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Simple Summary: The great cormorant has become a model taxon in the study of the ecology and ecotoxicology of fish-eating species. In this study, we used 157 adult and 222 juvenile dead individuals sexed by dissection to provide a method of sexing this species using external measurements. Males were larger than females in all linear body measurements, but there were no significant differences between adults and juveniles. Thus, in further analyses data on juveniles and adults within a sex was combined. The discriminant equations provided, with wing length and bill length, provided high accuracy, with 6.2% of individuals misclassified. The method presented here makes it possible to account for sex-specific patterns in ecological studies of the great cormorant and may be applied to data collected in the past. The possibility of sex identification of birds has substantial importance for studies on different aspects of bird ecology and behaviour. Using discriminant functions is becoming increasingly popular in studies of bird species that are monomorphic in plumage characteristics because they are cheap, hardly invasive and may be applied to data collected in the past. In this paper, we provide a discriminant function to sex great cormorants using external measurements. Males were larger than females in all linear body measurements, but there were no significant differences between adults and juveniles. Thus, data on juveniles and adults within a sex was combined. Discriminant equations with the most commonly used linear measurements, wing length and bill length, were provided. If identifying birds with discriminant function values D2 < −1.256 as females and those with D2 > 0.916 as males, 99% of birds will be correctly sexed. The method presented here makes it possible to account for sex-specific patterns in ecological studies of the great cormorant and may be applied to data collected in the past. The cross-application of discriminant functions developed for other populations of the great cormorant produces a 5.4% and 7.5% misclassification rate for birds from northern Poland using discriminant equations developed for populations in Greece and the Netherlands, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In all continents, except in Antarctica, avian botulism outbreaks occur in wild waterbirds with different recurrences and a high severity. This feared disease is due to the ingestion of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) mainly produced by Clostridium botulinum, also able to produce persistent spores representing an efficient form of environmental resistance while waiting for suitable conditions enabling bacterial vegetative growth. In addition, concomitant ecological and environmental changes (e.g., the presence of decaying organic material of plant and animal origins) represent a suitable substrate for the replication of Clostridium spp. strains producing BoNT in conditions of high temperatures and the absence of oxygen. This study describes the occurrence, evolution, and management of a severe outbreak of botulism that occurred in a protected wetland area of northeastern Italy, where over 2000 waterbirds (mostly carcasses, and only to a lesser extent sick birds) were recovered in 2019. We also describe the activities underlying the avian botulism monitoring and management performed in this area in 2020, 2021, and 2022. According to an ecological approach, anthropogenic changes that may trigger the occurrence of avian botulism in wetland habitats should be carefully assessed, and habitat management actions should be adaptively planned to protect the biodiversity of these vulnerable ecosystems, which are increasingly affected by ongoing global change. Avian botulism is a paralytic disease due to the ingestion of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) produced by anaerobic, sporigenic bacteria (notably, Clostridium botulinum). Wild waterbirds worldwide are affected with variable recurrence and severity, and organic material decaying in wetland habitats may constitute a suitable substrate for the replication of clostridia strains producing BoNT in conditions of high temperatures and the absence of oxygen. Here, we describe a large outbreak of avian botulism that occurred in the Valle Mandriole protected area of northeastern Italy (VM). After the recovery in late summer of a few duck carcasses that molecularly tested positive for BoNT-producing clostridia, in October 2019, the avian botulism escalation led to a total of 2367 birds being recovered (2158 carcasses and 209 sick birds). Among these, 2365/2367 were waterbirds, with ducks accounting for 91.8% of the total (2173/2367) and green-winged teals representing 93.5% of the ducks. After the quick collection of dead and sick birds (from 4 to 11 October 2019) and the flooding of the VM wetland (from 5 to 12 October 2019), the 2019 botulism emergency apparently ended. Following two water inputs in May and July 2020, only one pooled sample obtained from 16 bird carcasses found that year in VM tested positive for clostridia type C by real-time PCR, whereas, after to the implementation of measures deterring the bird's presence, new avian botulism cases—due to clostridia type C and C/D, according to molecular and animal-model tests