and birds to numerous worked and unworked deer antlers--suggest that the Cetamura well like other water sources in antiquity was regarded as sacred.
his former doctoral advisors at Stanford university--senior author Douglas Bird and his spouse Rebecca Bliege Bird--and Peter Kauhanen formerly of Stanford and now at the San francisco Estuary Institute.
Snakes turtles prairie chickens and other nesting birds are less likely to be destroyed during fall and winter burns as wildlife is often hibernating underground
Surprisingly they found that the number of bird species can actually increase in selectively logged areas likely
because birds lost as a result of the disturbance are replaced by other more generalist species. Burivalova calls on logging companies to respect logging intensity thresholds that take biodiversity into account.
while some untagged calves were killed by coyotes and vultures. The ranches'physical geography including open spaces and the proximity of wooded areas in
panthers coyotes bears or even vultures. A bite wound to the front or back of the calf's neck was most often the mark of a panther attack she said
#Light pollution may affect love lives of birds in the Viennese Forestsartificial light in cities exerts negative effects on humans animals and their environment.
In an ongoing research project behavioral biologists at Vetmeduni Vienna are investigating how blue tits in the Viennese Forests react to light pollution.
The study might help to understand effects of light-at-night on reproductive behavior of birds.
Light is an important Zeitgeber especially for birds Based on light birds know when it is time to mate breed forage
and Herbert Hoi from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at the Vetmeduni Vienna are interested in the effects of light-at-night in wild birds.
There are studies investigating the effect of artificial light on the orientation and activity of birds.
but also activity patterns in birds to a great extent study coordinator Mahr explains. The Viennese research team is one of the first to experimentally test the effects of artificial light in the natural environment of animals by actively manipulating ambient light conditions.
The team is interested particularly in the reproductive behavior of blue tits in the Viennese Forests. Blue tits seem to be good model species for this study
because we know a lot about their mating and reproductive behaviour. Besides they frequently breed in cities
In this period scientists examined activity patterns such as singing and mating behavior growth and development of the nestlings as well as stress hormones.
but does it also affect the development of nestlings? Mahr states. A well-known phenomenon that can be found in chicken farming is the manipulation of the day
We assume that light at night affects the birds'strategies of choosing partners. Males for instance like to be in the limelight
Besides male blue tits are morning singers. Particularly fit males start to sing pre-dawn songs.
We also know that female blue tits tend to be unfaithful to their partners but do so covertly.
Therefore we want to find out whether artificial light generates a certain conflict between the sexes says Mahr.
and thus impose additional stress on the fledglings. Light possibly has impact on the entire ecological system of the woodsmore light may also affect other living beings in the Viennese Forests.
The research project Does Light Pollution affect the Breeding Performance of wild Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in the Viennese Forest?
A lot of other species rely on these thicket habitats including bobcats birds and reptiles. Many thicket-dependent species are on decline
#Technology tracks the elusive Nightjarbioacoustic recorders could provide us with vital additional information to help us protect rare and endangered birds such as the European nightjar new research has shown.
The study led by Newcastle University found that newly developed remote survey techniques were twice as effective at detecting rare birds as conventional survey methods.
Using automated equipment to record the nightjars at dawn and dusk when the birds are most active the team found a 217%increased detection rate of the nightjar over those carried out by specialist ornithologists.
Published this month in the academic journal PLOS ONE lead author Mieke Zwart said the findings suggest that automated technology could provide us with an important additional tool to help us survey
and protect rare birds. The results of this research will help conservationists monitor endangered species more effectively explains Mieke who carried out the research as part of her Phd supported by Baker Consultants Ltd
and Wildlife Acoustics Inc. The European nightjar for example is only active at night and is camouflaged very well making it difficult to detect using traditional survey methods.
Using bioacoustics techniques we can more accurately build up a picture of where these birds are population numbers movement and behaviour.
The nightjar--Caprimulgus europaeus--is a migratory species protected under the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC) and in the UK by the classification of Special Protection Areas (SPAS.
Traditional bird survey methods involve specialist ornithologists conducting field surveys to identify and count the birds they encounter.
But these are time-consuming must be performed by experts and could be inaccurate when surveying species that are difficult to detect.
and analysis software the technology is trained'to automatically recognise the calls of individual species in this case the nightjar.
and could be applied to a wide range of species to give more accurate objective data on bird numbers and distribution.
