trunks of living oak trees located inside the forest
The researchers also infected pigs with the human-derived H7n9 virus. In natural settings pigs can act as a virtual mixing bowl to combine avian-and mammalian-specific influenza strains potentially allowing avian strains to better adapt to humans.
and spark a pandemic so information about swine susceptibility to H7n9 could help scientists gauge the pandemic potential of the avian virus. Unlike the ferrets infected pigs in this small study did not transmit virus to uninfected pigs
Herbert Hoi and colleagues of the University of Veterinary medicine Vienna together with scientists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava carried out experiments with reed warblers to see how a situation of potential infidelity affects later paternal investment in the chicks
Reed warblers are socially monogamous defend their territory and both parents care for the offspring. Scientists of the Konrad-Lorenz-Institute of Ethology of the Vetmeduni Vienna for the first time tried to experimentally test the behaviour of reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) after a potential act of cheating by the female.
How does the male treat a competitor and how does an affair affect care for the brood?
To answer these questions they simulated an increased risk of adulterous behaviour in female reed warblers by briefly introducing a caged extra male to 31 reed warbler pairs during the female's fertile period.
In addition they played back recorded songs of randomly selected warbler males from the area. The scientists then observed nest building activity and feeding of offspring and determined chick paternity through DNA analyses.
A cuckoo in the nesthoi and colleagues found that many nests housed nestlings fathered outside the pair-bond.
Following analysis of H7n9 influenza viruses collected from live poultry markets it was found that these viruses circulating among birds were responsible for human infections.
Of these 20 positive samples 10 were isolated from chickens 3 from pigeons and 7 were from environmental samples.
The complete genome of three H7n9 isolates from a chicken pigeon and environmental sample was sequenced
The analysis of these novel H7n9 influenza virus isolates showed that that the six internal genes were derived from avian H9n2 viruses
We suggest that strong measures such as continued surveillance of avian and human hosts control of animal movement shutdown of live poultry markets
birds could pose risk to humansin the summer of 1968 a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong kong.
A new study from MIT reveals that there are many strains of H3n2 circulating in birds
or birds have caused several notable flu pandemics. When one of these avian or swine viruses gains the ability to infect humans it can often evade the immune system which is primed to recognize only strains that commonly infect humans.
Strains of H3n2 have been circulating in humans since the 1968 pandemic but they have evolved to a less dangerous form that produces a nasty seasonal flu.
However H3n2 strains are also circulating in pigs and birds. Sasisekharan and his colleagues wanted to determine the risk of H3n2 strains reemerging in humans
and birds focusing on the gene that codes for the viral hemagglutinin (HA) protein. After comparing HA genetic sequences in five key locations that control the viruses'interactions with infected hosts the researchers calculated an antigenic index for each strain.
Of these 549 came from birds and 32 from pigs. The researchers then exposed some of these strains to antibodies provoked by the current H3 seasonal-flu vaccines.
There could be viral genes that mix among pigs or between birds and pigs. Sasisekharan and colleagues are now doing a similar genetic study of H5 influenza strains.
Fallow strips along streams and rivers provide corridors for migrating animals and birds. This is an area that is already 95 percent altered--the habitat that remains is said critical Gennet.
The Salinas River and its tributaries are an important rest stop on the Pacific Flyway a major migration route for neotropical songbirds and home to raptors and shorebirds.
The map is composed of bird migration patterns and adding in estimations of poultry production and consumption
The map is based on the northwards migratory patterns of birds (from the 4th february to the end of April) using environmental and meteorological data over the same 12 weeks--from Zhejiang Shanghai and Jiangsu to Liaoning Jilin and Heilongjiang.
Prof Jiming Liu who led the study explained By basing our model on wild bird migration
Previous research by Ken Schmidt of Texas Tech University and Chris Whelan of Illinois Natural history Survey documented that these carnivores can prey more easily on native bird eggs
and nestlings such as robins when nests are built in buckthorn and honeysuckle compared to nests built in native shrubs or trees.
and habitat use by mammal species explained Director of the Urban Wildlife Institute Seth Magle Ph d. We know based on prior research that birds which build nests in buckthorn are more susceptible to predation.
because birds and their nests are easier to prey upon. He suggests that deer may be avoiding these areas
The researchers had intended to quantify results seen a few years ago by former Rice graduate student Brent Carey who subjected a nanotube-infused polymer to a process called repetitive dynamic compression.
Climate change disrupts songbirds timing without impacting population size (yet) Songbird populations can handle far more disrupting climate change than expected.
but songbirds like Parus major or the great tit lag behind. Yet without an accompanying decline in population numbers it seems as the international research team shows for the great tit population in the Dutch National park the Hoge Veluwe.
It's a real paradox explain Dr Tom Reed and Prof Marcel Visser of The netherlands Institute of Ecology.
Due to the changing climate of the past decades the egg laying dates of Parus major have become increasingly mismatched with the timing of the main food source for its chicks:
caterpillars. The seasonal timing of the food peak has advanced over twice as fast as that of the birds
and the reproductive output is reduced. Still the population numbers do not Go down on the short term that is as Reed Visser
and colleagues from Norway the USA and France have calculated now using almost 40 years of data from this songbird.