of confirmation—led to the collection of 176 waterbirds (82 carcasses and 94 sick ducks) and 16 waterbirds (9 carcasses and 7 sick ducks) in the summers 2021 and 2022, respectively. In conclusion, the prevention, management, and control of the disease rely on habitat management, the quick and careful collection/removal of animal carcasses, and the regular monitoring and surveillance of live and dead birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Our comprehensive study using camera traps in the Halla Mountain Wetland offers significant insights into the temporal activities and habitat preferences of Passerine birds. Key findings include distinct morning activities in species such as Cyanoptila cyanomelana and Horornis canturians and afternoon peaks in others such as Muscicapa dauurica. We observed a preference for wetlands and an underutilization of grasslands, indicating complex species–habitat interactions. Additionally, our study highlights the impact of population density on habitat usage and reveals substantial variations in seasonal activity among different species, demonstrating their adaptive strategies. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the ecological dynamics and niche partitioning within these bird communities. However, the fixed field of view and intermittent recording capability of camera traps can miss certain activities, and external factors such as weather and human presence can influence the observed behavior. While providing valuable insights, this study underscores the need to integrate camera trap data with other observational methods for a more comprehensive understanding of avian behavior. This study analyzed 5322 camera trap photographs from Halla Mountain Wetland, documenting 1427 independent bird sightings of 26 families and 49 species of Passeriformes. Key observations include morning activities in Cyanoptila cyanomelana and Horornis canturians and afternoon activity in Muscicapa dauurica and Phoenicurus auroreus. Wetlands were significantly preferred (P_i = 0.398) despite their smaller area, contrasting with underutilized grasslands (P_i = 0.181). Seasonal activity variations were notable, with overlap coefficients ranging from 0.08 to 0.81 across species, indicating diverse strategies in resource utilization and thermoregulation. Population density was found to be a critical factor in habitat usage, with high-density species showing more consistent activity patterns. The study's results demonstrate the ecological adaptability of Passeriformes in the Halla Mountain Wetland while highlighting the limitations of camera trapping methods. These limitations include their fixed field of view and intermittent recording capability, which may not fully capture the spectrum of complex avian behaviors. This research underlines the need for future studies integrating various methodologies, such as direct observation and acoustic monitoring, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of avian ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Using eBird citizen science data, researchers identified power law patterns in bird abundance rankings. This study examines the concept of "granular size" related to these patterns, and determined 13 specific species to be the granular size. The granular size of the bird rank abundance distribution might have something to do with the number of species, which, like big businesses in an economy, have a disproportionately big effect on their environment. However, keep in mind that these species may be considered special simply because they were all discovered in cities. In previous studies using eBird citizen data, bird abundance rankings followed a power law distribution. Our research delves into the "granular size" concept within these power laws, likening birds to firms. We identified 13 bird species as being the granular size, representing species with significant ecosystem impact, akin to major corporations in an economy. In particular, these species are urban, raising concerns about the eBird database's sampling bias. Using the economic concept of granular size, we argue that the eBird database may be inherently unreliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Life history and its related theories are one of the most important topics in behavioral ecology, population ecology, and evolutionary biology. The reproductive ecology of birds is the cornerstone of avian life-history theory, and the success or failure of reproduction directly affects the survival and development of the population. This study investigated the reproductive ecology of chestnut-vented nuthatch (Sitta nagaensis) using artificial nest boxes to attract these secondary cavity-nesting birds. The study focused on a series of breeding activities and is the first breeding record of S. nagaensis in southwestern China, providing a basis for further reproductive ecology studies of this species. The breeding ecology of birds is the cornerstone of bird life-history theory, and breeding success directly affects the survival and development of populations. We studied the breeding ecology of a secondary cavity-nesting bird, the chestnut-vented nuthatch Sitta nagaensis, in southwestern China from March to June in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In total, 16 nests in nest boxes and 19 nests