Ardea Purpurea Research Articles

THE ASSESSMENT OF THE TROPHIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE MIGRATORY-NESTING BIRDS POPULATIONS BELONGING TO THE FAMILY OF ARDEIDAE IN THE GIZILAGHAJ BAY

In 2013-2023, in the Gizilaghaj Bay located on the South-Western coast of the Caspian Sea, the trophic relationships of the migratory and nesting bird populations belonging to the Ardeidae family (Botarus stellaris, Ixobrychus minutus, Nycticorax nycticorax, Ardeola ralloides, Bubulcus ibis, Egretta garzetta, Ardea alba, Ardea cinerea, Ardea purpurea) were evaluated with 100 points. It was evaluated 40-60 (sufficient) in 36 species, the main food objects of which are plants, in 9 species 60-80 (good). It was evaluated 40-60 (sufficient) in 12 species of birds, the main food objects of which are invertebrates, 60-80 (good) in the populations of 114 species and 80-100 (very good) in 10 bird species. It was evaluated 0-20 (very bad) in 14 species, the main food objects of which are vertebrates, 20-40 (bad) in 18 species, 40-60 (sufficient) in 56 species and 60-80 (good) in 10 species.

Population Trend of Colonially Nesting Heron Species in Greece

Heron colonies are dynamic components of wetlands. Therefore, their systematic monitoring is important for the management of both birds and wetlands. During the period 1988–2018, we counted breeding pairs of seven colonial breeding heron species at 65 colonies across 37 wetlands in Greece. We considered as annual variables of a population: (a) years since 1988, (b) Natura 2000 network inclusion, (c) protected area management authority overseeing, (d) wetland type (new or restored), and (e) new colonies (established after 2003). The Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis and the Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides had a positive breeding population trend. The Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, and Grey Heron Ardea cinerea had a negative trend, while the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea population was stable. The Great White Egret Ardea alba bred sporadically at only a few sites which precluded the evaluation of its population trend. The informative population variables differed among species, even of those at the same colony, which suggests trends are also affected by conditions at wintering grounds. The study highlights the need for the systematic monitoring of heron colonies and the protection of foraging/breeding areas in order to reverse the observed negative population trends.

First record of cannibalism by an adult on a chick in the Purple Heron

This short note reports the first documented case of cannibalism in the Purple Heron performed by an adult bird.

Population trend of Grey and Purple Heron in National Chambal Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, India

Data of two species of Herons were collected, during the annual census of major aquatic fauna in the National Chambal Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, India, over a period of 23 monitoring seasons. The survey was conducted by direct visual observation method from 1985 to 2016. During the surveys all the relevant information about the current status of Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) in different zone of the Chambal River was complied. A total of 5318 (Avg. 443.66±242.6) individuals of Grey Heron and 104 (Avg. 8.66±4.39) individuals of Purple Heron were sighted. The highest density of Grey Heron 22.32/km was observed in zone XI and Purple Heron 0.75/km in zone III. Similarly, the least density of Grey Heron 4.82/km was in zone I, VIII and that of Purple Heron 0.07/km was in zone X. The result of the present study indicates that Chambal River continues to be a good habitat for Heron population. The Heron shares similar habitat and similar level of anthropogenic pressure in the study area. This is the first attempt to document the population status and distribution of Heron in different habitat zone of the sanctuary.

Faster and Better: Comparison between Traditional and Drone Monitoring in a Cryptic Species, the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea

Monitoring waterbirds is fundamental to understand the health status of wetland habitats. However, this monitoring has to be conducted by means of reliable data collection that can provide accurate information on population trends. Usually, waterbird monitoring is difficult, as nesting grounds are usually located in inaccessible reedbed, and by eye detection of cryptic species is hard. Drones have the capacity to overcome most of these problems, as they can provide with an aerial view of places otherwise unreachable, while reducing the disturbance and time spent in the field. The present study aims to compare the accuracy, disturbance levels, and managerial efficiency between ground (traditional) and drone counts of a cryptic species, the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea. Traditional monitoring methods were only capable of detecting 35% of the nesting pairs detected by the drone surveys (8.0 ± 11.8 versus 22.9 ± 38.2 nesting pairs in ground and drone surveys, respectively). Consequently, colony size estimates between methods showed poor agreement, to the point that traditional methods missed colonies otherwise detected by the drone. No apparent negative effects on nesting pairs where found when flying the drone. In addition, mean time spent to survey breeding sites with a drone was far less than with the traditional approach, down to a six-fold time reduction. This reduction, together with a lack of disturbance observed when conducting the drone monitoring, and an increasing monitoring precision and accuracy, supports the use of drones as the least invasive option for studies on population monitoring on hardly accessible sites.

