Wintering Areas Research Articles

Comprehensive assessment of building energy consumption in hot summer and cold winter areas based on carbon tax considerations

With the rapid development of economy and urbanization in China, cities are expanding rapidly and more constructions are being built, then lead to the fast-growing part in urban residential energy consumption. In China’s hot summer and cold winter regions, many buildings are not centrally heated and commonly rely on electrical equipment such as air conditioners which are all energy-inefficient thermoregulation devices. In order to analyze the relationship between building energy consumption and the energy efficiency ratio (EER) of air conditioning and the area of photovoltaic (PV) on the roof, the influence of the building envelope on building energy consumption in hot summer and cold winter regions in China is clarified. This paper uses energy plus software to analyze the impact of different EER and PV area on building energy consumption using a typical case study of a public health upgrading project in the eastern part of the Wuxing district, Huzhou, Zhejiang province in China. The simulation results show that the factor that has a greater impact on the energy consumption of the health center in summer is the PV area parameter of the building compared to the performance parameters of the air conditioning equipment. The PV area parameter settings and air conditioning equipment performance adjustments are dependent on the actual situation and the comprehensive energy saving rate of the outpatient building for public health in the eastern part of Tai Wu Xing District can exceed 50%. Finally, an economic analysis of the carbon tax and input costs is carried out, and the best combination is of which 60% of the area covered by Longi Green PV panels and an air conditioning efficiency ratio of 4.87. The research result combines renewable energy and efficient equipment to achieve dual optimization of environmental and economic aspects of building energy consumption, while providing reference opinions on the comprehensive evaluation method of building energy consumption from the perspective of carbon tax.

Wintering and migration strategies of Slavonian Grebes Podiceps auritus breeding in Iceland

ABSTRACT Capsule Slavonian Grebes Podiceps auritus breeding in Iceland moult on freshwater, before migrating to the seas around the British Isles for the winter. Aims The aims were to describe the migration strategies and identify wintering areas of Slavonian Grebes breeding in Iceland. Methods Geolocators were fitted to 37 Slavonian Grebes breeding on two lakes in north-east Iceland from 2009 to 2012. Of these, 19 were recovered and provided useful data on wintering areas and migration timing. Results The results indicated that the grebes moulted on freshwater lakes before gradually moving to the sea and later migrating to the wintering areas. Most of the birds wintered on the sea around the British Isles. However, there was surprisingly high variation in wintering strategies and little overlap of wintering areas. Grebes tracked for consecutive years showed high wintering philopatry. Conclusion Individual Slavonian Grebes may be vulnerable to local environmental conditions, but the high variability in wintering strategies and relatively large non-breeding distribution is expected to make the population generally less sensitive to local environmental conditions in the wintering areas over the long term.

Analysis of the trans-Saharan migration and wintering areas of GPS-tagged Cinereous Vultures Aegypius monachus

ABSTRACT Although the western Mediterranean population of the Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus is considered to be mainly resident, a small but increasing number of individuals migrate between western Europe and western Sahel. We used GPS tracking on two juvenile vultures from Spain to reveal their migration routes and their wintering areas in Senegal.

Wintering Great White Egrets Ardea alba in a riverine area in the Netherlands: numbers, abundance and timing

ABSTRACT Capsule The riverine area in the Netherlands is an important wintering area for Great White Egrets Ardea alba. Numbers decline in relation to very cold weather, and increase in relation to peaks in population cycles of Common Vole Microtus arvalis. Aim To analyse the variation in abundance and timing of wintering Great White Egrets between years and roosts. Methods The study area was a 21,000 ha section of the riverine area between the rivers Meuse and Waal. The paper presents the results of eight years of weekly counts of three roosts, one year of 10 roosts and seven years of nearly daily counts of foraging birds in an agricultural landscape. All surveys were carried out outside the breeding season. Results Birds used the area from the end of June until the beginning of April. Abundance strongly varied with small rodent prey availability, with maxima between 15 and 50 birds in years with average prey abundance, and a maximum of 125 individuals in 2019/2020 when prey availability was high. Since most birds foraged on grassland, this suggests a density of two birds per 100 ha in normal years and eight birds per 100 ha in peak years. Each roost covers a foraging area of 2000 ha in total, or 1000 ha grassland. Mean densities were similar between years but there was seasonal variation, with most roost counts peaking during autumn. Birds would temporarily leave the area during spells of snow or frost. In spring, departure towards the breeding grounds was partly dependent on the mean temperature in March. Conclusion Counts of Great White Egrets at roosting and foraging sites in the Netherlands vary seasonally with temperature and prey availability.