in natural cavities were studied. The nesting habitat was mainly Pinus yunnanensis forest (68.4%), and the nest trees were mainly P. yunnanensis and pear Pyrus spp. Cavities made by woodpeckers and knot holes were used as nest sites, and the nuthatches plastered the hole entrance with mud. The nesting material was mainly pine bark. The clutch size was 3.47 ± 0.56 (range 2–4, n = 30), with an incubation period of 16.06 ± 0.91 days (range 15–19 days, n = 18). The nestling period was 20.88 ± 1.90 days (range 18–23 days, n = 23), and both parents fed the nestlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furthermore, the body conditions of both migrant and resident bird species were positively linked to landscape connectivity, while the influence of forest patch area was only significant for resident bird species. In recent years, there have been great advances in both the use of new technologies and analytical techniques for studying bird ecology and in the examination of the evolutionary origins of bird diversity and bird distributions. Species distribution modelling has revolutionised the way in which we quantify and visualise species habitat preferences at appropriate scales, identify priority areas for bird conservation, and predict how these attributes may change under different climate and land-use scenarios. [Extracted from the article]

There is an abundance of bird species in subtropical areas, but studies on the vocal behavior of non-passerines in subtropical regions are limited. In this study, passive acoustic monitoring was used to investigate the temporal acoustic patterns of the vocal activities of the Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) in Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve (YNNR) in eastern China. The results show that the vocal production of the Oriental Turtle Dove exhibited a seasonal variation, peaking in the period April–August. Additionally, its diurnal vocal activity displayed a bimodal pattern in late spring and summer, with the first peak in the morning and a secondary peak at dusk. Among weather factors, temperature significantly affected the temporal sound pattern of the Oriental Turtle Dove, instead of humidity and precipitation. This study, which was focused on sound monitoring technology, provides knowledge for further research on bird behavior and ecology. In the future, long-term sound monitoring could be used for managing and conserving bird biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure is a fundamental physical element of habitat, particularly in woodlands, and hence there has been considerable recent uptake of airborne lidar data in forest ecology studies. This paper investigates the significance of lidar data characteristics when modelling organism-habitat relationships, taking a single species case study in a mature woodland ecosystem. We re-investigate work on great tit (Parus major) habitat, focussing on bird breeding data from 1997 and 2001 (years with contrasting weather conditions and a demonstrated relationship between breeding success and forest structure). We use a time series of three lidar data acquisitions across a 12-year period (2000-2012). The lidar data characteristics assessed include time-lag with field data (up to 15 years), spatial sampling density (average post spacing in the range of 1 pulse per 0.14 m2-17.77 m2), approach to processing (raster or point cloud), and the complexity of derived structure metrics (with a total of 33 metrics assessed, each generated separately using all returns and only first returns). Ordinary least squares regression analysis was employed to investigate relationships between great tit mean nestling body mass, calculated per brood, and the various canopy structure measures from all lidar datasets. For the 2001 bird breeding data, the relationship between mean nestling body mass and mean canopy height for a sample area around each nest was robust to the extent that it could be detected strongly and with a high level of statistical significance, with relatively little impact of lidar data characteristics. In 1997, all relationships between lidar structure metrics and mean nestling body mass were weaker than in 2001 and more sensitive to lidar data characteristics, and in almost all cases they were opposite in trend. However, whilst the optimum habitat structure differed between the two study years, the lidar-derived metrics that best characterised this structure were consistent: canopy height percentiles and mean overstorey canopy height (calculated using all returns or only first returns) and the standard deviation of canopy height (calculated using all returns). Overall, our results suggest that for relatively stable woodland habitats, ecologists should not feel prohibited in using lidar data to explore or monitor organism-habitat relationships because of perceived data quality issues, as long as the questions investigated, the scale of analysis, and the interpretation of findings are appropriate for the data available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferon may be thought of as a key, with the interferon receptor as the signal lock: Crosstalk between them maintains their balance during viral infection. In this review, the protein structure of avian interferon and the interferon receptor are discussed, indicating