Migratory birds as the vehicle of transmission of multi drug resistant extended spectrum β lactamase producing Escherichia fergusonii,an emerging zoonotic pathogen

The acquisition of multi-drug resistance (MDR) genes by pathogenic bacterial bugs and their dispersal to different food webs has become a silent pandemic. The multiplied use of different antibacterial therapeutics during COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process among emerging pathogens. Wild migratory birds play an important role in the spread of MDR pathogens and MDR gene flow due to the consumption of contaminated food and water. Escherichia fergusonii is an emerging pathogen of family Enterobacteriaceae and commonly causes disease in human and animals. The present study focused on the isolation of E. fergusonii from blood, saliva, and intestine of selected migratory birds of the Hazara Division. The sensitivity of isolated strains was assessed against ten different antibiotics. The isolation frequency of E. fergusonii was 69%. In blood samples, a high rate of resistance was observed against ceftriaxone (80%) followed by ampicillin (76%) whereas, in oral and intestinal samples, ceftriaxone resistant strains were 56% and 57% while ampicillin resistance was 49% and 52% respectively. The overall ceftriaxone and ampicillin-resistant cases in all three sample sources were 71% and 65% respectively. In comparison to oral and intestinal samples, high numbers of ceftriaxone-resistant strains were isolated from the blood of mallard while ampicillin-resistant strains were observed in blood samples of cattle egrets. 16S rRNA-based confirmed strains of E. fergusonii were processed for detection of CTX-M and TEM-1 gene through Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after DNA extraction. Hundred percent ceftriaxone resistant isolates possessed CTX-M and all ampicillin-resistant strains harbored TEM-1 genes. Amplified products were sequenced by using the Sanger sequencing method and the resulted sequences were checked for similarity in the nucleotide Database through the BLAST program. TEM-1 gene showed 99% and the CTX-M gene showed 98% similar sequences in the Database. The 16S rRNA sequence and nucleotide sequences for TEM-1 and CTX-M genes were submitted to Gene Bank with accession numbers {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LC521304","term_id":"1806500528","term_text":"LC521304"}}LC521304, {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LC521306","term_id":"1806500530","term_text":"LC521306"}}LC521306, {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LC521307","term_id":"1806500532","term_text":"LC521307"}}LC521307 respectively. We posit to combat MDR gene flow among the bacterial pathogens across different geographical locations, regular surveillance of new zoonotic pathogens must be conducted.     

Late-born intermittently fasted juvenile garden dormice use torpor to grow and fatten prior to hibernation: consequences for ageing processes

Torpor is thought to slow age-related processes and to sustain growth and fattening of young individuals. Energy allocation into these processes represents a challenge for juveniles, especially for those born late in the season. We tested the hypothesis that late-born juvenile garden dormice (Eliomys quercinus) fed ad libitum (‘AL’, n = 9) or intermittently fasted (‘IF’, n = 9) use short torpor bouts to enhance growth and fat accumulation to survive winter. IF juveniles displayed more frequent and longer torpor bouts, compared with AL individuals before hibernation. Torpor frequency correlated negatively with energy expenditure and water turnover. Hence, IF juveniles gained mass at the same rate, reached similar pre-hibernation fattening and displayed identical hibernating patterns and mass losses as AL animals. We found no group differences in relative telomere length (RTL), an indicator of ageing, during the period of highest summer mass gain, despite greater torpor use by IF juveniles. Percentage change in RTL was negatively associated with mean and total euthermic durations among all individuals during hibernation. We conclude that torpor use promotes fattening in late-born juvenile dormice prior to hibernation. Furthermore, we provided the first evidence for a functional link between time spent in euthermy and ageing processes over winter.     

Spatio-temporal dynamics in waterbirds during the non-breeding season: Effects of local movements,migration and weather are monthly,not yearly

Predicting population sizes and dynamics of mobile organisms is important for trend estimation, but this is difficult when the origin of individuals cannot be determined, i.e. residents and migrants are indistinguishable in the field.Here we examine fluctuations in populations during the non-breeding season (autumn to spring) of seven waterbird species, which co-occur on 122 neighbouring water bodies in south-west Germany. We asked whether site-level abundance patterns can be predicted by weather variables, and whether these effects vary over months and years. We used a spatially explicit hidden Markov model to estimate the effects of local and regional movement on population fluctuations.Although the species varied in their dynamics, with different amounts of movement estimated between sites, several patterns were common across species: density effects were highly month-specific, but with little variation in the strength of effects over years. The abundance of most species was positively related to temperature, especially in winter.The common teal Anas crecca and common pochard Aythya ferina were the most site-fidelic species once they were present in the study area, but also exhibited the strongest regional migration. The mallard Anas platyrhynchos, tufted duck Aythya fuligula and great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus each behaved more like a single population, as individuals more frequently moved between sites and abundance fluctuations at sites were not explained by migratory movements alone.Our study shows that the strength of population parameters and environmental forces can be decomposed into monthly and yearly effects. Estimating the unknown origin and movement of individuals may show that commensurate populations of mobile species may have different underlying dynamics, while responding similarly to environmental factors.     

