三峡库区不同阶段蓄水前后江面江岸冬季鸟类动态

2003~2013年的隆冬季节(2011年除外),对三峡库区长江主河道的重庆朝天门港-秭归茅坪港江段(全程约618.30 km)和12条一级支流(合计调查河道长度约619.49 km),以及2个湖泊(长寿湖65.5 km~2,大洪湖30 km~2;调查年份2000~2013年,2003和2011年除外),进行了水禽及傍水栖息鸟类的监测调查。观察统计到鸟类76种,隶属8目14科39属,其中国家Ⅰ级重点保护野生动物1种,Ⅱ级重点保护野生动物3种。鉴于不同类群鸟类对环境变化的反应差别较大,将观察到的与水域生境密切相关的鸟类分为游禽类(32种)、鸥类(6种)、涉禽类(23种)、傍水栖息鸟类(13种)和空中傍水栖息鸟类[2种,以崖沙燕(Riparia riparia)为主体]等5种类型,并对各类群鸟类在三峡水库不同工程阶段蓄水高程前后的数量分布状况进行对比分析。结果显示,长江主河道中的游禽类在蓄水139 m高程前后数量波动幅度不大,蓄水156 m高程后表现出增长趋势,并且趋向于尾水点集中分布,直至最终蓄水目标175 m高程后的第5个冬季(2013年1月)数量猛增到最高,与蓄水139 m水位线前后的2个冬季(2003年1月和2004年1月)数量相比,增幅分别达171.83%和179.91%;然而2个湖泊中的游禽数值却表现出下降趋势,蓄水175 m高程后5个冬季(2008~2013年)与2000年冬季数值相比,降幅达52.96%~83.29%;大多数支流河道中的游禽数量呈现波动幅度不大或是明显下降趋势,只有乌江和小江这2条支流河道中的游禽数量呈现出增长趋势,并且小江中的游禽数量一度表现出"爆发式"增长现象后又大幅回落(2012~2013年),可能与水质富营养化程度的变化相关。涉禽类在长江主河道中的分布格局类似于游禽类(偏向于上游),其数量分别在蓄水139 m高程和156 m高程后的第1个冬季出现峰值,蓄水前后的其他年份数量差别不大;多数支流河道中涉禽类分布数量不高,只有嘉陵江、乌江、小江、大宁河与梅溪河的涉禽数量较多且数值波动明显。傍水栖息型鸟类总体数量在蓄水前后出现急剧变动,数量下降明显,个别鸟种甚至消失不见。空中傍水栖息型鸟类蓄水之后在长江主河道数量锐减,在大多数支流河道中几乎绝迹。鸥类主要分布在长江主河道,其数量在不同阶段蓄水初期出现峰值,至最终蓄水目标175 m后的第5个冬季其数量趋于接近蓄水之前。     

Seasonality,diaspore traits and the structure of plant-frugivore networks in Neotropical savanna forest

Complex frugivory networks are common in heterogeneous environments, but how the structure of those networks varies due to seasonality and other environmental factors remains unclear. For example, seasonal variation in rainfall can influence fruit production and diaspore characteristics, which could alter the quantity and quality of resources available to different animals in the network and, hence, network structure. We investigated how a frugivory network varied seasonally in Brazilian savanna (Cerrado), where there are well-defined dry and wet seasons and fructification mainly during the rainy season for most tree species. We recorded fruit consumption by animals during the dry and wet seasons in two different gallery forests and used these data to test the hypotheses that connectance, links per species and nestedness would be higher in the dry season than rainy season due to low available food in the former that would be consumed by various species of frugivores. Concomitantly, we also measured seed width and lipid content from diaspores of the fruiting trees to determine if these characteristics influenced interaction properties between fruiting trees and frugivores. Among the measured network parameters, connectance, links per species and specialization varied between seasons in one site but not in the other, indicating that seasonal variation in networks is not necessarily consistent over time or space. The number of tree species with small diaspores with high lipid content differed between seasons, and those characteristics were key factors increasing the interaction parameter of fruiting trees. We suggest that network stability between seasons may be related to local frugivore diversity, resource availability, and fruit quality.     

