A New Inventory and Conservation Assessment of United States Islands

Zoos may play an important role in conservation when they maintain and breed large numbers of animals that are threatened with extinction. Bird conservation is in a privileged situation owing to the extensive biological information available about this class. Annual inventories produced by the "Sociedade de Zoológicos do Brasil" in the years 1981, 1990, 2000, and 2005 were analyzed. Variables, such as the number of zoos per geographic region; number of birds held; number of bird species in each IUCN threat category; number of exotic and native bird species; number of potentially breeding bird species; number of bird species in each order; and number of threatened bird species breeding, were analyzed. Brazilian zoos kept more than 350 bird species. The number of bird species and specimens held by the Brazilian Zoos increased from 1981 to 2000, but decreased in 2005. The same pattern was observed for the number of species in each IUCN threat category. Results showed that the potential of the Brazilian zoos in bird conservation needs to be enhanced because they maintain threatened species but do not implement systematic genetic, reproductive, or behavioral management protocols for most species.

AimWe compared the parasite assemblages of over‐wintering migratory birds and permanent residents on the wintering grounds. We determined whether parasite sharing between migratory and resident birds is influenced by host phylogenetic relatedness. We then inferred whether migratory birds transport haemosporidian parasite lineages between the breeding and wintering grounds.LocationSierra de Bahoruco National Park, Dominican Republic, Hispaniola.TaxaMigratory and resident birds (primarily Aves: Passeriformes) and their haemosporidian parasites (order Haemosporida, Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Parahaemoproteus).MethodsWe used mist nets to capture birds in thorn scrub, broadleaf dry forests and pine forests during midwinter. We used molecular methods to recognize haemosporidian parasites in blood samples, and genotyped infections based on the nucleotide differences in a region of the parasite cytochrome b gene.Results and Main ConclusionWe identified 505 infections by 32 haemosporidian parasite lineages in 1,780 blood samples from 37 resident species, and in 901 blood samples from 14 overwintering migratory species, over five years at the same sites. Infection prevalence varied among migratory species from zero to 13%, whereas infection prevalence among resident species ranged up to 77%. Host relatedness did not predict parasite assemblage similarity. We discuss four hypotheses for the rarity of haemosporidian infections in migratory birds during winter, and for the infrequency of parasite sharing between migratory and resident birds: (a) relative abundance and host preferences of dipteran vectors lower parasite transmission to migratory birds; (b) parasite lineages adapted to infect endemic Caribbean hosts are unable to infect migratory species; (c) the physiology of migratory birds after migration and during winter reduces parasite survival; and (d) infected individuals suffer more pronounced mortality rates during migration. We highlight the link between host–parasite coevolution and the physiological adaptations associated with avian seasonal migration.

The coastal areas of Bangladesh are enriched with migratory avian species but the actual status of birds was unknown, particularly in the south-central coastal region of the country. A yearlong (June 2023 to May 2024) direct field observation-based study was conducted to unfold the present status of the migratory avifauna in three protected areas (Kuakata National Park, Tangragiri Wildlife Sanctuary, and Sonarchar Wildlife Sanctuary). In this study, a total of 85 migratory bird species were recorded under 10 orders and 22 families. Individuals of wetland dependent migratory birds were higher than other bird species. Sonarchar Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS) had the highest number of bird species and individuals (70 species; n = 3618 individuals) with the highest diversity index values (H’ = 3.135, Ds = 0.9257) compared to two other sites. Significant variations among migratory avian communities were found among the three study sites as indicated by the Analysis of Similarity (ANOSIM) test (R = 0.168, P < 0.001) in the non-metric multidimensional plot (NMDs). Among the migratory bird species, Charadrius dubius (14.75%), Anas crecca (14.33%), Threskiornis melanocephalus (11.69%), Actitis hypoleucos 8.47%), Vanellus cinereus (6.75%) were the most abundant. Population abundance was higher for the occurrence of the wetland dependent migratory bird species in the study area. Avian community composition of migratory species showed uneven distribution in the rank abundance curve. Across the three study sites, the majority of the migratory bird species exhibited clumped distribution patterns, followed by regular and random distribution patterns. A total of 37 (45.12%) species of migratory birds were found to use the coastline as their microhabitat. Unplanned fishing, tourism, expansion of agricultural land, hunting, and pollution were identified as major threats to the migratory bird species in the study area. This study suggests community-based conservation measures are essential for the proper conservation of the migratory birds. Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 34(1): 155-173, 2025 (January)