Thermoperiodic acclimations enhance cold hardiness of the eggs of the migratory locust

Treatment of thermoperiods that simulate the patterns of natural occurrence is most efficient in enhancing cold hardiness. To examine the effects of different thermoperiods on cold hardiness of eggs in the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria (L.), the survival rates, cryoprotectant levels and three hsps expressions in mid-stage eggs (7-day-old) were measured after the eggs were subjected to three different thermoperiod regimes, : short (2 day), long (10 day), and nature-mimicking thermoperiodic acclimation. The thermoperiodic acclimations resulted in the highest egg survival rates in both the short and the long period acclimation groups in comparison with the groups treated with constant temperatures. The egg survival of nature-mimicking thermoperiod groups was significantly higher than those of constant temperature groups for the same acclimation duration. The survival rate of eggs under single daily thermoperiod was higher than that of multiple daily thermoperiods. The concentration of cryoprotectants (myo-inositol, trehalose, mannitol and sorbitol) and the expression levels of hsp20.5, hsp70, and hsp90 all increased in thermoperiodic acclimation eggs.     

Birds: blowin’ by the wind?

Migration is a task that implies a route, a goal and a period of time. To achieve this task, it requires orientation abilities to find the goal and energy to cover the distance. Completing such a journey by flying through a moving airspace makes this relatively simple task rather complex. On the one hand birds have to avoid wind drift or have to compensate for displacements to reach the expected goal. On the other hand flight costs make up a large proportion of energy expenditure during migration and, consequently, have a decisive impact on the refuelling requirements and the time needed for migration. As wind speeds are of the same order of magnitude as birds’ air speeds, flight costs can easily be doubled or, conversely, halved by wind effects. Many studies have investigated how birds should or actually do react to winds aloft, how they avoid additional costs or how they profit from the winds for their journeys. This review brings together numerous theoretical and empirical studies investigating the flight behaviour of migratory birds in relation to the wind. The results of these studies corroborate that birds select for favourable wind conditions both at departure and aloft to save energy and that for some long-distance migrants a tail-wind is an indispensable support to cover large barriers. Compensation of lateral wind drift seems to vary between age classes, depending on their orientation capacities, and probably between species or populations, due to the variety of winds they face en route. In addition, it is discussed how birds might measure winds aloft, and how flight behaviour with respect to wind shall be tested with field data.     

Migratory stopover conditions affect the developmental state of male gonads in garden warblers (Sylvia borin)

Long-distance migrants face the challenge of a short window for reproduction that requires optimal timing and full functional gonads. Male garden warblers (Sylvia borin) meet these demands by initiating testicular recrudescence during spring migration, enabling them to reproduce immediately after arrival at the breeding grounds. In a combined field and laboratory study, we investigated testicular size, plasma levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), androstenedione (AE), 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone and nocturnal migratory restlessness (Zugunruhe) under different stopover conditions. We manipulated food availability, the duration of stopover and simulated migration by food deprivation. Garden warblers showed significantly retarded testicular development after nine days of stopover under limited food conditions compared to birds that had ad libitum access to food. However, there was no significant difference in Zugunruhe between the two groups. Thus, the degree of Zugunruhe was unaffected by the quality of the stopover site and migration continued independent of the developmental state of the testis. We suggest that male garden warblers face the necessity to either compensate for slowed testicular recrudescence during the subsequent leg of migration and delay arrival at the breeding grounds, or arrive with less developed testes. Either of these may reduce annual reproductive success.     

