Reproductive success of the black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) in burned boreal forests: Are burns source habitats?

The black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is considered a fire specialist throughout its breeding range. Given its high abundance in recent burns, it has been hypothesized that post-fire forests are source habitats for this species. We conducted a 3-year post-fire study to evaluate the temporal occupancy and reproductive success of black-backed woodpeckers in high-severity burned black spruce forests of central Quebec, Canada. We examined how reproductive success varied temporally and spatially within a burned landscape and investigated the potential source or sink status of this woodpecker population over time. Woodpecker nest density was high in the year after fire but declined significantly over the 3-year period. Based on 106 nests, nest success declined from 84% the first year after fire to 73% and 25%, respectively, for the second and third years after fire. Nest density and reproductive success were higher in areas with high proportions of burned mature forests than in areas dominated by burned young forests. Reproductive success was also higher in proximity to unburned forests. Comparison of annual productivity with a range of survival estimates indicated that these burned forests likely functioned as source habitats for the first 2 years following fire, although this status varied as a function of pre-fire forest age. Our results suggest that post-fire forests may contribute significantly to population levels in fire-prone ecosystems. Forest management practices that reduce the amount of mature and over-mature forests can affect the quality of post-fire habitats important to the black-backed woodpecker and other fire-associated species.     

鸟类线粒体DNA控制区研究进展

控制区是线粒体DNA的非编码区,进化速度快,是研究鸟类种系发生最常用的分子标记之一。笔者综述了近年来鸟类线粒体DNA控制区的长度变异、结构分区、重复控制区及控制区基因排列顺序4个方面的研究进展,为相关研究提供了参考。     

Designing old forest for the future: Old trees as habitat for birds in forests of Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans

Old trees are one of many habitat attributes associated with old forests. They are known to be required by many wildlife species including cavity-dependent birds. Forest managers need to select strategies for retaining and regrowing old trees to maintain suitable numbers over time at appropriate configurations in the forest landscape. This paper presents data from wet forests in south-eastern Australia to help elucidate the effects of different strategies on forest birds as one element of biodiversity that needs to be conserved in these forests.     

Importance of forest structure versus floristics to composition of avian assemblages in tropical deciduous forests of Central Highlands,India

We investigated how much forest structure and floristics independently contributed to the composition of avian assemblages at multiple scales and for individual foraging guilds in tropical deciduous forests of Central Highlands, India. We derived dissimilarity matrices between all pairs of the 36 sampling sites with respect to forest structure, floristics, and bird species composition and ran Mantel's randomization tests to detect significant associations among the matrices after partialling out the effect of geographic distance between sites. Bird species composition was found to be significantly related to forest structure across habitats, and floristics within the moist-deciduous forests. This finding is consistent with earlier observations that birds respond, in their species composition, to vegetation structure across habitats and to vegetation composition within a habitat. As predicted, the composition of insectivorous birds was influenced by forest structure, but the phytophagous guild did not show any relation to vegetation composition in contrast to patterns observed elsewhere. We explain this anomaly as a result of availability of a wide choice of food plants for phytophagous birds in central Indian tropical forests and weak species–environment relationships on account of their nomadism. Extraction of non-timber forest products remains a key economic activity in central India and our results imply that it can potentially influence the composition of forest bird communities through alteration of forest structure and floristics.     

牡丹峰自然保护区与牡丹江市公园夏季鸟类多样性比较分析

2004—2007年5—8月,分别在黑龙江牡丹峰国家级自然保护区和牡丹市的北山公园、人民公园、江滨公园采用样线和样点法对鸟类群落进行了调查。结果发现,牡丹峰自然保护区鸟类14目33科93种、牡丹江市公园鸟类12目28科56,全部包含于保护区的鸟类物种中。牡丹峰自然保护区针阔混交林中鸟类的多样性最高(H=2.875),物种数占所记录鸟类的73.11%;组成单一的针叶林(H=0.0486)、农田(H=0.756)等植被中鸟类的多样性较小。3个公园中,北山公园鸟类多样性最高(H=5.9865),人民公园次之(H=3.5478)。公园的林地和灌丛中鸟类丰富度、均匀度最高(S=2.627,J=0.8675),农田和水域最小(S=1.781,J=0.6892)。     

内蒙古兴安盟图木吉地区鸟类资源的考察

对该地区鸟类的区系、分布、生态和迁徙进行了较全面的考察。共记录鸟类１６目、４０科、１３２种。其中非雀形目鸟类９５种，雀形目鸟类３７种。候鸟１２０种、占鸟类总数的９０．９％，夏候鸟５５种、冬候鸟８种、旅鸟５７种。国家级保护鸟类２９种，其中一级６种，二级２３种。黑雁、毛脚、灰背鸥、黑嘴鸥和蛎鹬５种为内蒙古驱鸟类分布新记录。所录鸟类中，有８１种被列入《中华人民共和国政府和日本和日本国政府保护候鸟及其栖     

《欧盟野鸟保护指令》介评

《欧盟野鸟指令》是欧盟在保护生物多样性领域中的一项重要指令。文中对指令的各方面做了评价与思考; 结合我国野生鸟类保护现状, 吸取指令的经验, 建议从野生鸟类保护立法、监管体制和野生鸟类栖息地保护等方面来完善我国的野生鸟类保护法律体系。     

广东连南板洞省级自然保护区鸟类多样性初步调查

鸟类多样性研究是自然保护区的重要工作之一。2021年1—12月,采用样线法和样点法,调查了广东连南板洞省级自然保护区鸟类多样,共记录到鸟类15目54科211种。其中国家Ⅰ级和Ⅱ级重点保护鸟类分别为2种和34种;区系以东洋界为主,有129种（61.72%）,古北界44种（21.05%）。居留型以留鸟为主,有136种（65.07%）,冬候鸟40种（19.14%）。优势种为栗颈凤鹛Staphida torqueola和淡眉雀鹛Alcippe hueti;常见种和少见种分别 为27种和59种。Shannon-wiener多样性指数、Marglef丰富度指数、Pielou均匀度指数和Simpson指数计算结果均为板洞保护站最高。该保护区是每年大批鹭鸟等候鸟迁徙的必经路线,建议加大监测力度,掌握候鸟变化动态等。     

Anatomopathological aspects of avian aspergillosis

Aspergillosis is a fungal disease caused by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, in particular A. fumigatus and A. flavus. This paper focuses on anatomopathological aspects resulting from a chronic infection from Aspergillus spp in the chicken (Gallus domesticus), in the herring gull (Larus cachinnans micaelli) and in the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa rufa). Microscopically, we observed some histological lesions that are related to the two typical forms of Aspergillosis: a deep nodular form, typical of organs with a non-aerated parenchyma, and a non-encapsulated superficial diffuse form typical of the serosae and the lung. The observed forms of aspergillosis have been found in animals raised in poor hygienic environmental conditions or malnourished animals (chicken); in wild birds from wildlife recovery centres (herring gull), which underwent some forms of stress, such as traumas, detention, starvation, extended antibiotic treatments; in game birds (red-legged partridge) used for restocking natural areas that had been negatively affected by such stressors as captivity in aviaries, containment and transport in cages, release in unsuitable environments and malnutrition. The observed anatomopathological and istopathological aspects can therefore be regarded as the outcome of a number of factors that have reduced the typical resistance of the species and impaired the efficiency of their immune systems.