-
Building bridges in the conversation on eponymous common names of North American birds IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-13 Irene A. Liu, Eric R. Gulson‐Castillo, Joanna X. Wu, Amelia‐Juliette C. Demery, Nandadevi Cortes‐Rodriguez, Kristen M. Covino, Susannah B. Lerman, Sharon A. Gill, Viviana Ruiz Gutierrez
Like many other fields, ornithology and birding are addressing their legacy of colonialism, including re‐examining their naming practices. Discussions about eponyms, when species are named to honour people, sit at the intersection of nomenclatural stability and social justice concerns. In response to a charged debate about the future of eponymous common names, members of the American Ornithological
-
Using citizen science image analysis to measure seabird phenology IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-05 Alice J. Edney, Jóhannis Danielsen, Sébastien Descamps, Jón Einar Jónsson, Ellie Owen, Flemming Merkel, Róbert A. Stefánsson, Matt J. Wood, Mark J. Jessopp, Tom Hart
Developing standardized methodology to allow efficient and cost‐effective ecological data collection, particularly at scale, is of critical importance for understanding species' declines. Remote camera networks can enable monitoring across large spatiotemporal scales and at relatively low researcher cost, but manually analysing images and extracting biologically meaningful data is time‐consuming. Citizen
-
Haemosporidian infections are more common in breeding shorebirds than in migrating shorebirds IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-05 William Jones, Zsófia Tóth, Viacheslav Khursanov, Nastassia Kisliakova, Oliver Krüger, Tamás Székely, Natalia Karlionova, Pavel Pinchuk, Nayden Chakarov
Migrating animals are thought to be important spillover sources for novel pathogens. Haemosporidians (malaria‐related parasites) are one such group of pathogens that commonly spillover into novel host communities if competent vectors are present. In birds, shorebirds (sandpipers, plovers and allies) perform some of the longest avian migrations, yet they are traditionally perceived as relatively free
-
-
Mountain is calling – decrypting the vocal phenology of an alpine bird species using passive acoustic monitoring IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-22 Amandine Serrurier, Przemyslaw Zdroik, Res Isler, Tatiana Kornienko, Elisenda Peris‐Morente, Thomas Sattler, Jean‐Nicolas Pradervand
Monitoring vulnerable species inhabiting mountain environments is crucial to track population trends and prioritize conservation efforts. However, the challenging nature of these remote areas poses difficulties in implementing effective and consistent monitoring programmes. To address these challenges, we examined the potential of passive acoustic monitoring of a cryptic high mountain bird species
-
When passive nest defence is active: support of the leave early and avoid detection hypothesis in a plover IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-16 Sonia Sanchez-Gomez, Daniel Lees, Michael A. Weston, Grainne S. Maguire
Leaving the nest early to avoid detection by an approaching predator is an often-cited form of nest defence among ground-nesting birds, yet has rarely been quantitatively demonstrated. During the breeding season, we recorded Flight-initiation Distances (FIDs) of incubating, off-duty and non-breeding Hooded Plovers Thinornis cucuallatus cucuallatus in Victoria, Australia. Hooded Plovers exhibited longer
-
Migration mortality in birds IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-16 Ian Newton
Bird migration is one of the greatest wildlife spectacles, producing massive global changes in the distributions of birds twice each year. To understand the evolution of this phenomenon, it is important to know the costs of these journeys in terms of the mortality they impose. The use of mark/re-sighting and tracking studies has now made it possible, for some bird species, to separate mortality during
-
Survival rates of wild and released White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis), and their implications for conservation of vultures in Nepal IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-13 John W. Mallord, Krishna P. Bhusal, Ankit B. Joshi, Bikalpa Karki, Ishwari P. Chaudhary, Devendra Chapagain, Deelip C. Thakuri, Deu B. Rana, Toby H. Galligan, Susana Requena, Christopher G. R. Bowden, Rhys E. Green
Beginning in the mid-1990s, populations of three species of Gyps vultures declined by more than 97% in South Asia in little more than a decade, caused by unintentional poisoning by the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. This led to a ban on the veterinary use of the drug, and establishment of conservation breeding programmes, throughout the region. Once much of Nepal had been
-