Morphological and Tissue Characterization with 3D Reconstruction of a 350-Year-Old Austrian Ardea purpurea Glacier Mummy.

Glaciers are dwindling archives, releasing animal mummies preserved in the ice for centuries due to climate changes. As preservation varies, residual soft tissues may differently expand the biological information content of such mummies. DNA studies have proven the possibility of extracting and analyzing DNA preserved in skeletal residuals and sediments for hundreds or thousands of years. Paleoradiology is the method of choice as a non-destructive tool for analyzing mummies, including micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Together with radiocarbon dating, histo-anatomical analyses, and DNA sequencing, these techniques were employed to identify a 350-year-old Austrian Ardea purpurea glacier mummy from the Ötztal Alps. Combining these techniques proved to be a robust methodological concept for collecting inaccessible information regarding the structural organization of the mummy. The variety of methodological approaches resulted in a distinct picture of the morphological patterns of the glacier animal mummy. The BLAST search in GenBank resulted in a 100% and 98.7% match in the cytb gene sequence with two entries of the species Purple heron (Ardea purpurea; Accession number KJ941160.1 and KJ190948.1) and a 98% match with the same species for the 16 s sequence (KJ190948.1), which was confirmed by the anatomic characteristics deduced from micro-CT and MRI.

Molecular identification and virological characteristics of highly pathogenic avian influenza A/H5N5 virus in wild birds in Egypt.

Multiple incursions of different subtypes of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A/H5NX viruses have caused widely considerable outbreaks in poultry and hundreds of human infections. Extensive reassortment events associated with currently circulating clade 2.3.4.4b of A/H5NX viruses have been widely recorded. Wild migratory birds contribute to the spillover of diverse viruses throughout their migration flyways. During our active surveillance of avian influenza in Egypt, we successfully isolated and fully characterized HPAI A/H5N5 virus of clade 2.3.4.4b that was detected in a healthy purple heron. The Egyptian H5N5 virus is genotypically similar with the same subtype that was detected in the far east of Russia and several European countries. The antigenic analysis showed that the Egyptian H5N5 virus is distinct from HPAI A(H5N8) viruses in Egypt. The virus preferentially binds to avian-like receptors rather than human-like receptors. Our results showed that the virus caused 100% and 60% lethality in chicken and mice respectively. Increasing active surveillance efforts, monitoring the dynamics of emerging AIVs, and risk assessment implementation should be globally applied especially in hot spot regions like Egypt.

Rapid Assessment of Productivity of Purple Herons Ardea purpurea by Drone Conducted Monitoring

La medición de la productividad en las ardeidas es a menudo problemática debido a las dificultades de acceso al lugar y a la necesidad de evitar molestar a las aves que anidan. Los drones se utilizan cada vez más para aplicaciones ecológicas y su uso parece superar, al menos parcialmente, estos problemas. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar la eficacia y la seguridad del seguimiento con drones de la productividad de las garzas imperiales Ardea purpurea que se reproducen en los humedales del noreste de Italia. Se comparó la precisión de los conteos realizados con drones utilizando dos métodos (sobrevuelo vs. acercamiento) asumiendo que la combinación de ambos proporcionaba la abundancia real. Las 14 colonias estudiadas albergaban 615 nidos, la mayoría de los cuales estaban situados en cañaverales. El tamaño de las colonias no difirió en relación con el tipo de hábitat. Las colonias mostraron diferencias significativas en la productividad entre hábitats, con más crías que alcanzaron la edad de vuelo en las colonias situadas en los cañaverales que en los arbustos. En general, la precisión de los recuentos con drones, tanto en vuelo como en acercamiento, se mantuvo alta durante todo el periodo de cría. Los muestreos con drones causaron un bajo grado de perturbación. No se observaron efectos negativos aparentes de los vuelos de drones sobre las parejas nidificantes, las nidadas o las crías. El estudio muestra que el uso de drones permitió una medición eficaz de la productividad de la garza imperial, que fue rápida y segura para las aves.—Valle, R.G. y Scarton, F. (2022). Evaluación rápida de la productividad de la garza imperial Ardea purpurea mediante el seguimiento con drones.