Heat load-carrying capacity of surface water source and its heating load matching characteristics

Meteorological parameter changes not only affect the heat load-carrying capacity of the surface water, but also affect the heat load demand of the building, thus changing the heat load matching between the water source heat pump system and the users. In order to study the climatic adaptation of the heat load-carrying capacity, this paper establishes an analytical model of the water body's heat load-carrying capacity and the building's heat load with the solar radiation intensity, the change of the water body and the heat extraction time as variables. Experimental and simulation studies on the heat load-carrying capacity of lake water were carried out under the winter climate conditions in hot summer and cold winter areas. The results show that increasing the depth or area of the lake can improve the heat load-carrying capacity. Solar radiation is an important factor affecting the temperature of surface water body, the stronger the solar radiation the greater the temperature rise of the water body. Changes in outdoor air temperature have a significant impact on water temperature, and a sudden drop in outdoor air temperature will result in a sharp drop in water temperature. When the water body area was 3000 m2 and 50000 m2, the maximum integrated temperature drop of the water body was 15.0℃ and 9.7℃, which was 2.02 and 4.85 times of the temperature drop of heat extraction, respectively. Reduced heat load-carrying capacity of the surface water body or decreased COP of the heat pump is an important reason why the surface water source heat pump heat supply fails to meet the user's heat demand in winter.

Significantly Earlier Spring Migration in Most Bird Species at the Eastern Limit of Europe.

The first arrival dates of 31 species of migrant birds in the Tatarstan Republic of Russia were monitored for the 34-year period from 1989-2022. Trends in first arrival date were evaluated using regression against the year value. Patterns in arrival data with respect to species traits (habitat, migration distance, body weight, etc.) were evaluated using redundancy analysis. Relationships between first arrival dates and Tatarstan temperatures were also evaluated using regression methods of first-arrival date on monthly mean temperatures. Almost all (28 of 31) species revealed a significantly earlier migration arrival date; however, associations between arrival patterns and species traits were equivocal. Warmer temperatures were significantly associated with earlier arrival in 26 of the 31 species, but the relationship was insufficient to explain the average 11-day advance in species. For these species and in this location only the timing and location of arrival are well recorded; the exact wintering areas and migration routes, and the timing of these phases are less well understood. When these become better known, an investigation of the influence of environmental conditions (including temperature) on departure timing and passage timing and speed is recommended.

Out of the Palaearctic: the Helophorus water beetles of the Afrotropical Region (Coleoptera: Helophoridae)

Helophorus Fabricius, 1775 (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Helophoridae) is an old and largely Holarctic genus of beetles, with most extant diversity concentrated in the Palae­arctic. As with a number of primarily northern temperate lineages, the genus has colonised the Afrotropical Region, with species described from the Ethiopian Highlands and southern Africa. Here, the Afrotropical Helophorus fauna is revised, based on a study of all primary types and additional material, including extensive recent collections from South Africa. The known Afrotropical fauna is shown to be comprised of six species, only three of which were previously described: H. aethiopicus Régimbart, 1907, from southern highland areas of Ethiopia, H. aethiops J. Balfour-Browne, 1954 known from summer and year-round rainfall areas of South Africa and Namibia and H. cooperi Orchymont, 1948, stat. nov., described as a subspecies of H. aethiopicus and still only known from the type locality in Ethiopia. To these, three new species are added: H. brumopluvialis sp. nov., widespread in winter rainfall areas of the Western and Northern Cape Provinces of South Africa, H. nyandaruaensis sp. nov. from mountains of the East African Rift in Kenya and H. simiensis sp. nov. from the Simien Mountains of northern Ethiopia. All species are (re)described in detail and illustrated with high-resolution photos. Known distributions are mapped and a key to species provided. It is suggested that the two South African species may have speciated allochronically, due to seasonal shifts in life cycle associated with the development of the winter rainfall regime in the Cape during the Plio-Pleistocene. Helophorus are hypothesised to have colonised the Afrotropics on at least two occasions from separate Palaearctic ancestors.