Evaluation of tag attachment techniques for plunge-diving terns IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-04 Ruben C. Fijn, Rob S. A. van Bemmelen, Mark P. Collier, Wouter Courtens, E. Emiel van Loon, Martin J. M. Poot, Judy Shamoun-Baranes
A wide variety of attachment techniques have been used to track birds with electronic tags, with glue, tape, leg rings, neck collars and harnesses being the most common methods. In general, the choice of attachment method should strive to minimize tagging effects, but ensure that sufficient data are collected to address the research question at hand. The aim of our study was to develop and evaluate
-
A review of niche segregation across sympatric breeding seabird assemblages IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Christina Petalas, Francis van Oordt, Raphaël A. Lavoie, Kyle H. Elliott
Breeding seabirds challenge the concept of niche segregation among competing species because similar competitors with comparable life histories can coexist in large multi-species colonies. This makes them an ideal model organism for studying the Hutchisonian niche model, which proposes interspecific niche segregation, across n-dimensions. Recent advances in assessment of ecological niches have improved
-
When slow explorers are fast: Personality-related differences in timing of migration in Red Knots (Calidris canutus) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Selin Ersoy, Ton G. G. Groothuis, Theunis Piersma, Allert I. Bijleveld
The timing of migration varies significantly among individuals, even within populations sharing breeding sites. Consistent individual behavioural differences, known as personality traits, have been linked to variation in movement behaviour. However, little attention has been given to investigating whether personality traits can explain such variation in the timing of migration. We studied post-breeding
-
A novel deep learning-based bioacoustic approach for identification of look-alike white-eye (Zosterops) species traded in wildlife markets IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Shan Su, Dahe Gu, Jun-Yu Lai, Nico Arcilla, Tai-Yuan Su
The songbird trade crisis in East and South East Asia has been fuelled by high demand, driving many species to the brink of extinction. This demand, driven by the desire for songbirds as pets, for singing competitions and for prayer animal release has led to the overexploitation of numerous species and the introduction and spread of invasive alien species and diseases to novel environments. The ability
-
Species status and phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic Negros Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus arcanus) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 John A. Nash, Richard C. Harrington, Kristof Zyskowski, Thomas J. Near, Richard O. Prum
The Negros Fruit Dove Ptilinopus arcanus is an enigmatic bird known only from a single specimen collected on Negros Island, Philippines, in 1953. We extracted and sequenced ultra-conserved elements from historical toe-pad samples of the type specimen of P. arcanus and 27 other species of ptilinopine doves to investigate the species status and phylogenetic relationships of this taxon. We establish that
-
Parental provisioning is weakly age-dependent and heritable in a small passerine IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-24 Miloš Krist, Anaïs Edme, Andrea Höchsmannová, Martin Janča, Lenka Lisická-Lachnitová, Hana Ringlová, Jan Stříteský
Parental care in birds encompasses many behaviours, from selecting nest-sites and supplying eggs with nutrients to incubation and offspring provisioning. Unlike the early stages, where offspring are passive receivers of care, chicks actively solicit care after hatching. This may lead to either parent–offspring conflict or coadaptation, or both, if there is genetic variance in both parental provisioning
-
Artificial light at night affects the timing of roosting by Chimney Swifts IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-21 Emma Dougherty, Harald F. Parzer, Elise R. Morton
Understanding the impact of anthropogenic threats, such as light pollution, on biodiversity is necessary to establish effective guidelines to protect diminishing wildlife. In this study, we examined the effect of artificial light at night (ALAN) on the roosting behaviour of Chimney Swifts Chaetura pelagica, a highly threatened migratory bird species that lives commensally with humans, where it often
-
Differential impact of anthropogenic noise during the acoustic development of begging calls in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-11 Javier Sierro, Selvino R. de Kort, Ian R. Hartley
In many bird species, nestling begging signals play a key role in the interaction between parents and their offspring during development. The information conveyed by begging calls can be disrupted by anthropogenic noise, which is one of the major threats to biodiversity in increasingly urbanized landscapes. Here, we describe the developmental change in acoustic structure of begging calls in nestling
