Emu-Austral Ornithology最新文献

{"title":"Out of the blue: geographic variation and divergence between Azure Jays (Cyanocorax caeruleus) from two ecologically distinct ranges","authors":"G. M. Rosa, L. D. Dos Anjos","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2078218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2078218","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Underlying biological processes can often shape phenotypic variation. Although subtle, the variation in plumage colour of the Azure Jay (Cyanocorax caeruleus) has long been suggested to be of phylogeographic importance, but this hypothesis was not tested. This species’ distribution in the Atlantic Forest biome of south-eastern Brazil is divided into two ecologically distinct portions by the Serra do Mar mountain line. The availability of Parana Pine (Araucaria angustifolia) seeds is essential for the survival of Azure Jays in the western range but not in the eastern range. Here we quantify Azure Jay geographic variation using three datasets, including vocalisations, morphology and plumage colour. All available data independently supported the hypothesis of divergence between east and west. Azure Jays in the western range tend to have: (1) larger body dimensions, (2) vocalisations with lower pitch and entropy, and (3) a greenish-blue plumage, than those in the eastern range. Based on the available data on this species’ ecology, life history and sociality, we discuss how features from the western range could indicate specialisation in habitat use. We discuss potential links between our results and the past of the Atlantic Forest and the implications for this species conservation in a highly threatened habitat. Finally, we highlight the pressing need for demographic and molecular evidence to make data-oriented and effective decisions for this species conservation.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83113758","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":"Sex differences in short-distance natal dispersal in American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) in Central Argentina","authors":"Paula M. Orozco-Valor, Ana Paula Álamo-Iriarte, J. Grande","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2087092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2087092","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Dispersal is the process by which individuals move through different sites away from their natal place during their life. Many factors can regulate dispersal movements of individuals, from intrinsic characteristics of the individuals to environmental conditions. Here, we report American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) natal dispersal in central Argentina and analyse some of the factors that can modulate it. We also report information on breeding dispersal, and nest box fidelity, using banding data from 2011 to 2019. The number of kestrels banded was high, but only 5.59% of birds were recaptured or re-sighted. Part of the American Kestrel population is philopatric, and most kestrels were detected breeding at 1 year of age for the first time (41.38%). Kestrels bred from one (mostly) to 6 years in the same nest box. Natal dispersal ranged from 2 to 36.9 km, and females dispersed longer distances than males. We did not record kestrels dispersing between the different sampling sites, but we recovered two dead dispersing juveniles more than 200 km from their natal nest, suggesting some long-distance dispersal may occur in our studied population. Further banding studies or better, studies based on the tagging of American Kestrels with GPS tracking devices will certainly be needed to better understand dispersal movements and factors that modulate these dispersal patterns in South America.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73776855","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":"The role of fringing vegetation in supporting avian access to arid zone waterholes","authors":"Simon E. Votto, Christine A. Schlesinger, F. Dyer, V. Caron, Jenny Davis","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2041441","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2041441","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Access to drinking water is essential for many avian species in arid landscapes, especially in hot and dry periods when metabolic requirements for water increase. The role of fringing vegetation in facilitating surface water access by arid zone bird communities was investigated over a 14-month period during which water demand increased. Bird visitation to six long-lasting waterholes in the MacDonnell Ranges Bioregion in central Australia was recorded over two summers and one winter using camera traps. Species were assigned to functional classes based on their size and preferred foraging substrate. Generalised linear mixed models were used to test relationships between fringing vegetation variables and the independent trapping events for each functional class. Fringing vegetation was critical for small and intermediate-sized canopy foragers to access waterhole sites. Their activity declined to almost zero in areas where the nearest tree or shrub cover was greater than 10 m. The strength of this relationship was consistent as weather conditions became drier and hotter. However, activity of small and intermediate-sized canopy foragers was negatively related to the percent canopy cover of the nearest tree or shrub, potentially because sparse vegetative cover offers greater visibility when approaching the water’s edge. In contrast, ground forager and raptor activity at waterhole sites was unrelated to surrounding vegetation, and these groups frequently accessed water from open areas. Under future warming scenarios, small and intermediate canopy foragers may be vulnerable to predation if they are forced to access water at sites away from nearby fringing vegetation.