Temporal and Spatial Distributions of O3 Concentration and Potential Source Area Analysis of Hexi Corridor Based on Satellite and Ground Monitoring

Based on 2005-2020 O3 column concentration data of OMI remote sensing satellite, combined with air pollutant data from 10 nationally controlled environmental automatic monitoring stations in the Hexi Corridor and global data assimilation system meteorological data, we used Kriging interpolation, correlation analysis, and backward trajectory (HYSPLIT) models to explore the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics, meteorological factors, transmission paths, and potential sources of O3 in the Hexi Corridor. The results showed the following:① in terms of temporal distribution, O3 column concentration showed an upward trend in 2005-2010 and 2014-2020 and downward trend in 2010-2014; the maximum and minimum values were reached in 2010 and 2014 (332.31 DU and 301.00 DU), respectively, and seasonal changes showed that those in spring and winter were significantly higher than those in summer and autumn. ② In terms of spatial distribution, O3 column concentration showed a latitudinal band distribution characteristic of increasing from southwest to northeast; the high-value areas were primarily distributed in urban areas with low terrain, and the median zone was latitudinally striped with the basic alignment of the Qilian foothills. ③ The analysis of meteorological conditions revealed that temperature, wind speed, and sunshine hours were positively correlated with O3, and relative humidity was negatively correlated with O3. ④ By simulating the airflow transportation trajectory of the receiving point in Wuwei City, it was found that the direction of the O3 conveying path was relatively singular; the dominant airflow in each season was primarily in the west and northwest; and the proportions were 71.62%, 66.85%, 61.22%, and 77.78%, respectively. There were certain seasonal differences in the source areas of O3 potential contribution:the high-value areas of O3 potential sources in spring, summer, and autumn were distributed in Baiyin City and Lanzhou City, which were southeast wind sources, and the high-value areas in winter were distributed between the Badain Jaran Desert and the Tengger Desert, which was the north wind source.

Integrated life cycle assessment and emergy analysis of liquid dehumidification absorption refrigeration driven by solar energy

The cascade utilization of solar energy is significant in alleviating energy and environmental problems. A novel solar-driven liquid dehumidification cascade absorption refrigeration (SLDAR) system applied to hot summer and cold winter areas of China is proposed in this paper. In order to evaluate the environmental and economic sustainability of the system, an integrating life cycle assessment and emergy analysis (LCA-EmA) method is developed. Parameter sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the effects of solar radiation intensity, air temperature and relative humidity on the sustainability of the system. The results reveal that the total potential environmental impact of the system is 7.29E+03, of which the construction stage accounted for the most part of 65.36%. The total emergy input of the system is 1.61E+17 sej/yr, the operation stage accounted for the highest proportion of 73.29%. According to the integrated LCA-EmA, the emergy sustainability index of the system is 3.89, which reduces by 29.01% than the result of the emergy analysis. The parameter sensitivity analysis states that the system has higher resource use efficiency and emergy yield ratio in higher solar radiation intensity. And the emergy sustainability index of the system increases first and then decreases as the air temperature increases. The environmental load rate increases by 15.19% and the emergy sustainability index decreases by 44.50% as the increase of relative humidity. This study proves the feasibility and sustainability of the solar-driven cascade system.