-
Remote tracking unveils intercontinental movements of nomadic Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) with implications for resource tracking by irruptive specialist predators IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-10 John Calladine, Gunnar Thor Hallgrimsson, Neil Morrison, Chris Southall, Hallgrimur Gunnarsson, Fernando Jubete, Fabrizio Sergio, François Mougeot
Nomadic species can rely on unpredictable resources making them challenging to understand and, consequently, to conserve. Here, we present knowledge advancement for a nomadic predator, the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, by tracking individuals from a wide latitudinal range inclusive of most breeding populations in western Europe (Iceland, Scotland and Spain). Tracked owls showed pronounced plasticity
-
Temporal constraints influence reproductive characteristics that are related to the pace-of-life continuum in geese IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-08 Kirsty E. B. Gurney, Ray T. Alisauskas, Jordyn A. Stalwick, Thomas F. Fondell
Among avian species, particularly those with altricial young, life-history strategies are characterized by a ‘slow’ pace-of-life at lower latitudes, where relatively low annual investments in reproduction are traded-off for increased survival. Evidence for this pattern in precocial species, however, is equivocal, and questions about ecological drivers of latitudinal variation in reproduction remain
-
Citizen science data confirm that expanding non-breeding distributions of goose and swan species correlate with their increasing abundance IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-04 Henning Heldbjerg, Timme Nyegaard, Preben Clausen, Rasmus Due Nielsen, Anthony D. Fox
We combined data from two independent Danish citizen science time-series to describe changes in (1) abundance and (2) distribution of 12 wintering populations of geese and swans and tested the hypothesis that increases in national abundance since 2003 correlated with an expansion into formerly unoccupied winter farmland habitat. Five populations showed significant increases in national abundance, two
-
Genomic insights into the evolutionary and demographic histories of the extinct Hoopoe Starling (Fregilupus varius) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-03 Jérôme Fuchs, Per G. P. Ericson, Martin Irestedt
The Hoopoe Starling Fregilupus varius is an extinct species of the Sturnidae that was endemic to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. The species rapidly disappeared in the middle of the 19th century, primarily because of overexploitation by humans. We generated an approximately 11× coverage genome to reconstruct the demographic history of the Hoopoe Starling and compared these results with the demographic
-
British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC): 56th Report (January 2024) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-21
This report covers the period October 2022 to September 2023. The 55th Report appeared in Ibis 165: 360–363.
-
Revisiting the systematic position of the enigmatic Nicobar Bulbul (Ixos nicobariensis) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-18 Naman Goyal, Ashwin Warudkar, Vishnupriya Kolipakam, Bhawana Pant, Sivakumar Kuppusamy, Pratap Singh, Qamar Qureshi, Manoj V. Nair
The Nicobar Bulbul Ixos nicobariensis is an endemic species found across the central Nicobar Islands whose systematic position has been debated for many decades. Its current placement in the genus Ixos is tentative and is based on morphological similarities and geographical affinities to other members of the genus. We used mitochondrial and nuclear markers to examine its phylogenetic relationship to
-
Conspecific density and habitat quality drive the defence and vocal behaviour of a territorial passerine IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-15 Adrián Barrero, Julia Gómez-Catasús, Cristian Pérez-Granados, Daniel Bustillo-de la Rosa, Juan Traba
Territorial defence depends on highly interrelated factors such as food abundance and conspecific density. We used Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti as a model species to evaluate the response of a territorial bird to a foreign male playback, examining how conspecific density, habitat quality and male body condition impact responses. The study was conducted in central Spain with variable male density
-
Monitoring wader breeding productivity IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-15 David Jarrett, Aleksi Lehikoinen, Steve Willis
A robust understanding of the mechanisms driving demographic change in wild animal populations is fundamental to the delivery of effective conservation interventions. Demographic change can be driven by variation in adult survival, recruitment of juveniles into the breeding population or breeding productivity – the number of fledglings produced per breeding pair. Across Europe, low breeding productivity