remarkable similarity between different species. However, the structures of the interferon receptors are more sophisticated than those of the interferons, suggesting that the interferon receptor is a more complicated signal lock system and has considerable diversity in subtypes or structures. Preliminary evolutionary analysis showed that the subunits of the interferon receptor formed a distinct clade, and the orthologs may be derived from the same ancestor. Furthermore, the development of interferons and interferon receptors in birds may be related to an animal's age and the maintenance of a balanced state. In addition, the equilibrium between interferon and its receptor during pathological and physiological states revealed that the virus and the host influence this equilibrium. Birds could represent an important model for studies on interferon's antiviral activities and may provide the basis for new antiviral strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Russ Greenberg and Sam Droege [[10]] identified this boreal wetland species as deserving enhanced study in 1999, much effort has contributed to better documentation of the bird's life history, habitat associations, and management concerns. Boreal bird species density was higher in topographically heterogeneous regions, and changes in bird density were smaller in protected areas with higher topographic variation, providing support for a buffering effect stemming from local temperature variation. In addition to landscape variables, fine-scale features can be useful in identifying potential foraging habitat and prioritizing areas for protection of Rusty Blackbird breeding habitat. The use of wetlands for foraging is a hallmark of Rusty Blackbird ecology, and the birds are well-known both for capturing aerial insects and for foraging on vegetated edges of beaver ponds and similar wetland sites. [Extracted from the article]

Elucidating the complex microbial interactions in biological environments requires the identification and characterization of not only the bacterial component but also the eukaryotic viruses, bacteriophage, and fungi. In a proof of concept experiment, next generation sequencing approaches, accompanied by the development of novel computational and bioinformatics tools, were utilized to examine the evolution of the microbial ecology of the avian trachea during the growth of a healthy commercial broiler flock. The flock was sampled weekly, beginning at placement and concluding at 49 days, the day before processing. Metagenomic sequencing of DNA and RNA was utilized to examine the bacteria, virus, bacteriophage, and fungal components during flock growth. The utility of using a metagenomic approach to study the avian respiratory virome was confirmed by detecting the dysbiosis in the avian respiratory virome of broiler chickens diagnosed with infection with infectious laryngotracheitis virus. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the ecology of the avian respiratory microbiome and demonstrates the feasibility for the use of this approach in future investigations of avian respiratory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in wild birds and poultry are no longer a rare phenomenon in Europe. In the past 15 years, HPAI outbreaks—in particular those caused by H5 viruses derived from the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage that emerged in southeast Asia in 1996—have been occuring with increasing frequency in Europe. Between 2005 and 2020, at least ten HPAI H5 incursions were identified in Europe resulting in mass mortalities among poultry and wild birds. Until 2009, the HPAI H5 virus outbreaks in Europe were caused by HPAI H5N1 clade 2.2 viruses, while from 2014 onwards HPAI H5 clade 2.3.4.4 viruses dominated outbreaks, with abundant genetic reassortments yielding subtypes H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, H5N4, H5N5, H5N6 and H5N8. The majority of HPAI H5 virus detections in wild and domestic birds within Europe coincide with southwest/westward fall migration and large local waterbird aggregations during wintering. In this review we provide an overview of HPAI H5 virus epidemiology, ecology and evolution at the interface between poultry and wild birds based on 15 years of avian influenza virus surveillance in Europe, and assess future directions for HPAI virus research and surveillance, including the integration of whole genome sequencing, host identification and avian ecology into risk-based surveillance and analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological diversity among diurnal birds of prey, or raptors, is highlighted regarding their sensory abilities. While raptors are believed to forage primarily using sight, the sensory demands of scavengers and predators differ, as reflected in their visual systems. Here, I have reviewed the visual specialisations of predatory and scavenging diurnal raptors, focusing on (1) the anatomy of the eye and (2) the use of vision in foraging. Predators have larger eyes than scavengers relative to their body mass, potentially highlighting the higher importance of vision in these species. Scavengers possess one centrally positioned fovea that allows for the detection of carrion at a distance. In addition to the central fovea, predators have a second, temporally positioned fovea