Do regional gradients in land-use influence richness, composition and turnover of bird assemblages in small woods?

Small patches of natural or semi-natural habitat have an important role in the conservation of biodiversity in human-dominated environments. The values of such areas are determined by attributes of the patch as well as its context in the surrounding land mosaic. There is a need for better understanding of the ways in which assemblages are influenced by patch context and the scale over which this occurs. Here we examine the influence of regional environmental gradients on the richness, annual turnover and composition of breeding bird species in small woods in south-eastern England. Regional gradients were defined independently of woods by an ordination of attributes for 5 km × 5 km landscape units across a 2100 km² region. Patch-level attributes, particularly area, were the most important predictors for most bird variables. For woodland migrants and woodland-dependent species, variables representing the context of each wood, either at a local or regional scale, explained significant additional variance in species richness after accounting for wood area, but did not do so for species turnover. Significant context effects for woodland-dependent species related to the extent of hedges and woodland cover in the local vicinity (<1 km radius), whereas for woodland seasonal migrants the best predictors of richness after patch area were two regional environmental gradients. The initial cue to settlement for migrants may be at a coarse regional scale, with selection for suitable landscapes that have a greater extent of woodland cover. Edge species showed different responses: they were influenced by the diversity of structural features in woods, and were a more-dominant component of the avifauna in isolated woods in open fenland environments of the region. Significant relationships between coarse regional gradients (25 km² units) and bird assemblages in small woods (0.5-30 ha) suggest that population and community processes in the avifauna operate across a broader scale than local patch neighbourhoods. They also highlight the importance of adopting a landscape or regional perspective on potential changes to land-use in rural environments, and on the conservation management of small reserves.     

南充市区夏季鸟类群落结构调查

近年来．不少学者对南充鸟类多样性进行了研究,但关于夏季鸟类群落方面的报道很少。2013年3—5月对该地区的鸟类采用路线统计法进行了调查,共观察到鸟类34种,隶属4个目16科,其中非雀形目6种,雀形目28种。     

福州动物园圈养鸟类肠道寄生虫调查

为调查福州动物园圈养鸟类消化道寄生虫感染情况,采集16种禽类31份粪便样品,应用饱和盐水漂浮法和自然水洗沉淀法收集虫卵,麦克斯特计数法对采集的粪便样本进行虫卵测定。检查结果显示,寄生虫感染阳性样品数有23份,占样品总数的74%。总共检出6种寄生虫感染,按感染例数从大到小排序为:球虫(9例)、吸虫(7例)、绦虫(6例)、线虫(5例)、鞭虫(4例)、纤毛虫(3例)。感染寄生虫的禽类中,孔雀的感染强度最高,EPG为9 150个/g;其次是巨嘴鸟,EPG为4 500个/g;第三是东方白鹳,EPG为3 300个/g。其他鸟类的EPG分布在0~2 100个/g。该调查结果为福州动物园圈养鸟类寄生虫病的防治以及制定科学的驱虫程序提供可靠的依据。     

Mites associated with budgerigars Melopsittacus undulatus (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) and the first report of Ornithonyssus bursa (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) in Mexico

Background:Hematophagous mites affect numerous bird species, causing severe injuries to the budgerigars. Some species can cause dermatitis in humans.Aims:The purpose was to morphologically identify the mites related to budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) and their nests in Yucatan, Mexico.Methods:In May 2022, a private budgerigar hatchery was visited and mites were collected from the bodies of the birds and their nests. The morphological traits of the mites were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy.Results:Four of 30 birds showed severe clinical signs of mite infestation. The Budgerigars revealed lesions in the cere, nostrils, eyelids, beak, and paws. The bird’s skin showed signs of dryness and beige coloring. The birds with severe damage also presented anorexia and had deformed paws and beaks. The parasitosis was caused by the “burrowing mites,” Knemidocoptes pilae. The burrowing mites and the Grallacheles bakeri were recovered and identified from paw scabs. To eliminate mites, a topical application of Ivermectin was administered to the necks of the birds. The dose was a single, which has a residuality of 21 days. Two drops (0.115 mg/ml) of ivermectin were applied to each bird. A gradual reduction in crusted lesions due to mite mortality was noted. The “tropical fowl mite” Ornithonyssus bursa was identified in the nests, which represents the first record in Mexico.Conclusions:Three species of mites were discovered in a single budgerigar hatchery. This emphasizes the importance of deworming birds and keeping a clean environment in their cages to reduce the potential for parasitic mite infestation.     