A new model developed by University of California Berkeley biologist Brent Mishler and his colleagues in Australia leverages this growing mass of data--much of it from newly digitized museum collections--to help pinpoint the best areas to set aside as preserves
Ravens and possibly arctic foxes scavenged exposed portions of her carcass including parts of the trunk and skull and the fat hump that likely covered the back of her neck.
#Birdlike fossil challenges notion that birds evolved from ground-dwelling dinosaursthe re-examination of a sparrow-sized fossil from China challenges the commonly held belief that birds evolved from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs
and later birds evolved. The research duo used advanced 3d microscopy high resolution photography and low angle lighting to reveal structures not clearly visible before.
They also believe that dinosaurs are not the primitive ancestors of birds. The Scansoriopteryx should rather be seen as an early bird whose ancestors are to be found among tree-climbing archosaurs that lived in a time well before dinosaurs.
Through their investigations the researchers found a combination of plesiomorphic or ancestral non-dinosaurian traits along with highly derived features.
and hind limb feathers wing membranes in front of its elbow half-moon shaped wrist-like bones bird-like perching feet a tail with short anterior vertebrae
or ancestral form of early birds that had mastered the basic aerodynamic maneuvers of parachuting or gliding from trees.
Their findings validate predictions first made in the early 1900's that the ancestors of birds were small tree-dwelling archosaurs
This trees down view is in contrast with the ground up view embraced by many palaeontologists in recent decades that birds derived from terrestrial theropod dinosaurs.
The identification of Scansoriopteryx as a non-dinosaurian bird enables a reevaluation in the understanding of the relationship between dinosaurs and birds.
Scientists finally have the key to unlock the doors that separate dinosaurs from birds explained Czerkas.
Feduccia added Instead of regarding birds as deriving from dinosaurs Scansoriopteryx reinstates the validity of regarding them as a separate class uniquely avian and non-dinosaurian.
#Shining light on the 100-year mystery of birds sensing spring for offspringprofessor Takashi Yoshimura
and colleagues of the Institute of Transformative Biomolecules (WPI-ITBM) of Nagoya University have finally found the missing piece in how birds sense light by identifying a deep brain photoreceptor in Japanese quails in
and thus regulates breeding activities in birds. The study published online on July 7 2014 in Current Biology is expected to contribute to the improvement of production of animals along with the deepening of our understanding on the evolution of eyes and photoreceptors.
and birds tend to breed during the spring and summer when the climate is warm
Therefore birds for example are able to detect light even when their eyes are blindfolded. Although this fact has been known for many years the photoreceptor that undertakes this role had not yet been clarified.
which triggers spring breeding in birds. We have been able to show that the CSF-contacting neurons directly respond to light
Our studies have revealed that these neurons are actually the photoreceptors working deep inside the bird's brain.
#Bonellis Eagle diet reconstruction by means of isotope analysis to improve population conservationcarbon nitrogen and sulphur stable isotopes analysis is an effective technique to reconstruct nestling Bonelli's Eagle diet according to a paper published in the journal The Ibis. The article is signed by experts Jaime Resano Mayor Antoni Hernã¡
ndez Matã as Joan Real and Francesc Parã s from the Conservation Biology Group affiliated with the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Biodiversity Research Institute of UB (IRBIO.
Diet analyses are central to the study of avian trophic ecology and can be an important conservation tool.
Despite the high number of studies on Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata) diet developed in Western europe eagle's relationship between prey consumption
A new methodology to study Bonelli's Eagle dietjoan Real head of the Conservation Biology Group of UB--a research group that has carried out studies on European Bonelli's Eagle populations for more than thirty years--explains that most Bonelli
's Eagle diet studies are based on the analysis of pellets undigested food that some raptor species regurgitate.
even if its applicability to raptor species diet studies remains unknown. Therefore carbon nitrogen and sulphur--common elements in the biosphere--act as biogeochemical markers in animal tissues
which can indicate diet compositionin order to reconstruct eagles'diet by analysing the isotopic composition of their feathers first authors had to characterise the isotopic composition of Bonelli's Eagle main preys in Catalonia.
However similarity varied among preys in rabbits pigeons and gulls it was moderate; in squirrels and passerines it was lower
and in partridges it was low. Authors highlight that carbon and nitrogen analysis are essential in all cases
but sulphur is particularly useful to estimate the consumption of Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis).