Tracking wintering areas and post-breeding migration of a declining farmland bird – An indispensable basis for successful conservation

Many farmland birds, such as the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata; here in after Curlew), are in steep decline. So far, decreased reproduction and, hence, an insufficient number of offspring to compensate for adult mortality has been considered the main driver of the recent population collapse. However, despite extensive conservation measures in most breeding areas, there are no signs of a general reversal of the population trend. Accordingly, conservation has to focus on decreasing adult mortality outside the breeding areas as well. For Curlews breeding in NW Germany, ring recoveries suggest that the main wintering areas are the coastlines of western France and southern England. However, such data are often biased in space and time. Here, we used GPS tracking to investigate the wintering areas and post-breeding migration of Curlews of the main German breeding population based on large sample size. Altogether, we tagged 86 adult breeding birds at 23 subareas across a transect of about 250 km (in length) in NW Germany. Curlews started post-breeding migration right after finishing breeding or attempting to breed, which was mainly in mid-June. We identified the coastlines of Great Britain/Ireland, western France and the Netherlands, in particular the Rhine-Meuse-Delta and the Wadden Sea, as the main wintering areas of Curlews breeding in NW Germany. We found a latitudinal structuration of migration, with birds nesting further north using more northerly wintering areas. However, in some cases, wintering areas of birds of the same subpopulation were located more than a thousand kilometres apart from each other. All three main stopover areas identified by our study (German/Dutch Wadden Sea, Dutch Rhine-Meuse-Delta, French Normandy) overlap in large parts with the main wintering areas. Since Curlews spend most of the year outside their breeding areas, and wintering and stopover areas also suffer from rapid environmental change, conservation has to additionally focus on these areas. Nearly one third (29%) of the tracked birds wintered in France or used French stopover areas. Accordingly, they might potentially be affected by a resumption of hunting, which is currently in discussion in France. Our study provides an important basis for the protection of wintering and stopover areas of the main German breeding population but also for other wader species migrating along the East Atlantic Flyway.

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF GREATER SPOTTED EAGLES (<i>CLANGA CLANGA</i>, ACCIPITRIDAE, ACCIPITRIFORMES) DURING THE WINTERING PERIOD AND FEATURES OF THEIR HABITATS DETERMINED USING GPS-GSM TELEMETRY

Using GPS-GSM trackers, data on the spatial distribution and habitat features during the wintering period were obtained for five young greater spotted eagles (Clanga clanga) tagged in the center of European Russia or the Middle Volga region. The wintering areas of the studied birds, with the exception of one individual in the second and third winters, were located in the Middle East (Israel, northern Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran), in South Africa (Sudan and South Sudan), and in Azerbaijan. An uneven distribution of greater spotted eagles in winter territories was revealed, within which the birds spent most of their time in preferred areas where they stayed for long periods. The size and configuration of winter territories depended on the availability of forage lands. Ecological features of the territories caused a difference in the square of wintering grounds and the character of daytime movements of different individuals. The bird wintering in the arid landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula with extremely poor forage conditions was forced to make maximal daily movements in search of prey. At the same time, individuals wintering in the deltaic Caspian plains in Iran and in the Prikubanskaya Plain in southern Russia found areas with a rich and affordable food which caused minimal daily movements and a minimum radius of the daytime territory. Based on telemetry and visual observations, a previously unknown area of sustainable wintering of greater spotted eagles in the south of European Russia has been localized. The paddy rice fields in the Prikubanskaya Plain as the most important forage habitat and the probable significance of the numerous and available brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) as the main prey species in winter are discussed. The data obtained form an important basis for the development of a strategy for the protection of this rare vulnerable species across the entire distribution range.

Do beluga whales truly migrate? Testing a key trait of the classical migration syndrome