脂肪对家禽免疫的影响

营养因素对家禽免疫具有重要作用。脂肪是家禽必需的重要营养元素之一，不仅是维持家禽正常生长、繁殖、生产不可缺少的组成成分与营养物质，也是调节家禽免疫器官、组织和免疫应答反应不可缺少的物质基础。作者从脂肪的生理营养功能，就其对家禽的免疫器官发育、体液免疫、细胞免疫、非特异性免疫、细胞因子产生的影响等方面进行了综述。为合理配制家禽日粮，提高家禽抵抗疾病的能力提供理论依据。     

Determinants of bird community composition on patches in the suburbs of Paris, France

The ecological processes responsible for the spatial assemblages of breeding bird communities in urban landscapes are more and more investigated. Indeed, understanding these processes is imperative to plan relevant management policies. We investigated breeding bird communities on 67 patches in the suburbs of Paris, France. We examined the role of patch characteristics and geographic distance between patches in determining similarity between bird assemblages. To do this, we proposed a new SØrensen similarity index based on estimators of change in community composition taking into account the detection probability of species. The patch occupancy by sedentary and migratory species was also estimated to compare their sensitivity to urbanization. Patches close to each other supported more similar bird assemblages, suggesting an effect of the spatial distribution of patches on bird dispersal and a posteriori on local community composition. Accounting for spatial location of patches, bird assemblage similarity was related to the similarity of the surrounding level of urbanization but not to the similarity of patch size or to the similarity of patch vegetation. The mean estimated occupancy rate of sedentary species was higher than that of migratory species in the whole study area. While sedentary species occupied patches surrounded by both moderate and high levels of urbanization, migratory ones primarily occupied patches surrounded by moderate levels of urbanization. Human choices in degrees, styles, and extent of urbanization, including designation and design of patches within an urban matrix, affect the composition of local bird communities.     

加州新小绥螨对土耳其斯坦叶螨的捕食作用

为明确加州新小绥螨Neoseiulus californicus （McGregor）对土耳其斯坦叶螨Tetranychus turkestani （Ugarov et Nikolski）的捕食潜力,采用捕食功能反应方法,研究了加州新小绥螨对土耳其斯坦叶螨各螨态的捕食作用。加州新小绥螨对雌成螨、若螨、卵的选择性捕食系数分别为0.44、1.25和1.35。在不同温度条件下,加州新小绥螨对土耳其斯坦叶螨的功能反应均属于Holling-Ⅱ型;28 ℃时捕食能力最强,对土耳其斯坦叶螨雌成螨、若螨和卵的攻击系数分别是0.6279、0.7203和0.7554,最大日捕食量分别为10.81头、28.49头和 40.82粒。在相同温度下,加州新小绥螨雌成螨寻找效应随着猎物密度的增加而降低;在相同密度下,寻找效应随温度的升高先增加后减小,在28 ℃时寻找效应最高,为0.535。加州新小绥螨的捕食作用存在较强的种内干扰作用（m=0.520）,随着捕食者密度的增大,平均捕食量逐渐减少,捕食作用率也相应降低。研究表明加州新小绥螨对土耳其斯坦叶螨具有很好的控制潜力。     

我国出口观赏鸟血液原虫的调查与分析

通过显微镜检查对来源于全国各地的37种出口观赏鸟进行了血液原虫调查。共检查血样1144份，结果为：血液原虫的检出率为2．1％，主要是血变原虫和／或疟原虫。感染季节以秋冬两季为主，易感鸟品种主要是白腰文鸟、红喉歌鸲、蓝歌鸲、暗绿绣眼鸟、豆冠、白燕、情侣鹦鹉。     

乌鲁木齐地区不同生境土壤捕食性螨类群落结构及其多样性研究

[目的]研究土壤捕食性螨类群落结构及其多样性特征,为开发利用及保护乌鲁木齐地区农林害虫捕食性天敌资源提供科学依据.[方法]采用塔氏( Tullgren)分离法和群落多样性分析方法对该区不同生境土壤捕食性螨类资源的群落结构、多样性及其季节动态变化进行比较分析.[结果]乌鲁木齐市不同生境土壤农林害虫捕食性螨类3643只,分别隶属于2目21科38属.其中前气门目螨类有5科11属,中气门目螨类有16科27属,其中优势类群为美绥螨属Ameroseius、囊螨属Asca、真长须螨属Eustigmaeus和表刻螨属Epicrius 等四类,占总捕获量的61.57;.常见类群为背刻螨属Epicriopsis、毛绥螨属Lasioseius、吸螨属Bdella、肉食螨属Cheyletus、寄螨属Parasitus、真派盾螨属Euparholaspulus、尾足螨属Uropoda、维螨属Veigaia、厉螨属Hypoaspis、土厉螨Ololaelaps等10类,占总捕获量的30.47;,其余14类为稀有类群,仅占总捕获量的7.96;.在不同生境土壤捕食性螨类个体数和类群数之间差异均为显著(P＜0.05),其中自然榆林最高,菜地最低,个体数顺序为自然榆林＞植物园＞菜地＞防护林＞居民点＞草地.群落类群数及个体数的垂直分布均具有表聚性,不同生境及不同土层间差异均为极显著(P＜0.01),个体数和类群数在不同季节之间差异显著(P＜0.05),其顺序为夏季＞秋季＞冬季＞春季.群落相似性系数在不同生境样地之间基本上属于中等不相似(0.25≤q＜0.50).群落多样性指标在不同生境间差异显著(P＜0.05),其中Shannon - Wiener多样性指数(H)顺序为自然榆林＞植物园＞草地＞菜地＞居民点＞防护林.Margalef丰富度指数(M)顺序为自然榆林＞草地＞植物园＞防护林＞居民点＞菜地.[结论]乌鲁木齐地区土壤捕食性螨类资源相当丰富,因此,为了加强农林害虫的生物控制、提高绿色农产品产量,亟待进一步加强此类资源的保护利用研究.