Assessment of exposure to pesticides, anticoagulant rodenticides, and PFASs in the blood of top-predator birds by LC-MS/MS analysis.

Transcriptome profiles for defining avian primordial germ cell development.

Development and analytical validation of a quantitative PCR assay for the detection of Magellanic penguin herpesvirus 1.

Safety and immunogenicity of a novel psittacine beak and feather disease vaccine and optimisation of a thermostable spray-dried formulation.

Impacts to birds from marine oil spills in California, 1995-2019.

ABSTRACT This study reveals the diet of tigers and leopards in Bardia National Park (BNP), Nepal. A total of 70 tiger scats were genetically identified, resulting in a 77% accuracy rate, while leopard diets (N = 70) were assessed solely based on morphological characteristics. Eight prey species were identified from tiger scats, while 15 prey species were identified during the leopard diet analysis. In the tigers’ diet the highest biomass contribution was from chital (59.71%), followed by chauka (16.05%), sambar deer (7.67%), and wild boar (6.98%). Tigers were found to predate on goat and cattle, which constitute a biomass of approximately 2%, indicating the low level of human–tiger conflict in BNP. Chital (Axis axis) accounted for the highest biomass contribution at 25.50%, followed by wild boar at 15.72%, in leopards’ diet. The contributions of two primates, langur and macaque, were similar at 8.15% and 7.90%, respectively. Sheep, goat and even bird species also made substantial contributions with 7.82%, 8.02% and 8.19%, respectively. Based on our findings, we recommend further research to achieve ecological insights into tigers and leopards, including prey availability, niche overlap and niche partitioning. A detailed study on prey–predation dynamics should be carried out in the area.

Observations on avifauna were conducted across 10 forest eco-parks (FEPs) in Perak from 19 to 26 April 2024 to document and update avifaunal species richness. Two teams of six observers conducted direct observations using cameras and binoculars. Over the eight-day survey period, each team concurrently covered five sites, with each site surveyed for a total of 10 hours per site. Overall, a total of 132 bird species from 44 families were recorded. The family Pycnonotidae showed the highest species richness, encompassing 10.6% (14spp.) of the total species documented in the study. Resident birds dominated the observations, accounting for 87.9% (116spp.), while insectivorous species were the most common feeding guild, comprising 47.7% (63spp.) of the total species recorded. The most widespread and frequently encountered species were the Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis), Black-headed Bulbul (Brachypodius atriceps), and Red-eyed Bulbul (Pycnonotus brunneus). According to the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, 112 species are classified as Totally Protected (TP), and 10 species as Protected (P). Based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, two species are listed as Endangered (EN), and three as Vulnerable (VU). This record emphasized the role of these sites as important refuges for species of conservation concern. Among all sites, Kaki Bukit Larut FEP recorded the highest species richness, representing 38.6% (51spp.) of the total species. Bird species richness varied between sites, with low to moderate Jaccard similarity values (J = 0.05-0.33), reflecting high species turnover and highlighting distinct avian communities across the study area. The highest similarity was between Kledang Saiong and Papan FEPs (J = 0.33), while Sungai Salu FEP exhibited the most distinct species (J = 0.05). Hypothetically, habitat structure, elevation, geographic location, food availability, and rainfall may be among the most influential factors shaping bird species richness across the forest eco-parks in this study, as highlighted in prior research. These findings demonstrate the ecological uniqueness of each forest eco-park and emphasize the importance of conserving multiple sites to preserve regional bird diversity. This study also provides essential baseline data for stakeholders, including the Perak State Forestry Department, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Perak State Government, ecotourism planners, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), to inform future conservation planning and biodiversity monitoring efforts within Perak’s forested landscapes.

ABSTRACT Research on parental cooperation is an emerging subfield of behavioural ecology that often lacks standardized methodological framework. A common limitation is the failure to repeatedly sample parental activity throughout the entire nestling stage, potentially leading to misleading conclusions. Here, we show that the relative contributions of male and female European starlings Sturnus vulgaris to nestling provisioning fluctuate substantially across days. As a result, a single brief observation does not reliably reflect each parent’s share of provisioning. Our analyses indicate that while at least 7 hours of observation on different days is required, ideally 13 hours are needed to produce reliable estimates of parental division of labour. Whether similar temporal variation occurs in other bird species should be assessed when designing sampling protocols for studies of parental cooperation.