BackgroundMigration enables organisms to access resources in separate regions that have predictable but asynchronous spatiotemporal variability in habitat quality. The classical migration syndrome is defined by key traits including directionally persistent long-distance movements during which maintenance activities are suppressed. But recently, seasonal round-trip movements have frequently been considered to constitute migration irrespective of the traits required to meet this movement type, conflating common outcomes with common traits required for a mechanistic understanding of long-distance movements. We aimed to test whether a cetacean ceases foraging during so-called migratory movements, conforming to a trait that defines classical migration.MethodsWe used location and dive data collected by satellite tags deployed on beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the Eastern Beaufort Sea population, which undertake long-distance directed movements between summer and winter areas. To identify phases of directionally persistent travel, behavioural states (area-restricted search, ARS; or Transit) were decoded using a hidden-Markov model, based on step length and turning angle. Established dive profiles were then used as a proxy for foraging, to test the hypothesis that belugas cease foraging during these long-distance transiting movements, i.e., they suppress maintenance activities.ResultsBelugas principally made directed horizontal movements when moving between summer and winter residency areas, remaining in a Transit state for an average of 75.4% (range = 58.5–87.2%) of the time. All individuals, however, exhibited persistent foraging during Transit movements (75.8% of hours decoded as the Transit state had ≥ 1 foraging dive). These data indicate that belugas actively search for and/or respond to resources during these long-distance movements that are typically called a migration.ConclusionsThe long-distance movements of belugas do not conform to the traits defining the classical migration syndrome, but instead have characteristics of both migratory and nomadic behaviour, which may prove adaptive in the face of unpredictable environmental change. Such patterns are likely present in other cetaceans that have been labeled as migratory. Examination of not only horizontal movement state, but also the vertical behaviour of aquatic animals during directed movements is essential for identifying whether a species exhibits traits of the classical migration syndrome or another long-distance movement strategy, enabling improved ecological inference.

Uncovering the primary drivers of regional variability in the impact of climate change on wheat yields in China

Responses of wheat yield in different regions to separate and joint changes in mean temperature (Tmean), precipitation (Prec), and solar radiation (Rad) are the foundation for sustainable development under climate change; however, these remain uncertain. Here, we quantified the response of wheat yield variation to changes in Tmean, Prec, and Rad by building multiple regression models, de-trending analysis, and MK trend tests. Multi-site meteorological data was obtained from different wheat growing areas and corresponding wheat yield data from provinces. Our findings showed that the effects of different climatic elements on wheat yield are spatially heterogeneous by region, and the combined effects of climatic elements are higher than those of single elements. Climate change caused an increase of 1% and 4.52% in winter and winter-spring wheat areas, respectively, and a loss of 3.72% in spring wheat areas. In addition, the effect of single meteorological factors on wheat yield varied depending on their rate of change. Rad and Prec are the main drivers of wheat yield variability; in winter, spring and winter-spring wheat areas, Rad significantly impacted wheat yield by 0.89%, −1.18%, and 2.46%, respectively, and Prec caused changes of −0.18%, −1.54%, and 1.33%, respectively. Considering normal and extreme climate fluctuations, we found that the contribution of climate change to wheat yield changes in different wheat-growing regions reached 26.1%, 18.6%, and 16.7%, respectively. Our results indicate that the overall climatic conditions in the spring wheat region are moving in an unfavourable direction, while Prec variability has become the main limiting factor for wheat production in the current winter and winter-spring wheat regions. These comprehensive and detailed findings provide a reference for the development of more accurate adaptation strategies and management measures in different regions. Going forward, the results of this study can be better applied to the development of region-specific climate-smart agricultural practices and extended to other crops and regions to better understand the broader impacts of climate change on global food security.

Ensemble learning based on remote sensing data for monitoring agricultural drought in major winter wheat-producing areas of China

Drought is mainly triggered by the lack of precipitation, which can lead to insufficient water supply for crops thus affecting their growth and development. Reliable drought monitoring is crucial to understanding drought risk and avoiding drought-induced crop yield losses. Based on the Stacking regression method and multiple remotely-sensed drought factors from 2001 to 2017, this study developed an ensemble learning framework for monitoring agricultural drought in major winter wheat-producing areas in China. Stacking used five machine learning algorithms, namely, extreme gradient boosting, support vector regression, extra trees, and multi-layer perceptron, as the base learners to model the relationship between remote sensing drought factors and 1-, 3-, and 6-month standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). In this study, county-level winter wheat yield records and drought maps provided by the Global SPEI database (SPEIbase) were adopted to assess the suitability of Stacking-predicted SPEI drought maps in agricultural drought monitoring. The results show that Stacking outperformed other machine learning algorithms in terms of estimation accuracy, with the highest R2 value of 0.77 and the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.47. The longer the time scale of model-predicted SPEI, the higher its correlation with detrended winter wheat yields. The comparison with the drought maps of SPEIbase shows that the Stacking-predicted drought maps successfully captured the spatial pattern and intensity change of drought events. The approach presented in the study has good applicability for agricultural drought monitoring and could be extended to the rest of the areas.