-
Simultaneous passive acoustic monitoring uncovers evidence of potentially overlooked temporal variation in an Amazonian bird community IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-06 W. Alexander Hopping, Christopher J. Sayers, Noe Roger Huaraca-Charca, Holger Klinck
The vocal activity and detectability of tropical birds are subject to high levels of temporal heterogeneity, but quantifying patterns of diel and day-to-day variation in complex systems is challenging with traditional point count methods. As a result, research concerning stochastic temporal effects on tropical bird assemblages is limited, typically offering only broad conclusions, such as that overall
-
DNA metabarcoding complements but does not replace direct observations of penguin predation by corvids IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-06 Laura X. L. Tan, Han M. Gan, Wouter F. D. van Dongen, Peter Dann, Duncan R. Sutherland, Michael A. Weston
Establishing methods that allow for more focused management of wildlife under predator pressure may increase the efficiency of managing problematic predators. Non-invasive dietary analysis and identification of conservation-sensitive prey in the diet of ‘culprit’ predator individuals could help to facilitate this and is worthy of exploration. Recently on Phillip Island, Australia, Little Ravens Corvus
-
Current perspectives in avian nutrition: domestic animal models and their role in conservation management IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-05 Angela K. Jarman, Michelle E. Shaw, Catherine E. Grueber
As biodiversity declines, wildlife conservation focuses on in situ and ex situ management strategies. Zoo-based breeding programmes are often designed to contribute to the conservation of species that are threatened in the wild. Diet contributes to the reproductive success, disease status and longevity of all animals. It is near-impossible to replicate a species' diet in captivity using only the species
-
Colony attendance and moult pattern of Cory's Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) differing in breeding status and age IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-28 Letizia Campioni, Sofia Bolumar Roda, Hany Alonso, Paulo Catry, José Pedro Granadeiro
Migratory birds must fit three costly life-history events within the annual cycle, reproduction, moult and migration, to minimize their overlap and maximize survival and breeding success. However, some seabirds, such as Cory's Shearwater Calonectris borealis, overlap body moult and breeding, with flight feather renewal occurring in late chick-rearing. In contrast, the moult patterns of non-breeding
-
Nest attachment, rather than nest type, correlates with passerine bird brain size IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-27 Abraão B. Leite, Agustín Camacho, Mercival R. Francisco
Variation in relative interspecific brain size has been correlated with cognitive capacities in different animal groups. Bird nest construction is one of the most remarkable animal abilities, and has reached the highest diversification in the Passeriformes. Yet, its relationship with brain size is not fully understood. Here, we used a dataset of 455 species to address potential correlations between
-
Birds and human health: Pathways for a positive relationship and improved integration IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-27 Aimée Gray, Susan Doyle, Caoimhe Doyle, Juliette C. Young, Barry J. McMahon
Biodiversity, ecosystem services and human health are becoming increasingly integrated in the ‘One Health’ concept, including recognition of the impacts of biodiversity loss on human health. Birds have considerable potential to benefit human health through their contributions to ecosystem functioning, recreation, and provision of pest control and pollination services, commonly referred to as ecosystem
-
Model-based assessment of marine bird population status using monitoring of breeding productivity and abundance IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-22 Morten Frederiksen, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Hans Schekkerman, Volker Dierschke, Matt Parsons, Stefano Marra, Ian Mitchell
Vertebrate populations are often monitored as part of broader assessments of ecosystem status, where they are expected to provide information on the ability of the ecosystem to support higher-level predators. However, because many vertebrates are long-lived and often only subsets of their populations can be monitored, abundance may not be sufficiently responsive to ecosystem status to provide early
-
Highland and lowland forest birds differ in their feather growth rates: a multispecies test in the southwestern Palaearctic IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-15 Irene Hernández-Téllez, José Ignacio Aguirre, Iván de la Hera, Alejandro Onrubia, José Luis Tellería