Abstract Ecoacoustic indices derived from sound recordings are increasingly used to assess ecosystem health and biodiversity, but their meaningfulness remains debated, particularly in tropical forests. We evaluated the effectiveness of four commonly used ecoacoustic indices (ACI, BIO, NP, NDSI) in predicting bird species richness in a Mexican tropical forest, examining whether combining indices or selecting specific sampling periods enhances predictive power. We collected acoustic data over 11 days at 25 sampling locations, and used BirdNET for automated bird species detection. We calculated mean and standard deviation values for three time periods (using full-day recordings and two peak activity periods) and applied general linear models to evaluate the predictive power of ecoacoustic indices on observed bird species richness. The highest-ranking models explained up to 50% of data variability, with SD NDSI emerging as the sole important predictor. When the four indices were pooled into principal components, the models explained less variability (31–35%) compared to those using ecoacoustic indices as separate predictors. Our study highlights the limitations in the generalizability of widely used ecoacoustic indices and challenges previous research that emphasizes the utility of pooling information from multiple indices. The predictive power of ecoacoustic indices remained consistent across time periods, showing no advantage in focusing sampling on peak vocal activity periods. Our findings emphasize the importance of carefully considering site-specific factors, sampling design, and index selection in ecoacoustic studies.

"Escherichia coli strains from wild birds in Türkiye: Antibiotic resistance, virulence factors and phylogroups".

The Indonesian Karst Museum area has significant potential that is not commonly recognized. The potential for biodiversity in the Indonesian Karst Museum Area can be beneficial to education and human civilization. The purpose of this study is to determine the variety of bird species in the Indonesian Karst Museum Area. The research was carried out in November 2024. Data were gathered from observations using the point count method and analyzed on-site. The observations were conducted at two places. The observed bird species were then recognized, the number of individual preferences was counted, and the results were entered into the observation table. The findings revealed that there were 21 bird species belonging to 17 families and eight orders. The diversity index value (H') of birds in the Indonesian Karst Museum region in the two lines averaged 1.7, indicating that species diversity was moderate at all study stations. A bird's high or low abundance value may be used to assess its capacity to adapt to environmental conditions. The natural conditions in the Indonesian Karst Museum area are karst, which supports the lifestyles of several bird species, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Research Highlight: Peng, H., Yangheshan, Y., Mira, K., Wei, L., Qianyuan, C., Ping, D., Xingfeng, S. (2025). Community composition coupled with habitat fragmentation drives acoustic divergence in bird assemblages. Journal of Animal Ecology doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.70185. Animals that communicate acoustically have to deal with the problem of getting their message through environments often crowded by acoustic signals from other individuals (from the same and different species). This poses the problem that the signal of interest may be masked by these other sounds, lowering the probability that it will be detected/discriminated by targeted receivers. The acoustic niche hypothesis (ANH; Krause 1993) predicts that acoustic signals will occupy different acoustic niches (e.g. different frequencies, Hz) to lower competition for the acoustic space. Peng etal. (2025) put this idea to the test. While various studies have tested the acoustic niche hypothesis in relation to biotic factors (e.g. species richness and abundance), Peng etal. (2025) went one step further by also considering habitat fragmentation and isolation. To do so, they recorded the songs of 51 bird species in 12 islands differing in size (as a measure of habitat fragmentation) and distance to nearest island and mainland (as a measure of isolation). Peng etal. (2025) also took into account body mass and evolutionary history. As expected, they found that biotic factors (body mass and species richness) and phylogenetic relationships were associated with the degree of competition and acoustic partitioning. Interestingly, the authors also found that island size and isolation played an important role (acoustic partitioning increased in more isolated islands and in smaller islands). These results confirm the ANH and provide evidence that habitat fragmentation and isolation can also play a role influencing acoustic partitioning in birds.

Our recent examination of museum collections has produced new data on the taxonomy and distribution of chigger mites parasitizing bat and bird hosts in Tropical Africa. Two new species are described in this article: Hypotrombidium nigeriense sp. n. from two bird species in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Riedlinia (Trombigastia) maritzburgensis sp. n. from the Geoffroy’s horseshoe bat in the Republic of South Africa. An incompletely described species Neoschoengastia mirafra Radford, 1942 was redescribed based on the holotype and additional specimens from Nigeria. A subspecies, Heaslipia gateri africana Vercammen-Grandjean and Audy, 1957, was synonymized with Heaslipia gateri (Womersley and Heaslip, 1943). An undescribed species, Trombigastia wago (nomen nudum), proposed by Vercammen-Grandjean based on specimens collected from the Bates’s slit-faced bat in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was found to be identical with R. (T.) maritzburgensis sp. n. An undescribed species, Trombigastia asmaraensis (nomen nudum), proposed by Vercammen-Grandjean based on the specimens collected from an unidentified bat in Eritrea (currently the State of Eritrea), was synonymized with Riedlinia (Trombigastia) mounti (Radford, 1954), described from the same locality. Seven new country records and some new host records have been reported.

