Milvus Migrans Research Articles

Metal and arsenic contamination of a terrestrial top-predator, the black kite (Milvus migrans), after the Aznalcóllar mine spill (southwestern Spain): Temporal trends and fitness consequences

Top-predators serve as sentinels of ecosystem health due to their sensitivity to environmental contamination. However, our understanding on how contaminants affect individual fitness is still scarce, especially for long-lived species. Here, we measured blood concentrations of 4 metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and one metalloid (As) in black kite (Milvus migrans) adults from Doñana National Park (SW Spain) following a major mine spill. Besides temporal variation (1998–2001) in metal and As concentrations, we tested how metal and As profiles changed across individuals in relation to their sex, age or breeding status, and examined whether metal and As concentrations affected individuals' fitness (breeding success and mortality). We found that, overall, blood concentrations of Pb, Cd and As increased throughout the study period in black kites, mirroring the progressive increase previously reported for their main prey. Both sex (Cu and Zn) and breeding status (Zn and Pb) affected element concentrations. Non-breeding (floater) females had higher levels of Zn than their breeding counterparts. The same pattern of higher contamination in floaters was observed for Pb, which might be related to differences in diet and foraging activity between breeders and floaters. The percentage of the individuals with Pb concentrations that exceeded toxicity thresholds (> 200 μg/L) was relatively high (15.4 %). Moreover, Pb concentrations were negatively correlated to males' breeding success. We found no clear evidence to support metal and As effects on survival or life expectancy after accounting for environmental and individual sources of variation. Our results highlight the importance of long-term studies of marked individuals in wild populations; detailed knowledge of ecological processes relevant to these populations, combined with measures of contaminant exposure at individual level, provides opportunities to enhance our understanding of its fitness effects and potential demographic consequences.

Genetic relationships of populations of the Black Kite Milvus migrans (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) in the east of its range in Asia and Australia

While the Black Kite Milvus migrans is one of the most widespread birds of prey, occurring over Eurasia, Africa and Australia, it remains poorly understood outside of Europe, with southeast Asian populations particularly mysterious as their taxonomy is based on outdated morphological data. The subspecies M. m. formosanus, described in 1920, is thought to inhabit Taiwan and Hainan; however, populations in these areas have experienced dramatic changes over the past fifty years. Furthermore, M. m. formosanus is the only officially recognised subspecies for which almost no genetic data is yet available. Based on two mitochondrial genes, we compared Taiwanese Black Kites with northeast Asian and Japanese M. m. lineatus, Indian M. m. govinda and Australian M. m. affinis to reconstruct details of their population history. While Indian and Australian Black Kites are descendants of the same population, they do not share common haplotypes, probably having diverged by the end of the last glaciation. The Japanese population is distinctive in showing genetic uniformity, and it may be isolated from the mainland population. Nesting Taiwanese kites carry two previously known M. m. lineatus haplogroups and a new haplogroup possibly inherited from M. m. formosanus previously occurring in the area. A recent decline in the local population, along with expansion of M. m. lineatus, most likely led to Taiwan now being inhabited by descendants of both subspecies, which form two genetically isolated populations in southern and northern Taiwan.

Structural optimization and battery temperature prediction of battery thermal management system based on machine learning

Lithium-ion batteries significantly extend the driving range for electric motorcycles. The battery thermal management system (BTMS) is critical for achieving optimal battery performance. Moreover, precise battery temperature prediction is essential for efficient thermal management. Therefore, a battery thermal management system integrating air and phase change material (PCM) cooling is proposed. Initially, the impact of PCM height, PCM thickness, and air velocity on battery temperature is analyzed. Subsequently, with cost minimization as the objective and ensuring that the maximum battery temperature remains below a threshold, the Black Kite Algorithm (BKA) is employed to optimize the BTMS structure. Finally, a BKA-Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-Self Attention (SA) model is introduced for battery temperature prediction. The results indicate that increasing the thickness of the PCM and air velocity facilitates battery heat dissipation but with diminishing marginal effects. An increase in PCM height enhances battery cooling at low air velocities but becomes detrimental at high air velocities. The optimized PCM height is 35 mm, resulting in a cost of 0.073 USD for the BTMS per battery. Additionally, the BKA-CNN-SA model achieved a maximum error of 0.45 °C on the validation set and accurately predicted battery temperature changes before and after PCM melting.