that views the frontal visual field, possibly for prey capture. Spatial resolution does not differ between predators and scavengers. In contrast, the organisation of the visual fields reflects important divergences, with enhanced binocularity in predators opposed to an enlarged field of view in scavengers. Predators also have a larger blind spot above the head. The diversity of visual system specializations according to the foraging ecology displayed by these birds suggests a complex interplay between visual anatomy and ecology, often unrelatedly of phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: To detect changes in migrating bird populations that are usually gradual, regular counts of the flocks should be carried out. This is vital for giving more precise management decisions and taking preventive actions when necessary. Traditional counting methods are widely used. However, these methods can be expensive, time-consuming, and highly dependent on the mental and physical status of the observer and environmental factors. Taking these uncertainties into account, we aimed at taking the advantage of the advances in the artificial intelligence (AI) field for a more standardized counting action. The study has been practically initiated 10 years ago by beginning to take photos on a yearly basis in predefined regions of Turkey. After a large collection of bird photos had been gathered, we predicted the bird counts in photo locations from images by making strong use of AI. Finally, we used these counts to produce several bird distribution maps for further analysis. Our results showed the potential of learning computers in support of real-world bird monitoring applications. A challenging problem in the field of avian ecology is deriving information on bird population movement trends. This necessitates the regular counting of birds which is usually not an easily-achievable task. A promising attempt towards solving the bird counting problem in a more consistent and fast way is to predict the number of birds in different regions from their photos. For this purpose, we exploit the ability of computers to learn from past data through deep learning which has been a leading sub-field of AI for image understanding. Our data source is a collection of on-ground photos taken during our long run of birding activity. We employ several state-of-the-art generic object-detection algorithms to learn to detect birds, each being a member of one of the 38 identified species, in natural scenes. The experiments revealed that computer-aided counting outperformed the manual counting with respect to both accuracy and time. As a real-world application of image-based bird counting, we prepared the spatial bird order distribution and species diversity maps of Turkey by utilizing the geographic information system (GIS) technology. Our results suggested that deep learning can assist humans in bird monitoring activities and increase citizen scientists' participation in large-scale bird surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sentience is a complex and contentious concept, especially when attributing the label to non-human animals. Non-avian reptiles are often overlooked in many scientific, ethical and layperson discussions of sentience, awareness and consciousness in animals. Most modern declarations of sentience include all vertebrate animals, and some invertebrates, which automatically includes reptiles and fish. However, specific declarations often ignore the "lower" classes of non-human animals. This paper specifically focuses reviewing the concepts and definitions of consciousness, awareness and sentience; and then reviews research which provides solid evidence for sentience in non-avian reptiles. It is concluded that non-avian reptiles indeed possess all of the necessary capacities to be classified as sentient beings. The concept of sentience, how it is characterised and which non-human animals possess it have long been of contention in academic and intellectual debates. Many have argued that there is no way to empirically know that animals have conscious experiences. Yet others argue that consciousness, awareness and sentience in non-human animals can be quite obvious, and can indeed be measured empirically. Most modern declarations of animal sentience from official organisations and governments now include all vertebrate animals as sentient beings, including reptiles and fish. Some declarations also include some invertebrate species. This conceptual, ethical and scientific review first focuses on conceptual components and definitions of consciousness, awareness and sentience. It then specifically discusses how cognitive, neurobiological, ethological and comparative psychological research in non-avian reptiles over the last century has evidenced many capacities that historically were denied to this class of animals. Non-avian reptiles do indeed possess all of the necessary capacities to be declared as sentient beings, at least in the small proportion of reptile species that have actually been empirically investigated so far. It is suggested that much innovative future research will continue to uncover evidence of capabilities linked to sentience within a wide range of species, including non-avian reptiles, fish and invertebrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2009, the