Additional Avian Species of Wetland Cluster at Gidhwa and Selected Wetlands, Chhattisgarh, India

Avian chlamydiosis is an acute or chronic disease of birds after infection by Chlamydia. Although Chlamydia psittaci is the primary agent of the disease, two additional species, Chlamydia avium and Chlamydia gallinacea, have also been recognized as potential disease agents. Therefore, the diagnosis of avian chlamydiosis requires differential identification of these avian Chlamydia species. The objective of the present study was to develop a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to rapidly differentiate between these three species of avian Chlamydia (C. psittaci, C. avium, and C. gallinacea) as well as to detect the genus Chlamydia. Specific genetic regions of the three species were identified by comparative analysis of their genome sequences. Also, the genus-specific region was selected based on 23S rRNA sequences. PCR primers and probes specific to the genus and each species were designed and integrated in the multiplex real-time PCR assay. The assay was highly efficient (94.8–100.7%). It could detect fewer than 10 copies of each target sequence of the genus and each species. Twenty-five Chlamydia control and field DNA samples were differentially identified while 20 other bacterial strains comprising 10 bacterial genera were negative in the assay. This assay allows rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of the genus and the three species of avian Chlamydia in a single protocol that is suitable for routine diagnostic purposes in avian diagnostic laboratories.

Hosts of avian brood parasites have evolved diverse defenses to avoid the costs associated with raising brood parasite nestlings. In egg ejection, the host recognizes and removes foreign eggs laid in its nest. Nest sanitation, a behavior similar in motor pattern to egg ejection, has been proposed repeatedly as a potential pre-adaptation to egg ejection. Here, we separately placed blue 3D-printed, brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) eggs known to elicit interindividual variation in ejection responses and semi-natural leaves into American robins' (Turdus migratorius) nests to test proximate predictions that (1) rejecter hosts should sanitize debris from nests more frequently and consistently than accepter hosts and (2) hosts that sanitize their nests of debris prior to the presentation of a foreign egg will be more likely to eject the foreign egg. Egg ejection responses were highly repeatable within individuals yet variable between them, but were not influenced by prior exposure to debris, nor related to sanitation tendencies as a whole, because nearly all individuals sanitized their nests. Additionally, we collected published data for eight different host species to test for a potential positive correlation between sanitation and egg ejection. We found no significant correlation between nest sanitation and egg ejection rates; however, our comparative analysis was limited to a sample size of 8, and we advise that more data from additional species are necessary to properly address interspecific tests of the pre-adaptation hypothesis. In lack of support for the nest sanitation hypothesis, our study suggests that, within individuals, foreign egg ejection is distinct from nest sanitation tendencies, and sanitation and foreign egg ejection may not correlate across species.

As a result of their feeding habits, birds of 36 or more families have proved to be susceptible to a large number of dicrocoeliine trematodes living principally in the bile ducts and gall-bladder of their hosts (Faust, 1966). As more species of avian hosts are examined and their liver flukes studied, additional species are described and previously recognized species are reported from new hosts and new geographical areas (Lumsden and Zischke, 1963).In 1958, Yamaguti differentiated Dicrocoeliinae Looss, 1899 into 8 tribes, one of which he named Lutztrematini, having as cardinal characters an acetabulum much larger than oral sucker and testes tandem or diagonal; single genus Lutztrema Travassos, 1941 and L. obliquum (Travassos, 1917) as type species. The avian dicrocoeliine species described in this communication has important morphological characters agreeing with the Lutztrematini and others lacking agreement. In consequence, it has seemed necessary to create a new genus, Paralutztrema, related to, but generically separate from Lutztrema.