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75128037","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":"Partial migration of Brolgas (Antigone rubicunda) within a restricted range is revealed by GPS tracking","authors":"Inka Veltheim, S. Cook, M. McCarthy, G. Palmer, F. Hill","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2036196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2036196","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT No quantitative information exists on the movement patterns of Brolga, Antigone rubicunda (Gruidae) although the species is considered to undertake seasonal movements between breeding and non-breeding areas, and has been also described as both non-migratory and partly migratory. Information on this species’ movement behaviour is required to understand its basic ecology and inform conservation management across its range. Thus, we sought to investigate whether Brolgas in southern Australia undertake seasonal movements, to define routes travelled by individuals, and to clarify the species’ migratory status. Here, for the first time for this species, we quantified the distances travelled, timing of movements between breeding and non-breeding areas, and individual-level differences in movement patterns. We deployed GPS transmitters on five adults, six juvenile and 12 unfledged 6–9 week chicks in Victoria, Australia. Individuals were monitored for 71–646 days. These Brolgas showed partial migratory behaviour, with the south-west Victorian population including resident and migrating individuals, moving 6–30 km and 96–111 km between breeding and non-breeding areas respectively and some remaining resident throughout the year. Brolgas moved 1.6 km from roost to foraging areas on average throughout the year, the majority (95%) of these movements were within 5.2 km and overall Brolgas moved shortest distances during the non-breeding season. We discuss the main potential drivers for these movement patterns. These findings may assist local conservation planning and add to our understanding of Australian waterbird movements more broadly.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86571319","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":"Trends in breeding activity of the threatened Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata): what can we expect under a changing climate?","authors":"Peri Stenhouse, K. Moseby","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2045870","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2045870","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Climate change is expected to significantly impact bird species through changes to breeding and survival. Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) are threatened mound-building birds that persist in uncleared mallee and shrubland vegetation in semi-arid parts of southern Australia. Our aim was to understand the relationship between environmental factors and mound breeding activity (a proxy for population trends) to identify likely climate change impacts and possible proactive management actions. We compared annual activity at grids that encompassed groups of mounds at six sites in South Australia for up to 24 years with a range of environmental and habitat variables, focussing on variables predicted to change with a warming climate. Mound activity declined significantly over the study period at five of the six sites. Activity was positively associated with increased cumulative rain in the previous 2 years, lower average maximum temperatures in the winter, higher-than-average Southern Oscillation Index (i.e. more rain) 2 years before breeding and greater winter vegetation cover. These results suggest that moisture and vegetation cover are important for higher breeding activity. Climate change is predicted to lead to drier conditions and more frequent fires in our study region, suggesting that Malleefowl populations will continue to decline. We urge conservation practitioners to minimise climate change impacts through implementing proactive management actions that increase habitat quality for Malleefowl: fire management to reduce the scale of fire events and controlling introduced and overabundant native herbivores to preserve vegetation cover, retain soil moisture, increase food resources and protect from temperature extremes.