Exploring black kite (Milvus migrans) dynamics: Seasonal abundance and habitat preferences in an urban gradient

Urban expansion globally has altered biodiversity by transforming urban habitats, leading to habitat loss and changes in ecological systems. Black kites (Milvus migrans) are adaptable raptors across diverse landscapes, from natural to highly urbanized areas. This study focuses on Gujranwala City, Pakistan, a unique habitat offering insights into black kite ecology along an urban gradient. The research assesses seasonal abundance, temperature and humidity impacts, behavioral activities, and habitat preferences of black kites. Results show higher abundance in urban areas, influenced by environmental factors and food availability from anthropogenic sources. Black kites exhibit time-dependent associations with temperature and humidity, especially before sunset. Additionally, a significant correlation is observed between black kite abundance and solid waste components, particularly food and plastic waste, in the urban area. These findings contribute to understanding urban ecology, highlighting the adaptability of black kites to human-modified environments and the potential implications for conservation and management strategies.

Risk-sensitive response of soaring birds to crosswind over dangerous sea highlights age-specific differences in migratory performance.

Challenges imposed by geographical barriers during migration are selective agents for animals. Juvenile soaring landbirds often cross large water bodies along their migratory path, where they lack updraft support and are vulnerable to harsh weather. However, the consequences of inexperience in accomplishing these water crossings remain largely unquantified. To address this knowledge gap, we tracked the movements of juvenile and adult black kites Milvus migrans over the Strait of Gibraltar using high-frequency tracking devices in variable crosswind conditions. We found that juveniles crossed under higher crosswind speeds and at wider sections of the strait compared with adults during easterly winds, which represent a high risk owing to their high speed and steady direction towards the Atlantic Ocean. Juveniles also drifted extensively with easterly winds, contrasting with adults who strongly compensated for lateral displacement through flapping. Age differences were inconspicuous during winds with a west crosswind speed component, as well as for airspeed modulation in all wind conditions. We suggest that the suboptimal sea-crossing behaviour of juvenile black kites may impact their survival rates, either by increasing chances of drowning owing to exhaustion or by depleting critical energy reserves needed to accomplish their first migration.

Solving the economic load dispatch integrating clean energies in power system using Black Kite Algorithm

This research applies a novel meta-heuristic algorithm called the Black Kite Algorithm (BKA) to solve the economic load dispatch integrating the clean energies (CE-ELD) with the main objective of minimizing the overall fuel cost (OFC) of all thermal power generating sources (TPGSs). A 20-TPGS power system is used to conduct the whole research and assess the actual performance of the BKA. While solving the considered problem, wind and solar generating sources are both integrated into the power system. Besides, power loss caused by the transmission process and different levels of load demand ranging from 2500, 2600, to 2700 MW are employed. The results achieved by BKA in three cases of load demand are compared with another meta-heuristic algorithm, the Coati optimization algorithm. The comparison between the results of the two methods indicates that BKA is completely superior to COZ in all criteria, especially in reaching the best values of OFC and stability throughout the test runs, regardless of the noticeable increase in load demand. Mainly, BKA always requires fewer iterations to reach the best OFC value, resulting in a lower fluctuation of OFC values among the test runs. Based on these results and evaluations, BKA is acknowledged to be the robust and stable search method, and we highly recommend using BKA to solve optimizations such as the CE-ELD problem.

Black Kite status in Emilia-Romagna: an update

The aim of this work is to update the status of the Black Kite Milvus migrans in Emilia-Romagna region, reporting new data about nesting attempts, winter observations and major summer gatherings collected during the period 2006-2022.