We call this relaxed competition as there are fewer fledglings to compete with first author Reed points out.
The great tits that lay eggs earlier in spring are more successful nowadays than late birds
This leads to increasing selection for birds to reproduce early. But the total number of birds in the new generation stays the same.
That is the second paradox the researchers state. Why are population numbers hardly affected despite the stronger selection on timing caused by the mismatch?
which birds survive while for population size it only matters how many survive. Visser: The mortality in one group can be compensated for by the success in another.
The density dependence is only buying the birds time hopefully for evolutionary adaptation to dig in before population numbers are affected substantially according to Visser.
Studies on wild birds conducted as part of APEIR demonstrated the importance of undertaking surveillance in wild birds to characterise the influenza viruses carried by these birds.
and N components of this virus were derived probably from wild birds and also possibly from poultry.
and this information helps in understanding the transmission of other influenza viruses by wild birds.
APEIR researchers including Professor Lei Fumin of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are currently investigating the possible role of wild birds in transmission of H7n9 avian influenza.
Professor Lei Fumin said We have seen already suggestions that this virus could be transmitted widely among migratory birds
and poultry and it is important to assess the likelihood of this through scientific studies on wild birds as they fly north through China to their summer breeding grounds.
but while groups such as mammals birds and reptiles have been understood fairly well by scientists for decades knowledge about relationships among many types of fishes was essentially unknown--until now.
#Student tracks Asian birds migration patterns; recommends conservation strategiesan Arizona State university biologist and her team have found that the Asian subspecies of great bustard one of the heaviest birds capable of flight covers migratory routes of more than 2000 miles traveling to
and from its breeding grounds in northern Mongolia and wintering grounds in Shaanxi province in China.
and will be published in the next volume of the Journal of Avian Biology is the first of its kind to monitor the movement of this rarely studied subspecies through satellite telemetry
and to connect a breeding population of Asian great bustards to their wintering grounds. The research also offers insight into conservation challenges.
Mimi Kessler a doctoral candidate in biology at the School of Life sciences has spent more than two years on Eurasian grasslands studying habitat use population genetics causes of mortality and migration routes of the Asian great bustards.
We attached GPS transmitters to these birds that collect location data Kessler says. These transmitters relay the datasets to a satellite system
so we are able to remotely monitor the movement of these birds very closely something that has never been done before.
Great bustards are large birds found in grasslands from Spain to Mongolia. Males of the Asian subspecies can weigh up to 35 pounds
The significant size difference between males and females makes bustards the most sexually dimorphic avian species On earth.
and monitoring these birds is no easy feat. Known for their elusive nature and wariness toward humans Asian bustards are seen rarely with the naked eye.
Kessler and her colleagues use spotting-scopes on hillsides to scan valleys in Mongolia but it may take the team months to capture
and tag a single bird. The process of capturing these birds requires us to be extremely alert and careful of every footstep
and sound we make Kessler says. The work is so painstaking that it becomes an obsession.
Members of our team often dream about capturing a bustard. And when it does finally happen it's a real adrenaline rush.
Kessler says great bustards across Eurasia exhibit a range of migratory behavior corresponding to the severity of winter weather.
Great bustards found in Spain may travel only about 10 miles annually whereas those in western Russia travel about 600 miles one way to warmer wintering regions.
The Asian subspecies however is the marathon runner of the great bustard family. In Mongolia winter temperatures can drop 30 to 50 degrees below zero Kessler says.
We found that the Asian great bustards travel for an average of two months covering 1200 miles to reach wintering grounds in Shaanxi province in central China.
The team also found that the birds tend to migrate in a solitary fashion making multiple long stopovers during their journey.
but to track each tagged bird individually. Kessler says the findings are not only the first of their kind
since research regarding Asian great bustards is scarce but also offer an insight into the challenges the Asian bustard subspecies and conservationists face.
Asian great bustards are threatened a species in Mongolia Kessler says. They face several dangers including poaching for sport or sale of meat to exotic food markets in China.
The birds have a low reproductive rate; adults raise just one or two chicks to maturity every 10 years making hunting unsustainable.
Bustards are also less maneuverable due to their large size which makes collisions with power lines and overhead cables a serious threat.
Modern agricultural techniques also endanger the subspecies. Heavy machinery used for tilling land and harvesting crops can destroy nests
and crush chicks as the birds often nest in agricultural fields. Pesticides kill protein-rich insects that bustard chicks rely on for rapid growth to be able to migrate come fall.
Rapid development in Central asia combined with climate change and low reproductive rate could make these birds disappear Kessler says.
We need to take immediate measures to conserve them. Kessler's solution: implementing conservation strategies that span international borders as well as working within local communities to raise awareness about the subspecies while providing educational and employment opportunities.
We want our work to lead to a brighter future for local communities and these unique populations of great bustards.
One recent study has suggested that house sparrows and finches add high-nicotine cigarette butts to their nests to reduce mite infestations.