ABSTRACT Bird colonies can provide better protection against predators for other bird species, although negative interspecies interactions are possible. The presence of colonies of small gulls (Laridae) and marsh terns Chlidonias spp. is important for breeding Black-necked Grebes. The clutch size and breeding success of Black-necked Grebes were studied at 18 fishponds in southern Poland, with measurements taken of the distance of a grebe nest to the nearest nests of associated species (Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus or Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida). There was no significant difference in the number of eggs laid between Black-necked Grebe nests located within colonies of gulls or terns. However, grebe nests were significantly farther from tern nests than from gull nests. The breeding success of Black-necked Grebes was significantly higher in Black-headed Gull colonies compared to Whiskered Tern colonies, possibly because the greater aggression of terns was directed at the grebes themselves.

Abstract Context Urbanization impacts biodiversity through changes in horizontal and vertical structures. While impervious cover is well-studied, the role of building height remains underexplored at a broad scale. Objectives This study aimed (1) to assess whether building height differed statistically from impervious cover and NDVI in explaining bird diversity in cities, and (2) to assess the impacts of building height in conjunction with seven predictor variables: impervious cover, bare, trees, grass, water, shrub and scrub and NDVI. Methods We combined land cover data with an open-access building footprints data. We analyzed over 1 million eBird checklists from 298 cities in the United States. For objective one seven models were evaluated for each city (1) building height, (2) impervious cover, (3) NDVI, (4) building height and impervious cover, (5) building height and NDVI, (6) impervious Cover and NDVI, and (7) building height, impervious Cover and NDVI. For objective two we use model 7 and the rest of the predictor variables to assess the impact of building height. For both objectives, we compared model results by ecoregion. Results Building height, impervious cover, and NDVI were the best single predictors of bird species richness in 10.7%, 10.4%, and 12.4% of cities, respectively. However, the combined model including all three variables performed best in 25.8% of cities, underscoring the complementary influence of vertical and horizontal urban structures in cities. Species richness was positively related to shrub/scrub and water cover, highlighting the importance of these habitats for urban biodiversity. Conclusions Our research advances landscape ecology by incorporating vertical urban structure into biodiversity models, providing new insights into the multidimensional impacts of urbanization on bird communities. Findings underscore the need for context-specific strategies integrating green infrastructure to promote avian diversity in cities.

Bird habitat use is closely linked to survival, reflecting reciprocal interactions between avifauna and vegetation structure within managed landscapes. Coffee monoculture, coffee-based agroforestry, and community-managed forests represent land-use systems with varying capacities to support bird communities in the Utilization Block of the Batutegi Forest Management Unit (KPH Batutegi), Lampung, Indonesia. This study aimed to assess bird species diversity, species similarity, feeding guild composition, and the influence of vegetation and environmental variables across these habitat types. Bird surveys were conducted using the point count method, complemented by quantitative analyses of vegetation structure and environmental factors. Results indicate that the highest bird species diversity occurred in forest habitats (H′ = 2.490), while the greatest species similarity was observed between forest and coffee monoculture habitats (J = 0.464). Across all land-cover types, bird communities were dominated by insectivorous feeding guilds, accounting for 55% in coffee-based agroforestry, 44% in forest habitats, and 42% in coffee monoculture systems. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that vegetation attributes (diversity and density) and environmental variables (altitude, slope, temperature, and humidity) did not exert a significant influence on bird diversity. This pattern is attributed to pervasive anthropogenic pressures, including land-use homogenization, forest modification, and ongoing human disturbance. These findings underscore the need for systematic monitoring and improved land-management practices to mitigate anthropogenic impacts and enhance the ecological function of coffee-based landscapes and forest habitats in supporting avian biodiversity.