tropical cyclonic storm Aila hit 11 southwestern coastal districts in Bangladesh, which triggered migration. Many studies were conducted on the impact of Aila on southwestern coastal communities; however, no comparative study was done on migrant and non-migrant households. Therefore, this article set out to assess the impact of cyclone Aila on the socio-economic conditions of migrant and non-migrant households. The households that could not cope with the impact, resulting in at least one household member having to migrate to seek an alternative source of income, were considered migrant households. On the other hand, non-migrant households were considered as those where no one migrated. The unit of analysis was the households. The research was conducted in the Koyra and Shymnagar sub-districts of Khulna and Satkhira, respectively. Mixed-method analysis was carried out using quantitative data collected from 270 households through a survey and qualitative data through 2 focus group discussions, 12 key informant interviews, and informal discussions. Data were analyzed through a comparative analysis of the migrant and non-migrant households. The findings showed that migrant households were better equipped to recover from losses in terms of income, housing, food consumption, and loan repayments than non-migrant households. It can be argued that the options of migration or shifting livelihood are better strategies for households when dealing with climatic events. Furthermore, the outcome of this research could contribute to the growing body of knowledge in an area where there are evident gaps. The findings could support policymakers and researchers to understand the impacts of similar climatic events, as well as the necessary policy interventions to deal with similar kinds of climatic events in the future. The study could be useful for developing and refining policies to recover from losses as a result of the same types of climatic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pine-forest bird communities are affected by the forest structure and the density and composition of its understory vegetation. In this study, we focused on the combined effects of vegetation structure and caller identity on the mobbing behavior of birds in breeding and non-breeding seasons. We examined the effect of the understory structure and the density of three types of conifer forest habitats on bird behavior by broadcasting three different types of mobbing calls: Those of two all-year resident species in the state Israel (Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala Gmelin and great tit Parus major L.) and one European species (coal tit Periparus ater L.), which is absent from these habitats. The mobbing call attracted 689 birds of 17 species, which represented 31% to 95% of the forest bird species that we detected in point counts at the same study plots. Bird reactions to mobbing calls were affected by the status and season, depending on forest type. Our results show that responses were stronger in forests with developed understory in comparison to forests with no understory, especially in winter. The highest number of responders and highest species richness of responders were observed in winter. P. major calls generated more interspecific than intraspecific responses, whereas S. melanocephala calls generated equal levels of inter- and intraspecific reactions. Both species generated different response patterns across the three forest habitat types. The response level of responders is higher when the mobbing calls are issued by local species rather than the P. ater. In winter, the response of non-resident species was higher than of resident species. Based on these results, we encourage the managers to maintain well-established understory vegetation, with special attention to the shrubs layer, to promote species diversity and rich behavioral responses of birds in the conifer forests in the eastern Mediterranean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild birds are monitored with the important objectives of identifying their habitats and estimating the size of their populations. Especially in the case of migratory bird, they are significantly recorded during specific periods of time to forecast any possible spread of animal disease such as avian influenza. This study led to the construction of deep-learning-based object-detection models with the aid of aerial photographs collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The dataset containing the aerial photographs includes diverse images of birds in various bird habitats and in the vicinity of lakes and on farmland. In addition, aerial images of bird decoys are captured to achieve various bird patterns and more accurate bird information. Bird detection models such as Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (R-CNN), Region-based Fully Convolutional Network (R-FCN), Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD), Retinanet, and You Only Look Once (YOLO) were created and the performance of all models was estimated by comparing their computing speed and average precision. The test results show Faster R-CNN to be the most accurate and YOLO to be the fastest among the models. The combined results demonstrate that the use of deep-learning-based detection methods in combination with UAV