Haruna Sakamoto, D. Aoki, Shingo Uemura, M. Takagi
{"title":"Genetic Parent-Offspring Relationships Predict Sexual Differences in Contributions to Parental Care in the Eurasian Tree Sparrow","authors":"Haruna Sakamoto, D. Aoki, Shingo Uemura, M. Takagi","doi":"10.2326/osj.22.45","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.22.45","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Negative relationships between the degree of parental investment and the presence of unrelated offspring in the nest due to extra-pair paternity (EPP) or conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) are predicted in monogamous species. This is because investing in unrelated offspring is costly to individual parents. However, such strategies may be adaptive for one social partner. Because parental investment changes in response to that by the social partner, the predicted relationship needs to be assessed empirically in wild animal populations, with consideration for male and female parental care. Furthermore, both EPP and CBP must be considered simultaneously in such a study. In this study, we tackled the issue using the semi-colonial Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus, in which both EPP and CBP were predicted to occur. We tested whether there is a negative relationship between the degree of parental care of both males and females and the presence of EPP or CBP, taking into consideration the parental investment of their social partners, using behavioral observations and parentage analyses based on seven microsatellite loci. The results revealed a moderately high frequency of EPP and CBP within a sparrow colony. A negative relationship between parental care by the social male parent and the presence of EPP was suggested, while this was possibly as a result of the increase in parental investment by their female partner. CBP was also inferred to be linked with male parental investment, while females may have compensated for the cost of CBP in their provisioning efforts by egg rejection. High frequencies of occurrence of both EPP and CBP allowed us to shed light on how parental investment is related to the presence of unrelated young in the complex social system of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"22 1","pages":"45 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41420210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. Basnet, L. Poudyal, Ganga Shah, Deelip Chand Thakuri, C. Inskipp
{"title":"Cheer Pheasant Catreus Wallichii Distribution in Far-Western Nepal with Notes on Threats","authors":"H. Basnet, L. Poudyal, Ganga Shah, Deelip Chand Thakuri, C. Inskipp","doi":"10.2326/osj.22.57","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.22.57","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Pheasants remain among the least studied but most popular species targeted by hunters and trappers in many parts of Nepal. Cheer Pheasant Catreus wallichii, is classified as rare and Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an Endangered species in the National Red List of Birds in Nepal, and one of nine protected priority bird species of Nepal. Despite its global and national significance, it has been declining in Nepal, and in other parts of its range. Snaring and hunting are the main causes for its decline in Nepal. Furthermore, scientific research and conservation efforts for the Cheer Pheasant have been focused on a few Protected Areas (PAs), ignoring the large areas of its range that lie outside the PAs system. Despite the species' occurrence being reported opportunistically, no fieldwork focusing on Cheer Pheasant has been carried out in Far-Western Nepal. Therefore, from 2014 to 2016, a survey and informal interviews were conducted in Baitadi, Achham and Bajura districts of Far-Western Nepal to learn more about the species' status, distribution, and conservation challenges. As a result of this work, Cheer Pheasant has been found in new locations in Nepal, including Pancheshwor Rural Municipality in Baitadi, Mangalsen Municipality in Achham and Badimalika Municipality in Bajura District. The main anthropogenic threats to the species in Far-Western Nepal include trapping, shooting, egg collection, and forest fire. The species has already disappeared from some locations where local people observed them frequently in the past. Therefore, intensive study of the relationship between Cheer Pheasant and underlying threats is necessary. Additionally, conservation campaigns should be focused on hunting groups and local people, as awareness in the region is poor.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"22 1","pages":"57 - 65"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44155669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ecological Determinants of Inter-Island Distributions through Occasional Dispersal of Two Closely Related Species, Varied Tit and Cinereous Tit, in the Volcanic Izu Archipelago, Japan","authors":"Kaoru Fujita, G. Fujita, H. Higuchi","doi":"10.2326/osj.22.67","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.22.67","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Inspired by ecologists R. H. MacArthur and E. O. Wilson, who pioneered the use of islands as ideal model systems for researching the formation and maintenance of biodiversity, we studied two sympatric passerine bird species on a volcanic archipelago, in Japan. We focused on the occupancy and co-occurrence of Varied Tit Sittiparus varius and Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus, both members of the Parus guild, on the Izu Islands. Their populations range from being stable, and co-occurring, to being temporally unstable (with local extinctions, invasions, and species replacement) and even totally absent. Using results from several surveys carried out on the islands over the last 60 years, and our own contemporary surveys, we tested the ecological drivers of inter-island occupancy through occasional dispersal of these two species. We found that both species had positive relationships with island size and vegetation diversity, while Cinereous Tit exhibited a negative associating with distance to the mainland (Honshu, Japan). Cinereous Tit was also negatively correlated with Varied Tit, but their co-occurrence was positively associated with island size, connectivity, and vegetation diversity. We suspect that resource constraints play a significant role in the distributions of the two species on the islands. Varied Tit is dominant over Cinereous Tit, but Cinereous Tit is able to utilize a wider range of habitats and resources. We also discuss the potential for a competition-colonization trade-off for the two species on the islands.