Detection and genomic characterization of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli harboring tet(X4) in black kites (Milvus migrans) in Pakistan.

The emergence of plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) among clinically relevant bacteria has promoted significant concerns, as tigecycline is considered a last-resort drug against serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. We herein focused on the isolation and molecular characterization of tet(X4)-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in wild bird populations with anthropogenic interaction in Faisalabad, Pakistan. A total of 150 birds including black kites (Milvus migrans) and house crows (Corvus splendens) were screened for the presence of tigecycline resistance K. pneumoniae and E. coli. We found two K. pneumoniae and one E. coli isolate carrying tet(X4) originating from black kites. A combination of short- and long-read sequencing strategies showed that tet(X4) was located on a broad host range IncFII plasmid family in K. pneumoniae isolates whereas on an IncFII-IncFIB hybrid plasmid in E. coli. We also found an integrative and conjugative element ICEKp2 in K. pneumoniae isolate KP8336. We demonstrate the first description of tet(X4) gene in the WHO critical-priority pathogen K. pneumoniae among wild birds. The convergence of tet(X4) and virulence associated ICEKp2 in a wild bird with known anthropogenic contact should be further investigated to evaluate the potential epidemiological implications. The potential risk of global transmission of tet(X4)-positive K. pneumoniaeand E. coli warrant comprehensive evaluation and emphasizes the need for effective mitigation strategies to reduce anthropogenic-driven dissemination of AMR in the environment.

Autumn Migration of a Juvenile Hybrid of Red and Black Kite (Milvus milvus × M. migrans)

Autumn Migration of a Juvenile Hybrid of Red and Black Kite (Milvus milvus × M. migrans)

Black-winged kite algorithm: a nature-inspired meta-heuristic for solving benchmark functions and engineering problems

This paper innovatively proposes the Black Kite Algorithm (BKA), a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm inspired by the migratory and predatory behavior of the black kite. The BKA integrates the Cauchy mutation strategy and the Leader strategy to enhance the global search capability and the convergence speed of the algorithm. This novel combination achieves a good balance between exploring global solutions and utilizing local information. Against the standard test function sets of CEC-2022 and CEC-2017, as well as other complex functions, BKA attained the best performance in 66.7, 72.4 and 77.8% of the cases, respectively. The effectiveness of the algorithm is validated through detailed convergence analysis and statistical comparisons. Moreover, its application in solving five practical engineering design problems demonstrates its practical potential in addressing constrained challenges in the real world and indicates that it has significant competitive strength in comparison with existing optimization techniques. In summary, the BKA has proven its practical value and advantages in solving a variety of complex optimization problems due to its excellent performance. The source code of BKA is publicly available at https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/161401-black-winged-kite-algorithm-bka.

Evaluación de los niveles de metales pesados (As, Hg, Zn, Cu y Se) en aves rapaces silvestres y hábitats acuáticos

Birds are used as bioindicators to determine the negative effects of environmental pollution on human, animal, and environmental health. Among the terrestrial bird species in the study are: the common buzzard (Buteo buteo); black kite (Milvus migrans), common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus); among the aquatic bird species, marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), gray heron (Ardea cinerea) were used. Heavy metals As, Hg, Zn, Cu, and Se were analysed in blood samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). In the study, Hg and Se concentrations were generally higher and As concentrations were generally lower than those reported in the literature. In black kites, which are vulnerable to environmental contamination and pollution has serious effects on population numbers, it was observed that heavy metals other than As metal were generally higher than the values determined in the studies. Pollutants in nature need to be evaluated by taking into account species–specific differences, age, gender, habitats, migration periods, biomass and feeding habits.