aerial imagery is fairly suitable for bird detection in various environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian coronaviruses (ACoVs) are continuously evolving and causing serious economic consequences in the poultry industry and around the globe. Owing to their extensive genetic diversity and high mutation rates, controlling ACoVs has become a challenge. In this context, the potential contribution of wild birds in the disease dynamics, especially in domesticated birds, remains largely unknown. In the present study, five hundred fifty-seven (n = 557) cloacal/fecal swabs were collected from four different wild bird species from eight Egyptian governorates during 2016 and a total of fourteen positive isolates were used for phylodynamics and evolutionary analysis. Genetic relatedness based on spike (S1) gene demonstrated the clustering of majority of these isolates where nine isolates grouped within Egy/variant 2 (IS/885 genotype) and five isolates clustered within Egy/variant 1 (IS/1494/06 genotype). Interestingly, these isolates showed noticeable genetic diversity and were clustered distal to the previously characterized Egy/variant 1 and Egy/variant 2 in Egyptian commercial poultry. The S1 gene based comparison of nucleotide identity percentages revealed that all fourteen isolates reported in this study were genetically related to the variant GI-23 lineage with 92–100% identity. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ACoVs are circulating in Egyptian wild birds and highlight their possible contributions in the disease dynamics. The study also proposes that regular monitoring of the ACoVs in wild birds is required to effectively assess the role of wild birds in disease spread, and the emergence of ACoVs strains in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global loss of biodiversity is occurring at an alarming rate and is a major issue in current times. Long-term studies offer the possibility to analyse changes in biodiversity and allow assessments of anthropogenic interventions in ecosystems. At present, various studies in most countries show partially strong declines of insect populations. Due to their role as a food source for many organisms it is assumed that declines of insect abundance might have effects on higher trophic levels like insectivorous birds. For reliable statements on relationships between food availability and population trends, systematic and extensive records of breeding birds are necessary. In this study, we analysed the changes in the range of species, biodiversity, and abundance of a breeding bird community over 43 years in a large nature conservation area in southwest Germany ("Lampertheimer Altrhein" near Mannheim). Since 1974, considerable changes in the spectrum of breeding birds have been found, but the overall biodiversity index did not change. Furthermore, 70% of the investigated species showed decreasing numbers of breeding bird territories, and the overall number of territories across species declined by more than 65%. A classification based on the main diet during the breeding period and habitat use revealed strong declines for insectivorous birds in the study area, especially in wetland and open cultivated landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring wildlife responses is essential to assess restoration projects. Birds are widely used as bioindicators of ecosystem restoration, but most studies use only taxonomic descriptors to compare categories of reference and restoring sites. Here, we used forest structure as a continuous predictor variable to evaluate avifaunal taxonomic and functional indicators in riparian forest reference and restoration sites on southeastern Brazil. Reference sites were riparian forest remnants, and restoration sites were pasture before seedling reintroduction. Forest structure variables (mean tree height, canopy depth, mean diameter at breast height, basal area, tree layering, tree density, and grass cover) were reduced into two axes using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Forest Axis 1 (tree biomass vs. grass cover) and Forest Axis 2 (canopy depth vs. tree density). Bird species were classified in relation to five functional categories (i.e., diet, foraging stratum, nest height, cavity dependence for nesting, and forest dependence). Forest Axis 1 influenced the functional diversity of bird assemblages and the relative abundance within levels of each functional category (except for nest height). The relative abundance of all functional categories combined was also affected by Forest Axis 2. Therefore, forest structure affected the predominant functional traits of bird species in riparian sites under restoration. Sites with higher tree biomass were the richest, with canopy birds that were insectivores and frugivores of high forest dependence, whereas more open sites were associated with birds of low forest dependence and ground-foraging insectivores. Forest structures of similar-aged sites were strongly variable, due to natural and anthropic disturbances, so restoration age was a poor indicator of forest development. These unpredictable disturbances can change the development of sites under restoration, so that forest structure can be a better descriptor of the trajectory of these ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]