Study of Bonelli's Eagle feeding strategies in Western Europethe analysis of isotopic composition is also an indicator that enables to infer diet composition
and diversity (trophic niche) of Bonelli's Eagle during breeding at a population level according to another publication by the former UB research group which was published in the journal PLOS ONE
and is signed also by Marcos Moleã n (University Miguel Hernã¡ndez. The study assesses the trophic niche width of Bonelli's Eagle populations in Catalonia Andalusia and France by means of the stable isotope analysis;
in addition it analyses whether or not trophic niche width influences productivity (number of chicks per pair) at population and territory levels.
The trophic niche of Bonelli's Eagle populations in Andalusia is narrower than in French
partridge and pigeons. On the contrary pairs with high trophic diversity show less productivity. Authors point out that these results suggest that individual diet variation within populations is likely to have important ecological and evolutionary implications.
in order to improve the conservation of a threatened speciesto know diet effects on vital parameters in threatened species like the Bonelli's Eagle is crucial to plan
are detected for eagles conservation actions must be addressed towards the improvement of trophic resources (rabbits partridges pigeons etc.
not only can provide information about eagles'trophic resources abundance and availability but it also provides new interesting data to studies centred on changes in the habitats and ecosystems where the Bonelli's Eagle one of the most representative--and threatened--raptor species of the Mediterranean region lives.
Both scientific articles were supported by Miquel Torres Foundation in Vilafranca del Penedã s the Barcelona Provincial Council the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Department of education of the Government of Navarra.
and the bacteria were thought to be part of the normal microbiota of the birds. In the study Wigley and his colleagues experimentally infected birds from four commercial breeds of broiler chickens.
They found that while levels of the bacteria in the intestines did not differ by breed immune response
but has a big effect on the health of the birds. The most important finding says Wigley is that Campylobacter infection directly impacts broiler chicken health and welfare.
Nearly half of the world's threatened endemic tropical mammal bird and plant species are found in 27 developing counties that the World bank now classifies as having reached upper middle income (UMI) status. UMI countries
#Habitat loss, not poison, better explains grassland bird declinecontrary to recent well-publicized research habitat loss not insecticide use continues to be the best explanation for the declines in grassland bird populations
Last year a pair of researchers linked the drop in the populations of grassland bird species such as the upland sandpiper and the Henslow's sparrow to insecticide use rather than to a rapid decline of grasslands a more commonly accepted theory.
Because grassland bird species tend to do better in states with larger areas set aside in the conservation land program excluding the conservation land program data may have skewed their results said Hill.
and found 1. 3 to 21 times more support that habitat loss was connected more strongly to grassland bird declines than insecticide use said Hill.
Grassland bird trends were associated positively with the acreages of CRP lands and some types of pastures.
Erroneously emphasizing insecticides as the principle cause of grassland bird declines may inadvertently divert attention and funding away from land conservation programs such as CRP according to the researchers.
Grassland bird species use the living and dead vegetation in grasslands to build nests and for use as cover.
The researchers examined population data of grassland species in the 48 contiguous United states from the U s. Geological Survey North american Breeding Bird Survey.
In addition to information provided by the researchers on the study of insecticides and grassland birds they also used data from the U s. Department of agriculture and the National Resources Conservation Services.
Wildlife and Wild Lands on the Flathead National Forest Montana WCS Senior Scientist Dr. John Weaver notes that these protections may not be enough in the face of looming challenges such as climate change.
Weaver found that the Flathead is a stronghold for these fish and wildlife species that have been vanquished in much of their range further south.
or high conservation value for at least one of the five focal species. In his recommendations Weaver employs a smart strategy for resiliency that protects
In total Weaver recommends 404208 acres of roadless area on the Flathead Forest for Congressional designation as National Wilderness
Vital places with particular concentration of present and future habitat include the Whitefish Range adjacent to Glacier national park and the Swan Range east of Flathead Lake.
and decisions about future management on the Flathead National Forest said Weaver. These spectacular landscapes provide some of the best remaining strongholds for vulnerable fish and wildlife and headwater sources of clean water.
and the activities of birds insect and other animals and therefore must be factored into climate-change model predictions.