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"22 1","pages":"67 - 79"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49508804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"First Record of Ural Owl Strix uralensis Nesting on a Steel Tower","authors":"H. Tojo, S. Matsuoka","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.241","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Ural Owls Strix uralensis often use nest boxes, but there have been few reports of them using other man-made structures. We discovered a Ural Owl nest on a steel tower in a suburban area in Ibaraki Prefecture, central Japan, in May 2019. The nest had been built in a jointed part of the steel frame that supported the body of the tower, which was approximately 10 m-high. In this case, a neighboring shelterbelt seemed to provide the owls with leaf litter for the nest floor and hiding places for the parents and their fledglings.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"241 - 244"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48920770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Takahiro Kato, Shin Matsui, Osamu K. Mikami, K. Ueda, N. Kutsukake
{"title":"Sex Difference in Natal Dispersal in the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus","authors":"Takahiro Kato, Shin Matsui, Osamu K. Mikami, K. Ueda, N. Kutsukake","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.235","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Avian dispersal patterns vary among populations and breeding conditions, although female passerine birds tend to disperse longer distances from natal sites than do males. Experimentally, we manipulated the breeding density of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus by establishing high and low nest-box density plots. We banded nestlings and recaptured them one year later. Females were more often found at non-natal sites than were males, and both males and females from high density plots dispersed shorter distances than those from low density plots.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"235 - 240"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47309232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Migration of Siberian Crane Leucogeranus leucogeranus in darkness","authors":"V. Degtyarev","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.253","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aimed to identify whether Siberian Crane Leucogeranus leucogeranus regularly fly after sunset, and what determines a cranes' decision to continue its migration in darkness. Based on observations in East Siberia (2012–2021), 4–69% of cranes passed over observation points during the night, regardless of the presence of positive environmental factors suitable for cranes, such as wetland-rich areas, and continued in the dark towards areas with inappropriate habitat for their landing. This suggests that their decision to continue migrating after nightfall is induced by internal factors and contributes insights into the phenomenon of nocturnal crane migrations.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"253 - 258"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43498817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acoustic Parameters Related to Behavioral Discrimination of Emotional Vocalizations in Java Sparrows","authors":"Akari Furutani, K. Okanoya","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.177","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Animals emit vocalizations related to internal or external states, such as hormone levels or predation risks. The Java Sparrow Lonchura oryzivora, a songbird, produces similar trill-structured calls in both aggressive and affiliative situations. A previous study found that trills produced in aggressive situations (AG trills) are faster, louder, and have a wider range of frequencies than trills produced in affiliative situations (AF trills). To assess whether Java Sparrows perceive these trills as different calls, we conducted a playback experiment using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm. In this paradigm, we first played a stimulus set for ten minutes (habituation stimulus), and after that we played either a test stimulus set or a control stimulus set. We analyzed behavioral changes in the study bird that took place between the last minute of the habituation stimulus and the next stimulus set (test or control). As trill stimuli, we used natural AG and AF trills (Experiment 1) and trills in which the trill rates and syllables types were modified (Experiment 2). The results showed that Java Sparrows distinguish between AG and AF trills (Experiment 1). However, when the trill acoustic structure was modified, they distinguished between the different syllable types, but not between different trill rates. As we used a natural behavior as an index, we could not measure the perceptual limit of trill discrimination in these birds. Instead, here, we asked whether the difference between AG and AF trills is meaningful or not, and which acoustic features were important for discrimination. To fully understand how birds perceive vocalizations in the context of communication, more experiments are required, both controlled experiments utilizing operant conditioning and electrophysiology, and multimodal experiments that reflect natural social relationships.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"177 - 187"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48945139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Masaharu Hayakawa, Mieko Suzuki-Matsubara, K. Matsubara, S. Kanazawa, Takashi Fujii, W. Kitamura, Ryoh Alexander Murofushi, Akihiko Moriyama
