厦门高崎国际机场鸟类调查及鸟撞防治的对策

厦门机场及周边活动的常见鸟类共有30科，90种，在整个锥形面内对飞机飞行构成危险的鸟类，主要是白鹭Egretta garzetta，中白鹭E.intermedia，普通鸬鹚Phalacrocorax carbo，黑翅鸢Elanus caeruleus，山斑鸠Streptopelia orientalis，家鸽等大型鸟类；根据各种鸟类习性及其栖息生境的特点分析，提出了以鸣枪，放煤气炮等方式驱赶鸟类。改变鸟类栖息生境以降低鸟类的种群数量等防止鸟撞的对策。     

中国东部沿海地区猛禽迁徙与天气、气候的关系研究

通过1980～1987年秋季在大连老铁山、山东省长岛县大黑山岛及青岛浮山的观察研究,确认猛禽的迁徙与气候、天气有着密切的关系。猛禽迁徙通常选择在风力三级(14 km/h)以上西北风或南风的有利天气条件下顺风或侧顺风迁徒。这种大气环流形势在天气图上的反映是地面冷锋过境后当天或次日。冷锋过境前的天气特征是偏南风或西南风,气温升高,冷锋过境后风向转为西或西北风,同时气温下降,气压升高,风速加大。5～6级西北风(30～40 km/h)天气会出现猛禽大规模迁徙过境。故在猛禽的研究中,可根据这种天气变化模式进行猛禽迁徙的预报。     

常州区金坛区鸟类资源研究

金坛区鸟类资源丰富,鸟类区系组成多样化,包含多种珍稀保护鸟类,同时在鸟类的组成上呈现出明显的季节性。通过野外调查和收集资料相结合的途径获得数据,运用植鸟类调查基本原理和方法,对金坛区鸟类资源进行全面整理、定量统计和系统分析,为本地区鸟类资源的保护与合理利用提供了科学依据。     

Putative human and avian risk factors for avian influenza virus infections in backyard poultry in Egypt

Highly pathogenic influenza A virus subtype H5N1 causes significant poultry mortality in the six countries where it is endemic and can also infect humans. Egypt has reported the third highest number of poultry outbreaks (n = 1084) globally. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to identify putative risk factors for H5N1 infections in backyard poultry in 16 villages in Damietta, El Gharbia, Fayoum, and Menofia governorates from 2010–2012. Cloacal and tracheal swabs and serum samples from domestic (n = 1242) and wild birds (n = 807) were tested for H5N1 via RT-PCR and hemagglutination inhibition, respectively. We measured poultry rearing practices with questionnaires (n = 306 households) and contact rates among domestic and wild bird species with scan sampling. Domestic birds (chickens, ducks, and geese, n = 51) in three governorates tested positive for H5N1 by PCR or serology. A regression model identified a significant correlation between H5N1 in poultry and the practice of disposing of dead poultry and poultry feces in the garbage (F = 15.7, p < 0.0001). In addition, contact between domestic and wild birds was more frequent in villages where we detected H5N1 in backyard flocks (F = 29.5, p < 0.0001).     

白马鸡的人工孵化研究

采用异亲鸟孵化与机器孵化2种繁殖方法对白马鸡种卵孵化的出雏率、种卵失重率等方面进行对比分析。结果表明,异亲鸟孵化成功率达87%以上,机器孵化的出雏率为85%;发育正常的白马鸡种卵在孵化器内正常孵化失重率变化不大,在13%左右;无发育能力的白马鸡卵在孵化器内正常孵化失重率变化较大,在11%~17%之间变动。在白马鸡人工孵化过程中种卵选择是孵化成功的先决条件。     

Status of aquatic and riparian biodiversity in artificial lake ecosystems with and without management for recreational fisheries: Implications for conservation

1. Humanity is facing a biodiversity crisis, with freshwater-associated biodiversity in a particularly dire state. Novel ecosystems created through human use of mineral resources, such as gravel pit lakes, can provide substitute habitats for the conservation of freshwater and riparian biodiversity. Many of these artificial ecosystems are subject to a high intensity of recreational use, however, which may limit their biodiversity potential.
2. The species richness of several taxa (plants, amphibians, dragonflies, damselflies, waterfowl, and songbirds) was assessed and a range of taxonomic biodiversity metrics were compared between gravel pit lakes managed for recreational fisheries (n = 16) and unmanaged reference lakes (n = 10), controlling for non-fishing-related environmental variation.
3. The average species richness of all the taxa examined was similar among lakes in both lake types and no substantial differences in species composition were found when examining the pooled species inventory. Similarly, there were no differences between lake types in the presence of rare species and in the Simpson diversity index across all of the taxa assessed.
4. Variation in species richness among lakes was correlated with woody habitat, lake morphology (surface area and steepness), and land use, but was not correlated with the presence of recreational fisheries. Thus, non-fishing-related environmental variables had stronger effects on local species presence than recreational fisheries management or the presence of recreational anglers.
5. Collectively, no evidence was found that anglers and recreational fisheries management constrain the development of aquatic and riparian biodiversity in gravel pit lakes in the study region; however, the conservation of species diversity in gravel pit lakes could benefit from an increasing reliance on habitat enhancement activities.