Mountain birds face numerous challenges caused by altitude-dependent environmental seasonality. Although elevation gradients may affect bird morphology, migration strategy and/or phenology of seasonal events (breeding and moulting), the life histories of highland compared with lowland birds have been little explored. In this study we compared the growth rate and mass of the tail feathers of six forest
-
King Penguins adjust foraging effort rather than diet when faced with poor foraging conditions IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-12 Émile Brisson-Curadeau, Charles-André Bost, Yves Cherel, Kyle Elliott
The links between foraging success, foraging effort and diet in a myctophid specialist seabird, the King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus, were investigated during seven breeding seasons using tracking and isotopic data. Despite the variable foraging conditions encountered by the birds, isotopic signatures (a proxy for diet) were invariable throughout the study. On the other hand, penguins stayed longer
-
Costs and benefits in extreme nesting associations: do Sociable Weavers benefit from hosting African Pygmy Falcons? IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-17 Anthony M. Lowney, Robert L. Thomson
Avian nesting associations are a prominent feature of breeding bird communities. Protective associations between a predator and prey species represent a scenario where typically antagonistic interacting species may confer benefits on each species. The outcomes of these interactions are likely to be context-dependent and influenced by biotic and abiotic conditions. African Pygmy Falcons Polihierax semitorquatus
-
Assessing the importance of individual- and colony-level variation when using seabird foraging ranges as impact assessment and conservation tools IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-17 Ian R. Cleasby, Ellie Owen, Adam Butler, Julia Baer, Jez Blackburn, Maria I. Bogdanova, Tessa Coledale, Francis Daunt, Stephen Dodd, Julian C. Evans, Jonathan A. Green, Tim Guilford, Michael P. Harris, Robert Hughes, Mark A. Newell, Stephen F. Newton, Gail S. Robertson, Lise Ruffino, Akiko Shoji, Louise M. Soanes, Stephen C. Votier, Ewan D. Wakefield, Sarah Wanless, Linda J. Wilson, Mark Bolton
Knowledge of seabird distributions plays a key role in seabird conservation and sustainable marine management, underpinning efforts to designate protected areas or assess the impact of human developments. Technological advances in animal tracking devices increasingly allow researchers to acquire information on the movement of birds from specific colonies. Nevertheless, most seabird colonies have not
-
The causes and implications of sex role diversity in shorebird breeding systems IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-11 Tamás Székely, Maria C. Carmona-Isunza, Noémie Engel, Naerhulan Halimubieke, William Jones, Vojtĕch Kubelka, Romy Rice, Claire E. Tanner, Zsófia Tóth, José O. Valdebenito, Kees Wanders, Grant C. McDonald
Males and females often exhibit different behaviours during mate acquisition, pair-bonding and parenting, and a convenient label to characterize these behaviours is sex role. The diverse roles that male and female shorebirds (plovers, sandpipers and allies) exhibit in mating and parenting have played a key role in advancing mainstream theories in avian ecology and behavioural biology including sexual
-
The mechanistic, genetic and evolutionary causes of bird eye colour variation IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-11 Eamon C. Corbett, Robb T. Brumfield, Brant C. Faircloth
Birds display a rainbow of eye colours, but this trait has been little studied compared with plumage coloration. Avian eye colour variation occurs at all phylogenetic scales: it can be conserved throughout whole families or vary within one species, yet the evolutionary importance of this eye colour variation is under-studied. Here, we summarize knowledge of the causes of eye colour variation at three
-
Icelandic Whimbrel first migration: Non-stop until West Africa, yet later departure and slower travel than adults IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-08 Camilo Carneiro, Tómas G. Gunnarsson, Triin Kaasiku, Theunis Piersma, José A. Alves
Migratory behaviour in young individuals is probably developed by using a complex suite of resources, from molecular information to social learning. Comparing the migration of adults and juveniles provides insights into the possible contribution of those developmental factors to the ontogeny of migration. We show that, like adults, juvenile Icelandic Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus islandicus fly non-stop
-
Mixed population trends inside a California protected area: Evidence from long-term community science monitoring IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-04 Julien M. Wright-Ueda, Rodolfo Dirzo, Tyler N. McFadden