Mangrove forests throughout the world are recognized as stopover sites by many migratory birds – including waders – as they contain ample food resources such as invertebrates, fruits, and flowers that are beneficial to most birds. In connection, the Talabong Mangrove Forest located in Bais, Negros Oriental, Philippines is recognized as a wildlife sanctuary, but no recent data on birds could supplement this. Thus, this study aims to assess the distribution patterns of migratory and resident birds in the said site during the southward migration which encompasses both wet and dry seasons. Also, the investigation determines whether Talabong mangrove could function as a stopover site for migratory birds. To examine the community structure, the populations of resident and migratory bird species were assessed for species composition, diversity, density, and abundance in three sampling periods: pre-migration, migration, and post-migration. The line transects and point-count methods were employed with four transect lines laid out on the study site. Each line stretched a kilometer long with a 250-m interval with five points for point-counting and was visited on each sampling period. Points were marked for a consistent sampling. For each sampling period, results showed that the birds’ abundance, diversity, and density remained consistently high throughout each sampling. Specifically, the species composition and the number of resident birds did not seem to alter and remained high as well. On the other hand, migrants had an abrupt increase during migration sampling and decreased towards the end. But similarity analyses suggest species composition remained approximately similar for the migrants. The results showed that Talabong mangrove forest contained some migratory species – making it a decent stopover site, although not as many migrants as in other protected mangroves and wetlands in the Philippines. The resident birds occupying the site may also have served as cues for the migrants.

The wetlands of Nepal are well known for unusually rich biodiversity. Taudaha is famous for winter migrant water fowls as far as from Siberian. The natural form of Taudaha has been neglected and it is surrounded by concrete homes instead of trees and paddy field. Land use change is often regarded as one of the main reasons for habitat degradation and subsequent decrease in migratory birds’ population. This article aims to quantify the land use change scenario in and around the lake area using GIS tool. Google images from February 2004 and April 2022 were obtained from “Google Earth Pro” software and used to prepare the land use map by using “QGIS 3.12” software. The cultivated land covered about 73.42% of the total study area followed by settlement (8.61%), vegetation (8.02%) and the lake (9.95%) itself in 2004. But 18 years later, in the year 2022, Taudaha is gradually surrounded by urban areas. The cultivated land has been changed to be settlement areas. The cultivated land has decreased for construction of houses, hotels and resorts. Human activities in hotels and resorts near the lake area have caused distraction to migratory birds visiting the lake. This is causing degradation of habitat of the migratory bird species. Literatures showed the declining number of migratory bird species visiting the lake areas during winter.

Assessing conservation values of forest stands based on specialised lichens and birds

Mangroves are a group of halophytic, evergreen, woody plants and shrubs that occupy the intertidal zone. The Jaffna peninsula has some of the major mangrove sites in Sri Lanka with large extents of undisturbed mangroves. As a result of the three-decade long armed conflict that prevailed in the entire northern part of the Island, mangrove diversity and distribution has never been evaluated since 1969. The objective of the present study was to identify the mangrove species and their distribution in the Jaffna peninsula. Five locations were selected based on the distribution of mangrove vegetation. These are Mandaitivu (East and West), Sirudivu, Kuruchidivu, Kurikadduwan, and Kaluthaipiddi. Random quadrat method was used to assess the abundance of mangrove species in the area. A total of 21 species of true mangrove plants have been recorded in Sri Lanka and the present study identified seven (07) species in the Jaffna peninsula. These are Bruguiera cylindrica, Avicennia marina, Avicennia officinalis, Rhizophora mucronata, Excoecaria agallocha, Lumnitzera racemosa, and Ceriops tagal. A mangrove associate, Acanthus ilicifolius was also recorded. Of these, Bruguiera cylindrica is a species with restricted distribution. In the present study it was recorded only from Sirudivu (density 169/km2). Avicennia marina is the dominant species on the Islands and Southern coastal line. The island of Mandaitivu had a high density of this species (293/km2 on East and 1208/km2 on West Mandaitivu). Kuruchidivu also had a higher density (2571/km2) of this species compared to other island areas. Avicennia officinalis was restricted to Sirudivu and Kuruchidivu (density 246/km2 and 100/km2 respectively). Mangroves are one of the most diverse ecosystems and they provide suitable habitats for a large number of migratory bird species and other aquatic species such as fishes, shrimps, crabs, etc. which are important to marine fisheries in Sri Lanka. They are one of the most productive ecosystems on the earth. The mangroves also protect the coasts from the impacts of storms. The study area has large extents of relatively undisturbed mangroves, found mainly on the Eastern side of the Jaffna peninsula along with the lagoon line and the Southern part of the peninsula along the coastal line. Hence the present area has a considerable conservation value. Keywords: True mangroves, Mangrove associates, Distribution, Islands, Jaffna Peninsula