Acoustic monitoring reveals spatiotemporal occurrence of Nathusius’ pipistrelle at the southern North Sea during autumn migration

Seasonal movements between the summer and winter areas are a widespread phenomenon in bats So far, most information on the migration ecology of bats has been obtained by studies in terrestrial habitats, whereas scientific knowledge on migration over sea is scarce. We performed continuous ultrasonic acoustic monitoring at 13 locations in the southern North Sea during four consecutive years (2017–2020) and analysed the spatiotemporal occurrence of Nathusius’ pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii during autumn migration in relation to weather parameters and lunar phase. Our analysis showed that the main autumn migration of Nathusius’ pipistrelle at the southern North Sea occurs from mid-August until late October and most bats within the study area occur off the Noord Holland coast. North Sea crossings frequently last longer than one night; the day is spent roosting at an offshore structure. The strongest migration occurs during nights with tailwinds from the east-northeast, but bats are also recorded offshore with low to moderate headwinds or crosswinds. Bat presence decreased between the full moon and the last quarter and increased just before the new moon. Finally, our observations show that the occurrence of bats at sea was reduced in 2020 in comparison to the previous years. The results of this study show clear spatiotemporal patterns of migratory bat occurrence at the southern North Sea. The spatial distribution can be used in spatial planning of future offshore wind farms, whereas the temporal occurrence and environmental factors that shape offshore migration can be used to develop mitigation measures to reduce the number of bat fatalities.

Co-migration fidelity at a stopover site increases over time in African-European migratory landbirds.

Migratory species are changing their timing of departure from wintering areas and arrival to breeding sites (i.e. migration phenology) in response to climate change to exploit maximum food availability at higher latitudes and improve their fitness. Despite the impact of changing migration phenology at population and community level, the extent to which individual and species-specific response affects associations among co-migrating species has been seldom explored. By applying temporal co-occurrence network models on 15 years of standardized bird ringing data at a spring stopover site, we show that African-European migratory landbirds tend to migrate in well-defined groups of species with high temporal overlap. Such 'co-migration fidelity' significantly increased over the years and was higher in long-distance (trans-Saharan) than in short-distance (North African) migrants. Our findings suggest non-random patterns of associations in co-migrating species, possibly related to the existence of regulatory mechanisms associated with changing climate conditions and different uses of stopover sites, ultimately influencing the global economy of migration of landbirds in the Palearctic-African migration system.

Multi-isotope (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) feather profiles and morphometrics inform patterns of migratory connectivity in three species of North American swallows

Aerial insectivorous birds have suffered steep population declines in North America over the last 60 years. A lack of information on migratory connectivity between breeding and non-breeding grounds for these species limits our ability to interpret factors affecting their population-specific trends. We determined likely Latin American non-breeding regions of Bank (Riparia riparia), Barn (Hirundo rustica) and Cliff (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) swallow from populations across their breeding ranges. We used predicted feather hydrogen (δ2Hf) and carbon (δ13Cf) isoscapes for winter-grown feathers to indicate areas of highest probability of moult origin and incorporated these results into a cluster analysis to determine likely broad non-breeding regions. We also assessed variation in wing length among populations to determine the potential for this metric to differentiate population moult origins. We then investigated patterns of multi-isotopic (δ2Hf, δ13Cf, δ15Nf) and wing-length niche occupancy by quantifying niche size and overlap among populations under the assumption that broad niches were consistent with low within-species migratory connectivity and narrow and non-overlapping niches with higher connectivity. Multivariate assignment identified different non-breeding regions and potential clusters of moult origin generally corresponding to Central America and northern South America, eastern and south-central South America, and the western and southern part of that continent, with variation within and among populations and species. Separate niche space indicated different wintering habitat or areas used by species or populations whereas niche overlap indicated only potential spatial similarity. Wing length varied significantly among populations by species, being longer in the west and north for Bank and Cliff Swallow and longer in eastern Canadian Barn Swallow populations. Barn Swallow occupied consistently larger isotopic and wing length niche space than the other species. Comparisons among populations across species showed variable isotopic and wing-length niche overlap generally being greater within breeding regions and lower between western and eastern breeding populations supporting a general North American continental divide for all species with generally low migratory connectivity for all species. We present a novel approach to assessing connectivity using inexpensive and broad isotopic approaches that provides the basis for hypothesis testing using more spatially explicit expensive techniques.