Floating photovoltaics (floating solar panels; FPV) can reduce the negative impacts of solar energy development in terrestrial environments, but their effects on freshwater ecosystems remain poorly understood. We examined potential FPV interactions with avian biodiversity, using previously modeled technical potential of FPV in the northeastern United States. We developed a vulnerability index based on avian species': (i) morphological traits, (ii) level of conservation concern, and (iii) habitat requirements. Using eBird participatory science data, we assessed the risk of FPV to 291 species of birds occurring at FPV-suitable waterbodies based on their vulnerability index and estimated relative abundance at each location. The greatest risk of FPVs to birds was associated with waterbodies near the Atlantic coast and Great Lakes, and most (80%) of these high-risk waterbodies were smaller waterbodies. Because the avian risk at FPV-suitable waterbodies was not correlated with estimated energy generation, reducing risk to birds might not require energy trade-offs. Moreover, avoiding FPV installations at waterbodies predicted to pose high risk to birds is likely to return social and recreational benefits while minimizing risk of biofouling. Our analysis provides a framework for proactively evaluating risk, reducing potential adverse impacts of FPV to birds, and identifying cobenefits of sustainable FPV siting across waterscapes.

ABSTRACT Tropical rainforests are biodiversity hotspots, where the seeds of 60%–90% of trees are dispersed by animals, yet movement data needed to understand the behaviors and habitat selection of tropical frugivores remain scarce. We GPS‐tracked four great blue turacos ( Corythaeola cristata ) in the Dja Faunal Reserve of southern Cameroon and predicted spatial patterns of seed dispersal within each bird's home range, which covered up to 2.33 km 2 . Using integrated Step Selection Analyses, we related turaco movements to LiDAR‐derived measurements of 3D vegetation structure and habitat type. One individual preferred areas of tall canopy height, whereas one preferred intermediate canopy height and avoided swamps and areas of greater vertical vegetation complexity. Seed dispersal patterns for the two turacos with the largest home ranges were predicted to be more diffuse, with local maxima almost an order of magnitude smaller than those with smaller home ranges. Although the great blue turaco is a common bird species throughout central African forests, this is the first study to characterize the species' movement ecology using telemetry. The observed individual variation in movement and habitat use underscores the need to track a broader range of species in central African landscapes, which are increasingly threatened by hunting, logging, habitat loss, and climate change.

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to global biodiversity, with birds serving as critical indicators of ecosystem responses. This study assessed the impacts of climate change on 29 endangered bird species in South Korea, a critical stopover region within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). Using Random Forest models, we predicted current (2010 baseline) and future species distributions under two climate scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) for four time periods (2030s, 2050s, 2070s, and 2090s). Model performance was robust, with a mean AUC of 0.844 ± 0.122 across all species and 72.4% of species achieving AUC ≥ 0.80. Elevation emerged as the most influential predictor for 44.8% of species, followed by precipitation of the driest month (17.2%) and distance to water bodies (10.3%). Current species richness patterns showed spatial heterogeneity, with higher concentrations along coastal wetlands, particularly in the western and southern coasts and Jeju Island. Under SSP2-4.5, species richness patterns remained relatively stable through 2090, while SSP5-8.5 projected more dramatic shifts, particularly after 2070. Coastal regions and national parks exhibited differential responses, with some areas showing increases and others experiencing declines in species richness. High-elevation national parks, including Mt. Hallasan, Mt. Seoraksan, and Mt. Odaesan, demonstrated potential to serve as climate refugia, maintaining relatively stable species richness under both scenarios. Our spatial analysis at municipality and national park levels identified priority conservation areas and emphasized the need for climate refugium identification, habitat connectivity along elevational gradients, and adaptive management strategies. The findings provide actionable guidance for science-based conservation planning and contribute to international efforts to protect migratory birds along the EAAF. Urgent conservation measures are needed to safeguard coastal wetlands and establish ecological corridors to facilitate species range shifts under changing climatic conditions.

Bird migration is a natural phenomenon that plays a crucial role in maintaining global ecosystem balance. One of the most notable groups involved in this phenomenon is migratory waterbirds, which depend on wetlands as resting, feeding, and breeding sites during their migration period. This study aims to analyze the ecological indices of migratory birds, including species diversity, richness, evenness, abundance, and dominance, across various wetland types in Sumbernadi Village, South Lampung Regency. Data were collected from November to December 2024 using the point count method at six observation points representing four wetland types: mangrove, mudflat, fishpond, and rice field. The results recorded nine migratory bird species from three families, with the highest diversity observed in mudflats (H' = 1.958) and the lowest in mangroves (H' = 0.637). The Scolopacidae family dominated in terms of both abundance and distribution. Environmental factors, including food availability, vegetation structure, and human disturbance, influenced differences in diversity among habitats. These findings suggest that the wetlands in Sumbernadi Village provide vital ecological habitats for migratory birds. Therefore, sustainable management and conservation efforts are crucial for preserving the environmental functions of these wetlands and supporting the continuity of migratory bird populations in the region.