Factors promoting polygyny in European birds of prey—a hypothesis

Summary Polygyny is known in at least nine (out of 36) European raptor (Accipitriformes and Falconiformes) and seven (out of 13) owl (Strigiformes) species that hunt mobile prey. The hypothesis put forward here suggests that abundant food supply and nomadic tactics of breeding dispersal are crucial factors promoting polygyny in birds of prey. The hypothesis predicts that: (1) polygyny is more common in rodent-eating birds of prey than in bird-eating ones; (2) polygyny is more frequent in good vole years than in poor ones; (3) the frequency of polygyny in vole-eating species should increase northwards in Europe, as the densities of voles in the peak phase increase in that direction; (4) the frequency of polygyny and harem size should be increased by supplementary feeding; and (5) polygyny is more common in nomadic birds of prey with annual pair bonds and weak territoriality than in resident birds of prey with longerterm pair bonds and stronger territoriality. A majority of the available data is consistent with predictions 1–3 and 5, but data on prediction 4 are scanty. Further studies on ringed birds of prey are needed to test the validity of the hypothesis.     

Legal protection of wolves in Poland: implications for the status of the wolf population

Legal protection of wolves (Canis lupus) in Poland was implemented in 1998 after 23 years of management as a game species. Wolves occurring in Poland were interconnected with larger populations in the Carpathian Mountains and Belarus, Baltic States and Russia, stable in numbers, and were not considered endangered before the change in legal status affording protection from hunting. Parties calling for wolf protection wanted to stop killing of wolves because of their symbolic nature, but did not have particular management goals to achieve. The government did not accompany the change in legal status by management plan, and therefore, the ban on wolf hunting was weakly enforced. A wolf distribution monitoring demonstrated that wolf range had not expanded 9 years after the hunting ban was implemented, and no increase in wolf numbers was observed. This failure to recover may be explained by: (1) a significant (up to 35%) reduction in the wolves’ prey base 6 years before wolf hunting was stopped, (2) weak enforcement of the protection law, resulting in lack of poaching control of wolves, (3) probable increasing fragmentation and isolation of wolf habitat caused by rapid economic growth in Poland. Inconsistent application of current management policy toward wolves resulted in weak enforcement of regulations and promoted negative attitudes toward the species. To improve the status of wolves in Poland, I recommend a flexible wolf management planning framework that involves and addresses attitudes of hunters and sheep herders, includes a framework to promote strong law enforcement, and consistent, fair compensation for livestock killed by wolves.     

Ecotourism contributions to conservation of African big cats

Ecotourism has been advocated and adopted widely to provide financial, political and local community support for conservation. We analyse its application for conservation of African big cats, through systematic analysis of 66 published studies over three decades, and on-site audit of 48 current conservation tourism enterprises. Conservation measures include: expanding and restoring habitat and reducing net habitat loss; anti-poaching patrols and programs; measures to combat illegal wildlife trade; improved livestock husbandry such as better fences and guard dogs; well-designed livestock compensation and predator conservation incentive programs; and live-capture, veterinary services, captive breeding, and translocation and reintroduction programmes. Some tourism enterprises do contribute to conservation of African big cats, but others have negligible or negative net outcomes. Conservation outcomes depend critically on the detailed design of conservation programmes, community involvement, and tourism marketing.     

Comparison of warfarin sensitivity between rat and bird species

Scattering coumarin derivative rodenticides in broad areas have caused primary- and secondary-poisoning incidents in non-target wild birds. In this study, we compared factors determining warfarin sensitivity between bird species and rats based on vitamin K 2,3-epoxide reductase (VKOR) kinetics, VKOR inhibition by warfarin and warfarin metabolism assays. In VKOR characterization, chickens and ostriches showed significantly lower enzymatic efficiencies than rats (one-sixth and one-third, respectively), suggesting bird species depend more on a non-VKOR vitamin K source. On the other hand, the inhibition constants (K_i) of VKOR for warfarin were significantly different between chickens and ostriches (11.3 ± 2.5 μM and 0.64 ± 0.39 μM, respectively). Interestingly, the ostrich K_i was similar to the values for rats (0.28 ± 0.09 μM). The K_i results reveal a surprising possibility that VKOR in some bird species are easily inhibited by warfarin. Warfarin metabolism assays also showed a large inter-species difference in bird species. Chickens and ostriches showed higher metabolic activity than that of rats, while mallards and owls showed only a slight ability to metabolize warfarin. In this study, we clarified the wide inter-species difference that exists among birds in xenobiotic metabolism and sensitivity to a rodenticide.     