Located on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, the Sian Ka’an area is a national biosphere reserve. It is an almost undisturbed complex hydrological system containing tropical forests, wetlands, mangroves, swamps, lagoons, beaches, dunes, sinkholes, and marshes, as well as a large marine section intersected by a barrier reef. The diversity of life in Sian Ka’an is exceptional. It is one of Mexico’s largest protected areas, established to manage marine, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems. The tropical forests are home to a great number of mammals. The site also provides habitat for a large number of resident and migratory bird species, and there is also a great diversity of marine life.

공원별 관찰된 조류의 서식수는 비봉공원 49종 4,349마리, 진주성지 46종 6,453마리. 노산공원 37종 2,817마리, 산호공원 33종 6,014마리로 조사되었으며, 4개 공원 전지역에서 우점도와 출현빈도가 높았던 조류는 참새(21.8%), 오목눈이류(20.7%), 까치(8.7%), 직박구리(7.6%), 박새(6.4%), 방울새류(4.6%)순이었다. 조류군집을 이동성에 의하여 분석한 결과 텃새 > 여름새 > 겨울새 > 통과새 순으로 4개공원 모두 텃새가 우점하였으며 종 수는 겨울철에 40종으로 최소, 봄철에 53종으로 최대를 나타내었다. 공원별 분포조류에 대한 종다양도지수는 비봉공원이 1.3256으로 종다양도가 가장 높았고 산호공원, 노산공원, 진주성지 순으로 나타났다. 공원별 서식조류에 대한 영소길드와 채이길드를 조사한 결과 4개공원 모두 영소길드는 공원수목의 수동, 수관, 관목을 이용한 영소길드(1∼7종)보다 외부, 인공 영소길드(7∼15종)가 높은 반면 번식기 채이길드는 외부, 인공, 공중 채이길드(2∼8종)보다 수관, 관목을 이용한 채이길드(12∼25종)가 높게 나타났다. The number of species and individvals of birds observed in Bibong, Chinju-castle, Nosan and Saho parks were 49 and 4,349, 46 and 6,453, 37 and 2,817, and 33 and 6,014, nespectively The dominant species in all survey areas were shown in the order of Passer montanus(21.8%), Aegithalos spp.(20.7%), Pica pica(8.7%), Hypsipetes amaurotis(7.6%), Parus major(6.4%), Carduelis spp.(4.6%). Migration of birds was the order of residents, summer visitor, winter visitor, and passage migrant. The number of bird species appeared was the fewest in winter as 40 species and the most in spring as 53 species. Species diversity was the highest in Bibong park as 1.3256 and followed in the order of Sanho park, Nosan park, and Chinju-castle park. The nesting guild was higher at outside and artificial nesting guild(7-15 species) compared with hole, canopy, bush nesting guild(1-7 species) in all survey areas. The breeding forage guild was higher at canopy and bush(12-25 species) than that at outside, artificial, and air forage guild(2-8 species).

Consequences of seasonal migration : How goose relocation strategies influence infection prevalence and pathogen dispersal

The Pliocene-Pleistocene transition had dual effects on North American migratory bird speciation