and spread of the disease up until now is linked mainly to areas that have a high concentration of markets catering to a consumer preference for live birds
They have pinpointed areas elsewhere in Asia with similar conditions (places with a high density of live bird markets) that could allow H7n9--which has infected 429 people thus far
but the concentration of bird markets makes them very suitable for infection should the virus be introduced there
Gilbert and his colleges developed a risk map for H7n9 in part to help anticipate where human infections--so far caused mainly by contact with birds
Unlike H5n1 the other virulent form of avian influenza to emerge in recent years H7n9 produces little signs of illness in birds
which aggregate birds from large geographical areas located near or just outside densely populated urban areas. The existence of wetland-related agriculture near the markets such as farms that raise ducks in flooded rice fields appeared to be a contributing factor linked to the initial emergence of the virus
. But overall the scientists did not find a link between the emergence of H7n9 and intensive poultry operations proliferating in China that raise a larger number of birds.
In fact the study notes that H7n9 has thus far been absent from live poultry markets in Northeastern China a region that is home to many of the country's commercial-scale poultry operations.
The study notes that there is evidence that certain factors within live poultry markets such as the amount of time the birds are there the rigor of sanitation measures
and things like how many live bird markets are located in a particular area the more successful we can be at reducing risks associated with intensifying livestock production in developing countries Robinson said.
#Tests confirm that beloved hawk succumbed to multiple rat poisonsa red-tailed hawk named Ruby captured the imagination of many Massachusetts residents who watched Ruby
The fund's initial goal is to raise $10000 for research to monitor the health effects of rodenticides on birds of prey.
and that we hope will protect future generations of raptors from dying needlessly from rodenticide poisoning.
Murray has been studying rodenticide poisoning in birds of prey for years and published research in 2011 that has been cited frequently by the EPA.
The paper showed anticoagulant rodenticide residues in 86 percent of 161 birds that were tested over five years at the Tufts Wildlife Clinic.
The study examined four species of birds (red-tailed hawks barred owls eastern screech owls and great horned owls) and found that of those that tested positive 99 percent had residues of the SGAR brodifacoum.
Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides are more potent than their first-generation cousins. Rodents and other species need a much smaller amount of the poisons to suffer their effects.
For example a red-tailed hawk that repeatedly feeds on prey containing sublethal amounts of the second-generation poison is at risk for accumulating a lethal amount over time.
and monitor any long-term changes in rodenticide exposure in birds of prey as a result of the new EPA regulations said Murray.
and a diverse range of birds reptiles amphibians and mammals with some only found in this region making it
Three loggerhead shrike chicks hatched in Mid-may at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute In front Royal Va. Loggerhead shrikes also called butcher birds are songbirds that hunt small animals by impaling them on thorns or barbed wire.
Loggerhead shrikes were once common but they have declined rapidly for several decades and there may be as few as 100 wild loggerhead shrikes left In virginia.
They are listed as threatened or endangered in 20 states and have disappeared from New england. The reason for their decline is understood not
but SCBI scientists are studying the birds. Black-footed ferret kit season is in full swing at SCBI. Twenty-four ferrets have been born so far and 10 more ferret mothers may give birth in the next few weeks (two were inseminated artificially.
and birds eat the seeds all to no ill effects. Jelesko and Kasson have filed for a patent disclosure of their current findings
Ants move more soil than earthworms plus they are food for lots of reptiles and birds.
There is a fledgling industrial effort underway in Florida to redirect the five million tons of annual citrus waste generated there from low-value cattle feed to produce ethanol for fuel.
Writtle College and several conservation organizations (the Society for Conservation Biology Royal Society for Protection of Birds Birdlife Europe Butterfly Conservation Europe and Friends of the Earth--Switzerland.
This continues to take a heavy toll on wildlife with dramatic declines in everything from the farmland bird index to'permanent'grassland that in newer member states has shrunk over 11%in just the last decade.
or providing nesting areas for ground-nesting birds--have been shown to work when properly implemented these are included not as options under the new compulsory greening elements said Dr Lynn Dicks a co-author from the Department of Zoology in the University of Cambridge.
This spring he bought a second aircraft an A r. Drone 2. 0 with GPS produced by The french wireless electronics manufacturer Parrot.
The Parrot drone which cost about $250 can be controlled with a smartphone or tablet using Apple or Android operating systems and Wi-fi signals.
The Parrot came with a protective polystyrene hull for use indoors and Bowman has demonstrated it during meetings with area farmers.