Protected areas are one of the most widespread and accepted conservation interventions, yet population trends of species within protected areas are rarely compared with regional trends to gain insight into their effectiveness. Here, we leverage two long-term community science datasets, finding mixed effects of protected areas on long-term bird population trends. We analysed 31 years of bird transect
-
Variable choice affects estimations of vulnerability to climate change IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-03 Krista N. Oswald, Shannon R. Conradie
For practical reasons, assessments of species' vulnerability to rising temperatures are often limited to measuring responses to a single ecological response variable, but this could result in an underestimation of vulnerability. Using the Cape Rockjumper Chaetops frenatus (‘Rockjumper’) we examined the thermal risk to nestling Rockjumpers for sublethal (i.e. reduced nestling mass gain) and lethal (i
-
Ringing, tracking and counting data reveal five wintering patterns in European Common Shelducks IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-27 Dagmar S. Cimiotti, Dominic V. Cimiotti, Hermann Hötker, Stefan Garthe
Information on migratory connections provides a basis for effective conservation efforts. The spatial connections between breeding and wintering areas are poorly known for many species. The connections become complicated in species that carry out additional migrations between their breeding and wintering areas. Common Shelducks Tadorna tadorna (hereafter Shelducks) in western Europe perform an extensive
-
The difficult challenge of accurately recording iris colour in birds revealed through the lens of specimens of Australia's Spinifex Pigeon (Geophaps plumifera) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-20 Leo Joseph, Alex Drew, Christopher A. Wilson, Julian Teh, Pietro Viacava, Richard Schodde
Museum collections of birds are a key source of data on the colours of ‘soft parts’, e.g. legs, feet, bill (maxilla, mandible), wattles, periocular skin and, our focus here, the iris of the eye. However, subjective descriptions of soft parts' colours have long plagued their use, whether in research or in illustrations of birds. We document a case where reasonable doubt about the accuracy of iris colour
-
High pathogenicity avian influenza (H5N1) in Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus): Global spread, clinical signs and demographic consequences IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-20 Jude V. Lane, Jana W.E. Jeglinski, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Elmar Ballstaedt, Ashley C. Banyard, Tatsiana Barychka, Ian H. Brown, Brigitte Brugger, Tori V. Burt, Noah Careen, Johan H.F. Castenschiold, Signe Christensen-Dalsgaard, Shannon Clifford, Sydney M. Collins, Emma Cunningham, Jóhannis Danielsen, Francis Daunt, Kyle J.N. D'entremont, Parker Doiron, Steven Duffy, Matthew D. English, Marco Falchieri
During 2021 and 2022 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) killed thousands of wild birds across Europe and North America, suggesting a change in infection dynamics and a shift to new hosts, including seabirds. Northern Gannets Morus bassanus appeared to be especially severely impacted, but a detailed account of the data available is required to help understand how the HPAI virus (HPAIV) spread
-
Unlocking avian museum collections to enable and advance environmental change research IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-15 Ken Norris, Alexander L. Bond, Joanna H. Cooper, Mark P. Adams, Hein van Grouw, Judith White, Martin Stervander, Douglas G. D. Russell, Simon P. Loader
The rate and magnitude of contemporary changes in natural systems is unprecedented in the Earth's history. Studies of wild birds have been critically important in helping us understand and address these environmental changes. Avian collections provide a potentially unique perspective on change through time, but their role in environmental change research is limited by the availability of collections
-
Disparate data streams together yield novel survival estimates of Alaska-breeding Whimbrels IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-12 Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Christopher M. Harwood, T. Lee Tibbitts, Vijay P. Patil
Survival estimates are critical components of avian ecology. In well-intentioned efforts to maximize the utility of one's research, survival estimates often derive from data that were not originally collected for survival assessments, and such post hoc analyses may include unintentional biases. We estimated the survival of Whimbrels captured and marked at two breeding sites in Alaska using divergent
-