Birds of a feather winter together: migratory connectivity in the Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus

To investigate migratory connectivity in the Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus, we analysed (1) all available sub-Saharan ringing recoveries and (2) stable isotopes in feathers grown in Africa sampled at 17 European breeding sites across a migratory divide. A cluster analysis of ringing recoveries showed remarkable connectivity between breeding and non-breeding grounds. Two main clusters represented populations taking the two main migratory routes [southwesterly (SW) and southeasterly (SE)]. Stable isotope analysis confirmed the separation of wintering areas of SW- and SE-migrating populations. Higher δ¹⁵N values in feathers of SE-migrating birds indicated that they occupied more xeric biome types. Values of δ¹³C that did not differ significantly among populations were higher than those from feathers of known European origin and indicated a C4 biome. Three populations with an unknown migratory direction were assigned to the SE-migrating populations on the basis of δ¹⁵N values.     

新疆青格达湖湿地自然保护区及周边地区的鸟类

青格达湖位于新疆天山以北、乌鲁木齐市附近。采用样线调查法、定点取样法、瞬时扫描统计法等,同时借助鸟网捕捉,分析青格达湖自然保护区及周边区域鸟类分布与数量状况。结合近10年(2002~2013年)上百次野外调查的资料,共记录鸟类225种,分属18目53科124属。这几乎占新疆鸟类资源的48%。全部18个目中,体型较小的雀形目种类数量最多(约83种),占37%。而非雀形目的种类,以隼形目(猛禽)、雁形目(游禽)、鸻形目(涉禽)等排在前列,种类都超过20种。然而,它们多属于候鸟,停留期短暂。居留型分析,留鸟为28种、夏候鸟52种、冬候鸟24种、旅鸟87种、漂泊鸟(迷鸟)约34种。同样可见青格达湖区是鸟类迁徙的一个重要驿站或停留地(水鸟104种,占46%),而不是主要繁殖地或越冬地,候鸟(包括旅鸟、迷鸟等)达197种,占总鸟种数的87%,多数属于季节性出没的种类。种群数量消长具有周期性(大小年)、季节性(双峰)、突变性、不确定性及难预测等特点。在天山北部地区,受高山和沙漠阻隔,鸟类迁徙的方向不都是"南来北往",而是沿着天山山脉北部湖群呈东西方向迁徙,多与气流方向一致。北疆漫长的冬季,有半年时间,鸟类数量和活动频率下降,是一个相对平静的"鸟荒"时期。夏季,因为农业灌溉,青格达湖几乎被排空,水鸟难以栖息。另外,有约43种鸟类(占19%)属于国家重点保护物种,需要格外加强管理和种群保育。但由于兵团农六师军垦区单一化种植模式、机械化耕作制度及大量使用农药等,造成一些地区鸟类绝迹,种群数量和季节性活动受到了遏制,希望有关部门予以关注。     

Regulatory mechanisms for the development of the migratory phenotype: Roles for photoperiod and the gonad

This article is part of a Special Issue “Energy Balance”.     

Application of the Welfare Quality® assessment system on European beef bull farms

Welfare concerns for intensive beef production have often been raised, but on-farm welfare assessment studies are rare. The aim of this study was to apply the Welfare Quality® (WQ) welfare assessment system for fattening cattle on beef bull farms to evaluate the state of welfare at the level of WQ measures and of aggregated scores, as well as overall classification. In addition, the purpose was to evaluate two ways of providing feedback information to the farmers with regard to possible welfare improvements on the farms. The study was conducted in Austria, Germany and Italy on a total of 63 beef bull farms with deep litter or cubicle-housing systems. Assessments were carried out 3 times (1 month and 7 months apart from the initial visit). In every country, farmers were assigned to two treatment groups (feedback from initial visit as written report, F, written feedback plus oral advice, FA) and a control group (C), which did not receive any feedback. At the criterion level, the highest average welfare scores were obtained from ‘Absence of prolonged hunger’ (94/100 points) followed by ‘Absence of pain induced by management procedures’ (88/100) and ‘Comfort around resting’ (77/100). Most welfare concerns related to the criteria ‘Absence of disease’ (40/100), ‘Expression of social behaviour’ (44/100) and ‘Positive emotional state’ (48/100), thus indicating room for improvements. Two-thirds of the farms achieved the ‘Enhanced’ level, about one-third was judged ‘Acceptable’ and only one farm ‘Excellent’. After 6 months of monitoring period, there was no significant welfare improvement in both the treatment groups as compared with the control group. Reasons for the lack of effect may mainly be seen in the short monitoring period and a lack of external incentives. In conclusion, the WQ assessment system revealed areas for improvement, but longer term studies and investigations on alternative ways of transferring outcomes from on-farm welfare assessments to farmers should be carried out in future.