Keanekaragaman Jenis Burung Ekosistem Danau

This study aims to determine the diversity of bird species found in the Natural Tourism Park "Dendam Tak Sudah Lake" at Bengkulu City. The method used was direct survey in the field by exploring. The sampling was carried out by photographing and observing birds directly in the Natural Tourism Park "Dendam Tak Sudah Lake" at Bengkulu City. The data obtained were analyzed descriptively by looking at the morphology of the birds and identified based on reference books. The results showed that the birds found in the Natural Tourism Park "Dendam Tak Sudah Lake" were Collocalia esculanta, Halcyon smyrnensis, Streptopelia chinensis, Centropus bengalensis, Ardea cinerea, Ardea Purpurea, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus, Leptoptilos javanicus, Amaurphyrio procurornis, Procurornis. montanus, Pycnonotus goiavier, Lanius schach, Lonchura punculata and Lonchura maja. The index of bird species diversity at this location is H'= 2,413. In conclusion, the number of bird species found was 15 species from 11 families with a moderate diversity index.
 Keywords: Birds, Species Diversity, Natural Tourism Park "Dendam Tak Sudah Lake"

William (Bill) Richmond Postle Bourne, MA, MB, B CH, MBOU (1930–2021)

William (Bill) Richmond Postle Bourne, MA, MB, B CH, MBOU (1930–2021)

DNA barcoding of waterbirds: A novel technique in environmental conservation biology

Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) is one of the mitochondrial genes, an excellent marker used for the DNA barcoding of various organisms. The COI was isolated from twelve different species of waterbirds using the Gene Elute DNA miniprep Kit. The relationship among the waterbirds was assessed by making a phylogenetic tree with the software MEGA-X. The phylogenetic tree's dendrogram showed two main branches in which seven species of water birds aligned one group with four subgroups and the remaining five species aligned with two subgroups based on their similar COI sequences. The Little egret showed 96% similarity with the Cattle egret, Purple heron and Oriental Darter produced 94% similarity with the Grey heron, pond heron shared 90% similarity with the Black-crowned night heron, Asian openbill shared 89% with Pheasant-tailed Jacana and the Common coot 94% similarity with White-breasted waterhen. The pond heron and the Black-crowned night heron showed zero % pairwise distance, but the Cattle egret, Little egret, Oriental Darter, Purple heron and Grey heron showed < 0.29%. However, the other seven species of water birds showed > 12% of the pairwise distance. Twenty-one conserved haplotypes have been shown in their COI sequences based on the multiple sequences alignment. DNA barcoding identifies the species with their genetic property rather than based on their ecology and behvaviour.

Effects of Rice Field Phenology on Breeding Parameters of Heron Colonies in the East of the Iberian Peninsula

Rice fields have traditionally been considered key feeding grounds for many waterbird species, including herons. Studies show that field management and flooding cycles influence the reproductive parameters of these birds. L'Albufera de València, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, has large areas of rice fields and is home to the third largest breeding colony of herons in Spain. Changes in water and rice field management that have occurred since the colony was last assessed (1990) may have affected the colony's reproductive performance. Clutch and brood size, and hatching, nesting and breeding success were estimated for Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, Purple Heron Ardea purpurea, Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides (Ardeidae) and Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus (Threskiornithidae) in 2015–2017. The extent of flooding and cultivation of rice fields was assessed from February 2016 to June 2017. Reproductive parameters were related to the state of the rice fields. All reproductive output parameters were lower than those reported in the literature. In 2016, laying started earlier (at the end of April), when the fields were still dry and hatching started from May, after flooding. In 2017, peak hatching occurred in June, when the fields were sown. A significant relationship was found between breeding success and the area of sown fields, except for the Squacco Heron. We found that birds that initiated egg laying closer to the date of flooding had a relatively higher breeding success for the Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egret and Purple Heron. The success of nesting populations in this type of artificial wetland requires water management plans that synchronize flooding regimes and maintenance of flooded areas with the biological requirements of these species.

The helminth infracommunities in three species of herons (Aves: Ardeidae) from Ukraine.

This survey analysed the helminth communities associated with three Ukrainian heron species (Ardea cinerea, Ardea purpurea, Nycticorax nycticorax) collected throughout 1947-2019. The sample analysed included 128 specimens, and 55 helminth species were identified. Of these, the most diverse taxonomic group was trematodes with 29 species, followed by cestodes with 14 species, nematodes with nine, and acanthocephalans with three species. The helminth infracommunities were found to be similar across all three host species. Furthermore, the distance to the coastal regions impacts both diversity and species richness in infracommunities.