Effectiveness of Protected Areas for biodiversity conservation: Mammal occupancy patterns in the Iguaçu National Park,Brazil

Protected areas – widely recognized as the main strategy for biodiversity conservation – have greatly expanded, covering ∼15% of the Earth; however, we still lack detailed information on biodiversity to evaluate their effectiveness. This is particularly urgent for biodiversity hotspots where protected areas are islands within human modified landscapes. We focus on mammals of the Iguaçu National Park – one of the most important parks in the Atlantic Forest hotspot – to evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas in conserving biodiversity. We monitored 300 km² with 37 cameras traps during five years to assess if (1) species occupancy declined over time, and (2) if species occupancy/detectability are spatially associated with illegal hunting, proximity to tourism infrastructure and distance from the edge, estimating the proportion of the park where these negative effects are detected. Many species that are rare in most Atlantic Forest remnants presented high occupancy within the park, and no decline in occupancy was observed over time. However, the distribution of 11 species was spatially associated primarily with the distance from the edge and proximity to tourism infrastructure, resulting in a decline, across half of the park area, from 13 to 23% in occupancy and from 19 to 35% in detectability (values averaged among species). These negative effects should be even stronger on smaller protected areas, which are the majority in highly altered hotspots. Re-establishing and properly managing buffer zones and restricting tourism to localized areas are essential to ensure the effectiveness of protected areas for biodiversity conservation.     

O-GlcNAcylation of Raptor transduces glucose signals to mTORC1

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Effect of wind,thermal convection,and variation in flight strategies on the daily rhythm and flight paths of migrating raptors at Georgia's Black Sea coast

Every autumn, large numbers of raptors migrate through geographical convergence zones to avoid crossing large bodies of water. At coastal convergence zones, raptors may aggregate along coastlines because of convective or wind conditions. However, the effect of wind and thermal convection on migrating raptors may vary depending on local landscapes and weather, and on the flight strategies of different raptors. From 20 August to 14 October 2008 and 2009, we studied the effect of cloud development and crosswinds on the flight paths of raptors migrating through the eastern Black Sea convergence zone, where coastal lowlands at the foothills of the Pontic Mountains form a geographical bottleneck 5‐km‐wide near Batumi, the capital of the Independent Republic of Ajaria in southwestern Georgia. To identify key correlates of local aggregation, we examined diurnal variation in migration intensity and coastal aggregation of 11 species of raptors categorized based on size and flight strategies. As reported at other convergence zones, migration intensity of large obligate‐soaring species peaked during the core period of thermal activity at mid‐day. When clouds developed over interior mountains and limited thermal convection, these large obligate‐soaring species aggregated near the coast. However, medium‐sized soaring migrants that occasionally use flapping flight did not aggregate at the coast when clouds over the mountains weakened thermal convection. Numbers of alternate soaring‐flapping harriers (Circus spp.) peaked during early morning, with these raptors depending more on flapping flight during a time of day with poor thermal convection. Small sparrowhawks (Accipiter spp.) aggregated at the coast during periods when winds blew offshore, suggesting aggregation caused by wind drift. Thus, weather conditions, including cloud cover and wind speed and direction, can influence the daily rhythm and flight paths of migrating raptors and, therefore, should be accounted for before inferring population trends from migration counts.     

The political culture of poaching: a case study from northern Greece

Poaching has deep social and cultural roots and its meanings are multi-layered. This article explores the meanings attached to the practice of illegal hunting and fishing around Lake Kerkini in northern Greece. Here poaching must be considered in the context of a disordered ecosystem, where the dominance of locally maligned fish and bird species results from economic and environmental policy designed to benefit distant farmers. We conclude that poaching cannot be understood only as an individual action, but as one where collective and personal identities are defended in the face of seemingly irrevocable economic and social decline. The discussion shows that poachers identify different kinds of poaching. Some of the most apparent forms of poaching, done by local inhabitants, may be less damaging than other commercially oriented forms, including by outsiders. Poaching is motivated through a complex mix of factors. Our data lead us to discuss two manifestations of poaching (a) poaching as a form of collective resistance; and (b) poaching as a violation of culturally valued types of human-nature interaction. Some people who admit undertaking what they perceive as least detrimental forms of poaching are antagonistic towards what they construe to be truly harmful forms. Such people appear willing to act and to support actions against types of poaching they agree to be threatening. This is a message with potential importance for environmental management strategy.     

Targeting the mTOR regulatory network in hepatocellular carcinoma: Are we making headway?

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway coordinates organismal growth and homeostasis in response to growth factors, nutrients, and cellular energy stage. The pathway regulates several major cellular processes and is implicated in various pathological conditions, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This review summarizes recent advances of the mTOR pathway, highlights the potential of the mTOR pathway as a therapeutic target, and explores clinical trials targeting the mTOR pathway in HCC. Although the review focuses on the mTOR pathway involved in HCC, more comprehensive discussions (eg, developing a rational design for future trials targeting the mTOR pathway) are also applicable to other tumors.     

Changing social awareness of the illegal killing of migratory birds in the Ionian Islands,western Greece

ABSTRACT

The current study aims at monitoring, measuring and evaluating the ‘Safe havens for wild birds’ campaign, implemented within the framework of the LIFE programme, in Greece and more specifically in the Ionian Islands. The study detects attitude changes that occurred in three target groups (pupils, local hunters and residents) on three islands where the phenomenon of illegal spring killing is more intense. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in two phases, just before the launch (2013) and after the completion of the campaign (2015), to enable a comparison of answers and data. The results show that pupils and to a lesser extent residents, enhanced their knowledge and awareness of poaching, the migration of avifauna and the consequences of illegal killing on migratory birds, while this aspect of attitude change was not observed in the hunting community which still believes that spring poaching should be treated as a legal activity and part of local culture.