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78404921","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":"Distribution of Black-breasted Button-quail Turnix melanogaster in the Great Sandy Region, Queensland and associations with vegetation communities","authors":"P. Webster, Reisuke Shimomura, Emily R. Rush, L. Leung, P. Murray","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2047733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2047733","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Black-breasted Button-quail is a threatened forest inhabiting button-quail endemic to the east coast of Australia. Their distribution in the largest undeveloped portion of littoral forest within their range has, until this study, remained unsurveyed. In addition, their use of littoral vegetation is poorly described. Here we present findings from targeted camera trapping surveys in the Great Sandy Region collectively; K’gari (Fraser Island), Cooloola and Inskip Peninsula, Queensland. We also review all published and unpublished reports of this species in this region, and assess their veracity. The associations of high veracity records with vegetation communities are presented. The species was most readily associated with littoral forest along the eastern coast of K’gari and Cooloola. Our findings reaffirm the distribution of Black-breasted Button-quail along the coast of K’gari, further they are distributed along the Cooloola coast and in a few isolated inland sites. This study addresses one of the persistent knowledge gaps documented in the 2010 and 2020 Action Plan for Australian Birds, pertaining to the species use and distribution in littoral vegetation of the Great Sandy Region. We anticipate the proposed distribution presented here will prove valuable in future surveys and research on this species in the Great Sandy region.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80805069","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":"Do differences in the availability of anthropogenic food resources influence the observed levels of agonistic behaviour in Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala)?","authors":"J. Fountain, P. Mcdonald","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2022.2049608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2022.2049608","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) is a cooperative honeyeater living in social groups throughout south-east Australia that displays high levels of interspecific aggression and reduces avifaunal biodiversity in areas it occupies. Human-induced habitat changes have also potentially increased the availability of high-quality habitat and food resources available for Noisy Miners, which may in turn affect activity budgets and the duration or intensity of aggression displayed by Miners towards other species. To quantify the impact of differences in the potential availability of anthropogenic food resources on Noisy Miner aggression levels, we presented taxidermy models from three different categories of bird species (food competitors, non-food competitors and potential predators) and quantified observed aggression in three separate habitats: natural areas with very limited additional anthropogenic food resources, gardens that provided supplementary resources such as nectar-rich ornamental plants, and cafés that provided access to human food items. As predicted, Noisy Miners exhibited agonistic behaviours for a significantly longer period in the habitats with anthropogenic food resources, namely gardens and cafés in comparison to natural areas. The type of model presented also impacted Miner response, with: (1) greater numbers of Miners mobbing predator rather than competitor models, (2) Miners mobbing predator models for longer periods than competitors, and (3) a greater probability of Miners physically contacting competitor models. These findings demonstrate that additional resources have the ability to impact time budgets of species and, for hyperaggressive birds such as Noisy Miners, can impact biodiversity in more nuanced ways than previously quantified.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76406060","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":"Monitoring vocal activity and temporal patterns in attendance of White-chinned Petrels using bioacoustics","authors":"Carlos G. Linares, R. Phillips, R. Buxton","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2021.2018337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2021.2018337","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Monitoring of population sizes and trends using conventional surveys is challenging for nocturnal, burrow-nesting seabirds. The White-chinned Petrel is the most commonly killed species in Southern Ocean fisheries and its breeding success at many sites is reduced because of predation by invasive cats and rodents. As adaptive management of such threats requires cost-effective and reproducible protocols for monitoring populations, we examined the potential of automated bioacoustic techniques for measuring colony attendance patterns (relative number of birds visiting at a given time) using data from acoustic recorders deployed over a breeding season at Bird Island, South Georgia. Generic recognition software was of limited utility, but a suite of acoustic indices in a random forest model reliably predicted the occurrence of vocalisations. Vocal activity showed clear temporal patterns, despite high day-to-day variability, and was lowest during the pre-laying period, in the early evening, and on moonlit nights. To facilitate estimation of population density using acoustic recorders, we determined the mean vocalisation rate of individuals (2.3 min−1), mean call length (~15.3 sec), and detection distance (~15 m based on signal to noise ratios of playbacks). Our results indicate that acoustic indices are a useful measure of colony attendance. If these indices can be linked to density, acoustic monitoring would provide a powerful and cost-effective census method for White-chinned Petrels and other nocturnal species.