When I'm running the Parrot drone during a conference I pick somebody that looks scared when
Cool tree trunks are likely to be an important microhabitat during hot weather for other tree dwelling species including primates leopards birds and invertebrates.
We killed two birds with one stone --or rather with one diet explained lead author Dr. David Jenkins who is director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Modification Centre of St michael's Hospital and a Nutritional Sciences professor at the University of Toronto.
#Oil, gas development homogenizing core-forest bird communitiesconventional oil and gas development in northern Pennsylvania altered bird communities and the current massive build-out of shale-gas infrastructure may accelerate these changes according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural
Sciences. The commonwealth's Northern Tier--one of the largest blocks of Eastern deciduous forest in the entire Appalachian region--is an important breeding area for neotropical migrant songbirds.
These diminutive insect-eating creatures which breed in Pennsylvania and winter in Central and South america contribute greatly to the health of forests.
and gas wells says Margaret Brittingham professor of wildlife resources who conducted a study of bird communities in the Allegheny National Forest.
and pipelines create networks of disturbance that fragment forests changing songbird communities Brittingham explained. The cumulative effect of many small-scale disturbances within the forest is resulting in the homogenization of bird communities with species that inhabit the interior forest such as black-throated blue warblers ovenbirds
and Blackburnian warblers being pushed out and species that prefer living in edge habitat and near people and development such as robins blue jays and mourning doves moving in she said.
Biotic homogenization is a subtle process by which generalists replace specialists with common and widespread species tending to become more abundant and habitat specialists declining.
Our results revealed changes in avian guilds resulting from oil and gas development and suggest that a loss of community uniqueness is a consequence.
The study done in collaboration with the U s. Department of agriculture's Northern Forest Research Station took place over three years.
Lead researcher Emily Thomas at the time a graduate student advised by Brittingham surveyed birds in 50-acre blocks selected for their varied amount of oil and gas development.
or absence of different songbird species in a range of landscapes including undisturbed forest low-density oil and gas development and high-density development.
They catalogued the abundance and diversity of songbirds in the study areas which spanned two types of forest--northern hardwood and oak.
and gas development are doing to bird populations said Brittingham. We compared and contrasted the abundance
and diversity of birds near well sites to bird communities in reference sites far away from disturbances in the big woods and
Songbird species that prefer early successional habitat increased in abundance on the edge of gas development.
In addition Brittingham noted the generalist bird species that do better around people and tend to be common wherever there are people
Brittingham and her students are currently studying the effects of shale-gas development on birds to determine how it affects avian communities.
Birds are easy to study and survey to gauge the impacts of gas development because they are abundant respond quickly to habitat change
and soil coming from intensive livestock farms (farms with a population of over 40000 hens 2000 fattening pigs
fossil mammals and one fossil bird among others. Thirty-one additional species were identified in the museum's collections by visiting researchers.
Animals such as white-tailed deer the Florida panther and migratory birds that depend on native vegetation such as mangrove for food
#Colonization of Brazil by the cattle egretin recent years the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) has colonized American continent.
A new study of the colonization patterns of the cattle egret in Brazil published in the open access journal Neobiota offers a new take on the study of alien species. The cattle egret primarily inhabits grassland habitats and forages in close
This bird is native to tropical and subtropical Africa southern Europe and western Asia. The populations of cattle egret in Brazil are alien to the region
but unlike a number of bird species that have been introduced to nonnative areas through human intervention the cattle egret is known to have established
and expanded to The americas without such intervention. The first sightings in the New world were reported for Suriname between 1877 and 1882 in the North of South america followed by sightings in British guiana and Colombia and subsequent expansion throughout The americas.
In Brazil the cattle egret was recorded first in the northern region of the country in 1964 feeding along with buffalos on Marajo Island in the state of Para.
While the cattle egret is not currently a threat to native fauna in Brazil throughout most of its geographic distribution it has the potential to produce adverse effects as evidenced by its occupation of island environments.
For example in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago the cattle egret drives adult native seabirds away from their nests in breeding colonies
Understanding how the cattle egret colonized Brazil is crucial for the better understanding of dispersal patterns of bird populations
and their interaction with the local species. Explaining the colonization of The americas by the cattle egret is a challenging task due to the lack of sufficient information and reports on entrance time locality and number of events.
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