Circoviruses are small, non-enveloped, icosahedral viruses that are unique among animal viruses in having circular, single-stranded DNA genomes. Their genomes are also the smallest possessed by animal viruses. The circovirus family currently comprises three members, chicken anaemia virus, porcine circovirus, and psittacine beak and feather disease virus, with pigeon circovirus being classified as a tentative member. Infections with each of the four circoviruses are associated with potentially fatal diseases in which virus-induced damage to lymphoid tissue and immunosuppression are common features. Experience with other animal virus families suggests that additional animal species will be infected by, as yet undiscovered, circoviruses and that these may display similar tissue tropism and disease-causing potential. Recent reports describing the association of circovirus-like viruses with immunodeficiency-related diseases of geese and southern black-backed gulls suggest that circovirus infections of avian species may be more common than previously recognized, and prompt the question of whether novel circoviruses infect poultry to cause clinical and/or subclinical diseases that may be economically important. This review has three purposes. First, it is designed to summarize the currently available information about the classified circoviruses and viruses that are regarded as circovirus-like. Second, it aims to alert the readership to the possibility that other avian species, including commercial poultry, may be infected with novel circoviruses. Finally, possible methods for discovering novel circoviruses and for controlling infections by such viruses are suggested.

Migratory birds are implicated in dispersing haemosporidian parasites over great geographic distances. However, their role in sharing these vector-transmitted blood parasites with resident avian host species along their migration flyway is not well understood. We studied avian haemosporidian parasites in 10 localities where Chilean Elaenia, a long-distance Neotropical austral migrant species, spends part of its annual cycle to determine local parasite transmission among resident sympatric host species in the elaenia's distributional range across South America. We sampled 371 Chilean Elaenias and 1,818 birds representing 243 additional sympatric species from Brazilian wintering grounds to Argentinian breeding grounds. The 23 haemosporidian lineages found in Chilean Elaenias exhibited considerable variation in distribution, specialization, and turnover across the 10 avian communities in South America. Parasite lineage dissimilarity increased with geographic distance, and infection probability by Parahaemoproteus decreased in localities harbouring a more diverse haemosporidian fauna. Furthermore, blood smears from migrating Chilean Elaenias and local resident avian host species did not contain infective stages of Leucocytozoon, suggesting that transmission did not take place in the Brazilian stopover site. Our analyses confirm that this Neotropical austral migrant connects avian host communities and transports haemosporidian parasites along its distributional range in South America. However, the lack of transmissive stages at stopover site and the infrequent parasite lineage sharing between migratory host populations and residents at breeding and wintering grounds suggest that Chilean Elaenias do not play a significant role in dispersing haemosporidian parasites, nor do they influence local transmission across South America.

We examined cavity-nesting bird use of natural snags (n = 221) and 10- to 12-year-old snags (n = 836) created by topping mature conifers in 3 silvicultural treatments (group-selection cuts, 2-story regeneration harvests, clearcuts with retained trees) and 2 snag arrangements (clustered, scattered) in 30 Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands in the Oregon Coast Range. Eight bird species nested in created snags. Open-canopy stands (2-story and clearcut treatments) had higher levels of avian nesting, species richness, and species diversity compared to closed-canopy, group-selection stands. We did not find a difference in nesting levels between clustered and scattered snags. In created snags, most active nests were in the top 25% of the bole, cavity entrances typically faced northeast, and the presence of dead branches did not alter use of snags for nesting. Topped conifers that remained alive (n = 102) were rarely used for nesting or foraging. Since the last survey 6 years prior to our survey, the number of cavities per created snag per silvicultural treatment increased 3.3- to 6-fold, and we observed 4 additional avian species nesting; 3 were secondary cavity nesters. Total cavities per snag averaged 5.1, 4.3, and 2.5 for created snags, natural snags >12 years old, and natural snags <12 years old, respectively. Only 1 created snag fell in the decade since topping. Natural new snag recruitment resulting from residual green tree mortality was highest in 2-story stands (0.76 snag/ha) and lowest in clearcuts (0.20 snag/ha). Snags created by topping large conifers provided nesting and foraging structures for cavity-nesting birds under a range of silvicultural conditions, and use was influenced more by residual green tree density than snag arrangement. In addition, created snags increased in value for birds through their first decade (88% had cavities). Because snags created by topping last long and are readily used by birds, they should be considered a management option to improve avian habitat in managed forests.