{"title":"Population Genetic Structure of Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) in Japan Inferred from Nucleotide Sequence Diversities of the Mitochondrial DNA Control Region","authors":"Masaharu Hayakawa, Mieko Suzuki-Matsubara, K. Matsubara, S. Kanazawa, Takashi Fujii, W. Kitamura, Ryoh Alexander Murofushi, Akihiko Moriyama","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.155","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Little Tern Sternula albifrons sinensis was been categorized as Endangered Class II by the 2020 Ministry of the Environment's Red List in Japan. For an effective conservation program for the taxon, the unit of conservation needs to be understood. In this study, we investigated genetic and morphological diversity as a clue to clarify the units to be protected. Blood samples were collected from 47 individuals in four different breeding sites in Japan (Tokyo, Chiba, Fukuoka, Okinawa). The nucleotide sequences of the control region of mitochondrial DNA were used to analyze their genetic diversity and structure. Basic morphological features were also compared. Nucleic acid base substitution, deletion, or insertion were identified at 30 sites of the 1029-bp sequence alignment of the control region, leading to identification of 30 different haplotypes. Genetic diversity was high in the four breeding populations, and haplotype frequencies showed no indication that specific genotypes were present at extreme frequencies. This suggests that the population of Little Tern nesting in Japan has been maintained without recent bottleneck events. The haplotype network formed two major haplotype groups from the 30 haplotypes. Haplotypes of one group were abundant in the Tokyo, Chiba, and Fukuoka populations. In contrast, those of the other group were frequent in the Okinawa population. Pairwise haplotype analysis between populations also revealed that the genetic variations at Okinawa differ from those of the remaining three populations. Furthermore, the Okinawa population showed different morphological characteristics compared to the Tokyo/Chiba populations. These results collectively suggest that the population of Little Terns in Japan is divided into at least two different populations.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"155 - 163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48202679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Characteristics of the Avifauna in a Rice Field Dominated Rural Area, and Habitat Use by Grassland Birds in Western Hokkaido, Japan","authors":"Katsumi Tamada","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.215","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.215","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Rural areas provide various habitats for birds, and some studies have revealed habitat associations in rural bird communities in Japan. Previous studies have primarily focused on waterbirds or the habitat values of abandoned farmland, thus little is known about the importance of cultivated land for rural bird communities. Therefore, in this study, I clarified the characteristics of the avifauna in a rural area of the Ishikari Plain in Shinshinotsu Village, Western Hokkaido, and examined habitat utilization of cultivated land by eight major grassland species; Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus, Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis, Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Siberian Rubythroat Calliope calliope, Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri, Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata, Black-faced Bunting E. spodocephala, and Common Reed Bunting E. schoeniclus. I conducted bird surveys along three 2-km line-transect routes among rice fields with some wheat, non-wheat crop fields, and weedy areas from April to October from 2016 to 2018. I recorded a total of 51 species of three general types: grassland birds, residential birds, and water birds. Rice fields in this study areas were flooded during early to mid-May to mid to late August, however species-specific habitat utilization analyses revealed that a small number of Eurasian Skylark, Stejneger's Stonechat, and Chestnut-eared Bunting inhabited the rice fields during study periods other than the flooding season. A relatively large number of Eurasian Skylark was observed in wheat fields and non-wheat crop fields throughout the study period, and Stejneger's Stonechat and Chestnut-eared Bunting were temporarily observed in those habitats. The other five species only rarely observed in rice, wheat, or non-wheat crop fields, but all eight species were observed in weedy areas. The characteristics of the avifauna in this rural area of Western Hokkaido proved to be quite different from previous studies conducted in the Kanto Region of Honshu. For the conservation of biodiversity and birds in rural areas, it is necessary to investigate the avifaunal characteristics of various regions of Japan.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"215 - 225"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42636197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Shorebird Assemblages in Select Estuaries along the India's West Coast","authors":"G. B. Rao, S. Babu, G. Quadros","doi":"10.2326/osj.21.199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.21.199","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Indian coast and its adjacent wetlands host large congregations of shorebirds, including winter and passage migrants of high conservation priority, along the Central Asian Flyway. Identifying crucial wintering and stopover sites and seasons is an important step toward conserving shorebirds and their habitats along the Indian coast. We assessed spatial and temporal patterns of shorebird composition from January 2015 to December 2016 at seven estuaries along Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, which is located on India's west coast, a coastal zone of international importance for shorebirds. Three potential shorebird habitats –mangroves, mudflats, and sandy beaches – were selected at each of the estuaries chosen for the study. We established three vantage points, one each in the mangrove, mudflat, and sandy beach areas, to count birds during low tide. The total count method was followed to count birds, and occasional photograph-based counts were also made when flock size was big or the flocks kept changing. We recorded 31 species of migratory shorebirds, of which 68% wintered and 32% used the Sindhudurg coast as migratory stopover site. We found significantly high richness and abundance of shorebirds during winter and in the mudflats. nMDS was used to determine species composition of shorebird across habitats and months and revealed distinct patterns of composition in five unique phases: arrival, wintering, early departure, departure, and breeding. Our results revealed that the species composition of shorebirds is not homogenous across sites and months, and is largely driven by the habitat heterogeneity of estuaries, seasonality, and anthropogenic disturbances. These results provide baseline information on shorebirds along a stretch of India's west coast and highlight the importance of mudflats and non-protected coastal wetlands for shorebirds.","PeriodicalId":49009,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Science","volume":"21 1","pages":"199 - 213"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49211540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}