The price of being late: short- and long-term consequences of a delayed migration timing.

Choosing the right migration timing is critical for migrants because conditions encountered en route influence movement costs, survival, and, in social migrants, the availability of social information. Depending on lifetime stages, individuals may migrate at different times due to diverging constraints, affecting the composition of migration groups. To examine the consequences of a delayed migration timing, we artificially delayed the migration of juvenile white storks (Ciconia ciconia) and thereby altered their physical and social environment. Using nearly continuous 1 Hz GPS trajectories, we examined their migration behaviour, ranging from sub-second level performance to global long-distance movement, in relation to two control groups. We found that delayed storks experienced suboptimal soaring conditions, but better wind support and thereby achieved higher flight speeds than control storks. Delayed storks had a lower mortality rate than the control storks and wintered closer to the breeding area. In fact, none of the delayed storks reached the traditional African wintering areas. Thus, our results show that juvenile storks can survive migrating at the 'wrong' time. However, this had long-term consequences on migration decisions. We suggest that, when timing their migration, storks balance not just energy and time, but also the availability of social information.

Impact of Heavy Snowfall on Emergency Transport and Prognosis of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients: A Nation-Wide Cohort Study.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a significant global cause of mortality, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response interval is critical for survival and a neurologically-favorable outcome. Currently, it is unclear whether EMS response interval, neurologically-intact survival, and overall survival differ between snowy and non-snowy periods at heavy snowfall areas. A nation-wide population-based cohort of OHCA patients, registered from 2017 through 2019 in the All-Japan Utstein Registry, was divided into four groups according to areas (heavy snowfall area or other area) and seasons (winter or non-winter): heavy snowfall-winter, heavy snowfall-non-winter, other area-winter, and other area-non-winter. The first coprimary outcome was EMS response interval, and the secondary coprimary outcome was one-month survival and a neurologically-favorable outcome at one month. A total of 337,781 OHCA patients were divided into four groups: heavy snowfall-winter (N = 15,627), heavy snowfall-non-winter (N = 97,441), other area-winter (N = 32,955), and other area-non-winter (N = 191,758). Longer EMS response intervals (>13 minutes) were most likely in the heavy snowfall-winter group (OR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.76 to 1.97), and also more likely in heavy snowfall areas in non-winter (OR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.38 to 1.50). One-month survival in winter was worse not only in the heavy snowfall area (OR = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.94) but also in other areas (OR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.94). One-month neurologically-favorable outcomes were also comparable between heavy snowfall-winter and other area-non-winter groups. This study showed OHCA in heavy snowfall areas in winter resulted in longer EMS response intervals. However, heavy snowfall had little effect on one-month survival or neurologically-favorable outcome at one month.

Assessing the status of Ichkeul Lake and its catchment through identifying potentially toxic cyanobacteria, simultaneously extracted metals and use of acid-volatile-sulfide model

Lake Ichkeul is considered one of the most significant wetlands in the Mediterranean basin. It serves as a crucial wintering area for numerous western Palearctic birds. A notable decline in species diversity has been observed in the past decade, attributed to excessive water usage for irrigation and the effects of climate change. This study aimed to assess the status of Ichkeul Lake and its catchment through identifying potentially toxic cyanobacteria, and sediment quality. Our first striking finding was that Lyngbya majuscula the dominant potentially toxic cyanobacterium in the lake originated from the Tinja channel. Trace element concentrations in lake sediments exceeded SQG standards which is indicative of rare detrimental effects to biological life. However, the sediment in front of the Tinja channel exhibited high contamination levels of Zn and Cd. These findings call for an urgent need to ensure the ongoing management and conservation of this world heritage site.