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) is critical to avian conservation in the United States, both through its protection of migratory birds and as a catalyst for a century of coordinated avian conservation. While more than 1,000 species are protected by MBTA, of extant bird species native to the continental U.S., only 20 species belonging to the order Galliformes are explicitly excluded. Management of galliforms has occurred largely without direct federal oversight, placing this group on a fundamentally different conservation path during the century following MBTA passage. In this paper, we review the historical context and biological justification for exclusion of galliforms from MBTA and synthesize how their present-day conservation differs from that of migratory birds. We find the most prominent difference between the two groups involves the scope of coordination among stakeholders. The U.S. government, primarily via the Department of Interior, acts as de facto coordinating body for migratory bird conservation and plays the central role in oversight, funding, and administration of management in the United States. In contrast, galliform management falls primarily to individual state wildlife agencies, and coordinated conservation efforts have been more ad hoc and unevenly spread across species. Migratory birds benefit from an almost universally greater scope of research and monitoring, scale of habitat conservation, and sophistication of harvest management compared with galliforms. Galliform harvest management plans, in particular, are less likely to use measurable objectives, reporting of uncertainty in population parameters, and explanation of harvest management techniques. Based on a review of species status lists (e.g., the U.S. Endangered Species Act), we found no evidence that galliforms were more frequently listed than migratory species. Regional trend estimates from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) were more likely to be negative for galliforms over the period 1966–2015, but this was primarily driven by Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Data to assess galliform population status are generally poor, which complicates assessment for roughly half of galliform species. Increased support for coordination among state agencies and other stakeholders, similar to that applied to migratory birds, could help to ensure that galliform conservation is poised to tackle forthcoming challenges associated with global change.

Soendjoto MA, Riefani MK, Triwibowo D, Metasari D. 2018. Birds observed during the monitoring period of 2013-2017 in the revegetation area of ex-coal mining sites in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 323-329. The number of bird species in the reclaimed and revegetated ex-mine site increases as the vegetation age increases. To test the hypotheses, the number of bird species was recorded at 08.00-12.00 and 14.00-17.00, 6-8 days for eight consecutive semiannual monitorings of 2013-2017 in four revegetation sites. Since the second half of 2015, another revegetation site, namely BP was added. Bird species were recorded in 25 m right side and 25 m left side of the observation path and within a radius of 25 m of observation points. To show an increase in the number of bird species, the number of newly discovered bird species in the given semiannual monitoring was added to the number of bird species in the previous semiannual monitoring. The number of bird species in the early semiannual monitoring was used as the baseline value. A bird species was categorized as a resident if the species was observed in each monitoring in the four vegetated sites. Up to the last monitoring, 53 bird species were recorded in the first four sites and 70 bird species in five sites (four reclamation and revegetation sites and one additional site, BP), while in the early semiannual monitoring (second half of 2013) birds recorded were only 30 species. This result shows that the older the vegetation age in the vegetated site, the greater the number of bird species utilizing the site. Seventeen species of birds were categorized as residents. These resident bird species includes White-breasted Woodswallow, Pied Triller, Scaly-breasted Munia, Asian House-martin, Pacific Swallow, Long-tailed Shrike, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Olive-backed Sunbird, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Yellow-vented Bulbul, White-breasted Waterhen, Ashy Tailorbird, Yellow-bellied Prinia.

A number of terrestrial bird species that breed in North America cross the Atlantic Ocean during autumn migration when travelling to their non-breeding grounds in the Caribbean or South America. When conducting oceanic crossings, migratory birds tend to associate with mild or supportive winds, whose speed and direction may change under global warming. The implications of these changes for transoceanic migratory bird populations have not been addressed. We used occurrence information from eBird (1950-2015) to estimate the geographical location of population centres at a daily temporal resolution across the annual cycle for 10 transatlantic migratory bird species. We used this information to estimate the location and timing of autumn migration within the transatlantic flyway. We estimated how prevailing winds are projected to change within the transatlantic flyway during this time using daily wind speed anomalies (1996-2005 and 2091-2100) from 29 Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models implemented under CMIP5. Autumn transatlantic migrants have the potential to encounter strong westerly crosswinds early in their transatlantic journey at intermediate and especially high migration altitudes, strong headwinds at low and intermediate migration altitudes within the Caribbean that increase in strength as the season progresses, and weak tailwinds at intermediate and high migration altitudes east of the Caribbean. The CMIP5 simulations suggest that, during this century, the likelihood of autumn transatlantic migrants encountering strong westerly crosswinds will diminish. As global warming progresses, the need for species to compensate or drift under the influence of strong westerly crosswinds during the initial phase of their autumn transatlantic journey may be diminished. Existing strategies that promote headwind avoidance and tailwind assistance will likely remain valid. Thus, climate change may reduce time and energy requirements and the chance of mortality or vagrancy during a specific but likely critical portion of these species' autumn migration journey.

On predicting the presence of birds in Eucalyptus forest types