Fecal corticosterone metabolites are commonly used in avian ecology as a measure of response to stress. Recent research on mammals suggested that the manner in which samples are stored could be critical to alleviating any storage handling bias. Cross‐reacting metabolites can increase glucocorticoid metabolites even after samples are frozen and, thus, result in an overestimation of hormone levels as the time increases between when samples were collected and when levels are measured. We examined effects of sample storage time on fecal corticosterone metabolites for 2 avian species across 165 days. We observed no change in fecal corticosterone metabolites across the sampling periods in either fulvous whistling‐ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor) or white ibis (Eudocimus albus). Results suggest that avian fecal corticosterone metabolite levels do not change when samples are frozen for long periods of time and that there were no differences in the response between the 2 species we compared. This study demonstrated that avian fecal corticosterone samples are accurate even after freezing and, thus, studies that seek to address conservation questions may rely on these data. Studies of additional bird species are needed to generalize our findings to other avian taxa.

Papillomaviruses are small, circular DNA viruses that infect epithelial and mucosal cells, which have co-evolved with their hosts over time. While certain mammalian papillomaviruses—especially those linked to disease—are well studied, there is limited knowledge about papillomaviruses associated with avian species. In this study, we identified two avian papillomaviruses from eye/choana swabs of the sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) and the little corella (Cacatua sanguinea), collected in Queensland, Australia. The genomes of these viruses, designated as todiramphus sanctus papillomavirus 1 (TsPV1) and cacatua sanguinea papillomavirus 1 (CsPV1), were found to be 7883 and 7825 base pairs in length, respectively. The TsPV1 and CsPV1 genomes exhibited the highest nucleotide sequence identity (>56%) with papillomavirus genomes previously sequenced from mallards or wild ducks in the United States, followed by those from black-legged kittiwakes and Atlantic puffins (>54%) in Newfoundland, Canada. Both TsPV1 and CsPV1 share approximately a 65% nucleotide sequence identity in the L1 gene with anas platyrhynchos papillomavirus 3 (AplaPV3), indicating that they represent novel avian papillomaviruses. Notably, the two genomes in this study were nearly identical (99.69%), and their L1 proteins shared 100% sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis positioned TsPV1 and CsPV1 within a clade of avian papillomaviruses associated with closely related avian hosts, including the mallard, African grey parrot, common chaffinch, and Atlantic canary. These findings underscore the importance of further research on studying additional Australian bird species longitudinally, which will help to establish potential disease associations and ecological impacts of previously unrecognised and novel papillomaviruses in Australian wild birds.

In nature, birds are faced with variable food sources that may differ in composition (protein vs. carbohydrates) and quality (highly digestible material vs. indigestible fiber). Studies in passerine birds and some commercial poultry demonstrate that the gastrointestinal tract can respond to varying diet composition and quality by changing morphology and/or activities of digestive enzymes. However, studies in additional avian species are warranted to understand generalities of these trends. We first fed juvenile mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), chickens (Gallus gallus), and quails (Coturnix coturnix) on either high-carbohydrate or high-protein diets. For the most part, birds fed the high-carbohydrate diet had higher small intestinal and cecal disaccharidase activities (maltase and sucrase). However, only mallards exhibited higher small intestinal aminopeptidase-N (APN) activities when fed the high-protein diet. These results differ from passerine birds, which largely modulate small intestinal proteases, but not disaccharidases. In another trial, we fed Canada geese (Branta canadensis) diets that varied in both their protein and fiber concentrations for approximately 3.5months. Birds fed the high-fiber diets had significantly longer small intestines and caeca compared to those fed low-fiber diets. Additionally, geese fed the high-fiber diets exhibited lower mass-specific activities of small intestinal sucrase, and higher activities of APN when summed across the small intestine and ceca. Similar to the avian species above, geese fed the high-protein diets did not exhibit flexibility in their small intestinal APN activities. Overall, these experiments demonstrate that responsiveness of the avian digestive tract to diet composition may have phylogenetic or ecological constraints. Studies on other avian taxa are needed to understand these patterns.