First known case of carcass guarding by Black Kite Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) in urban landscape, north India

Behavioral traits of the species play an important role in functioning of the ecosystem and thus, biodiversity conservation and in evolving behavioural adaptations to survive according to environmental conditions. This note aims at adding a rare observation by placing photographic evidence of entanglement of a carcass of juvenile black kite Milvus migrans from the nest bowl and use of nest by an adult individual, guarding the carcass. Documenting such behavior and responses of species, underpinning the species’ ecology, especially in context of changing climatic conditions, would thus contributes towards the natural history and management of native species in an urban environment. Further, scientific studies are needed to be conducted to reach some conclusion as to why species perform such behaviour.

Accumulation of microplastics in predatory birds near a densely populated urban area

The pollution due to plastic and other anthropogenic particles has steadily increased over the last few decades, presenting a significant threat to the environment and organisms, including avian species. This research aimed to investigate the occurrence of anthropogenic pollutants in the digestive and respiratory systems of four birds of prey: Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). The results revealed widespread contamination in all species with microplastics (MPs) and cellulosic anthropogenic fibers (AFs), with an average of 7.9 MPs and 9.2 AFs per specimen. Every digestive system contained at least one MP, while 65 % of specimens exhibited MPs in their respiratory systems. This is the work reporting a high incidence of MPs in the respiratory system of birds, clearly indicating inhalation as a pathway for exposure to plastic pollution. The content of MPs and AFs varied significantly when comparing specimens collected from central Madrid with those recovered from other parts of the region, including rural environments, suburban areas, or less populated cities. This result aligns with the assumption that anthropogenic particles disperse from urban centers to surrounding areas. Additionally, the dominant particle shape consisted of small-sized fibers (> 98 %), primarily composed of polyester, polyethylene, acrylic materials, and cellulose fibers exhibiting indicators of industrial treatment. These findings emphasize the necessity for further research on the impact of plastic and other anthropogenic material contamination in avian species, calling for effective strategies to mitigate plastic pollution.

Chewing Lice (Psocodea: Phthiraptera) Detected in Wild Birds in Hatay, Türkiye, a New Record of the Colpocephalum ecaudati Price and Beer from Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

Chewing Lice (Psocodea: Phthiraptera) Detected in Wild Birds in Hatay, Türkiye, a New Record of the Colpocephalum ecaudati Price and Beer from Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

Avian Faunal Diversity of Taradevi Area of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

The present study deals with the exploration of avifauna in the Tara Devi region of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The observation revealed the presence of 43 species of birds belonging to 6 orders and 29 families. Family Corvidae exhibited the highest number of recorded species, and the most dominating order was Passeriformes. According to IUCN, Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria) was in Near-threatened (NT) category whereas Milvus migrans and Psittacula eupatria fall under Schedule-Ⅰ of IWPA status and rest of the bird species fall under Schedule-Ⅳ. This region boasts high productivity and provides good habitat to many avian species, anthropogenic activities such as construction of roads and adjacent developments occasionally pose challenges. It is imperative to halt such disruptions by rigorously implementing environmental regulations and policies.

Species and structural diversity of flora and avifauna on the territory of urban water treatment facilities