Horizontal prey distribution determines the foraging performance of short- and long-billed waders in virtual resource landscapes IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-12 Evelien Deboelpaep, Steven Pint, Nico Koedam, Tom Van der Stocken, Bram Vanschoenwinkel
When waders gather in mixed-species flocks to feed on benthic prey, differences in morphological traits, foraging strategies and prey selection may allow different species to optimize their energy intake while reducing competition. As the effect of the fine-scale spatial distribution of resources on energy intake is unknown, we simulated the foraging performance of two types of waders with contrasting
-
Does early spring arrival lead to early nesting in a migratory shorebird? Insights from remote tracking IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-29 Josh Nightingale, Jennifer A. Gill, Tómas G. Gunnarsson, Afonso D. Rocha, Ruth A. Howison, Jos C. E. W. Hooijmeijer, Theunis Piersma, José A. Alves
Advancing breeding phenology is a commonly observed response to climate warming among bird species, potentially in response to shifts in the phenology of key resources. However, for migratory birds breeding at high latitudes, their capacity to breed earlier may be constrained by the time available between arrival on the breeding grounds and nesting, especially for later-arriving individuals. This may
-
Choice of model and re-nesting probability function influences behaviour of avian seasonal productivity models and their demographic predictions IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-23 Patrick J. C. White, Chris Stoate, Nicholas J. Aebischer, John Szczur, Lucy Ferrer, Ken Norris
Measuring seasonal productivity is difficult in multi-brooded species without labour-intensive ringing studies. Individual-based (IB) models have been used to estimate seasonal productivity with no direct knowledge of number of nesting attempts, but they are often based on simplified re-nesting probability (φR) step-functions instead of observed or more biologically plausible ones. We present a new
-
Nest-site selection and reproductive success of a critically endangered parrot, the Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus), in an anthropogenic landscape IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-23 Thomas C. Lewis, Ignacio Gutiérrez Vargas, Claire Vredenbregt, Mario Jimenez, Ben Hatchwell, Andrew P. Beckerman, Dylan Z. Childs
Nest-site selection is the principal way in which secondary cavity-nesting species mitigate the negative effects of factors such as predation, parasitism and exposure on reproductive success. Large-bodied secondary cavity-nesting birds rely on large cavities in mature trees that are often absent or reduced in anthropogenically disturbed forests. Hence, the availability of high-quality nest-sites may
-
Abundance-related systematic bias in the quantification of phenology using site presence-based survey methods IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-14 Mark J. Eddowes
Reliable quantification of the timing of spring phenology is important to the understanding of ecological responses to climate change. Citizen science data have a potentially useful role supporting these types of studies. Site presence-based methods represent a relatively simple means of following spring phenology, including migrant bird arrival. However, binary presence/absence observations are ill-suited
-
Birds and people: from conflict to coexistence IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-09 Barry J. McMahon, Beatriz Arroyo, Nils Bunnefeld, Martina Carrete, Francis Daunt, Juliette C. Young
Negative interactions between humans and animals are becoming increasingly frequent, as wild habitats shrink and human presence and activities expand throughout the world. Conflicts between people over conservation are one of the outcomes of this increased interaction, with severe consequences for both wildlife and people. Globally, conflicts can arise across diverse ecosystems, species and circumstances
-
Variation in flight characteristics associated with entry by eagles into rotor-swept zones of wind turbines IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-07 Brian W. Rolek, Melissa A. Braham, Tricia A. Miller, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner, Christopher J. W. McClure
Automated curtailment of wind turbines can reduce fatality rates of wildlife but the resulting increased number of curtailments can reduce power generation. Tailoring curtailment criteria for each individual turbine could reduce unnecessary curtailment, yet it is unknown whether the risk to wildlife varies among turbines. We demonstrate turbine-specific variation in the speed, altitude, approach angle
-
Comparing migratory connectivity across species: The importance of considering the pattern of sampling and the processes that lead to connectivity IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-31 Will Cresswell, Robert Patchett