Waterbird Foraging Habitat Selection in Balikpapan Bay: Water Depth and Patch Area as Important Factors

Balikpapan Bay is one of the wetlands providing potential foraging habitat for waterbirds in Indonesia. Potential habitat loss due to oil industry expansion, recent waterbird occurrence, and co-occurrence of two closely related species with similar foraging characteristics led to habitat selection. Habitat selection could be affected by food as an intrinsic factor and extrinsic factor, for example, accessibility to the physical and biological components of the habitat. This study aimed to measure the foraging habitat selection, identify significant habitat quality parameters for the habitat selection and predict the foraging habitat selection model. We used one-zero sampling for collecting foraging habitat selection data, corer sampling for prey data, and collecting the abiotic environment, and Generalized Linear Modelling (GLM) to build the model. We identified four species as the migrant Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), and Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus). All species, except Purple Heron, selected foraging habitats. A simple mathematic model of foraging habitat selection was significantly affected by two factors: water depth and patch area. A large patch area may provide primary prey abundance for waterbirds, while a low water depth level may give easy access to the prey.

↵​A Copro-parasitological Surveillance on Diverse Captive Wild Avian Species

Background: Infections with gastrointestinal parasites are widespread and a major health issue for captive birds. Despite the significance being well known, not much studies have been conducted on its prevalence especially in captive avians in a zoo setup. The present study aims at determining the prevalence of parasites in captive birds of different orders maintained at Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka. Methods: In this investigation, a survey through fecal sample examination was conducted to assess the parasitic infection in captive birds belonging to 6 different biological orders e.g. Casuariiformes, Anseriformes, Galliformes, Pelecaniformes, Psittaciformes {Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), Duck (Anas platyrhynchos), Peafowl (Pavo cristatus), red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), grey pelican, (Pelecanus philippensis), purple heron (Ardea purpurea), silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), macaw (Ara ararauna), parakeet (Psittacula eupatsia)} and Ciconiiformes maintained at Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka. A total of 106 fecal samples from apparently healthy birds including 7 samples from emu, 3 ducks, 12 peafowls, 8 red jungle fowls, 24 grey pelicans, 1 purple heron, 13 silver pheasants, 8 macaws, 26 parakeets and 4 Indian open-billed storks were collected during 2015-2016 and were screened for parasitic eggs/oocysts. Result: The screening result could detect ova of 2 (28.57%) Eimeria oocyst in emu, 3 (100%) Eimeria oocyst in duck, 7 (58.33%) Capillaria sp., 3 (25%) Eimeria oocyst, 2 (16.66%) Ascardia galli, 2 (16.66%) Raillietina echinobothrida, 1 (8.33%) Tetrameres sp. in peafowls, 3 (37.5%) Ascardia galli, 1 (12.5%) Eimeria oocyst in red jungle fowls, 5 (20.83%) Ascardia galli in grey pelican, 1 (100%) trematode ova in purple heron, 3 (23.07%) Raillietina sp., 2 (15.38%) Eimeria ocyst in silver pheasant, 2 (25%) Ascaris sp. in macaw, 12 (46.15%) Ascaris sp., 3 (11.53%) Eimeria oocyst in parakeet and 4 (100%) Tetrameres sp. in Indian open-billed storks.

A new method for surveying Purple Heron Ardea purpurea colonies using Google Earth

ABSTRACT This study describes a new method for counting breeding Purple Herons Ardea purpurea on a large wetland complex (Po Delta, Italy) using Google Earth satellite imagery in comparison to traditional ground counts in 2017. Google Earth counts provide an accurate, rapid, and inexpensive method for estimating the breeding population of Purple Herons, both saving time and increasing count accuracy in comparison to ground counts.

Conservation monitoring of a polluted urban river: an occupancy modeling study of birds in the Yamuna of Delhi