Background. The territories of urban wastewater treatment facilities, where the natural vegetation has been radically changed to synanthropic vegetation, promote the spread of ruderal plant species, including invasive ones, but at the same time create a favourable environment for nesting and staying of many bird species, including rare and those listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The aim of this study is to investigate the species and structural diversity of vegetation on the territory of urban wastewater treatment facilities in order to determine their significance for the conservation of avifauna. Materials and Methods. To analyse the state of biodiversity, an inventory of species of higher plant and avifauna in the technogenic areas of Kharkiv wastewater treatment facilities in the spring and summer of 2020–2021 was carried out using conventional methods. Results. The flora of higher vascular plants includes 90 species belonging to 78 genera, 30 families, and 2 classes of the Magnoliophyta division. The leading families are: Asteraceae (30.0 %; n = 90), Poaceae (12.2 %), Brassicaceae (6.7 %), Fabaceae and Polygonaceae (4.4 % each). Herbaceous plant species (92.0 %; n = 90) dominated according to the С. Raunkiær classification (1934), with a predominance of hemicryptophytes (54.0 %) and terophytes (37.0 %). The increased proportion of the latter, compared to the zonal flora, indicates a significant disturbance of the habitat by anthropogenic factors. This is also evidenced by the predominance of synanthropic plant species (81.1 %; n = 90), including 40 species (54.8 %; n = 73) belonging to the apophyte group, and the remaining 45.2 % are adventitious species. In relation to moisture, most plants are mesophytes (71.0%; n = 90). In terms of geographical structure, the flora has a Holarctic-European-Eurasian character with admixtures of North American, Mediterranean, Nomadic and Mediterranean-Asian geoelements. The avifauna includes 95 species belonging to 13 orders and 29 families. Birds of Passeriformes (32.6 %), Charadriiformes (24.2 %) and Anseriformes (13.7 %) predominate. The treatment facilities are important for nesting of 53 species (55.8 %; n = 95), and are also a trophic base for 23 (24.2 %) of wandering and 19 (20.0 %) of transient bird species. The nine faunal groups were dominated by boreal 26.6 % (n = 95) and tropical 13.8 %, as well as limnophilous (12.8 %) and nemoral (11.7 %) species. The nesting avifauna was formed mainly by nemoral 17.0 % (n = 53) and tropical 15.1 %, as well as alluviophilous and boreal (13.2 % each) species. The greatest bird diversity is found in the overgrown silt areas, where vegetation with a projected cover of 50–70 % is interspersed with shallow water as close as possible to natural areas. Among the identified bird species, the following breeding birds are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine: Himantopus himantopus, also transient and wandering species: Milvus migrans, Hieraaetus pennatus, Columba oenas. Conclusion. The established plant communities with rich avifauna, including rare bird species, and the location of the treatment facilities within their migration routes, indicate the importance of these areas for the conservation of biota.

Molecular investigation of Haemoproteus and Plasmodium species of some raptors in Hatay province: new CytB lineages for raptors of Accipitriformes in Turkey.

Accipitriform raptors are significant indicators of biodiversity and environmental health. Currently, most of the studies on avian haemosporidian parasites are on passerine birds, and data on raptors is constricted, with similarities both around the world and in Turkey. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Haemoproteus and Plasmodium spp. in raptors by microscopy and nested PCR technique. The study material consisted of 47 accipitriform raptors (Buteo buteo: 14, Buteo rufinus: 7, Clanga pomarina: 8, Circaetus gallicus: 12, Milvus migrans: 6). The prevalence of haemosporidian infection was 12.8% (6/47, 1 from Buteo buteo, 4 from Clanga pomarina, 1 from Milvus migrans) microscopically and 14.9% (7/47) molecularly. One Circaetus gallicus, microscopically found to be negative, probably due to low parasitemia, was molecularly found to be positive. All PCR-positive amplicons were bidirectionally sequenced, and the identification of lineages of the isolates and phylogenetic analysis were performed using the MalAvi and GenBank databases. The study revealed H-MILANS02 lineage in Buteo buteo, H-MILANS02 and P-CIAE1 lineages in Clanga pomarina, P-GRW06 lineage in Circaetus gallicus, and P-RTSR1 lineage in Milvus migrans, respectively. While this study removes the uncertainty regarding the reporting of the H-MILANS02 lineage in Turkey, it is also the first report to reveal 3 different Plasmodium spp. CytB lineages in raptors. Moreover, the fact that the P-GRW06 lineage (Plasmodium elongatum) detected in passerine birds was detected in a raptor, Circaetus gallicus, draws attention to the need for further investigations on host-parasite interaction and gives clues about the host-shifting ability of this parasite.