Measuring the degree of migratory connectivity – how much and where different populations of species mix as they migrate over their annual cycle – is important because it informs the understanding of the evolution of migration, how populations will be affected by both habitat and climate change, and which areas to prioritize for conservation. But existing measures of connectivity may be difficult to
-
Investigating connectivity and seasonal differences in wind assistance in the migration of Common Sandpipers IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-28 Thomas O. Mondain-Monval, Richard du Feu, Ron W. Summers, Stuart P. Sharp
Many migratory bird species have undergone recent population declines, but there is considerable variation in trends between species and between populations employing different migratory routes. Understanding species-specific migratory behaviours is therefore of critical importance for their conservation. The Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos is an Afro-Palaearctic migratory bird species whose European
-
The need for a flyway approach in defining the onset of prenuptial migration of huntable bird species across Europe IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-21 Alessandro Andreotti, Arianna Aradis, Giacomo Assandri, Gaia Bazzi, Jacopo Giuseppe Cecere, Andrea Ferri, Simona Imperio, Andrea Marcon, Riccardo Nardelli, Simone Pirrello, Elisabetta Raganella Pelliccioni, Fernando Spina, Lorenzo Serra
The identification of the onset of prenuptial migration is fundamental in defining the closing date of the hunting season in compliance with the EU Birds Directive. Here, we describe the process and country-by-country approach currently followed by the European Commission to define the onset of prenuptial migration for each huntable bird species and Member State, highlighting the resulting discrepancies
-
Song complexity is associated with habitat quality in an upland passerine IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-17 Javier García, Paola Laiolo, Susana Suárez-Seoane
Understanding the influence of intrinsic (genetic and morphological) and extrinsic (geographical, environmental and social) factors on the performance and spatial differentiation of sexual signals, such as bird song, can help identify behavioural indicators of individual quality, habitat degradation and social environment. We used the Iberian Bluethroat Luscinia svecica azuricollis, a migratory bird
-
British Ornithologists' Union Godman-Salvin Prize IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-15 Anthony D. Fox
Cao Lei Cao Lei has been passionate about birds since she grew up among pigeons and domestic geese as a small child. This passion was kindled by her careful observation and understanding of urban birds as a child and student, but remains pre-eminent in all she does, perhaps the secret behind her success as a communicator of science and mentor to her numerous students. It also explains her quite extraordinary
-
Eggshell coloration is an indicator of dietary calcium in Common Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-12 Landon R. Jones, Hal L. Black, Melanie R. Boudreau, Rebecca D. Bracken, N. Paul Johnston
According to the structural-function hypothesis, the eggshell pigment protoporphyrin, deposited at weak spots, can strengthen the shell structure when calcium is lacking in avian species. However, this hypothesis has not been tested in species that produce pigmented eggs of uniform ground colour without spotting patterns. We tested the structural-function hypothesis using 435 eggs produced on seven
-
Similar survival of birds between wet and seasonally dry Neotropical environments IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-12 Clarisse Caroline de Oliveira E. Silva, Luciana Vieira de Paiva, Mauro Pichorim, Lemuel Oliveira Leite, João Batista Pinho, Raphael Igor Dias, Daniel Cunha Passos, Leonardo Fernandes França
Studies in the tropics suggest a regional similarity in survival rates of adult birds; however, this literature often overlooks species in semi-arid tropical environments. Bird survival in seasonally dry environments (e.g. seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFa)) may be lower than that in more constantly wet areas (e.g. tropical rainforests (TRFs)), especially if the birds are negatively affected by
-
Fast cultural evolution of Crossbill (Loxia spp.) calls in the Palaearctic IBIS (IF 2.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-04 Ralph Martin, Julien Rochefort, Roger Mundry, Gernot Segelbacher
Learned vocal signals of birds provide one of the most comprehensive sources of evidence for culture in animals. Such vocal signals often vary spatially and temporally. Signal variation can be driven by direct factors such as cultural drift and selection or by indirect factors such as changes in the environment, which may affect morphology and therefore acoustic capability. In this study we analysed