The ornamental plant Lagerstroemia indica (Crapemyrtle) was introduced to American gardens before 1796, but little is known about its use as a food resource by avian species. Local wintering populations of Spinus tristis (American Goldfinch), Junco hyemalis (Dark-eyed Junco), and Haemorhous mexicanus (House Finch) feed heavily on Crapemyrtle seeds, and I observed 5 additional bird species occasionally extracting seeds from dehiscent capsules in Fairfax County, VA. Planted and naturalized Crapemyrtle may be an important food resource for finches and sparrows in southeastern US.

A comparative study of neurogenesis in the retinal ciliary marginal zone of homeothermic vertebrates

concepts require individuals to identify relationships between novel stimuli. Previous studies have reported that the ability to learn abstract concepts is found in a wide range of species. In regard to a same/different concept, Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) and black-billed magpies (Pica hudsonia), two corvid species, were shown to outperform other avian and primate species (Wright et al., 2017). Two additional corvid species, pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) and California scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica) chosen as they belong to a different clade than nutcrackers and magpies, were examined using the same set-size expansion procedure of the same/different task (the task used with nutcrackers and magpies) to evaluate whether this trait is common across the Corvidae lineage. During this task, concept learning is assessed with novel images after training. Results from the current study showed that when presented with novel stimuli after training with an 8-image set, discrimination accuracy did not differ significantly from chance for pinyon jays and California scrub jays, unlike the magpies and nutcrackers from previous studies that showed partial transfer at that stage. However, concept learning improved with each set-size expansion, and the jays reached full concept learning with a 128-image set. This performance is similar to the other corvids and monkeys tested, all of which outperform pigeons. Results from the current study show a qualitative similarity in full abstract-concept learning in all species tested with a quantitative difference in the set-size functions, highlighting the shared survival importance of mechanisms supporting abstract-concept learning for corvids and primates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

A phylogenetic study of Haemocystidium parasites and other Haemosporida using complete mitochondrial genome sequences.

Bacillus subtilis PB6 is the trade name for a feed additive based on viable spores of a strain of Bacillus subtilis. It is presently authorised for use with chickens for fattening at a minimum dose of 1 × 107 CFU/kg of complete feedingstuffs. The applicant is now seeking authorisation for use with chickens reared for laying, ducks for fattening, quails, pheasants, partridges, guinea fowl, pigeons, geese for fattening and ostriches. B. subtilis is a species that is considered by EFSA to be suitable for Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) approach to safety assessment. The sensitivity to antibiotics and the absence of toxigenic potential qualified the strain for QPS status. On this basis the product can be presumed safe for chickens reared for laying, ducks for fattening, quails, pheasants, partridges, guinea fowl, pigeons, geese for fattening, and ostriches, for consumers of products derived from these species, and for the environment. Safety for users was examined in the course of the assessment made for chickens for fattening. In the view of the FEEDAP Panel the use with the additional avian species will not introduce hazards not already considered. Evidence that Bacillus subtilis PB6 has the potential to be efficacious in chickens for fattening can be directly extended to include chickens reared for laying when used at the same dose. By extrapolation from results obtained with a physiologically-similar major species (chickens for fattening) the product is considered efficacious when used with ducks for fattening and quails, pheasants, partridges, guinea fowl, pigeons, geese for fattening and ostriches at a minimum dose of 1 × 107 CFU/kg complete feedingstuffs.

A single Haemoproteus plataleae haplotype is widespread in white ibis (Eudocimus albus) from urban and rural sites in southern Florida