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87056144","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":"Using mitochondrial DNA to identify the provenance of 19th century Kākāpō skins held in Australia’s oldest natural history collection, the Macleay","authors":"Caitlin Mudge, Lindsey J. Gray, J. Austin","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2021.1998782","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2021.1998782","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Museum specimens of endangered species are important to determine pre-decline population structure and to characterise loss of diversity in surviving populations. Kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), the critically endangered New Zealand ground parrot, suffered massive population declines in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries resulting in a genetic bottleneck and adverse inbreeding effects. The University of Sydney Chau Chak Wing Museum (formerly the Macleay Museum) holds several Kākāpō study skins in the Macleay Collections (Australia’s oldest natural history collection), obtained in the mid1800s prior to population declines, but with unknown provenance. Here, we used ancient DNA (aDNA) methods to sequence mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from nine Macleay skins and compared them to published sequences of North and South Island Kākāpō to establish the provenance of each skin. Phylogeography suggests the skins were collected on the southern west coast of the South Island, excluding the North Island as a source. Genetic results corroborate historical records of scientific field trips in the mid1800s taken by museum directors Sir James Hector and Sir Julius von Haast, who sent the skins to the Macleay from New Zealand. All nine Macleay specimens yielded unique mtDNA genome sequences consistent with previous findings of high mtDNA haplotype diversity in pre-decline Kākāpō, especially within southern South Island populations. The Macleay Collection’s skins are some of the oldest historical museum specimens of Kākāpō to have been genetically analysed and are an important genetic resource for future studies of Kākāpō genomic diversity.","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82947178","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":"Emu–Austral Ornithology in the era of Twitter: 120 years of regional ornithology and counting","authors":"P. Olsen","doi":"10.1080/01584197.2021.1993526","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2021.1993526","url":null,"abstract":"This year, Emu–Austral Ornithology turns 120. As one of the oldest of the world’s ornithological journals, it has flown on through several major storms. Like the big (flightless!) bird itself (e.g. Ryeland et al. 2021), the journal has had to adapt to ever more rapid change. It continues to reflect BirdLife Australia’s policy to promote the celebration, understanding and conservation of austral birds (Buchanan and Herman 2021), and across the years has tracked significant conceptual changes in international ornithological science (Joseph et al. 2021). The journal began embedded in an idea for a national organisation devoted to birds, hatched over several gettogethers of oologists, at which ‘nothing stronger than tea and coffee was drunk’ (Anon 1901a). In 1901, this sober clutch founded the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union (now BirdLife Australia), in hopes of uniting the region’s ornithological interests, just as the concurrent Federation sought to unite the Australian colonies. One of the objects of the new union was to publish a ‘magazine called The Emu’ (Anon 1901b), through which ‘bird students will be kept in touch with one another, original study will be aided, and an Australian want supplied’ (Anon 1901a). The choice of the name Emu was not just biological, but also political and cultural (Robin 2002). Since hatching, Emu–Austral Ornithology (hereafter usually shortened to Emu) has survived two World Wars, the Depression and gradual shifts and more controversial changes. An example of the later was the socalled ‘revolution’ of the late 1960s, a reform intended to push the journal from semi-popular to fully scientific (i.e. of international standard) with the approach of the 1974 International Ornithological Congress (IOC), to be held for the first time in Australia (Marchant 1972; Robin 2002). In recognition of the journal’s centenary, Robin’s ‘The Flight of the Emu: A Hundred Years of Australian Ornithology 1901–2001ʹ (2001) thoroughly synthesised its history, in the context of organisational and societal change. Two overviews appeared in the special centennial edition of the journal (Olsen 2002; Robin 2002). Earlier reviews were tackled by sometime influential editors Dom Serventy and Stephen Marchant. The former championed amateurs – until then the predominant contributors – as pioneers who built a strong knowledge base at a time when there were few trained researchers (Serventy 1972). The later took a more critical view, suggesting the journal and its contributors had not kept up with the times, notably the high standards expected internationally and by the growing professional community in Australia (Marchant 1972). As observed by Robin (2002): ‘One of Emu’s greatest strengths is now its long history.’ In the two decades since the centenary, three detailed bibliometric analyses have been published of different aspects of the journal’s contents over time (Yarwood et al. 2014, 2019; Weston et al. 2020) and there have been two major ad","PeriodicalId":50532,"journal":{"name":"Emu-Austral Ornithology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79979971","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}