The range of the curl-crested jay: lessons for evaluating bird endemism in the South American Cerrado

The South American Cerrado is the largest tropical savanna of the world, and one of the most threatened biomes on the Earth. Levels of bird endemism in this biome are controversial, but the most up-to-date study points to 30 endemic species. In this paper, I analysed the recent range shift by one of those species, the curl-crested jay Cyanocorax cristatellus , comparing it with three other alleged Cerrado endemics (lesser nothura Nothura minor , chestnut-capped foliage-gleaner Hylocryptus rectirostris , and grey-backed tachuri Polystictus superciliaris ) and a 'near-endemic' (white-banded tanager Neothraupis fasciata ). The curl-crested jay expanded its range considerably into south-eastern Brazil during the last century, colonizing extensive areas formerly covered by the Atlantic forest, which has been almost completely cleared by human activity. I found no evidence of recent range shift for the four other species studied, but demonstrated that the grey-backed tachuri is not a Cerrado endemic. I found that the vegetation map used by previous authors to classify birds as endemics is imprecise and out-of-date, not depicting well the biome limits, resulting in an arbitrary, sometimes erroneous, classification. I suggested the adoption of a more modern and detailed Cerrado map. The necessity of a comprehensive review in the list of Cerrado's endemic birds in light of modern vegetation maps is highlighted.     

Mortality of vertebrates on a road crossing the Biebrza Valley (NE Poland)

Mortality of vertebrates was monitored on a local road running across Poland’s Biebrza River Valley during 2 years (August 2005–July 2006). On the basis of distance from the river and surrounding habitats, the road (of total length 2,510 m) was divided into three stretches. The road was monitored on foot by two people every month, over a few consecutive days. A total of 1,892 road kills representing at least 47 species were found. Of these, 90.7% were amphibians, 4.2% mammals, 3.1% birds and 2.0% reptiles. Most (70%) of the amphibians were anurans, with the common toad, common frog and moor frog among them together accounting for 82% of the total. Mortality among amphibians differed between months, most anurans dying in May and August, while a majority of Urodela are lost in October. The peaks in mortality were connected with the migration of adult amphibians in spring and juveniles in summer and autumn. The number of amphibians killed was greatest on the (wettest) stretch adjacent to the river and decreased with distance from it. Mortality among birds was highest in July—probably in association with the dispersal of young individuals. Among recorded mammalian road kills, there was a prevalence of small rodents (mainly voles) and insectivores (mainly shrews). Medium-sized mammals were found only accidentally. Mortality in general was conditioned by the number of anurans killed.     

Comparing bird assemblages in large and small fragments of the Atlantic Forest hotspots

The Atlantic Forest (AF) is one of the five most threatened and megadiverse world hotspots. It is arguably the most devastated and highly threatened ecosystem on the planet. The vast scope of habitat loss and extreme fragmentation in the AF hotspots has left intact very few extensive and continuous forested fragments. We compared bird assemblages between small (<100 ha) and large (>6,000 ha) forest remnants, in one of the largest AF remnants in Argentina. We performed 84 point-counts of birds in four large fragments (LF) and 67 points in 25 small fragments (SF). We recorded 4,527 bird individuals belonging to 173 species; 2,632 belonging to 153 species in LF and 1,897 in 124 species in SF. Small fragments suffered a significant loss of bird richness, mainly forest dependent species, but the birds abundance did not decrease, due to an increase in abundance of forest independent and semi-dependent bird species (edge and non forest species) that benefit from forest fragmentation. The bird guilds of frugivores, undestory, terrestrial and midstory insectivores, nectarivores and raptors, and the endemic species of AF were area sensitive, decreasing significantly in richness and abundance in the SF. Terrestrial granivores were the only guild positively affected by forest fragmentation, containing mainly edge species, which forage in open areas or borders including crops. Our first observations on fragmentation effects on bird assemblages in the southernmost Argentinean Atlantic Forests did not validate the hypothesis on pre-adaptation to human disturbances in the bird communities of AF. On the contrary, we observed that forest dependent, endemic and several sensitive bird guilds were strongly affected by fragmentation, putting in evidence the vulnerability to the fragmentation process and the necessity to conserve large remnants to avoid reduction of the high biodiversity of AF birds.     