But less attention has been given to the many cases in which animals medicate their offspring or other kin according to Hunter and his colleagues.
This treatment seriously influenced the birds'aggressive behaviour: the losers were chasing the subordinate male in the group to a greater extent
Although through the blocker the testosterone had no effect on these birds temporarily the winners were still able to maintain their social status.
because they floated away says Traggis a master's student from Buzzards Bay Mass. While no negative effects have been reported on New england's shellfish industry the researchers note that the region's oyster industry is valued at $117. 6 million The researchers
whether to protect the bird as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The U s. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to hold another public comment period this spring before voting on the issue Sept. 30.
The bird is now found only in restricted areas of five states in the southern Great plains:
Nesting hens will avoid nesting near humanmade structures and disturbances in habitat from roads to buildings to the conversion of native grasslands to cropland.
if you have a good year for reproduction enough new birds enter the population and have a survival rate that carries them through three
#Genomes of peregrine and saker falcons throw lights on evolution of a predatory lifestylein a collaborative study published online in Nature Genetics researchers from Cardiff University BGI International Wildlife Consultants Ltd
. and Abu dhabi Falcon Hospital have completed the genome sequencing and analysis of two iconic falcons the peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and saker (Falco cherrug).
The work provides an invaluable resource for the deep understanding of the adaptive evolution in raptors and the genetic basis of their wide distribution.
Peregrine and saker falcons are widespread and their unique morphological physiological and behavioral adaptations make them successful hunters.
The peregrine is renowned as the world's fastest animal and the falcon is the national emblem of United Arab Emirate.
In recent decades peregrine and saker falcons have been listed as endangered due to rapid population declines caused by a wide range of factors including environmental change overharvesting for falconry habitat loss and bioaccumulation of pesticides (e g.
DDT PCBS. In this study researchers focused on the evolutionary basis of predatory adaptations underlying peregrine and saker.
They conducted whole genome sequencing and assembled the high quality 1. 2 Gb reference genomes for each falcon species. Phylogenic analysis suggested that the two falcon species might diverged 2. 1 million years ago.
Comparing with chicken and zebra finch researchers found the transposable element composition of falcons was most similar to that of zebra finch.
Large segmental duplications in falcons are less frequent than that in chicken and zebra finch and comprise less than 1%of both falcon genomes.
They also found that a gene expansion in the olfactory receptor Î-c clade in chicken
and zebra finch is not present in falcons possibly reflecting their reliance on vision for locating prey.
Observing genome-wide rapid evolution for both falcons chicken zebra finch and turkey researchers found that the nervous system olfaction
and sodium ion transport have evolved rapidly in falcons and also the evolutionary novelties in beak development related genes of falcons and saker-unique arid-adaptation related genes.
Shengkai Pan bioinformatics expert from BGI said The two falcon genomes are the first predatory bird genome published.
The data presented in this study will advance our understanding of the adaptive evolution of raptors as well as aid the conservation of endangered falcon species. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by BGI Shenzhen. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Better looking birds have healthier babies, study findsa female great tits'(Parus major) appearance is shown to signal healthy attributes in offspring in a paper in Biomed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology.
The black stripe across her breast and white patches on her cheeks correlate to a chick's weight at two weeks
In these socially monogamous birds both the males and females are coloured brightly however neither the cheek patch nor the stripe in males affected the health of the babies.
--so it is useful for birds to be able to work out which potential mates will produce the best babies.
and his colleague Tsuyoshi Shimmura placed birds under constant light conditions and turned on recorders to listen and watch.
which aren't learned like songbird songs or human speech the researchers say. We still do not know why a dog says'bow-wow
and a refuge for 11 globally-threatened bird species. They are also a vital fishing grazing and traditional rice farming resource for around 1. 1 million people.
These unique grasslands are home to many threatened birds including by far the largest remaining population of the critically endangered Bengal florican--the world's rarest bustard.
This bird has experienced a dramatic population decline of 44 per cent in seven years due to the destruction of its grassland habitat.
Other birds under threat in this area include sarus cranes storks ibises and eagles. Rural communities have been left vulnerable to land-grabbing and privatisation of-communal grasslands.
and birds we've come up with a technique to predict sites where these viruses could mix
--and use the researchers'models to identify other hotspots--for increased monitoring of flu in humans livestock poultry and wild birds.
Swine which are susceptible to both bird and human flu could serve as a mixing vessel for reassortment between the two viruses.
Not all flu outbreaks whether bird or human are tracked. The scientists had to identify indicators of flu outbreaks such as dense poultry populations
and Senior Scientist Woods Hole Research center Falmouth USA Think of migration of birds to the Arctic in the summer and hibernation of bears in the winter:
because current understanding of how wildlife responds to fire is based almost entirely on studies of a limited number of species most of them birds Frick said.
and elsewhere in Europe Increasing deer populations are a serious threat to biodiversity--particularly impacting on woodland birds such as migrant warblers and the nightingale.
and ostrich biltong was actually springbok or ostrich. The rest was horse impala hartebeest wildebeest waterbok eland gemsbok duiker giraffe kangaroo lamb pork or beef.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011