First report of Sarcocystis halieti (Apicomplexa) in bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

At least three Sarcocystis species (S. falcatula, S. halieti and S. wobeseri–like) have been detected infecting raptorial birds. By histopathology and PCR-sequencing of the ITS1 marker, S. halieti was detected in a bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) and a black kite (Milvus migrans) from the Catalonia region in North Spain. The 241 bp-long sequences obtained from the Sarcocystis organisms detected in both raptors showed 97.5–99.6% and 97.9–100% similarity with those of previously identified S. halieti; also, the phylogenetic trees generated placed the identified sequences together with other sequences of S. halieti available in GenBank. In sum, the description of the bearded vulture as a new intermediate host for S. halieti adds new insights on the complex epidemiology of the genus involving avian hosts.

Effect of implementation of irrigation on raptor and corvid populations in a Mediterranean agrosystem

We analyzed changes in the composition of the community of birds of prey and corvids in a rainfed agrosystem after the transformation of 37.2 % of the sampled area into irrigated land between 2005 and 2020. We sampled 57 transects (372 km per year) and fitted generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to study changes in species occurrence. Our results showed that specific richness and the Shannon index did not vary significantly between rainfed and irrigated transects, but there was a certain positive trend when comparing the years 2005 and 2020. Regarding the differences detected for each species, the occurrence of Montagu’s harrier Circus pygargus, hen harrier Circus cyaneus, Eurasian short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus, griffon vulture Gyps fulvus and carrion crow Corvus corone was significantly lower in irrigated land than in rainfed land, while magpie Pica pica, Western marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus, common kestrel Falco tinnunculus and black kite Milvus migrans showed a significantly higher occurrence in the irrigated transects. In addition, our findings confirm a significant decrease in occurrence between 2005 and 2020 both in rainfed and irrigated areas for Montagu’s harrier, hen harrier and magpie, while Western marsh harrier, golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, common buzzard Buteo buteo, red kite Milvus milvus, griffon vulture Gyps fulvus, red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax and Western jackdaw Coloeus monedula were detected significantly more frequently in 2020 than in 2005. These results suggest that assessment of the impact of a new irrigation system should focus on the most characteristic species of rainfed agrosystems because the apparently positive effect on other species, equally protected but more generalist, may mask the real effect on conservation.

Clinically relevant antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli from black kites in southwestern Siberia: a genetic and phenotypic investigation.

Wild birds including raptors can act as vectors of clinically relevant bacteria with antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in black kites (Milvus migrans) inhabiting localities in proximity to human-influenced environments in southwestern Siberia and investigate their virulence and plasmid contents. A total of 51 E. coli isolates mostly with multidrug resistance (MDR) profiles were obtained from cloacal swabs of 35 (64%, n = 55) kites. Genomic analyses of 36 whole genome sequenced E. coli isolates showed: (i) high prevalence and diversity of their antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and common association with ESBL/AmpC production (27/36, 75%), (ii) carriage of mcr-1 for colistin resistance on IncI2 plasmids in kites residing in proximity of two large cities, (iii) frequent association with class one integrase (IntI1, 22/36, 61%), and (iv) presence of sequence types (STs) linked to avian-pathogenic (APEC) and extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC). Notably, numerous isolates had significant virulence content. One E. coli with APEC-associated ST354 carried qnrE1 encoding fluoroquinolone resistance on IncHI2-ST3 plasmid, the first detection of such a gene in E. coli from wildlife. Our results implicate black kites in southwestern Siberia as reservoirs for antibiotic-resistant E. coli. It also highlights the existing link between proximity of wildlife to human activities and their carriage of MDR bacteria including pathogenic STs with significant and clinically relevant antibiotic resistance determinants. IMPORTANCE Migratory birds have the potential to acquire and disperse clinically relevant antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and their associated antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) through vast geographical regions. The opportunistic feeding behavior associated with some raptors including black kites and the growing anthropogenic influence on their natural habitats increase the transmission risk of multidrug resistance (MDR) and pathogenic bacteria from human and agricultural sources into the environment and wildlife. Thus, monitoring studies investigating antibiotic resistance in raptors may provide essential data that facilitate understanding the fate and evolution of ARB and ARGs in the environment and possible health risks for humans and animals associated with the acquisition of these resistance determinants by wildlife.