Rise of the generalists: evidence for climate driven homogenization in avian communities

Aims Biogeographical evidence suggests a strong link between climate and patterns of species diversity, and climate change is known to cause range shifts. However, there is little understanding of how shifts affect community composition and we lack empirical evidence of recent impacts of climate change on the diversity of vertebrates. Using a long‐term comprehensive dataset on bird abundance, we explore recent patterns of change in different components of species diversity and avian communities, and postulate a process to explain the observed changes in diversity and specialization. Location Britain. Methods We used Breeding Bird Survey data for Britain from 1994 to 2006 to calculate site‐specific diversity and community specialization indices. We modelled these indices using generalized additive models to examine the relationship between local climate and spatial and temporal trends in community metrics and the relationship between changes in diversity and specialization. Results Local temperature was positively associated with alpha diversity, which increased over the study period, supporting empirical and theoretical predictions of the effect of climate warming. Diversity increased in all habitats, but the rate of increase was greatest in upland areas. However, temperature was negatively associated with community specialization indices, which declined over the same period. Our modelling revealed a nonlinear relationship between community specialization and species diversity. Main conclusions Our models of diversity and specialization provide stark empirical evidence for a link between warming climate and community homogenization. Over a 13‐year period of warming temperatures, diversity indices increased while average community specialization decreased. We suggest that the observed diversity increases were most likely driven by range expansion of generalist species and that future warming is likely to increase homogenization of community structure. When assessed in combination, diversity and specialization measures provide a powerful index for monitoring the impacts of climate change.     

Sources and significance of variation in basal,summit and maximal metabolic rates in birds

The rates at which birds use energy may have profound effects on fitness, thereby influencing physiology, behavior, ecology and evolution. Comparisons of standardized metabolic rates (e.g., lower and upper limits of metabolic power output) present a method for elucidating the effects of ecological and evolutionary factors on the interface between physiology and life history in birds. In this paper we review variation in avian metabolic rates [basal metabolic rate (BMR; minimum normothermic metabolic rate), ...     

FEMALE HETEROGAMETY AND SPECIATION: REDUCED INTROGRESSION OF THE Z CHROMOSOME BETWEEN TWO SPECIES OF NIGHTINGALES

Several lines of evidence suggest that the X chromosome plays a large role in intrinsic postzygotic isolation. The role of the Z chromosome in speciation is much less understood. To explore the role of the Z chromosome in reproductive isolation, we studied nucleotide variation in two closely related bird species, the Thrush Nightingale ( Luscinia luscinia ) and the Common Nightingale ( L. megarhynchos ). These species are isolated by incomplete prezygotic isolation and female hybrid sterility. We sequenced introns of four Z-linked and eight autosomal loci and analyzed patterns of polymorphism and divergence using a divergence-with-gene flow framework. Our results suggest that the nightingale species diverged approximately 1.8 Mya. We found strong evidence of gene flow after divergence in both directions, although more introgression occurred from L. megarhynchos into L. luscinia . Gene flow was significantly higher on the autosomes than on the Z chromosome. Our results support the idea that the Z chromosome plays an important role in intrinsic postzygotic isolation in birds, although it may also contribute to the evolution of prezygotic isolation through sexual selection. This highlights the similarities in the genetic basis of reproductive isolation between organisms with heterogametic males and organisms with heterogametic females during the early stages of speciation.     

深圳福田鱼塘改造区鸟类监测及评价

深圳福田沙嘴鱼塘定向改造是深圳河治理工程环境补偿项目的一部分。经2000年11月至2002年10月2年的监测,共记录鸟类69种,其中福田新记录5种,福田鸟类的种类记录由189种增加到194种。沙嘴鱼塘改造区的鸟类与该区改造前及下沙对照区相比,鸟类的平均密度、丰度、群落多样性指数等明显提高,说明鱼塘改造取得了积极效果。建议在福田现有基围鱼塘全面进行定向改造,实行生态管理,提高福田湿地的生态承载力,逐步恢复其原有的生态功能。     

西藏墨脱地区6种鸟类种和亚种的新分布记录

2018年10月至2021年10月,在西藏墨脱县开展鸟类多样性调查期间记录到6种鸟类新分布,分别是大蓝仙鹟 (Cyornis magnirostris)、黄嘴角鸮 (Otus spilocephalus)、金胸雀鹛指名亚种 (Lioparus chrysotis chrysotis)、细嘴钩嘴鹛Sintextus亚种 (Pomatorhinus superciliaris intextus)、白喉姬鹟指名亚种 (Anthipes monileger monileger)、棕胸雅鹛assamense亚种 (Trichastoma tickelli assamense)。