Given that ecological knowledge of large urban river systems is extremely sparse due to logistics and accessibility an occupancy modeling study was conducted on the resident birds of Delhi. River Yamuna passing through Delhi is a refuge for several resident and migratory species of birds but its water quality has been deteriorating due to ever growing population, contributing most of its pollution load in the urban center. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine whether the occupancy of common waterbirds varied between differential polluted sections of the river, 2) to better understand the associations between habitat variables and use of the river habitat by common waterbirds and 3) to identify whether any species or groups of species could be useful as indicators for habitat quality. The occupancy parameter Ψ was estimated for 17 common resident species among 68 species, recorded from 176 sampling locations during 2018, on the banks of river. Species occupancy was estimated as a function of habitat variables such as physico-chemical characteristic of water, solid waste, percent area of surface and emergent vegetation and human disturbance at each sampling site. The results suggest that Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Grey-headed Swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinuala chloropus), Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) and Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger) are negatively associated with the Total Dissolved Solute (TDS). Interestingly, occupancy of Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is negatively associated with pH but positively with solid waste strongly suggesting its preference for the polluted sections of the river, possibly due to the increased availability of food. For river Yamuna, estimates of Ψ for various birds forms a baseline to study future trends. This study also indicates that species like Black-winged Stilt, can serve as an indicator of contaminated water bodies. The challenges posed by increasing urbanization and pollution to riparian bird habitats in urban areas can be effectively dealt with by incorporating such ecological knowledge with habitat restoration and conservation efforts.

Food Supply of Purple Heron Disturbed by Local Fishing in Bung Khong Long Lake, Thailand

Abundant wetlands are generally considered providing the fundamental niche to multi- diet feeders like Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea L) whereas the realized niche may be over-looked. This study hypothesized that the fluctuation of observed number of A. purpurea at Bung Khong Long Lake (Ramsar Site) has influenced by local fishing since the maximum number was observed decreasing to 6 individuals between 2009/ 10 and 2010/ 11 even though the status is least concern for the country. Due to its feeding behavior on not specific preys, all possible food sources was sampled following the feeding route of Purple Heron and then was compared with fish-caught by local fishing per day, as well as observed fishing activities to cross check with feeding time of Purple Heron. Field investigation was conducted in early (EP), middle (MP), and late (LP) period of migratory season 2009/ 10 and 2010/ 11 and cross check with the official recorded number of Purple Heron obtained from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok. Size and type of preys (seven fish species; medium size ~5- 15 cm) appeared to be the priority preference for Purple Heron’s feeding that was sampled higher in 2010/11 compared to 2009/10 migratory season (p = 0.003) and also seemed to be the common fish caught by local anglers. In addition, fish biomass has more or less influenced on the frequency of feeding rather than the number of fish and it showed significant highest in EP (p = 0.002) and less in LP as well as higher observed-number of Purple Heron in EP than LP. Based on daily required 200g/ day/individual, all food sources (mainly fish) sampling in the field insufficiently played a role as the hypothesized-realized niche for the maximum number of A. purpurea (606.08 g m-2 day-1; EP, 256.75 g m-2 day-1; MP, and 343.37 g m-2 day-1 ; LP, respectively). Whereas, fish caught on the seven species by local anglers resulted around 66,707 g m 2 day-1, which is higher than the hypothesized-realized niche that might push the birds to move out and shift to the better foraging places.

Artificial Wetlands as Breeding Habitats for Colonial Waterbirds within Central Romania

The historical loss of natural wetlands in Romania is significant. The building of lakes, ponds, and dams has compensated for some of these losses, as was the case in the study area, the artificial wetlands designated as the Natura 2000 (special protection area, SPA) and Ramsar sites. In this context, to evaluate the conservation status of colonial waterbirds (cormorants, herons, and egrets), we analyzed actual distributions, habitat selection, features, and population sizes. Standardized counting of colonial species was used, supplemented by nest counting and colony-area estimation during winter, and drone footage. All species and their colonies were built in artificial or anthropically influenced habitats. Concerning distribution and population sizes, Phalacrocorax carbo and Microcarbo pygmeus were found to nest only in central Romania. The pair numbers of Ardea alba, Ardea purpurea, Ardea cinerea, and Nycticorax nycticorax in the area exceeded 1% of the national minimum breeding population. There was a statistically significant positive trend of breeding populations for Ardea alba, Nycticorax nycticorax, and Egretta garzetta. In conclusion, these artificial wetlands offer optimal breeding conditions for a relatively large diversity of colonial bird species over areas that are not very large.

Trophic activity of &lt;em&gt;Vulpes vulpes&lt;/em&gt; in a wetland: which effects on the reproductive biology of &lt;em&gt;Ardea purpurea&lt;/em&gt;?

[In an Ardea purpurea colony regularly monitored from 2004 to 2018, some predatory events of Vulpes vulpes have been observed since 2010. This was followed by a reduction in the reproductive success and in the number of breeding pairs. Some herons likely abandoned their nests in the reed bed and moved to nesting on trees. The Authors discuss the possibility that these events were a consequence of the predatory activity of the red fox.]&#x0D; &#x0D; [Article in Italian]