     

The diving behaviour of little penguins in Western Australia predisposes them to risk of injury by watercraft

1. The most western little penguin colony globally, and the most northern in Western Australia (WA) is found on Penguin Island, WA. The penguins use coastal bays that are also used extensively by recreational watercraft. These penguins have been found to either dive predominantly to shallow depths of 1–5 m or to depths >8 m. It is thus hypothesized that (a) both the shallow and deeper diving penguins can potentially be disturbed or injured by these watercraft but that the risk will differ between the two diving strategies, and (b) that risk of injury for both is greater during the summer and autumn, when people are more likely to use watercraft.
2. This was tested by attaching data loggers to little penguins during chick rearing and by investigating necropsy records. Diving activity was studied for the very shallow and relatively deeper diving penguins separately, and we considered the penguins were vulnerable to interactions with watercraft when they were within the top 2 m of the water column or at the surface.
3. Shallow‐diving penguins executed >1,200 dives per day, 64% of dives occurred within the top 2 m, and they were vulnerable for approximately two‐thirds of their time at sea. The deeper diving penguins executed fewer dives. Almost half of dives were to ≥10 m, yet they were vulnerable for almost one‐third of their time at sea. Their post‐dive recovery was also longer. Thus, the risk of interaction from watercraft differs depending on the diving behaviour.
4. This study highlights the potential impact to little penguins throughout Australia and New Zealand.

     

Temporal changes in seabird assemblage structure and trait diversity in the Rapa Nui (Easter Island) multiple-use marine protected area

1. For Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and its largest islet, Motu Nui, the change of the species assemblage over time was analysed, and a trait-based approach to evaluate the potential losses in seabird function across the past centuries was applied. At a finer scale, the seasonal changes in seabird species composition in the current seabird assemblage was assessed to better understand the dynamics of the long-term inferred patterns.
2. For Rapa Nui, the composition of the seabird assemblage between the prehistorical, historical, and current time has changed significantly. The most critical change, probably associated with human colonization, was observed between prehistoric and current times. The current diminished number of nesting seabird species was probably the result of local extirpation without evidence of colonization by new species.
3. For Motu Nui, changes in species composition were also followed by changes in trait structure, which were smaller than observed in Rapa Nui. This is probably due to the presence of a relatively high number of related species (i.e. Procellariids) with high similarities in their foraging behaviour.
4. The nesting seabird assemblages in Rapa Nui and Motu Nui differ in exposure to risk; thus, conservation strategies applied to the islands should be planned on a fine spatial scale. For Rapa Nui, which is an urban wildlife area with several invasive species and a low number of remaining native seabird species, management should focus on fencing and pets control. For Motu Nui, management should instead focus on the establishment of quarantine and other biosecurity tools to avoid both the entry and proliferation of new invasive species.

     

The importance of gallery forests in the tropical lowlands of Costa Rica for understorey forest birds

Rivers and streams lined by narrow forest strips are common in the lowland countryside of south-western Costa Rica. We studied the importance of these gallery forests for understorey birds, especially forest species. Using mist-nets, we captured 1110 birds belonging to 90 species between June and September 2007 at 16 sites spread equally over four habitat types: forest interior, forest margin, gallery forest connected to closed forest, and isolated gallery forest. Though isolated gallery forests had the greatest number of expected species in total, they supported the lowest number of forest-specialist species, lower even than connected gallery forests. Granivorous birds showed an increase from forest to isolated gallery forest, all other feeding guilds however showed no change. The studied habitats differed from each other in their faunal composition. Assemblages of three species groups categorised by their habitat preferences (forest specialists, forest generalists, non-forest species) showed nested distribution patterns across the four habitats. There was no significant difference in the proportion of birds with brood patches or of recaptures across the studied habitat types, leading to the assumption that birds not only use gallery forests for movement and foraging but also for reproduction. Though of limited conservation value for most forest understorey birds, at least for a small fraction of forest species gallery forests constitute an important secondary habitat. More significantly, they can form corridors or stepping stones that allow movements within the matrix of human-dominated habitats, and represent an important landscape component benefiting total bird species richness in the Costa Rican countryside.